Review of "Deeply, Desperately" by Heather Webber

 I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of the first in this series, "Truly Madly," to review several months ago. You can find my review of that, here.

Disclaimer: I, the reviewer, purchased this book for myself. I did not receive this book, nor anything else, in exchange for a review.

Type: Cozy Mystery, Paranormal, Romance, Psychics, Matchmaking, Private Investigators

From the back of the book: "   Lucy wants to breathe new life into her family's Boston-based matchmaking company. But how? Even though she comes from a long line of ancestors blessed by Cupid with psychic abilities, a freak accident left Lucy with only one special skill: finding things. Car keys, socks in the dryer, needles in the hay-stacks... and now, in a stroke of professional genius, lost loves! It's not long before Lucy's on a winning streak, helping old flames reunite and create new sparks. Business is booming. But when Lucy finds herself involed in a possible case of murder, she realizes she's in too deep. Enter Sean Donahue, Lucy's handsome fire fighter-turned-private eye neighbor, Sean is just the man she needs to help her on the job. Could he also be the man she's been looking for all along? When it comes to Valentine, Inc. falling in love is always serious business.  "

I absolutely loved the first book in the series, "Truly, Madly," so of course I jumped on the second one when it was released. And "Deeply, Desperately" didn't disappoint! Frankly, these books are great for almost any reader - there's hints of romance, mystery, detective stories, and paranormal aspects. Yes, resident psychic Lucy Valentine is at it again, now with her own business of finding lost loves, aided by her hunky boyfriend Sean. Not to mention a whole host of other loveable characters... and some new ones that I'm very excited about. No spoilers (because it's a big one!), but eeeek - I need to know more!

"Deeply, Desperately" had so much going on, so much action and mystery packed into three hundred pages. I'll admit it, during scenes with a lot of dialogue, I tend to skip the in-between parts and just focus on what the characters were saying. But I quickly learned to stop when reading this book. As I said, there is a lot of stuff going on, and just skipping a sentence inbetween paragraphs of dialogue will leave you feeling lost later on down the road. It's a fast-paced novel, and you have to pay attention. But with everything going on in the plot, Lucy's story will keep you on the edge of your seat.

I just want to take a second to talk about the cover. I absolutely love it. The colors are cheery, and though there are definitely some un-cheery moments in this book, I feel like it reflects Lucy's sometimes-overly-opptomistic outlook on life in general. And the ivy flowing down from the rooftop just ads a nice touch.. especially the leaf that hangs over the girl's head. Maybe it's just me.. but that particular leaf looks a heart.

I'm going to give "Deeply, Desperately" by Heather Webber a FIVE out of FIVE (5/5). I loved it, of course, and I'm already looking forward to the next book in the series "Absolutely, Positively," due out in February of 2011.

Read one or both of the Lucy Valentine books? Tell me your thoughts in the comments. Want to check them out? Find them at Amazon.com! Happy Reading!
~!~ Morning Glow