Betsy Wickwire's Dirty Secret by Vicki Grant

Betsy Wickwire's Dirty Secret by Vicki Grant
Release Date – August, 2011
Publisher – HarperCollins
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 288
My Rating- 8/10
Obtained - from HarperCollins for an honest review (thanks Shannon)

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Betsy’s life is officially over: Dumped by her boyfriend, betrayed by her best friend . . . how is she ever going to show her face again?

Determined to avoid everyone and everything from her previous life, Betsy stumbles into an unusual café and an even more unusual girl. Dolores Morris—a mouthy, green-haired outsider Betsy can’t quite remember from school—talks her into starting a cleaning service. Before she knows it, Betsy is down on her knees, dressed like a dust bunny, scrubbing strangers’ toilets.

It’s a long way for the most popular girl in school to have fallen. But Betsy finds comfort in the wine bottles and prescriptions and other dirty secrets she finds hidden in her clients’ homes. She also finds love with a client’s son, friendship with Dolores and a liberated sense of herself. Her new life soon falls apart, though, when valuables begin to go missing from some of the homes she and Dolores have been cleaning. Betsy discovers the hard way that not all dirty secrets can just be swept under the rug.

I had read a whole bunch of more serious, intense reads and was looking for something lighter. This arrived in my mailbox and I was eager to dive right in because it sounded like exactly what I needed. I got a funny, charming read that was an instant pick me up. I also wanted to add more books set in Canada to my list and was thrilled to see that this took place in Halifax.

Betsy Wickwire is a character that I really enjoyed. I felt for her when she discovers the betrayal of her boyfriend and best friend. I felt I could really relate to her as I have been in a similar position. I loved the character growth she had throughout the novel. She provided a lot of the funniest moments. Her reactions to cleaning were hilarious, and her first meeting with Murdoch made me laugh out loud.

Dolores was another character I really liked. She was quirky and I loved her different outfits. She was exactly the type of friend Betsy needed when she met her.

Murdoch was another example of a character being exactly what Betsy needed at the time. He’s sweet, geeky in the most adorable way, and the romance is cute without being over sappy.

I liked the light tone of the book, even when dealing with more serious issues. It was a great balance between the comedic part and the series parts. Vicki really makes you feel for these characters and understand their motivations. Often in “female literature” the characters are one dimensional and more a means to the story than important to it. Vicki makes each character unique and interesting.

Betsy Wickwire is a fun, cute summer read that would go perfectly with a day at the beach and a nice Piña colada. Don’t be surprised if you are smiling after you’ve read it!