Review/ Confessions of a Liberal Lover/ E.M. Muller/ Red Rose Publishing

Title:  Confessions of a Liberal Lover
Author:  E.M. Muller
Publisher:  Red Rose Publishing
Genre:  Contemporary Women's Fiction; Comedy
eBook ISBN:  978-1604356915
Publication Date:  May 13, 2010
Length:  Short Story
Format:  eBook only

Purchase



 
Book Blurb:
 
Confessions of a Liberal Lover is a modern day fairy tale about the amorous misadventures of Maud and the magical talking statue of a gargoyle who is her most trusted friend and advisor. As a child, Maud didn't have many friends. Her tongue was too sharp, her temper too short and she was just too smart for her own damned good—something her father repeatedly pointed out when she was a boy crazy teenager.


But Maud's troubles really begin when, convinced the secret to happiness lies in finding a virile incredibly handsome man like the heroes in her beloved romance novels, she starts searching for the man of her dreams. Will she finally listen to the gargoyle's repeated warnings that she's looking for love in all the wrong people? Or, after so many failed relationships, will she just accept that her Prince Charming isn't ever going to show up?

My Review: 

This is an interesting story about a woman's search for Prince Charming and all of the detours that she took to find him.  The plot moves at a very good pace and the dialogue is very modern and sharp.  The characters do use some colorful language and there are some spicy scenes so I would definitely not recommend this for anyone under the age of 17.  The story is completely told in the first person point of view. 

The story starts with Maud explaining her relationship with her father.  Maud was born a liberal thinker and her parents spent quite a bit of time trying to temper her behavior.  At the age of four Maud realizes that the house is not big enough for her and her father so she decides to run away; as you can guess she only got as far as a block away before she was lured back by her mother's offer of ice-cream.  Maud is not happy at home because she feels that she is always being compared to her sister Sybil and coming up short.  Maud became a reader at a young age and by the time she was thirteen she was addicted to historical romance novels.  It didn't take long for Maud to realize that she wanted a virile, handsome man of her own, like the heroines in the novels but she soon realized that she would have to settle for something less due to her circumstances.  By the time that Maud hits high school, she is completely boy crazy and willing to date just about anyone.

It was when Maud was six years old that she first obtained the gargoyle, a plastic statue of a gothic gargoyle that she won as a prize at a church fair.   The impact of this prize was not realized until Maud was 16 and having boy problems with a boyfriend who wanted her to "go all the way" with him, at which time the gargoyle decides to speak up.  He proceeds to give Maud the advice that she needs to dump this boy before he dumps her but she refuses his advice and two weeks later what the gargoyle had predicted comes to pass.  Maud begins to speak with the gargoyle on a semi regular basis and especially when she is in a relationship.

Maud's dating exploits are hilarious, it seemed as if every man she dated had serious warning issues that she blatantly ignored, against the advice of the gargoyle.  The author titled each chapter after the type of relationship or boyfriend that Maud took on.  One chapter is titled "The Khaki Kid" after a young man who only wears "khaki", one is titled "The Good Old Boy" after a man who likes to go out in the woods and hunt (never mind that Maud has a serious aversion to violence).  While Maud is dating she has moved out of her parents home into an apartment that she shares with a "friend", she obtained a full time job and has even gone back to school to get her degree.  She is still speaking with the gargoyle but now puts him in the closet when he disagrees with her. 

Maud continues with her dating escapades while she finishes her degree and changes jobs, it is not until she is in her 30's that she finally starts to get a clue.  She realizes that none of what she has done to find the "virile, handsome man" has worked out and that the only dependable people in her life are her family.  It is when Maud stops looking for her Prince Charming that a man worthy of her finally enters her life and he encourages her to make peace with her dad.  Maud comes full circle in her emotional life when she realizes that her father has always loved her, even if he didn't show it in the way that she was expecting. 

There are a lot of humorous scenes while Maud is dating and maturing and there are also places where I wanted to yell at Maud and tell her to grow up.  I would have liked to have seen Maud mature at a faster rate and realize that she was dating the same "type" of guy, even if he had a different career and looked different.  Overall this was an enjoyable book.

My Rating:  4 out of 5 Crowns

FTC Disclosure:  The book reviewed was provided to the site by the author.  No financial remuneration was exchanged.