While I'm drinking a wee spot of wine and watching Sponge Bob, I thought I'd QUICKLY write up my thoughts about this book. I really enjoyed it! It wasn't the end all and be all of romance, but it was delightful.
Sexiest Man Alive is the story of an up and coming costume designer who has crippling anxiety when in the presence of men. Especially good looking ones. She freezes, she stammers, she pukes. A serious disability, made even more so because she works in the theatre. She earns her living tailoring women's clothing in her small apartment in Manhattan. She surrounds herself with other women because she can't physically tolerate men. I loved Jasmine. She's plucky, funny, extremely talented and has wonderful foibles. She forces herself out of her comfort zone repeatedly and, with every step forward, she grows more appealing. She uses self help books and a Ken doll to work on her anxiety and she has the ability to laugh at herself while experiencing the very worst of her fears.
Jasmine, however, wants a real job in the theatre and knows that she must conquer her fear in order to be the artist she is. While anyone who has actually worked in a theatre will be left wondering how Jasmine made her way through grad school at NYU without coming into contact with man, I just let this go because the writing and the story are pretty darned good. A grad student in costume design will speak with men, dress men, fit men, heck they'll measure a man's full rise (heh), all during the process of putting together a show. But, whatever, for the sake of the story, I'm in.
So Jasmine's sister, Amy, is a psychic whose lone ability is to hear the name of a persons One True Love. She bargains the name of Jasmines OTL for 2 grand and it turns out to be Josh Toby, People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive. Or is it?? There is another Josh Toby, a librarian at the NY Public Library, who may also be Jasmine's OTL. And the librarian adds some great comic moments. Of course, this being a romance story and all, Josh Toby (movie star) just so happens to have the lead in the play Jasmine has been hired to work on. What a co-inky-dink! Josh is hot, he's fun, he's playful, he's sweet. He's also terrified to be in front of a live audience, he's lonely, and he has a crappy relationship with his parents. He's perfect.
I loved that both the hero and the heroine had issues with fear and that they supported one another in vanquishing their demons. I also adore Diana Holquist for not dragging out the big misunderstanding. She presents us with a problem, the characters deal with it, we move on. THANK YOU! While the resolution with Josh's parents was a little on the lame side, I didn't mind that so much because I was busy enjoying the relationship between Josh and Jasmine.
So, I give this a B+. Good read, likable characters, fun plot, great internal dialog with Jasmine, and a neat tidy resolution. Can't wait for Amy's story next.
