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When A Pretty Woman Smiles
Hot-shot adman and womanizer Tony Rice is steamed. His high-powered Manhattan agency has bought into a dubious Time Magazine premise that Americans are yearning for the simple life and a return to small town values. So Tony and a cadre of staffers are sent on a secret mission to do six weeks of undercover research in a scientifically selected town in rural Iowa. Not exactly his dream assignment, but within his first few days in sleepy little Maddox, Tony has set about romancing both sexy Martina and lovely Laurel with a continuing series of wild lies.
When he and his cohorts finally bring their data back to New York, the usually fickle Tony finds he’s fallen hard for one of those gals back in Iowa. But when he quits his job and returns to what he hopes will be open arms, Tony finds only rejection from a woman who says she will never abide his deceit. So now what? With his life in a shambles, and the woman he loves about to marry someone else, Tony must do nothing less than reconstruct himself and fix his flawed and broken heart.
When he and his cohorts finally bring their data back to New York, the usually fickle Tony finds he’s fallen hard for one of those gals back in Iowa. But when he quits his job and returns to what he hopes will be open arms, Tony finds only rejection from a woman who says she will never abide his deceit. So now what? With his life in a shambles, and the woman he loves about to marry someone else, Tony must do nothing less than reconstruct himself and fix his flawed and broken heart.
246 pages, Paperback
First published January 21, 2014
About the author
T.V. LoCicero
18 books199 followersT.V. LoCicero has been writing both fiction and non-fiction across five decades. Several of his books have been named Awesome Indies.
He's the author of the true crime books Murder in the Synagogue (Prentice-Hall), on the assassination of Rabbi Morris Adler, and Squelched: The Suppression of Murder in the Synagogue. His novels include the coming-of-age story Sicilian Quilt, the romance When A Pretty Woman Smiles, and the crime thrillers Babytrick, The Car Bomb and Admission of Guilt (The detroit im dyin Trilogy), and The Obsession and The Disappearance (the first two books in The Truth Beauty Trilogy). His collection of short fiction and non-fiction, Coming Up Short , includes stories and essays he has published in various periodicals, including Commentary, Ms. and The University Review, and in the hard-cover collections Best Magazine Articles, The Norton Reader and The Third Coast.
About what he calls his “checkered past,” LoCicero says:
“At one time or another I've found work as an industrial spy; a producer of concert videos for Rolling Stone's greatest singer of all time; one of the few male contributors to Gloria Steinem's Ms. Magazine; a writer of an appellate brief for those convicted in one of Detroit's most sensational drug trials; the author of a true crime book that garnered a bigger advance than a top ten best-selling American novel; a project coordinator/fundraiser for a humanities council; a small business owner; the writer/producer/director of numerous long-form documentaries; a golf course clerk; a college instructor who taught courses in advanced composition, music and poetry appreciation, introduction to philosophy, remedial English, and American Literature--all in the same term; a ghostwriter; a maker of corporate/industrial videos; a member of a highway surveying crew; a speechwriter for auto executives; a TV producer of live event specials; an editorial writer; the creator of 15-second corporate promos for the PBS series Nature; and a novelist.
“There is a sense in which that last occupation was the reason for all the others. Almost anyone who's ever tried to make ends meet as a novelist knows what I'm talking about.”
He's the author of the true crime books Murder in the Synagogue (Prentice-Hall), on the assassination of Rabbi Morris Adler, and Squelched: The Suppression of Murder in the Synagogue. His novels include the coming-of-age story Sicilian Quilt, the romance When A Pretty Woman Smiles, and the crime thrillers Babytrick, The Car Bomb and Admission of Guilt (The detroit im dyin Trilogy), and The Obsession and The Disappearance (the first two books in The Truth Beauty Trilogy). His collection of short fiction and non-fiction, Coming Up Short , includes stories and essays he has published in various periodicals, including Commentary, Ms. and The University Review, and in the hard-cover collections Best Magazine Articles, The Norton Reader and The Third Coast.
