“Integrity's got Ann Roth down. As far as celebrity reporters go, she's rare. With honest, down-to-earth decency and sharp smarts, Ann's been top in her field for awhile. But according to her new sharp-nosed boss, these respectful and sweet ways no longer cut it. When he sends her on a mission to score a nearly-impossible interview with a reclusive Hollywood heart-throb and tells her to hone her "journalistic killer instinct (or else)" she goes for it. Unfortunately, "going for it" leave her with cheesecake in the face, a failed assignment and an anxiety attack. Humiliated and jobless, Ann returns to her hometown to live with her anxious family and to re-group.
Luckily, Ann gets another chance to prove her journalistic killer instinct: the reclusive hollywood heart-throb she failed to interview first time around checks into a hospital in her home town. Hungering to prove herself, Ann signs up as a volunteer to get close to him. Up until now, SOME NERVE has been laugh-out-loud funny, fast and entertaining; while it continues to be those things, here it also acquires some bittersweet depth. As Ann chases after the actor's story, she also begins to look closely at the other patients. Some her cynicism slackens, and Ann becomes softer and more real to readers. Not only does she fall for Malcolm, but she overcomes many of her fears by providing comfort to the sick; in helping the needy, she begins to find herself.
For me, this part of the book really transcended the fun and fast beginning (which I also loved), and became bigger than what I expected. Ultimately, Ann had to decide between her career and love, and it's a real mystery which she picks. While she felt like a fun friend before, I actually began to care about her character on a higher level when she's volunteering at the hospital and discovering herself.
SOME NERVE is light-hearted and a fun ride, but deals with some issues that set it apart from other similar reads. All in all, I loved it, and will definitely be recommending it to friends-- 4 1/2 stars!”
Avon Books wrote this review Sunday, November 11 2007.
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