Stress and the City by Stephanie Rowe (Throwback Review)

This review is a throwback review. This it’s a bit shorter than I normally write, but I wanted to hit the major points and keep it short and sweet. Enjoy.

I found this book in the Walmart and I begged my mom to buy it for me. (I was thirteen at the time.) Part of the appeal of this book at the time was I thought it was going to be like Sex and the City but with less sex. And I wasn’t entirely wrong, but it was nothing like I thought it would be, it was better. 

To give a quick recap, Cassie is a stress consultant whose fiance’ cheated on just before the wedding. But instead of crying her eyes out and hiding from the world, she went on her honeymoon, alone. Just to stick it to him. However, when she returns, everyone doubts her resolve, including her slimeball ex, Drew. So Cassie is left with no choice but to kiss the first man she runs into and what a kiss it was. Drew-be-gone, Cassie can now focus on her work, except her first client is none other than the man she kissed at that New Year’s Eve party. But Cassie is determined to do her job, no matter how she feels. And especially no matter how Ty, her client, feels. 

Of course hijinks ensue. You know the usual, trespassing, showing up unannounced, pushing Ty past his comfort zone, working his last nerve, sniffing his cologne too much, falling in love. Yet what I love about this book was that it didn’t feel campy, cliche or fake. Cassie legit tries to do her job and help him destress and organize his life, preparing for the arrival of his fiance’. (Yep, he’s engaged. Throw that complication into the mix.) However, as she gets him together, he loosens up and she can see how kind and loving and caring he is, and wishes she could find someone like him. Instead of wasting all her time on that loser Drew. With Ty, Cassie feels safe, cared for, even loved. Although Cassie works his last nerve, Ty finds that he can let his guard down and even relax around Cassie. Hell, he even has fun with her. But most importantly, he learns that taking care of people shouldn’t feel like an overwhelming responsibility, but a desire to want to do so. 

I’ve read this book so many times, the pages have frayed and I’ve had to tape the cover back onto it. But that just goes to show how good this book is and how much I love it. This is the book that really got me thinking about writing professionally. While there were elements of this book that weren’t so realistic, Cassie and Ty were believable for their characters and you could feel their love have time to develop and become real. And I think that’s the most important thing a book could do for its reader, make them believe. I’d highly recommend you check out Stress and the City. You will not be disappointed.