About what he calls his “checkered past,” LoCicero says:
“At one time or another I've found work as an industrial spy; a producer of concert videos for Rolling Stone's greatest singer of all time; one of the few male contributors to Gloria Steinem's Ms. Magazine; a writer of an appellate brief for those convicted in one of Detroit's most sensational drug trials; the author of a true crime book that garnered a bigger advance than a top ten best-selling American novel; a project coordinator/fundraiser for a humanities council; a small business owner; the writer/producer/director of numerous long-form documentaries; a golf course clerk; a college instructor who taught courses in advanced composition, music and poetry appreciation, introduction to philosophy, remedial English, and American Literature--all in the same term; a ghostwriter; a maker of corporate/industrial videos; a member of a highway surveying crew; a speechwriter for auto executives; a TV producer of live event specials; an editorial writer; the creator of 15-second corporate promos for the PBS series Nature; and a novelist.
“There is a sense in which that last occupation was the reason for all the others. Almost anyone who's ever tried to make ends meet as a novelist knows what I'm talking about.”
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 31, 2016
Tony Rice is very successful at his job and making women weak in the knees. And he doesn't feel happy, when his Manhattan agency sends him and 5 other staffers to a simple little town Maddox. They are there to research and find out, what are the priorities of their citizens. I like this idea. Living in the city can be very superficial and overwhelming. It can leave you feeling very alone, empty and ignored. They definitely notice you in a small town. Which can be a bad thing in some occasions. But still… I think it's nice when you have real conversations with people. Maybe my image of living in a little, sleepy town is too nostalgic and unreal, who knows, but I really enjoyed just the thought of moving out of the big city.
May 24, 2018
With this novel, I believe I have read T.V. LoCicero’s oeuvre in its entirety. Therefore, I have extensive knowledge of the fact that this is an author who can write across genres with ease. He writes expository prose (i.e. Murder in the Synagogue and Squelched), hard-boiled crime fiction (e.g. the Detroit i'm dyin' trilogy, mystery novels with a romantic dimension (The Truth Beauty Trilogy, the last of which is apparently forthcoming), and now this, a straight romance novel. Anything written below I must qualify by mentioning that I’m not a fan of romance novels, and this is the first of the genre I’ve ever read; in other words, I am not exactly qualified to write about this genre of fiction.
That said, I am an English teacher and I know what good writing is, and I like to think that I know the purpose of good fiction, as well as its attributes. So, I can say something about this book, I suppose, and maybe even something insightful and intelligent.
Mr. LoCicero’s first book, the unjustly suppressed Murder in the Synagogue, is in fact a work of nonfiction that synthesizes true crime with social and political analysis—kind of a “true story of the 1960s” that relates the story of a Dostoevskian crime committed at a suburban Detroit synagogue. That book is expository prose at its best, as is the account of the book’s suppression, Squelched. As I’ve said in other reviews of his work, Mr. LoCicero is a master of exposition, and that is certainly true of When a Pretty Woman Smiles. If I can say nothing else about this novel, I can say that the characters are expertly drawn and credible, which I have tended to assume (in ignorance, of course, since I am wholly a stranger to this genre) is not often the case in romance novels—I’m thinking of romance novel cover model and object of desire Fabio as I write this.
In some respects—again, this assertion requires conjecture on my part, since I neither know nor understand this genre—this novel can be read against itself, in terms of its genre conventions. In fact, as the protagonist says to one of the subordinate characters early in the narrative, “Georgie, you’ve got to stop reading that Harlequin s**t.” That suggests to me that this isn’t the run-of-the-mill romance novel, Short of summarizing the plot, which would spoil the story even if done in general terms, I can say only that the story unfolds more like romantic affairs actually do, rather than the way most people would prefer they do.
Finally, I can disclose, without creating a spoiler, that this novel is set in the fictional town of Maddox, Iowa, and involves a culture clash between the denizens of this rural town and some facile Manhattanites. I grew up in the Midwest (to wit, Wisconsin), and I can say confidently that Mr. LoCicero (a native Detroiter himself) captures the rhythms of both rural midwestern speech and life. If you’re a fan of the romance genre, this is a smart, readable book that you would (he says in his ignorance of the genre!) very likely enjoy.
