Wooing Cadie McCaffrey by Bethany Turner

Catalogue copy: After four years with her boyfriend, Cadie McCaffrey is thinking of ending things. Convinced Will doesn’t  love her in the ‘forever’ way she loves him, Cadie believes it’s time for her to let him go before life passes her by.

And so begins the second of Bethany Turner’s entertaining ‘chick lit’ novels.  

I really enjoyed The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck, so I was looking forward to this new novel and generally I was not disappointed. Like the first novel, this one is an out and out romance, with quite a bit of ‘sizzle’ and some outright ‘scorching’ moments.  The story is mostly told from Cadie’s perspective, with large elements of Will’s point of view too. 

The story rolls along briskly, and is compelling reading.  I read it from cover to cover in one sitting, and at the end I felt the way you do when you come out of the cinema after seeing a good film.  Quietly happy.  And I LOVED the final main scene in the book – ie. the one before the epilogue. I liked the peripheral characters, especially Kevin and Ellis, and I really warmed to Will, and was happy to see his career build throughout the story.  

But oh golly, was Cadie irritating at times! She had a tendency to come across as one of those film characters who’s determined to get her own way and yet ironically was angry with Will when she believed that he was manipulating situations to influence her.  I also found her respected role in her office surprising considering the amount of time at work which she spent flirting with Will or weeping on the shoulders of her best friend and colleague Darby.

Furthermore, the way Cadie referred to her parents, and Will’s references to them, seemed at real odds to the people we eventually meet in the story.  Nor do I really understand Will’s actions in relation to his connections with them.  And the incident with the box just seemed rather stupid of him!!  In terms of ‘things I don’t get’, I also found the idea of Will stopping in his apartment block stairwell to bow his head and close his eyes to pray was weird.  But that is probably just me.

Despite the above comments on our heroine and hero's shortcomings I'd definitely recommend this as a fun holiday read.  It's a compelling story, and there are lots of interesting characters besides the two ‘leads’.  And if you like to be annoyed by your leading lady, then it’s absolutely perfect!