Helpful Score: 4
Runabout is a nice change of pace from the usual meet-cute or meet-him/hate-him/fall-in-love-with-him romance. Pamela Morsi can almost always be counted on to write good characters as well as a good story, and she doesn't disappoint here. Tulsa May Bruder is the town wallflower, and has just been jilted by her fiance at the altar. Sympathetically, her longtime friend Luther Briggs offers to pretend to be courting her so the town will stop feeling sorry for her. She agrees--and they both find out quite soon how quickly _pretending_ to be in love can turn into the real thing. Tulsa May (Tulsy) is an utterly charming heroine, not gorgeous, but not nearly as ugly as she thinks she is, and Luther is every girl's dream male friend. Their blossoming love is true-to-life, and completely believable. The other subplots--Luther's younger brother's puppy love for the most spoiled brat in town, and the town doctor's unexpected match--are also interesting, while not distracting from Tulsy and Luther. And the villains, such as they are, aren't totally bad or evil, just not understanding Luther and Tulsy's relationship. "Runabout" is a sequel of sorts to "Wild Oats", but you don't really need to read "Wild Oats" to understand the characters. Tulsy is every girl who discovers that her best friend has potential to be more, and Luther is any man who realizes that the girl for him is right under his nose.
