Book Review: St. Anne's Day

St. Anne's Day
by Janice Lane Palko, 2012

Just in time for St. Anne's feastday (July 26th) comes "St. Anne's Day," a debut romance novel by Janice Lane Palko. Anne Lyons is a fiery-tempered twenty-nine year old nurse and has no interest in meeting a man when she is hired by handsome bar owner Gerry McMaster to care for his mother, Peg, who is recovering from triple-bypass surgery.

The older woman and Anne quickly bond and she encourages Anne to start praying to St. Anne, "Dear St. Anne, get me a man as fast as you can." She had prayed that prayer to find her own husband and trusts in its power. St. Anne seems to quickly get on the case as men start knocking on Anne's door. There is Luis, the cook at the bar, who flirts with her and even names a dish after her. There is Craig Love, a former classmate and plastic surgeon who comes back into the picture, and then there is womanizer Gerry, who is all wrong for her, but who dominates her thoughts.

This is a fun read - there were several times in which I was laughing out loud, especially at some of the things that come out of Peg's mouth. There are also several issues, such as abortion, dating abuse, premarital sex, and respect for those who are different, which are handled very well.  The only caveat I would offer is that there are some sexual innuendo and jokes in the book, which may offend some. Overall, however, I really enjoyed this story. It provided some great escapism and I was eager to see how St. Anne would help Anne find the right man for her. 


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