Kathleen Long

Contemporary

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Looks like we owe Oprah some thanks.

I really believe that romance became so popular in the last few years partly in response to the terribly earnest novels she chose for her very successful "Oprah's Book Club."

Don't misunderstand. I love Oprah, especially because of what she's done to promote literacy.

And believe you me: if Girlfriend says "buy the jeans," I am all over them.

But with the popularity of Oprah's book selections came a tacit acceptance among women that women's fiction is only acceptable if it's bleak, yet hopeful.

I don't know about you, but I spend too much time dealing with life's realities to want to immerse myself in heart-rending pathos every time I pick up a book.

So, I'm wondering: can't we be impassioned, erudite women and still escape to our Happy Place when we read?

The women I know who read romance exercise the prerogative to read what makes them happy -- thoughtful novels that display depth of emotion and celebrate the best stuff life has to offer -- novels like "Cherry on Top," the breezy, sexy, and totally fun new novel from Kathleen Long.

Cherry Harte is running from her past as fast and as far as a winning lottery ticket and a darling pair of designer sandals can take her.

The new, improved Cherry winds up in toney Mystic Beach, Fla. -- and is one step away from buying respectability she's longed for -- when she's blindsided by the kind of great-looking guy who could derail her hard work in a heartbeat.

Low-slung Levi's-wearing, gum-chawing car mechanic Luke Chance hates that he's so attracted to Cherry, the classy nouveau riche broad who reminds him of another Mystic Beach socialite he'd rather forget.

Despite his misgivings, Luke's intrigued by Cherry's innate sweetness and super-sexy knees.

But the former hard-news journalist in him knows she's trying to hide more than just her tender heart and unconventional upbringing.

And he'll rattle every one of the wacky skeletons in her closet to get to the truth.

Kathleen Long has a gift for creating romance driven by themes with which we easily identify: The longing for acceptance, the desire for personal growth, and the challenge of letting go of the past in order to create one's own happiness.

She explores these themes with a canny sensibility -- an understanding of the quirkiness and irony of life expressed in accessible, entertaining prose and dialogue.

Some romance novels just make you feel good from start to finish, and "Cherry on Top" is one of them.

Read what'll make you happy.

Buy the book.

Celebrate the wonder of life "just as it is" at Kathleen Long's Web site.

Next Week's Review and AuthorView: "Gypsy Lover," by Edith Layton