If you find yourself talking to writer Jayne Dandy, keep the conversation on comic books and Star Wars—best not to mention men, dating, or S-E-X. Her crippling fear of intimacy has made relationships a big no-no, but hiding behind her laptop isn’t going to get her lightsaber lit.When her therapist recommends that she write erotica as a form of exposure therapy, Jayne is hesitant. But when she is … hesitant. But when she is unexpectedly downsized at work, she adopts a pseudonym and secretly publishes her sexy stories to make ends meet. Meanwhile, her adorable long-time friend Luke, co-owner of the popular Portland food truck Luke Piewalker’s, hears she’s been demoted and insists on hiring her to sling éclairs and turnovers at his side.
As Jayne tries to juggle her growing secret career and her newfound feelings towards Luke, her entire life is about to send Jayne and her X-Wing into a tailspin that will either make her face down her neuroses or trigger a meltdown of Death Star proportions.
I LOVE YOU, LUKE PIEWALKER is a heart-warming romantic comedy perfect for fans of sweet and passionate romance that gives you butterflies, geek culture, and feel-good stories with a happily ever after.
Get your copy today and discover the fabulous new rom-com author everyone is talking about.
more
Audible Review
Overall 4 out of 5 stars
Performance 4 out of 5 stars
Story 3 out of 5 stars
Entertaining listen.
3.5*
I Love You, Luke Piewalker was an entertaining listen. It was fun, while also being slightly frustrating. I liked Jayne and all her awkwardness, I thought she was an endearing, quirky, character, although she did have her faults. Actually, most of the characters in this book had faults of their own- but don’t we all!
Although Jayne is a write of erotica, don’t expect any of that to show up on the pages of I Love You, Luke Piewalker. This is a slow burn romance, more along the lines of womens fiction/chick-lit, as there is no on page sex.
The bulk of the story focuses on Jayne and her writing and dealing with her fear of intimacy, the romance really does take a back seat. Which I didn’t really have a problem with, I just would have liked to have seen more of Jayne and Luke on page. There was a lot of pining on her side, and not having Luke’s pov made it hard to really feel the connection between them. And with him acting the way he did at one point made it even harder.
I did like seeing Jayne’s growth over the course of the book- she really started to finally take control and stand up for herself.
There were just a few things that I wish had played out a little different, to make this a strong 4* read. But overall it was engaging and entertaining listen.
Carly Robins is a terrific narrator, I enjoy listening to her. She was a good choice to bring Jayne to life- she made Jayne feel like a real person, not just a character on the page. She also does a nice job with the secondary characters as well. I’m glad I decided to listen to I Love You, Luke Piewalker instead of just reading it, as I thought the narration added a lot to the story.
***Audible Plus
4 Stars!
This was the first book I read by Eliza Gordon back in 2014. Although it is not my favorite by this author, it was adorable and prompted me to quickly read her first book, Must Love Otters – a favorite. The romance was clean, sweet, nerdy and refreshing. I will always attribute Eliza Gordon and her books, Neurotica and Must Love Otters, to reading romantic fiction again. Prior to these books and since college, I rarely read anything other than non-fiction. I am now a devout follower of her real and quirky humorous women’s fiction.
Favorite Quotes:
“I’ve seen semen a time or two, including when my poor prom date danced too close for just a moment too long and soiled his rented tux. Awkward.”
“But writing erotica? I only did it because Dr. McCoy, my therapist, recommended it. I did it in the name of medicine. My progress in this field could make me eligible for the Nobel someday.”
“I’m not sure I wasn’t the product of an immaculate conception. My parents haven’t shared a bedroom or even a friendly smile, since Love Boat was in reruns. What the hell is Love Boat? Google it. Yeah. That long ago.”
“I have a weird birthmark along the inner slope of my right boob. A light-brown stain shaped like Australia. You can imagine the jokes that have come out of Gretchen’s mouth since the infection known as puberty took hold: ‘Take him Down Under, Jaynie.’ ‘Show him where you keep your kangaroo.’ ‘Maybe if you show him Oz, he’ll let you play his didgeridoo.’ Et cetera.”
“Exercise means pre-dinner yoga alternating with one disc from a set of DVD workouts led by a Nazi-esque woman with frightening eyebrows and abs my granny could’ve washed her delicates on. If I’d had a granny. With delicates.”
My Review:
I have been a fan of Eliza Gordon since I read the first sentence of her first book, Must Love Otters. I do love otters now, but I love Eliza Gordon’s work even more. Despite the suggestive title of her new book, there are no actual sex scenes… shucks… but I still enjoyed it anyway… shocking…I know! The topic of sex is frequently mentioned as the main character (Jayne) has multiple issues, and is encouraged by her therapist to write about sex as part of her therapy, in an effort to reduce her fear and discomfort. Hence the clever play on words for the title – a combination of neurotic + erotica. I chortled with glee in learning the cause of Jayne’s difficulties being narrowed down to being scared as an innocent child by the “Satan Squad,” a pair of “cheaply perfumed” spinster sisters who lectured children in the church basement on the evils of sensuality and “touching tongues,” while their adults family members attended church services. She was convinced at the tender age of eight, that God was always watching and listening and would, “…strike me down if I touched a boy.” As an adult, she remained traumatized and extremely anxious even of the mere topics of dating or kissing, and had to spell the word S-E-X rather than say it aloud. She eventually seeks therapy and spends, “…$150 an hour to figure out why I can’t get laid.” Jayne is well-educated, intelligent, a lover of all things duck, a sci-fi fan, a Star Wars expert, the family scapegoat, and the constant victim of her shallow and petty mother’s vicious tongue. I find it deliciously ironic that despite her lack of personal experience, Jayne discovers she has a penchant for writing erotic love stories, and when she finds herself in need of income, decides to publish under the same pen name she had used for her sci-fi efforts. She is humiliated, yet secretly thrilled, when it far and away out sells any of her previous writing efforts, and develops a large following. I wish such irony would befall me!
Eliza Gordon’s writing never fails to entertain. It is witty, insightful, wicked funny, smart, snarky, and prone to cause frequent snorting, smiling, and/or chuckling during perusal. I loved every word in every sentence of this exceptionally well written book. I actually started to pout as I neared the end, as I want more Jayne and Luke. But then, I almost always get greedy when reading a good book. Neurotica will undoubtedly be one of my top favorite reads for 2014, despite the lack of lack of steamy scenes of S-E-X.