Workout Wednesday: I'm a Fool if I Think I'm Golden

Here I am riding my bike this week in my read-n-ride challenge as I finished Chasing Perfect by Susan Mallery. The lead male character Josh Golden and I have a lot in common. He's famous, gorgeous, rich, a world class athlete and Tour de France Champion, admired and respected by all the people in his home town of Fool's Gold.  I...ummm...am a world class athlete cycle while I read a book. Ummm...ya lots of similarities.


Racing results this week

♥♥♥ 1/2
Pages read 376
Riding Time 3hour 10minutes
Calories Burned 1,119
Distance Peddled 52.19 miles




For My Thoughts

Chasing Perfect is all about small town living…where everybody knows your name...and gets all up in your business. Ohh! And there seems to be a shortage of eligible men of marrying age.

Charity Jones is Fool’s Gold new City Planner. Hopes are high that she can recruit some new businesses to locate in Fool’s Gold and along with new jobs bring some much needed bodies of the male persuasion to town. Work aside Charity’s pretty pumped to be setting down roots in this small, friendly community, something she’s always dreamed of doing as a young girl after being dragged around from town to town by her mom. Charity longs for stability, friends, a sense of family and a simpler life after a few failed relationships.

Josh Golden is the town’s local Golden boy. He’s famous, he’s gorgeous, he’s an athlete, he’s got a reputation as a ladies man and women of all ages are gaga over him. This is totally understandable since men are in such short supply, but his reputation may be more speculation or wishful thinking on the women’s part than based in fact. From the first moment Charity meets Josh after her first big presentation literally goes up in flames – her laptop that is - and he comes to her rescue, she can’t deny the sparks she feels whenever he’s within spitting distance. Controlling her hormones is going to be a big challenge, but Charity knows she doesn’t want to be the next notch on this playboy’s bedpost.

Chasing Perfect is at its core a good old fashioned love story about relationships. Under the watchful eye of the entire town, Josh and Charity explore and develop their budding romance. There are lots of interesting characters in Fool’s Gold from Mayor Marsha who has her own special relationship with Charity, to Pia the party and event planner to Ethan Hendrix the now estranged, but once best friend, fellow racer and closest thing to a brother Josh has ever had. These relationships are the foundation of Fool’s Gold and what Chasing Perfect is all about. There are no guns or car chases, things getting blown up, or bad guys out to kill anyone. The only drama happening in this city is between two rival sisters who for 25 years have had a battle over who has the best hair salon. I kind of wish more had been made of the man shortage problem, but maybe that is coming in one of the follow-up books in the series.

Finally, for anyone who follows Susan Mallery on twitter or facebook, then you know she is a big American Idol fan. I laughed at the mention of the show in Chasing Perfect when one of the city council meetings had to end on time so everyone could make it home to watch Idol. It’s fitting then that I am posting this review on the finale night as American Idol crowns a new champion. Go Crystal or Lee, whoever you are voting for, both are deserving of the title of American Idol.


Back Blurb:

Welcome to Fool’s Gold, California, a charming community in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. There’s lots to do and plenty of people to meet, especially women. Because there’s just one tiny problem in Fool’s Gold: the men don’t seem to stick around. Maybe it’s the lure of big-city life, or maybe it’s plain old bad luck, but regardless of the reason, the problem has to be fixed, fast. And Charity Jones may be just the city planner to do it.

Charity’s nomadic childhood has left her itching to settle down, and she immediately falls in love with all the storybook town has to offer — everything, that is, except its sexiest and most famous resident, former world-class cyclist Josh Golden. With her long list of romantic disasters, she’s not about to take a chance on another bad boy, even if everyone else thinks he’s perfect just the way he is. But maybe that’s just what he needs — someone who knows the value of his flaws. Someone who knows that he’s just chasing perfect.