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Title details for Charming Grace by Deborah Smith - Available

Charming Grace

by Deborah Smith
William Dufris
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available

A slumbering Georgia community almost chokes on their mint juleps when Hollywood calls to film the true-life (and death) story of a heroic local lawman. Aside from the chaos that trails in the movie-makers' wakes, one person has a very private reason for not wanting the intimate details of the gentleman's life-story revealed-his widow, Grace. So begins her inventive, comic crusade to obstruct proceedings, aided and abetted by a cast of quirky eccentrics, including the movie star's personal bodyguard, and a good-hearted ex-con with a private tragedy of his own. But, amidst the hi-jinks, nobody is prepared for the heartbreaking secrets that are finally revealed; secrets that will change all of them-hero, heroine, and movie star-forever.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    October 22, 2007

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780792752035
      • File size: 381658 KB
      • Duration: 13:15:07

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Readers William Dufris and Moira Driscoll share performing duties in this story of a widow's attempt to halt the production of a movie about her hero husband. Dufris and Driscoll alternate narrative passages. Driscoll offers convincing portrayals of the 35-year-old widow and her grandmother, both Georgia belles; a 20-something niece from Detroit; and a silicone-enriched, abrasive stunt-woman from New Jersey. Dufris's cast includes the Louisiana protagonist, his convict brother, a New Jersey film hunk, and the hunk's son. All of them sound real enough to convince the listener that the narrating cast contains many actors. This audio production raises an average story to a level far higher than that of the printed book. R.P.L. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      February 2, 2004
      Smith's beguiling brand of Southern contemporary romance (Sweet Hush
      , etc.) takes a satirical turn in her ninth novel. When Schwarzeneggeresque action star Stone Senterra arrives in Dahlonega, Ga., the only thing standing in the way of his making a film about real-life local hero Harper Vance is Vance's ex–beauty queen widow armed with a truckload of gravel, a potted orchid named "Dancer" and a will of steel. Charming Grace stops at nothing to ensure that her husband's memory does not become fodder for yet another bad movie. Having defied her wealthy father to befriend and then marry the backwoods bad boy turned GBI (Georgia Bureau of Investigation) agent, she is more than ready to face down Hollywood. What she isn't prepared for are the feelings aroused by Senterra's troubleshooting bodyguard, Cajun-born ex-con Boone Noleene, like Vance a gallant-hearted tough guy and like Senterra abandoned by his father at an early age. The novel alternates points of view: first we hear from the rebel belle, then from the brash bodyguard. The battling duo are backed up by a larger-than-life cast of secondary characters, including Senterra's baby sister co-star, Diamond, voted sexiest movie babe by Gun and Knife
      magazine, and Senterra's son the computer geek, who falls for Grace's black niece from Detroit. Smith blends Southern charm and Hollywood brass, kicking up the satire with Stone's script notes, full of clichés, paranoia and celluloid-deep emotion. Her unflagging energy, forgiving spirit and mischievous imagination compel the reader to delight with her in the frailty of heroes on-screen and off, proving that Smith is one romance novelist who just keeps getting better. (Feb.)

      Forecast:
      Smith's spirited blend of humor and romance should bump her up another notch on bestseller lists.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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