Tiger Lillie by Lisa Samson

Lillie has always been the wedding coordinator-never the bride.

Normally that cover blurb would turn me off from a book but Lisa Samson was never normal.

No man can replace Teddy, Lillie's boyfriend throughout high school. She currently works with Extreme Weddings and the Odd Occasion, a wedding coordinating service for those who want an original wedding. Their first big break appears when Lillie accidentally meets the brother of a famous performing artist. The artist is getting married soon, and he chooses Extremely Odd to coordinate the wedding. Lillie immerses herself in the work and tries to stop thinking about Teddy.

Tacy, Lillie's sister, also lives an interesting life. At eighteen, she married a twenty-five year old man who she had known for several years. He seemed charming and gentlemanly at first, but the longer she was married to him, the more she regretted her immature decision.

Despite what every other review I read about Tiger Lillie said, this book is fully based on Tacy's strange life. The title has nothing to do with what the plot is really about. The back description doesn't do Tacy's story justice. Lillie, though her ramblings fill up more than half the book, really only plays a small part in the plot.

As usual, Lisa Samson has crafted realistic, imperfect characters to fill her plot. This has always been Samson's specialty that has made her books Elite. Even though some of her plots are average, the characters make it Elite. This is the case with Tiger Lillie as well.

Lillie has an interesting view on life. The reader has to wonder whether her view of the plot is jaded by her enthusiastic nature or not. But this keeps the reader guessing and makes the book realistic.

The book is also told from the first person perspective of Tacy. She definitely has a more melancholy view of life than Lillie does. This also keeps the plot fresh and realistic.

But there are many other assets to Tiger Lillie besides the characters. The idea behind the plot-planning original weddings-is fresh and original. One can always count on Samson to come up with an original plot idea.

There are two romantic subplots-one for Tacy and one for Lillie. Tacy's in the the central focus of the book, while Lillie's is more extracurricular. Her's is an original romance because it isn't stereotypical. Typical phrases are not used in the dialogue. Their actions are not typical. This keeps the book fresh as well.

I've always said that the majority of the rating is based on the end of the plot. The end can make it or break it for any book. In the case of Tiger Lillie, the end is original because not everything is fixed. One major thing in particular is left imperfect. This is the finishing touch on the book's five star rating.

5 stars