Helen of Pasadena by Lian Dolan

I wanted to love this book. I feel like the author is someone I know personally; however, we've never met. Lian (my personal friend) is one of the Satellite Sisters who had a marvelous radio show for years. I would try to listen to them whenever I could, and now that I'm able to download their podcasts, I rarely miss one. The sisters are all smart, funny, and interesting. I've also been listening to Lian's Chaos Chronicles podcasts and I've enjoyed hearing about her parenting, her work, and her writing. This is her first novel, and..... I really wanted to love it. We all have types of books that we gravitate to, and "chick lit" - however you define it - is not necessarily my thing. So while I enjoyed parts of the book, it's enough of a chick lit kind of book that I just couldn't adore it. There were some interesting characters, but too many were just over-the-top, full-of-themselves kind of people. (Remind me never to move to Pasadena!) And my biggest complaint.... the plot is predictable. I really wanted Helen to NOT fall in love and end up with the handsome archeologist and find her way on her own. That being said, Lian has a wonderful sense of humor and that comes across in the book just like it does in her podcasts. The book has received rave reviews elsewhere, so it's definitely found an audience, and I'm sure there were be more books on the way. -June