Savannah Breeze by Mary Kay Andrews

Savannah Breeze by Mary Kay Andrews is fun. I’ll admit to judging books by their covers, and I do like this cover. Gelati colours, palm trees near a beach and a slightly retro style. It doesn’t take much to make me happy, but a hint of summer in a book’s cover art will do it.

To sum up Savannah Breeze’s story line, the ballsy heroine with an interesting past gets ripped off by a sexy Lothario, then, with the help of good friends, her elderly grandparents and the true romantic hero, steals back everything the ratbag took from her with interest.

What’s not to like?

The best laugh out loud moments for me in Savannah Breeze were when the heroine and her bestie were comparing their relative’s most irritating habits. “Daddy jingles the change in his pocket until I think I’ll lose my mind. And Mama reads everything out loud. Every story in the paper. Every sign you pass in the car.” 

When I phone my parents of an evening, my mother tells me what housework she has done that day, in great detail. How many loads of washing, if she hung the washing out on the line, or on the little line under the eavesof the house near the back door, or if Dad hung them in the garage, and whether or not she got the loads of washing dry. Mum tells me if she has folded the washing and put it away and if there was any ironing.  It drives me insane. And Dad is really deaf, but won’t get hearing aids, so trying to have a conversation with him on the phone can be just as agonising, in a completely different way. I don’t know what habits I have that drive my family crazy, but I hope to one day make my daughter scream with frustration, because that is how the world works…and maybe one day, my grandchildren-to-be will complain about something my daughter does which will in turn make them want to beat her.

Anyway, back to the book. Savannah Breeze’s heroine, BeBe (pronounced BayBay) is a hardworking woman of 35. She owns her own business, a restaurant and has a string of investment properties, plus a home she loves in a good part of town. She seems to be a sucker for Mr Wrong though, having been married three times, twice to the same man. (Slow learner!) BeBe’s latest Mr Wrong, who presented himself as Mr Right, came to her rescue when she was in need of emotional support and defrauded her of everything she owned except a run down motel at the beach.

BeBe heads to the beach motel to lick her wounds, and meets Harry, who was employed by the previous owner of the motel to make some much needed repairs. After a rocky start, BeBe, Harry and BeBe’s best friend Weezie clean up the motel, re-style it with retro furniture and turn the motel into a going concern with real charm.

BeBe however, will not be satisfied until she finds the man who ripped her off and gets back her home, her investments and her pride. When Mr Wrong turns up in another coastal town, BeBe, Harry, Weezie and BeBe’s grandfather head off on an adventure to steal BeBe’s money back. Somewhere along the way, Harry becomes the man of the hour and turns into BeBe’s real hero.

 Savannah Breeze would be a great book to read on a beach holiday, sitting on a brightly coloured towel under a big hat with the sound of the waves in your ears and the smell of the sea in the air. An ice cream from the beach kiosk would probably go down well too, followed by a swim. (Ignore me. It’s bloody freezing in Melbourne and I’m on the countdown for summer. Reading Savannah Breeze could be considered therapuetic).