The Importance of Being Alice
Ainslie Brothers #1
By Katie MacAlister
ISBN# 9780451471376
Author’s Website: http://www.katiemacalister.com/
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra
Synopsis:
First in a new series!
From New York Times bestselling author Katie MacAlister comes a series about finding your own wonderland—through one roadblock at a time…
Nothing about Alice Wood’s life is normal right now. Her fiancé, Patrick, called off their wedding and relationship only days before their non-refundable wedding trip. And though a luxurious European river cruise for one is just what she needs, it’s not what she gets…
Due to a horrible misunderstanding, Alice is now cramped in her “romantic” suite with one of Patrick’s friends. Instead of cruising along the Rhine, Main, and Danube rivers sipping champagne with the love of her life, she’s navigating the waters with a strange—yet mysteriously handsome—British aristocrat.
An author, Elliot is just looking for some alone time to write. But his stodgy, serious self is about to be sidetracked by a woman who seems to have jumped out of the pages of a fairy tale, one who is determined to shake up his life…and include him in her own happily ever after.
Review:
It has been approximately 3 years since I last picked up a book by Katie MacAlister and I have now been reminded why that was such a bad thing! I just loved this first book in the new series! I was drawn in to the disastrous life of Alice from the beginning…who wouldn’t empathize with a woman left mere days before her wedding cruise by her fiancé? And to add insult to injury…Patrick also throw’s her out of their home! But being the resilient woman that she is….she will just go on the pre-wedding cruise without Patrick! After all…she did pay for ½ the room! And who wants to give up the trip of a lifetime to cruise along the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers. To her surprise, when she enters the room, Alice discovers the handsome Elliot, a British aristocrat…a Baron. All Elliot wants is a couple of weeks away from his home (just a little castle in England) and siblings (too many to count I must say – actually eleven) to finish writing his next spy novel as a result of his friend Patrick giving him the cruise and assuring him he will be alone! Elliot Edmond Richard Ainslie, eighth Baron Ainslie, must complete this book because paying for the upkeep on a castle is a lot of money…and his income from writing can certainly be put to good use in the restoration of the castle.
I enjoyed from the beginning Alice’s quirkiness. She was endearing, quirky, engaging and made this reader sympathize with her SO much. How dare Patrick treat her as he did, the cad! We learn that Patrick sets an expiration dates on relationships…his rule is two years. He let things slide a bit with Alice (the relationship went on for 2 years and 3 months) with getting engaged and then a pre-wedding trip (ending in a wedding?) but when he realized he had overstepped his own rule…he just kicked Alice out and cancelled the trip….without any notice or forethought as to what Alice would do with no home.
So the fun and frivolity start immediately as Alice and Elliot forge a truce after the shock of finding each other in the cabin! Alice is a quirky, fun loving, fly by the seat of your pants American. Elliot is a bit of a stodgy, uptight, British Baron. With Elliot’s sole goal to have alone time so that he may write his spy novel and Alice’s goal to have fun, fun, fun and get over Patrick….you can see that sparks will fly. They reluctantly called a truce and in due time when the river cruise stops at one of the towns for the day, Alice convinces Elliot to skip writing that day and come explore. And the rest is shall we say…history. Of course with a good looking guy and a good looking gal…there will be some sparks and hanky panky. I was surprised at the fast pace of the intimacy with which these two embarked upon so quickly….but it did provide some laughs…
I quite enjoyed Alice’s inner turmoil when she was musing with herself all about Elliot – this is just one example of her thought process…intriguing and scattered:
“The thought struck me, as I went about my daily ablutions, that Elliot had awfully nice hair for a man who’d take someone else’s ticket. It wasn’t long, but had a small curl to it that made you think about running your fingers through it. “Not that I have any intention of doing so ,” I told my reflection in the steam mirror. “Even if I was looking for a man, and I’m certainly not that stupid, he would be off the table. He’s friend to a rat bastard.” It was just a shame, too. How many bona fide lords does a girl meet? And how many of them have BBC voices, and nice faces, and curly hair that looks soft and silky and utterly gropeworthy?”
And Elliot’s response to his mother when she says that he must love all of his brothers and sisters:
“I do love all my siblings, although I will admit to preferring those you and papa adopted rather than the other two related by blood.”
The other guests on the excursion were a motley group of characters with more surprises than expected. And that certainly upped the mystery quotient of the story. Anthony Weeks and his companion Dahl Sorenson, four Japanese 16 year old girls with their teachers Ms. Izumi and Ms. Megumi. And of course Laura and Deidre. Throughout the boat tour Deidre of course is trying to capture the attention of Elliot, which definitely annoys Alice to no end.
Some of the off boat adventures definitely produced many giggles from this reader. And talk about misinterpretation…..some funny events as a result of assumptions (and you know what they say about assumptions don’t you). I won’t expound further as I want to leave some mystery for the next reader of this wonderfully funny, engaging book.
From the first word to the final word, I was engaged and excited to read this book. I really enjoyed Katie MacAlister’s writing style! Hopefully you will too! Pick up this first book in her new series….you won’t be sorry.
