This was a very enjoyable read. It has lots of humor and romance, and some very likable and quirky characters, although I thought the least appealing was Tassy Morgan herself. She keeps saying that people don't like her, and I could pretty much see why -- just a little too prickly for my tastes; it was hard to warm to her. But it's a cute story and a fast easy read, even though the plot is rather convoluted for such a short book. Still, a perfect novel to read while basking at the shore or lazing in a hammock this summer. Stinson is a fine craftsman -- I'll definitely look for more of his work. ( )

This is a good, light summer beach read. It’s not a deep novel, but the characters are quirky enough to keep you interested and even provide for a few out-loud laughs. I very much enjoyed the spunk of Tassy, the main character. Her romance with the recently widowed owner of the local B&B is a bit predictable but charming, nonetheless. The setting of this novel is quite charming and almost makes you want to hop in the car and take a trip to California. ( )

My initial thought as I read Tassy Morgan’s Bluff was that if this were Jim Stinson’s first novel it would never have been published. Okay, I have a bias against omniscient narrators. Very few authors handle them well, and the characters typically come across as “stock” and under-developed. It was clear from the very first chapter what the reader could expect from the rest of the book, and only the commitment to write this review and a desire to see if maybe there would be something here that I wasn’t expecting kept me reading to the end.

Perhaps I have read too much “chick” lit lately, but the only mild surprise was that a man was writing a female heroine willing to accept love on her own terms after being rejected for being what everyone else wanted her to be. Throughout the novel, I felt like I was watching an episode of Glee with Tassy the lonely, lovable red-head who has had terrible wrongs done to her by her family, Linc the teacher who tries too hard, and promiscuous Margaret, the one everyone loves to hate. Tassy’s artistic expression simply did not make up for the lack of musical numbers that makes Glee so appealing to prime time audiences. If you need a novel to avoid eating alone, Tassy Morgan’s Bluff might fit the bill, but if more appetizing fare sits on your shelf, you might pass this one by.

I selected this book because it took place in Northern California. That's about where my interest in it stopped. The story was stale, the characters were boring with no real depth. If it wasn't for the unsurprising romance and sexual tension between Tassy and Lincoln I would have considered this a book for elementary school aged kids. Its chick lit and badly written chick-lit at that. Its good for a summer beach read when you need to keep one eye on a book and one eye on the kids running around the waves.

http://thenovelworld.com/2011/06/09/tassy-morgans-bluff-review/ ( )

This light read filled with quirky characters thrown together by improbable circumstances was a delightful summer read. The setting is great, the small town politics accurate, and the cast of characters is truly original. Tassy and Linc make a great couple and I loved reading about their efforts to maintain Tassy's dilapidated cottage in the face of machinations by the town council.

My only quibble is that the end of the book seems rather sudden and doesn't tie up all the lose ends for the characters other than Tassy and Linc. If this is the start of a series with more books to follow that flesh out the rest of the oddballs introduced here, then I would bump it up to 5 stars. ( )