Following the death of her mother, Andi Wolkowicz moves from Chicago back to her hometown of Plainview to help her father take care of her twin sister Jelly. The economy is tight and rather than trying to find a job in the small town, she decides to open her own business in the old car wash building her father owns. Specifically, Bikini Car Wash business. Customers line up down the street on her first day open, but her little venture is not met with bright smiles from everyone. The major opposition comes from Guthrie's Grocery Store, which is right next to her car wash. Hank Guthrie thinks the car wash is complete scandal, but his son Pete thinks this may be the best thing to happen to Plainview (and him!) in a rather long time.I have very much enjoyed Pamela Morsi's books, ever since Bitsy's Bait and BBQ was released by Mira in 2007 and Red's Hot Honky-Tonk Bar in 2009. The Bikini Car Wash is along the same veins in that it is a woman owning and operating her own place of business, but this book did not live up to the magic of the previous two. It was the same breezy romance with a strong woman story, but I felt it moved a little slowly.
That having been said, The Bikini Car Wash is one of those feels-like-it-really-could-have-happened stories. I was totally rooting for the bikini car wash to succeed, as if it were my personal friends and my corner near the grocery store! Pete Guthrie was quite a romantic man. And I liked the very real people from around town, like the conservative old biddies and the blue-haired Cher-L. I thought the ever-changing point of view was at times a little distracting. I couldn't really get deep into any of the characters and didn't feel that any of them were truly developed. I would have liked to spend more time inside the head of Andi or Pete, instead of Andi's Dad or Jelly. All in all though, it was a cute story - one that you could pass around to your friends and exchange your own thoughts on the idea of a bikini car wash.
Overall Rating: 4 Stars
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