He Loves Lucy

Lucy Cunningham is ecstatic when she lands the Palm Club account for her firm Sherrod & Thoms. The goal is simple: take one overweight woman and have her lose weight with the help of Palm Club’s best personal trainer, Theo Redmond. If the woman loses one hundred pounds in a year, she gets a huge cash prize, as does Theo. The only catch: everything will be documented live on TV; every pound lost, every inch lost, and of course, any weight gained back. Sounds simple right? Well it is, until Lucy is chosen as the woman to get the makeover of the year. She can’t imagine giving up her Milk Duds, but the cash prize is a big incentive as she wants to start her own business. However, the big question is, can she lose the weight?

Theo Redmond wants Lucy to lose the weight just as much as she does. The money will really help for his future medical school bills…if he gets readmitted to medical school that is. He plans on helping Lucy get on the road from full-figured to fit and in shape in a year. Things are going well as Lucy is working hard, eating right…and slowly falling in love with Theo. The more time she spends with Theo, the more her love-starved heart craves his kisses, his smiles, and his caresses. It wouldn’t be so bad if it was just a one-sided love, but it isn’t. Instead, Theo is slowly becoming entranced with the witty and sensuous, funny and bold woman that he gets to know through their workouts. She’s everything his ex-fiancée wasn’t: unselfish, caring, funny and just a lot of fun to be around. But Theo doesn’t need complications right now. He’s trying hard to get back into medical school and doesn’t have the time to start a relationship, no matter how much the kisses he shares with Lucy mean to him.

Unfortunately, both Theo and Lucy have romantic baggage in their backgrounds. Lucy became known as the Pitt State Slump Buster in college due to a horrible prank by a local jock. She’s closed herself off from men since then, and even Theo is having a hard time getting her to share her past with him. Add into the mix the fact that Lucy’s scheming and screwball boss Stephan doesn’t want her to win her challenge, and the reader is in for a whopper of a story.

He Loves Lucy is another fantastic romantic comedy from Susan Donovan. This story will touch every woman who has every tried to not only lose weight, but to win the man of her dreams, whether that be a hunky personal trainer like Theo, or an average Joe. Susan Donovan has a wonderful ability to make her characters distinctive and unique, while still ensuring that every woman can identify with them. The ups and downs of Lucy Cunningham are not only funny and romantic, but they are truly touching because her struggle is the struggle of every woman. Losing weight and toning up aren’t the only issues Lucy has to face head-on. Fortunately, Lucy rises to all the challenges brilliantly, with the help from Theo, a man who not only becomes incredibly important to her, but becomes her friend.

Of course, one can’t forget to mention what a wonderful guy Theo is. His encouragement and his ability to see Lucy as the woman she is, whether thin or overweight, will impress all readers. Though he has his own problems to deal with, Theo finally starts to realize that love doesn’t have a timetable, and that sometimes you just have to go with the flow.

He Loves Lucy is a story of rioting emotions, wacky weight challenges, and lots of love. This is one story you will be sad to see end. Kudos to Ms. Donovan for creating such a believable and realistic story revolving around an issue women sometimes have problems talking about.

Reviewed by: Sarah W