"Comical and lovable fairy godmothers finagle makeover and romance"
Forget the fact that the heroine is an eccentric and
endearingly stubborn modern woman who shares the same given
name as yours truly. Forget the fact that the hero is an
equally eccentric and irresistible psychiatrist with a
remarkable moniker of his own and wisdom and wit to match.
Go into this book devoid of all ideas and expectations
except the one about having a fast-paced and rousing fun
time. Grace MacGuire has just been offered a three-book contract
from her editor, with a not-inconsequential promotional
budget--every writer's dream. And in the opening pages of
Mad About Max she crashes headlong into every writer's
biggest nightmare when three irrepressible fairies
(Blossom, Fern and Myrtle) determined to hook her up with
her true love, blink into her car on the drive home and
have Grace questioning her sanity. What's a self-respecting and over-imaginative author-cum-
goddaughter to do? Well, if you're one Grace MacGuire and
not prone to go down quietly or without a fight, you get
thee to the nearest yellow pages as soon as feasible and
find the most suitable candidate to remedy your sudden case
of sanity impairment. However, Blossom, Fern, and Myrtle are just as stubborn as
their creator is, and will not be denied accomplishing
their fairy godmotherly duties. By the time Grace makes it home from an embarrassing run-in
with an infant traffic cop whose 'ma'amed' her, she
realizes that the trio have only begun with their
matchmaking antics and have more tricks up their
collective, colorful sleeves than a self-respecting fairy
godmother can shake a wand at. The least of which is
finagling a total cosmetic makeover for their ponytail
wearing goddaughter and pirating her sweats-and-jeans heavy
wardrobe before her meeting with their candidate. The candidate in question turns out to be one sexy and
young (much younger and far from the four-eyed Einstein-ish
man Grace had envisioned after landing on his sane-sounding
and trustworthy name in the phone book)., Dr. Aaronson. After having negotiated an appointment (under the guise of
a writer on deadline having a problem with some
characters"), and finally coming face-to-face with the knee-
weakening sight of Artemus Aaronson, Grace makes some lame
excuses about incompatible plots and characters before
hightailing it out of the good doctor's office. To say her first meeting with Mr. Right gets off on an
inauspicious foot would be an understatement. But much like
Grace and the fairy godmothers who watch over her, Max
Aaronson is persistent and not one to let a good thing slip
away just because it might be the easy thing to do, or
said "good thing" has a little problem like talking to
invisible fairies. Max is engagingly patient and unflappable with an easy
sense of humor which comes in handy when dealing with a
sanity impaired, fairy-phobic heroine, such as Grace
MacGuire. He is, in a word, gallant. And together, he and
Grace are the most synergetic and charming pair this side
of a Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks movie. I dare any reader to
resist falling in love with them as deeply as I did. Ah, you may ask, but what of the very mischievous but well-
intentioned, marriage brokering fairies with outlandish
fashion sense to spare? Quite simply, Blossom, Fern and
Myrtle are the most comical and lovable fairies to hold the
title since Swayze, Snipes and Leguizamo donned drag in "To
Wong Foo, Thank You For Everything, Julie Newmar." I look forward to reading more of Ms. Fuhrman's work,
especially her follow-up, Magic For Joy, and highly
recommend Mad About Max for anyone who's ever been "mad"
about anything!
Reviewed by Gracie McKeever
Posted March 16, 2003
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