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Book Review: Down and Out in Bugtussle by Stephanie McAfee

I received a copy of Down and Out in Bugtussle by Stephanie McAfee in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
With her fiancé now her ex-fiancé, Ace has hightailed it back to Bugtussle, Mississippi, and back to her Gramma Jones’s house. Her best friends, Lilly and Chloe, are delighted she’s back, but Ace still has some challenges ahead of her.

For one thing, her replacement as Bugtussle High School’s art teacher, Cameron Becker, refuses to vacate the position. So Ace is stuck working as a substitute teacher while harboring fantasies of running Miss Becker out of town. On top of that, Lilly and Chloe are obsessed with setting her up on less-than-romantic blind dates—even though all she wants is a break from her pitiful love life.

To ease her troubled mind, Ace resolves to restore her grandmother’s gardens to their former glory. But in the well-worn gardening book she’s dug out of her grandmother’s attic there are a series of suspicious notes that indicate her grandmother may have had a special someone in her past. Now, with her faithful chiweenie, Buster Loo, by her side, Ace is determined to get to the bottom of her grandmother’s secret life, all the while hoping her own life isn’t about to implode….
Review:
I’ve been having a lot of fun read Ace’s series, and I was just as excited to get to Down and Out in Bugtussle. I wondered how Ace was going to be now that she is back in Bugtussle after fleeing her seemingly-charmed life in Florida. I supported her decision in moving but was still curious how the pieces would fall into place for her. With the same wit, charm, and crass that readers are sure to know and love by now, Ace’s journey will continue to keep you laughing through it all. From trying to get her job back to being made over into an eighties chick, Ace also takes on uncovering her grandmother’s secrets and trying to find love…kind of. Such a fun series and I hope there is more!
4 stars

More reviews from this series…
My 5 star review for Diary of a Mad Fat Girl!
My 5 star review for Happily Ever Madder!

I received a copy of Down and Out in Bugtussle by Stephanie McAfee in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
With her fiancé now her ex-fiancé, Ace has hightailed it back to Bugtussle, Mississippi, and back to her Gramma Jones’s house. Her best friends, Lilly and Chloe, are delighted she’s back, but Ace still has some challenges ahead of her.

For one thing, her replacement as Bugtussle High School’s art teacher, Cameron Becker, refuses to vacate the position. So Ace is stuck working as a substitute teacher while harboring fantasies of running Miss Becker out of town. On top of that, Lilly and Chloe are obsessed with setting her up on less-than-romantic blind dates—even though all she wants is a break from her pitiful love life.

To ease her troubled mind, Ace resolves to restore her grandmother’s gardens to their former glory. But in the well-worn gardening book she’s dug out of her grandmother’s attic there are a series of suspicious notes that indicate her grandmother may have had a special someone in her past. Now, with her faithful chiweenie, Buster Loo, by her side, Ace is determined to get to the bottom of her grandmother’s secret life, all the while hoping her own life isn’t about to implode….
Review:
I’ve been having a lot of fun read Ace’s series, and I was just as excited to get to Down and Out in Bugtussle. I wondered how Ace was going to be now that she is back in Bugtussle after fleeing her seemingly-charmed life in Florida. I supported her decision in moving but was still curious how the pieces would fall into place for her. With the same wit, charm, and crass that readers are sure to know and love by now, Ace’s journey will continue to keep you laughing through it all. From trying to get her job back to being made over into an eighties chick, Ace also takes on uncovering her grandmother’s secrets and trying to find love…kind of. Such a fun series and I hope there is more!
4 stars

More reviews from this series…
My 5 star review for Diary of a Mad Fat Girl!
My 5 star review for Happily Ever Madder!

Happily Ever Madder by Stephanie McAfee

I recently reviewed Diary of a Mad Fat Girl by Stephanie McAfee and shared my excitement about reading the sequel. These are some seriously funny books, and chick lit fans need to snap these up! Happily Ever Madder picks up in Ace’s new town of Pelican Cove, Florida. She has left behind her native Bugtussle, Mississippi to start a new life with fiancé Mason and a new career – opening her own art gallery. She also had made a deal with herself – to get a new attitude. She is going to chuck away the straight-talking, sassy woman she once was and be a kinder, gentler version of Ace Jones. But with all the obstacles thrown her way in Pelican Cove, will the old Ace come to the surface – and can she really find true happiness at last?
I have to start with the ending – the cliffhanger literally made me shout out loud, loud enough for my fiancé to chuck his earbuds out and stare at me in shock. I am so excited to read the third book and figure out what happens to Ace. I really enjoyed the new cast of characters in this book, and how well the ones from the first book seamlessly slipped in. Ace is clearly struggling with a lot in Pelican Cove – getting on with Mason, her art gallery possibly being a bust, and a strange connection with the town player all being up there. But it’s the collision with Mrs. Lenore Kennashaw that really had me in stitches. I loved when Ace decided to chuck her nice-girl plan and finally get back at the wretched Lenore – the plan was genius! This book is written with humor but still a lot of feeling, and I have to give this sequel a big 5 stars!
[Rating: 5]

Diary of a Mad Fat Girl by Stephanie McAfee

I received a copy of Diary of a Mad Fat Girl in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Graciela “Ace” Jones is mad-mad at her best friend Lilly who cancels their annual trip to Panama City for mysterious reasons; at her boss Catherine for “riding her ass like a fat lady on a Rascal scooter;” at her friend Chloe’s abusive husband; and especially at Mason McKenzie, the love of her life, who has shown up with a marriage proposal one year too late. Ace is never mad, though, at her near-constant companion, an adorable chiweenie dog named Buster Loo.
Ace’s anger begins to dissipate as she takes matters into her own hands to take down Chloe’s philandering husband-and to get to the bottom of a multitude of other scandals plaguing Bugtussle, Mississippi. Then, she starts to realize that maybe Mason deserves a second chance after all.
With a sharp and distinctive voice, Stephanie McAfee delivers a hilarious and fast-paced tale about Ace Jones and her two best friends-thick as thieves and tough as nails-navigating Southern small-town politics and prejudices, finding love, and standing up for each other all the way.
My Review:
What a hoot! The concept reeled me in, the execution was flawless, and I loved all the Southern talk. I swear, I think in a past life I was a southern belle, because I am just addicted to these types of books! Ace was a hysterical main character, and I enjoyed every minute of going on an adventure with her. I loved Bugtussle, Mississippi and the characters that filled the town. And Buster Loo? I am seriously trying to persuade my fiancé to let me name our future pup after this chiweenie. (Would probably work better if we didn’t live in Iowa.) This is a must-read, and I am just as ecstatic to currently be reading the sequel, Happily Ever Madder!
[Rating: 5]