Love Handles by Gretchen Galway

The book actually didn't start out too badly, reasonable introduction to the characters and we get to see Beverley being a wreck at the end of the school year saying goodbye to her pre-schoolers.  Unfortunately, from the moment she moves out to take her place at the helm of Fite Fitness it all deteriorates rather rapidly in to quite a dull read with nothing to really recommend it.

The romance angle is over wrought, initially it had legs with the push and pull between Bev and Liam(?) but then it falls quickly in to soul searching cliche on both sides which just becomes annoying.  The housebreaking and sabotage of the presentation by an unknown perpetrator is just there with no building of tension about why it is happening and who is responsible; even worse the characters seem to shrug it off as being no big deal.  As for Bev she is quite simply too nice to be true.  I suppose that's why she was a pre-school educator because only really, really sweet and nice people can work with children - she certainly seems to use bribery to get her own way which is more manipulative than nice but whatever.

The inner workings of a fashion house were quite interesting but little time is spent on this which is a pity as they were the best bits of the book.  Overall it is just a series of set pieces and woe-is-me moments stapled together until we can get to the Happy Ending where Bev completely changes herself from Couch Potato to Fitness and Business Guru to get her man - bleuurrrgghhh.