Also: Hollywood? This is the kind of thing that does well for you, both artistically and commercially.
That said, I am an English teacher and I know what good writing is, and I like to think that I know the purpose of good fiction, as well as its attributes. So, I can say something about this book, I suppose, and maybe even something insightful and intelligent.
Mr. LoCicero’s first book, the unjustly suppressed Murder in the Synagogue, is in fact a work of nonfiction that synthesizes true crime with social and political analysis—kind of a “true story of the 1960s” that relates the story of a Dostoevskian crime committed at a suburban Detroit synagogue. That book is expository prose at its best, as is the account of the book’s suppression, Squelched. As I’ve said in other reviews of his work, Mr. LoCicero is a master of exposition, and that is certainly true of When a Pretty Woman Smiles. If I can say nothing else about this novel, I can say that the characters are expertly drawn and credible, which I have tended to assume (in ignorance, of course, since I am wholly a stranger to this genre) is not often the case in romance novels—I’m thinking of romance novel cover model and object of desire Fabio as I write this.
In some respects—again, this assertion requires conjecture on my part, since I neither know nor understand this genre—this novel can be read against itself, in terms of its genre conventions. In fact, as the protagonist says to one of the subordinate characters early in the narrative, “Georgie, you’ve got to stop reading that Harlequin s**t.” That suggests to me that this isn’t the run-of-the-mill romance novel, Short of summarizing the plot, which would spoil the story even if done in general terms, I can say only that the story unfolds more like romantic affairs actually do, rather than the way most people would prefer they do.
Finally, I can disclose, without creating a spoiler, that this novel is set in the fictional town of Maddox, Iowa, and involves a culture clash between the denizens of this rural town and some facile Manhattanites. I grew up in the Midwest (to wit, Wisconsin), and I can say confidently that Mr. LoCicero (a native Detroiter himself) captures the rhythms of both rural midwestern speech and life. If you’re a fan of the romance genre, this is a smart, readable book that you would (he says in his ignorance of the genre!) very likely enjoy.
Also: Hollywood? This is the kind of thing that does well for you, both artistically and commercially.
October 5, 2015
Won on a Goodreads giveaway, the story relates on Tony Rice, an advertising exec assigned by his Manhattan Company to discover the true values of America by going undercover with his team to small town Maddox. This book is really in two parts: the first is Tony simply completing an assignment. He scrapes only the surface of Maddox, not the heart of it. What changes is when he falls for Laurel, the editor of the local paper, The Margin.
The second part of this novel is told from a changed Tony, the one who tries to win the heart of Laurel, failing miserably but discovering the true heart of Maddox. On the way, he uncovers some of the secrets of the town, such as who murdered Abe, a hermitty miser, and uncovering a local farmer’s unfair treatment to local migrant workers. But he also gets under the skin of the locals, who would apparently have nothing interesting to tell – I liked Digger the dog with the Babushka around his neck.
This is a feel-good story without sharp edges. The characters are endearing around a romantic tale that leaves the question of whether Tony’s love will remain unrequited right to the end. A sunny read for a rainy day.
The second part of this novel is told from a changed Tony, the one who tries to win the heart of Laurel, failing miserably but discovering the true heart of Maddox. On the way, he uncovers some of the secrets of the town, such as who murdered Abe, a hermitty miser, and uncovering a local farmer’s unfair treatment to local migrant workers. But he also gets under the skin of the locals, who would apparently have nothing interesting to tell – I liked Digger the dog with the Babushka around his neck.
This is a feel-good story without sharp edges. The characters are endearing around a romantic tale that leaves the question of whether Tony’s love will remain unrequited right to the end. A sunny read for a rainy day.
