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Book Review of Bitsy's Bait & BBQ (That Business Between Us, Bk 2)

Bitsy's Bait & BBQ (That Business Between Us, Bk 2)
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This delightful book is peopled with an assortment of off-beat characters that just happened to live in the Ozarks. Because the town is so small, everyone does double duty; Curt is both mailman and minister, the school principal is also the town's only real estate agent.

I fell in love with the town immediately; the main characters - not so much. This is really the story of the changing relationship between a pair of sisters. Emma, who wants to be an anthropologist, has put her life on hold several times in order to raise and then help Katy get re-established (after her marriage to Sean Dodson failed).

I couldn't get a handle on Katy; she seemed to be a strange mix of joy (in spite of overwhelming problems), naiveté and faith that she would find a great place for herself and Josh (her 5 year-old son) to settle into permanently . I thought she needed to absorb some of Emma's cynical level-headedness. By the end of the story, Katy was showing significant growth.

Katy spent her entire divorce settlement buying "Bitsy's B & B" in Warbler Lake, Missouri. She purchased (what she thought was a bed-and-breakfast) on an eBay auction ... sight unseen. When Emma, Josh and Kate arrive, the property turns out to be a run-down `bait-and-BBQ' disaster. Although Emma knows the best plan is to return to St. Louis, the sisters roll up their sleeves and start cleaning.

After showing no interest in Josh for 5 years, along comes the ex-husband Sean - and his mother, Gwen. It is very easy to hate Sean's mother; she's the controlling, dictatorial CEO of a large regional business (left to her by her late husband - and Sean's father).

Gwen helped split Sean and Katy years ago; now she wants guardianship of her grandson, Josh. After looking at the dismal job she did with Sean, I was underwhelmed by the possibility that Gwen would win custody of Josh.

Katy's reaction to Sean is certainly in keeping with her character; however, is she setting herself up for another disaster? I wasn't impressed with Sean or Gwen; by the end, I still wasn't sure that Sean had matured enough to make a lifetime commitment to anyone or anything.