Odd Mom Out
I’ve just finished reading Odd Mom Out by Jane Porter. To be honest, until I received a copy of one of her latest novels, Mrs. Perfect, to review, I hadn’t heard of Jane Porter. After absolutely loving Porter’s writing style in Mrs. Perfect, I wanted to read more and bought Odd Mom Out. I wasn’t disappointed.
Maybe if I read Harlequin novels I wouldn’t have been so clueless about Jane Porter because she’s written 22 novels for Harlequin since 2000 (this week’s count). That’s in addition to her four “chick lit” novels: The Frog Prince, Flirting With 40, Odd Mom Out, and Mrs. Perfect.
This Jane Porter shouldn’t be confused with the Jane Porter who wrote The Scottish Chiefs in 1810.
When I began reading Odd Mom Out, I was disappointed that I hadn’t read it before Mrs. Perfect. Mrs. Perfect is told from the perspective of Taylor Young, one of the key characters in Odd Mom Out, a woman who is the complete opposite of Marta Zinsser, the “odd mom” in this novel. As I read more, I realized that each book tracked events fairly close to the same timeframe so it didn’t matter which book I read first.
Did I mention that I thoroughly enjoyed reading these books? Call me a sucker for the happy ending type of romance. I don’t think I’m giving anything away by saying that these books ended as I wanted them to although I was disappointed when they ended. I hope Porter is writing another novel for those of us who want ”the rest of the story” of Marta and Luke.
Odd Mom Out is the story of business owner and advertising executive Marta Zinsser, a single mother. Her ten-year-old daughter, Eva, conceived through artificial insemination, is desperate to fit in and be liked by the ”popular” girls in school. Unfortunately, with a single mom who’s nothing like the other kids’ perfect moms, she’s pretty much the odd kid out.
Marta’s quirkiness wasn’t an issue when she lived and worked in New York City but in the elite Seattle suburb she’s moved to in order to be closer to her aging parents, she alienates the perfect moms with her combat boots, Harley hog, restored pick-up truck, and lack of a husband. Taylor Young is the most perfect mom and her daughter Jemma is the most popular girl in Eva’s classes. Neither Taylor nor Jemma think Marta or Eva belong in their social circle and they’re not shy about letting their feelings be known and, as is usually the case, the rest of the “in” crowd follows along. Marta could care less; Eva is heartbroken.
On the love side, Marta’s last romance, more than ten years ago, has left her not trusting any man. Enter Luke, the hunk who makes her knees weak.
If you enjoy sappy romance novels with happy endings–pure escapist reading–get yourself a copy of Odd Mom Out by Jane Porter. If you’ve never heard of her, she may just become one of your favorite novelists as she has become one of mine.