Down and Out in Bugtussle (2013)

In the third instalment of the adventures of Ace Jones, our favourite Southern belle has moved back into her Gramma Jones' house in Bugtussle, Mississippi and is substitute teaching while she figures out a way to reclaim her old job teaching art at the high school. Her best friends, Lilly and Chloe, are happy to have her home but think she needs to start dating. All Ace wants to do, however, is hibernate with her BFLF (best four-legged friend), Buster Loo. As a diversion, she goes through her grandmother's gardening books and stumbles upon a series of notes to her grandmother from someone Ace has never heard of. So begins the mystery of her grandmother's secret life that Ace feels compelled to get to the bottom of. This is another great chapter in the life of Ace Jones. She is such a likable and relatable character, it's hard not to enjoy any of these books. (LEK)

Ace Jones: Mad Fat Adventures in Therapy (2013)

Ace Jones is back in Bugtussle, Mississippi, mourning the loss of her dreams. After splitting from her fiance, Mason, and realising that being the owner of her own art gallery wasn't for her after all, Ace left Pelican Cove, Florida for the comfort of her hometown and her very best friends. With the goal of getting her teaching job back at the high school, she first has to do some work on herself. Ace decides therapy is the logical place to start. This quick, fun novella is basically a segue between Stephanie McAfee's second book, Happily Ever Madder and her latest release, Down and Out in Bugtussle. The yoga class Ace takes to help pull her out of her funk is the funniest thing I've read in a long time. (LEK)

Happily Ever Madder (2012)

Ace Jones is back in this sequel to Diary of a Mad Fat Girl. She has moved to Pelican Cove, Florida, with her fiance, Mason, and has realised her dream of opening her own art gallery. Between Mason working around the clock at his law firm, however, and certain women in the community making her life miserable, Ace begins to wonder if this is what happily ever after is supposed to look like. While not as strong of a story as the first novel, it is nice to have Ace Jones back and up to her old tricks with her sassy gal-pals, new and old, and her lovable chiweenie, Buster Loo. All in all a good read with a wonderful main character. (LEK)

Diary of a Mad Fat Girl (2012)

Best friends Graciela (Ace), Lilly and Chloe are three sassy, strong, southern women who would do anything for each other, and do, in this rollercoaster ride of a girlfriends' tale. After Lilly ditches Ace for their spring break trip to Florida, Ace decides to investigate why her friend is being so tight-lipped about cancelling their trip. In the process of getting to the truth, she opens up a whole can of worms about the hateful principal of the school where they teach, the colourful characters in her hometown of Bugtussle, Tennessee, and Chloe's scumbag-of-a-husband, Richard. Ace and Lilly's stalking of Richard for proof of his philandering ways can only be described as Lucy and Ethel go undercover ... to a strip club. Diary of a Mad Fat Girl takes off from the first page and never lets up until the very end. This was originally self-published in late 2010. (LEK)

Back to Authors M