Book Review: "Stealing Adda" by Tamara Leigh

I nearly cried from laughing!

Adda Sinclair is a best selling romance novelist who's hit a stumbling block. She's due to publish a new novel but she can't come up with anything new to write. Her lack of inspiration may be due to her writing nemesis "Stick Woman" stealing her husband away from her. She does however manage to catch the eye of a new publisher who may have more than just a novel interest in her. With a new potential boyfriend and a new contract in the works, Adda seems to be able to start writing again. But then Stick Woman accuses her of plagiarizing her works (when really it's the other way around) and Adda is forced to lay low. Will this be the end of her writing career and her new relationship?

This was one of the funniest chick lit books I've read. Tamara Leigh has definitely made her mark in the Christian chick lit scene and she's become one of my new favorite authors. The story is wonderfully written, fresh, hip and informative. I really felt for Adda as she has to put up with her writing rival who is also her ex-husband's new wife. I could not stand those two and what they did to her. I think this may be the first (and probably only time) that I've seen the name Dick used as an insult in a Christian fiction book but not in a bad way (if you get what I'm saying). I cracked up during that scene. I will admit that she handled the situations a lot better than I would. The relationship with Nick was wonderful, I absolutely loved the chemistry between them. I enjoyed reading about what it's like to be an author. It was fun learning about the writing process, the brainstorming, the writer's block. I also liked reading about what it's like to be on the bestseller's list and attending conferences.

What I found most interesting was after reading this book, I was searching online and came across an article involving two major romance novelists. The story was the same where one writer plagiarized the other's works. However I don't think they had quite the same experiences that Adda vs. Stick Woman did! This is a fast paced book that you won't want to stop reading. There's lots of laughs in this book so I wouldn't recommend reading it in public because people are going to look at you strange for cracking up in the middle of reading. VERY highly recommended.

Stealing Adda by Tamara Leigh is published by NavPress (2006)