August 11, 2016
Great story and i love it! Even if the story started slow for me and i couldnt relate much to some references made in the early chapters, it turned out to be a really good story. Its one of those rare times where it seems real and i actually felt i belong in it. It probably helped that even if i grew in the city, i was born in a small town in a province and visited there a lot because my grandpa was a farmer. So i could relate how the big city people feels being in such small towns and also relate and know whats its like in such towns. The author did a great job in making the characters known and going thru and feeling and seeing their daily experiences. And the twist on the love story of Tony and Laurel kept me wondering and looking forward to the end which i actually got surprised it ended the way i wanted it to end when several times while reading i thought it will turn out differently :)
February 26, 2015
I received a free eBook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review and rating. This is a really decent romance. It's sweet, endearing and thoughtful, without being to "much" I enjoyed the characters and "The Plot" both very believable. A great read that i can only recommend.
August 14, 2016
**SPOILER FREE**
It's nice to read a good book that is out of by norm. Makes it so much easier to step out of what I normally do read. And this book was it! It will take you for a ride to say the least! Great plot and characters!
*Received for an honest review*
It's nice to read a good book that is out of by norm. Makes it so much easier to step out of what I normally do read. And this book was it! It will take you for a ride to say the least! Great plot and characters!
*Received for an honest review*
September 4, 2016
I finished this book feeling very nostalgic. When I began I thought this book was a romance with a storyline thrown in for good measure. What I found was so much more than anticipate, which was a delightful surprise.
We begin with Tony and a few other of his coworkers being informed of an assignment they have that will send them to a very small town to gather information for their ad agency. They are to live within this town while not revealing who they are and why they are there. They are to fit into these peoples lives, learn who they are, why they choose to live simpler life. Six weeks of their lives doing this is not going to be easy for Tony. He likes woman and is told why on this assignment to keep it in his pants and concentrate on the dynamic of this town and it's inhabitants.
Tony meets and is attracted to the owner of the towns paper, which of course becomes the bases for the romance portion of this book. But in my opinion it only makes up a small portion of what the book is really about. Yet she does manage to keep him on edge and questioning himself. While living and interacting with the eclectic array of characters in the town, Tony also learns things about himself that he wouldn't even consider previously.
But to me the best part of the story was centered around the town and it's people. Each person had a story to tell. Each story drew me into a life and time that was surreal. A simpler time and place when you knew your neighbors intimately. When everyone cared for their community. When how much money you had, the size of your house and car were not the important factor in how you lived your life. The author had me yearning for such a place and time. He painted a vibrant picture of small time life and what really is important in life.
The over all story rates a five for me. The reason I gave it a 4.5 instead is there was a point or two that it felt a bit sluggish and for me personally I need constant stimulation. Although this is not my typical genre of romance, it was refreshing and extremely enjoyable. A very nice change of pace to keep a reader such as myself on my toes. I can recommend this book to a wide variety of readers. Those who like a much more passive romance along with nostalgia .
We begin with Tony and a few other of his coworkers being informed of an assignment they have that will send them to a very small town to gather information for their ad agency. They are to live within this town while not revealing who they are and why they are there. They are to fit into these peoples lives, learn who they are, why they choose to live simpler life. Six weeks of their lives doing this is not going to be easy for Tony. He likes woman and is told why on this assignment to keep it in his pants and concentrate on the dynamic of this town and it's inhabitants.
Tony meets and is attracted to the owner of the towns paper, which of course becomes the bases for the romance portion of this book. But in my opinion it only makes up a small portion of what the book is really about. Yet she does manage to keep him on edge and questioning himself. While living and interacting with the eclectic array of characters in the town, Tony also learns things about himself that he wouldn't even consider previously.
But to me the best part of the story was centered around the town and it's people. Each person had a story to tell. Each story drew me into a life and time that was surreal. A simpler time and place when you knew your neighbors intimately. When everyone cared for their community. When how much money you had, the size of your house and car were not the important factor in how you lived your life. The author had me yearning for such a place and time. He painted a vibrant picture of small time life and what really is important in life.
