Minnesota - Present Day

Mimi Olson is your quintessential slacker -- a forty-one year-old slacker, that is. She's never had any real responsibilities in her life, and Mimi is very content with that. Apparently fate has other ideas, and in its infinite wisdom decides to drop a huge bombshell into Mimi's lap. Turns out she's pregnant. Now, all of a sudden, she's bombarded with a number of obligations, from her pregnancy to trying to find the new matriarch for her family's summer vacation spot, Chez Ducky. Tradition states that the eldest woman in the family takes over the job, but Mimi's Great-Aunt Birgie isn't interested in taking over, either. And for some reason, they're all looking to Mimi to take charge. Yeah, right.

While on his way up to visit his estranged son, Prescott, overachiever Joe Tierney changes a tire and rescues a very muddy, and very naked, woman from the woods, all in one day. Instantly fascinated by the bohemian Mimi Olson, he also can't help but be concerned with just what kind of people Prescott has surrounded himself with. There are definitely some strange birds at Chez Ducky. The question is, will Joe become one of them?

What happens when a woman with no responsibilities falls for a man who has taken on way too many? That's the outline for Connie Brockway's latest, as Mimi and Joe find themselves reevaluating the way they look at themselves, and others. Now, the first half of this book started out great; an eccentric female lead, a straight-laced male counterpart, and the crazy relatives that dwell at Chez Ducky. But halfway through the book, the tone changed from lighthearted to serious, and I found myself struggling to finish. That's not to say that SKINNY DIPPING is a bad book or anything. On the contrary, it's quite a witty tale. Mimi's evolution, which I heartily agree was needed, made for a more sober atmosphere, and I missed the cheery characters and their jovial attitudes from the first few chapters. Still, SKINNY DIPPING shouldn't be overlooked for that reason, because at its heart, it's a sweet and funny novel.

Courtney Michelle