A sassy, self-aware heroine; an entertaining, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy that will have you screeching, hooting, holding your splitting sides, and maybe damning your pelvic floor! Apoca[hot]lips has been retitled to Cupid F*cks Up. Why? Because he does!Ruth Roth is a straight shooter. Pity Cupid isn’t.Smart-mouth Ruth is an inspirational humour columnist for a popular women’s magazine. … inspirational humour columnist for a popular women’s magazine. Recently divorced, she has found the love of her life. Without any help, mind you, from the little fat love god. Ruth has decided she herself is her one and only.
And she’s in a comfy place. Why wouldn’t she be? No need to yell ‘Put the bloody toilet seat down!’ No need to hoover toe-nail clippings off the carpet.
But then a silver-tongued Prince Charming fronts up in his shiny Merc and tickles her discarded, little-girl fantasies. He tells her their love is written in the stars.
It must be a misprint!
A romance with this particular PC is not so PC. Still …
Ruth’s life plays out more like ancient myth than fairytale. And what hot-blooded woman can resist forbidden fruit?
There’s a problem, though. Ruth does not have a hot-blooded mum. Ruth has a pain-in-the-arse mum whose squawking disapproval cranks the taboo up a notch.
All the more reason to take up with the stud! But it means taking on the harpy.
Tensions mount, and even Ruth’s man can’t protect her from the trash-talking voices in her head. It looks like he can’t muzzle his own either. When an earth-shattering revelation causes him to give her grief, it makes her feel like she’s dating her mother.
Taking the kind of advice she doles out to her readers is not so easy, and Ruth wonders if this love can survive. More to the point, is it worth the trouble?
Book 2 in the Ruth Roth Series. Book 1: Amazon #1 Bestseller, Odyssey in a Teacup
What readers are saying:
‘Down to earth, real and importantly funny! Houseman’s gift to her readers is one that is almost a therapeutic session. She shares insights, emotions and the reality of relationships that both captivates and helps to ease one into looking at things in a different light … prepare for hours of laughter as well as a book that will stick with you long after you turn the last page. I honestly have not laughed so hard or felt so connected to a story. Absolutely brilliant!’
‘If you like Stephanie Plum, you’ll adore Ruth Roth – she is one of the funniest characters I’ve met in fiction!
‘The book takes the reader on a wild ride. I laughed aloud, I couldn’t stop reading – and I absolutely loved the writing … It’s one of the funniest, sexiest romantic comedies I’ve ever read. Highly recommended!’
‘It’s a joyful and fun ride and Paula Houseman has knocked it out the park.’
‘Touching and thoughtfully written, you will cry – although I guarantee most of those tears will be from hilarity than heartbreak.’
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First let me say that this is the funniest novel I’ve read in ages. The narrator, Ruth, is a divorcee with an attitude. She’s sassy and smart – and has the hots for her cousin, Ralph. Only he’s not really her cousin, and he is madly in love with her. It takes Ralph a while to convince Ruth that they belong together; at first, Ruth is worried about what her family will think. The chemistry between Ruth and Ralph is so hot it sizzles, and Ms. Houseman does an excellent job keeping the reader on edge and rooting for Ralph. But their love story, delightful as it is, isn’t the whole book. Oh no! There’s Ruth’s parents, her brother, her children, and her neighbor-from-Hell! The book takes the reader on a wild ride. I laughed aloud, I couldn’t stop reading – and I absolutely loved the writing. The dialogue was snappy and the situations comic. Ruth takes us through weddings, births, and funerals, while never losing her wry humor. The characters were both whacky and believable. In short, don’t miss this book. It’s one of the funniest, sexiest romantic comedies I’ve ever read. Highly recommended!
My Rating:
4.5
Favorite Quotes:
Finding out he was adopted was bittersweet for Ralph. Bitter, because he felt betrayed by his adored and adoring adoptive mother, who withheld such important information from him. But sweet, because it meant he wasn’t swimming in the same shallow, fetid gene pool as the other idiots in his family— his father, his younger whiney sister, Louise (Louwhiney), and his two brothers, george and simon (who, according to Ralph, had no brains, miniscule penises, and were too common to be worthy of majuscule letters at the beginning of their names).
Unlike Xena, Warrior Princess —who slept in an ice cave for twenty-five years— I’d developed some pampered princess tendencies. I was now more Worrier Princess.
But the award for unrivalled faux pas went to Sylvia… ‘My son the doctor did all he could,’ she told them. I didn’t think it was the right time to correct her. (Myron was a dentist. He had fallen short of Sylvia’s dream of him becoming a doctor, but she regularly cashed in on his title, Doctor Roth.) Chalky-skinned, she dabbed at her weepy eyes with a tissue. She regained her composure and continued. ‘Myron tried to revive his father with artificial insemination.’
‘You could have called me,’ she accused. ‘I might have been dead on the floor like your father was. I could have composted.’ … ‘I think you meant decomposed.’
Casper liked watching the occasional scary movie… Casper assured me he felt loved and wouldn’t become Freddy Krueger. With his powers of persuasion, I worried that he’d become a lawyer or a politician instead.
My Review:
While still cleverly amusing, this book was considerably more angsty with relationship and family issues and more introspective and emotive than the first in the series. Ruth and Ralph were both laboring through significant life events, transitions, and revelations. There were several emotional teeter-totters and periods in the story where Ruth was shrewish and cruel; I wanted to pull her hair. Ruth’s procrastination and on and off attempts at soul-searching on her journey of empowerment was entertaining but not without hiccups. Romance was all around for the group and I was all swoony over Ralph, although he could have also used a few kicks to dislodge his cranium from his gluts. This has to be the quirkiest cast of characters ever assembled and they continue to intrigue and expand with the oddest of eccentricities. The introduction of the colorful and peculiar character of Hector yielded an entirely new level of rib-tickling levity.