The over all story rates a five for me. The reason I gave it a 4.5 instead is there was a point or two that it felt a bit sluggish and for me personally I need constant stimulation. Although this is not my typical genre of romance, it was refreshing and extremely enjoyable. A very nice change of pace to keep a reader such as myself on my toes. I can recommend this book to a wide variety of readers. Those who like a much more passive romance along with nostalgia .
September 8, 2016
This is a really decent romance. It's sweet, endearing and thoughtful. I think it's well played out, but at times, it did get boring. I enjoyed seeing Tony create his stories, but at the same time, there's so much of it, that it dragged the story down for me. Either way, this is one of those feel good romances, that feels more realistic than played up and dratized. It worked and was a delightful read.
February 18, 2014
This is an easy and enjoyable read. The wide range of characters and how they are treated by others is a realistic look at life these days, both in small towns and big cities. I recommend this book to anybody that wants a relaxing read that gives you just enough to think about to keep your mind going and your hands turning the pages.
August 25, 2015
I read this book in one sitting. It completely drew me in. I could see the town, hear the people, it was so well written. It was not a book to be rushed though. It demanded you to savour every word, to enjoy it. And I really enjoyed it.
August 5, 2014
For the most part, I enjoyed reading this book, which I received from First Reads. I'll admit, the grammar mistakes and repeated words were a little distracting. The story was interesting and the book was a quick read, though. The chapters were very short, many being only one scene long.
Want to read
June 26, 2014I was informed today that I am a First Reads winner of When a Pretty Woman Smiles. I am very excited as I wait to receive the book. Romance isn't typically the genre that I gravitate to, but the premise hooked me in. I will update soon!
October 2, 2016
When a Pretty Woman Smiles
3 stars
Tony Rice and a four of his colleagues have been sent to the small town of Maddox for six weeks of research. Their goal, to re-discover the simple life and what small town values are really all about. Tony had never been to a small town and was not looking forward to spending six weeks but when he happens to run into a couple of the small town women he quickly decides that this gig might not be so bad. Having only been out for a six week fling, who would have thought that he would have fallen hard for one of the women. Once he returns though he finds that cat is out of the bag and everyone in the town knows that he and his friends had been there under false pretenses all along and that everything that they had thought that they had known about him was a lie. Can the women of his dreams and the town forgiver him or will he be forced out of town and back to the city?
This book started off really slow and I honestly didn’t like Tony at all while he was in Maddox undercover. I hated all of the lies that he told and the way that he was playing both Martina and Laurel. This caused me to really dislike the first part of the book. It wasn’t until the second part of the book when he goes back to Maddox and starts to really get to know the townspeople that I started to like him. I really enjoyed the second half of the book.
I was given a copy of this book to read from the author in return for an honest review.
3 stars
Tony Rice and a four of his colleagues have been sent to the small town of Maddox for six weeks of research. Their goal, to re-discover the simple life and what small town values are really all about. Tony had never been to a small town and was not looking forward to spending six weeks but when he happens to run into a couple of the small town women he quickly decides that this gig might not be so bad. Having only been out for a six week fling, who would have thought that he would have fallen hard for one of the women. Once he returns though he finds that cat is out of the bag and everyone in the town knows that he and his friends had been there under false pretenses all along and that everything that they had thought that they had known about him was a lie. Can the women of his dreams and the town forgiver him or will he be forced out of town and back to the city?
This book started off really slow and I honestly didn’t like Tony at all while he was in Maddox undercover. I hated all of the lies that he told and the way that he was playing both Martina and Laurel. This caused me to really dislike the first part of the book. It wasn’t until the second part of the book when he goes back to Maddox and starts to really get to know the townspeople that I started to like him. I really enjoyed the second half of the book.
I was given a copy of this book to read from the author in return for an honest review.
November 21, 2016
I enjoyed the little stories about the townsfolk. Unfortunately , the protagonist was hard to like and I found myself annoyed with him throughout the story. Not a bad book, but George was more likable
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews