The Thing About Beauty by Donna Reimel Robinson

Being beautiful has its drawbacks.
Tonya Brandt wants to marry a handsome man, someone who will complement her own beauty. But she’s dated every hot guy in town without finding someone who loves her for her mind and talents.

When Tonya finally discovers her secret admirer’s identity, will she reject him? Or will she learn that true beauty is more than skin deep?

===
This book was a light, endearing read that wasn’t heavy on conflict. Tonya is beautiful and she’s not getting any younger. She’s involved in her singles group at church, and finds herself smitten with one of the members of the singles group. BUT, Murray Twichell, a nightmare from her childhood, keeps popping up in her life. A cop, Murray makes a habit of giving Tonya speeding tickets, and she’s not very attracted to him, either. Whenever he’s around, Tonya finds herself bristling as she recalls the horrid time that Murray dropped a frog down her shirt when she was a youngster.

Then, Tonya’s life takes a drastic turn when she starts receiving expensive gifts and cards from a secret admirer! The secret admirer also gives his email address and she begins having conversations with this man online. She finds herself falling for her secret admirer and Tonya, and the rest of her small town, wonder who this secret man is? What will happen when she finds the identity of her admirer?

This is a good book to read if you want a story that’s breezy, light, and not too thought-provoking.

Occasionally, when I read a book, and if it reminds me of another title, I’ll mention it. The premise of this book reminded me of a Robin Jones Gunn book that I read ages ago called Echoes. So I wanted to add that if you enjoyed Echoes, you’ll enjoy The Thing About Beauty.

Tonya Brandt also wanted to pen her own cookbook and The Thing About Beauty often mentioned Tonya’s secret cream cheese brownies. Several characters in the book loved these brownies and the recipe was provided in the back of the novel. Here’s the recipe. I haven’t tried them yet, but I do plan on trying them sometime in the future:

Tonya’s Terrific Brownies
Chocolate Layer:
6 ounces semisweet baking chocolate
1/2 cup canola oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspooons vanilla
3 eggs
3/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chunks

Cream Cheese Layer:
8 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-inch square pan; dust with flour.
Melt baking chocolate in a double boiler over boiling water, stirring while melted. Remove from heat and whisk in oil, sugar and vanilla. Whisk in eggs, one at a time. Stir in flour and salt until just blended. Fold in chocolate chunks.

In another bowl, beat cream cheese wtih sugar and egg. Spread 2/3 of the chocolate mixture in the baking pan; spoon tte cheese mixture over the chocolate layer; spoon the remaining chocolate on top. Drag knife through to swirl.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Insert a toothpick to test. Let cool in pan for 20 minutes for warm brownies that y ou can eat with a fork, or cool completely for terrific finger-held brownies. Enjoy!

~Cecelia Dowdy~