Rambling About.. Take A Chance On Me by Carol Wyer

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Back in February I had read (and absolutely loved) Carol Wyer's Life Swap and she's back again with the oh-so-fabulous Take A Chance On Me! It's being released on September 23rd so if you go and pre-order it now it should be all ready for you when you wake up Friday morning!

This is the story of Charlie Blundell. She's almost 40, her daughter would have turned 18 this year had she not died five years prior, her marriage had fallen apart shortly thereafter and her ex is now remarried and expecting a new baby, her mother died soon after her divorce, and in spite of staying constantly busy with volunteering and dj-ing at the hospital radio station and working at an Art Cafe, she hasn't really been living.

On New Year's Eve her best friend, Mercedes, convinces her to write up a Carpe Diem list for the year and then tells her that the two are going to fulfill the other's lists. Mercedes is wheelchair-bound and has lots of things on her list that she can't do because of it so she's having Charlie be her legs. As an added bonus, the list Mercedes has come up with is destined to shake up Charlie's life and bust her out of the shell she's been living in for the past five years.

I absolutely adore Charlie and her friends -- old and new. Mercedes, of course, is an absolute favorite along with Charlie's elderly neighbor Peggy and her parrot Bert. (It almost makes me want to break my "no, we are absolutely NOT getting a pet bird" ruling for the house!) And the girls from her belly dancing class? I can totally see myself bonding with them over big-bellied shimmies (and pig squeals)! They're all a wonderful support system for her (and vice-versa) and although she's initially hesitant about most of the things that Mercedes has put on her list, she ends up embracing them and taking on even more challenges.

Of course, probably the biggest challenge of all is to find love again -- in spite of the persistent knob from her past who won't leave her alone and the gorgeous mystery man who keeps popping up at the most embarrassing moments.

So much laughter and love and, yes, a tear or two (or fifteen ... ) make this story glorious. I'd probably be able to ooh and aah and ramble more, but I really don't want to give too much of the awesomeness away. Besides, I have to go see about buying a kazoo and I'm pretty sure you have to go order this book!