Cocktail Society Book Club Read: Georgia On My Mind – Marie Force

Georgia On My Mind by Marie Force
Series:
Release Date:  September 27, 2011
Publisher:  Marie Force
Page Count:
This Month’s Host:    Shannon from Cocktails and Books
This Month’s Cocktail:  Georgia Peach

Ingredients:
– Vodka
– 1 oz Peach Schnapps
– 4 oz Lemonade
– 1/2 oz Grenadine
Garnish: Peach slice (optional)

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a martini glass. Garnish with peach slice.

About the book

Since Georgie Quinn’s mother died after a brief illness, the highlight of her life has become “jogger stalking” every morning with her roommates Tess and Cat. Stuck running the senior center her mother founded in Newport, RI, until a replacement director is found, Georgie dreams of returning to her glamorous life in Atlanta. As that life begins to unravel, she discovers a whole new one in Newport where the jogger turns out to be sexy detective and tree hugger Nathan Caldwell. Determined to get her mind off her many problems—including a possible threat to her own health—Georgie indulges in what she intends to be a no-holds-barred one-night stand with Nathan. Unfortunately, Nathan has other ideas and sets out to have a relationship with her. Tess, on the run from an abusive husband, and Cat, who raised her younger brother and sister, hook up with Nathan’s brothers, Ben, an injured Iraqi war veteran, and Ian, a single-father and talented musician. Add a zany cast of seniors who seem determined to drive Georgie slowly mad with their never-ending needs and comparisons to her sainted mother, and you’ve got the ingredients for a fast-paced, often comical, emotional journey that leads Georgie straight to the home of her heart.

The Host’s thoughts
I don’t think I’ve ever come across a Marie Force book that I did not love.  Some I love more than others, but  I still love them all the same.  This one did not disappoint.

Marie has this knack for creating characters that a reader can relate to.  They aren’t barbies with the perfect hair, perfect body types, etc.  Instead they are wonderfully flawed just like the rest of us.

Georgie, Cat and Tess all live together in Georgie’s mother’s house. Each of them has their own demons they’re fighting, but they have each other and have become close in the short amount of time they’ve lived together.  Each morning, the three of them gather on the front porch to watch “Jogger Man” run past the house in all his sweaty glory.

Georgie thinks he’s incredibly hot, but she doesn’t have time to do more than that while dealing with her mother’s estate, worry about her chances to carry the breast cancer gene and finding her mother’s replacement at the Senior Center so she can go back to her life in Atlanta.  The last thing she’s expecting was to get reprimanded on the effects styrofoam has on our environment or for that person to be “Jogger Man”, Nathan Caldwell.

From that illustrious meeting, Georgie and Nathan pull their friends and brothers down the path of romance.  Half the group fights the romance, while the other half jump in with both feet but in the end all of them learn the lesson of what it means to have that someone you can’t live without.

So what were your thoughts about the book? 

• Which was your favorite couple?
• If you were Georgie, would you have taken the test?
• What did you think of Ben’s reaction to Tess’s situation?
• If you were Cat, would you have made the same decisions about Ian?

Jump in and comment below.  I’m sure it proves to be a lively conversation!