#11 HER BETTER HALF by CJ Carmichael

Number of Book #11
Date Began and Finished 2/20- 2/24 2008
Genre - Women's Fiction
Year It Was Published - 2006
Publisher - Harlequin (Next)
number of Pages 296
Mass Market paperback
Reason for reading: TBR
Rating 4/5 stars

Blurb or Synopsis: I still cannot get over the demise of this wonderful brand of books by Harlequin. The NEXT books were different at first, in that they did not fit into a set formula. They were not all romances or women's fiction or whatever genre you can think of. I have read paranormal NEXT books, women's fiction, but every book was different. Towards the end they changed the formula to fit a certain type of reader, and this brought down the quality of the series. But HER BETTER HALF still showed how diverse these books can be and how creative harlequin books can be if given the chance.

HER BETTER HALF is the story of two women - one is the mother of twin teenage daughters and she's newly divorced and ready to start a new life. She's down financially and has to move into a rough neighborhood, after living in luxury and privilege for many years. Laurens's husband had run off with his yoga instructor and was now living in India. She and her two daughters just don't know what to think anymore.

Lauren needs a job, and answers an ad placed by Erin, a younger single mother who has her own private investigating business. This is quite a different type of career move than what Lauren had expected but she figured why not? Soon, Lauren is working side by side with Erin, spying on unfaithful husbands and doing criminal checks on others.

When Lauren first meets Erin, her first impression is that Erin must be a drug user, or maybe a prostitute! Erin seemed much too lose to be a straight and narrow sort of woman, but as the two women get to know each other, Lauren realizes she's been wrong about Erin, but she still cannot figure her out. There is something Erin is hiding from Lauren, and the only person that probably knows is Murphy Jones, who runs a greasy diner nearby.

This story caught me by surprise. By the end of the book it had me in tears. I have read other books by CJ Carmichael, mostly through the Harlequin superromance line of books, and i have to say she's one of the better writers around. HER BETTER HALF was a very good reading experience and i highly recommend it to readers who enjoy women's fiction. It's definitely not a romance, but a story of two women who as they become friends, realize how much they need each other and how fleeting life can be.