Spring Fever, by Mary Kay Andrews

Mary Kay Andrews's novels are the modern-romance equivalent of a plain cake doughnut: unexciting, yet undeniably tasty. Her latest effort, 2012's Spring Fever, is the story of Annajane Hudgens, a sweet-tempered advertising executive carrying a not-totally-extinguished torch for her ex-husband (and current boss), Northern Carolina businessman Mason Bayless. They've both seemingly moved on with their lives, but when Mason's wedding to another woman is called off in the middle of the ceremony, Annajane realizes he isn't as over their relationship as he pretends to be, either.

Most of the plot twists featured in Spring Fever are telegraphed early, but that's fine—the reassuring predictability of books like this is part of their charm. Annajane is a warm, sympathetic protagonist, and the supporting cast consists of an assortment of well-written romantic-comedy standards: the snarky best friend, the evil-down-to-her-couture-heels antagonist, the mother-in-law from hell, the impish child, etc. Any romance fan has met these characters a million times before, but they're classics for good reason.

Unfortunately, Annajane's love interest is equally familiar, but much less charming. [Minor spoilers ahead.] I've been reading stories about men demanding blind trust from their wives ever since I picked up my first collection of fairy tales, but Mason's behavior during his marriage to Annajane (and shortly after it) was bone-deep stupid. I am never going to find the sentiment “If you truly loved me, you wouldn't ask me to explain my ridiculously shady behavior” romantic. Admittedly, Mason wasn't irritating enough to turn me off Spring Fever entirely, but I sincerely wish Ms. Andrews had refrained from making his asinine behavior such a central point of the novel.

Review based on publisher-provided copy.