Author: H.B. Milligan

Publisher: Hand-in-Hand Publishing

ISBN: 0-9768994-0-X

The following review was contributed by: Jennifer Brown : Click Here To View Jennifer Brown's Reviews

Megan needs a change. Her life has just never been easy. Raised by a rigid Italian mamma, married to and divorced from a man she never loved, teaching French for meager pay, and raising a headstrong daughter of her own, she’s never known true risk.

H.B. Milligan’s story, TEETH IN A PICKLE JAR, is Megan’s story. Just as she thinks things are going to be this way – dull, lifeless, loveless, totally devoid of risk – forever, she meets Brent, a web designer she hires to create a webpage for her business. Suddenly risk doesn’t even begin to touch what Megan is feeling inside. Will she gamble on a “gut feeling” for a shot at a happy life? Or will she stay inside her safe little box forever? And most of all, what will Mamma have to say about it all?

TEETH IN A PICKLE JAR is more than just a love story. It’s a story about finding your own way and taking chances in order to live a fuller life. It’s also about mother/daughter relationships and how one woman’s role as both so influences the way she lives her own life.

Milligan’s great strength is without a doubt her ability to create vivid characters. Megan’s mamma is lovable and funny, while also entirely maddening. She’ll likely remind the reader of her own mother, with all her silly reprimands and overstepping judiciousness:

“I could no longer dodge Mamma’s calls. I sighed and picked up the phone.

‘Good morning, Mamma,’ I said cheerily.

‘So, you finally answer, eh?’ Her tone was accusatory.

‘Mamma, it’s a wonderful, sunny day,’ I said, sipping the coffee. ‘Let’s not start it by arguing. Please?’

I took my cup into the living room, sat down, and put my feet up on the coffee table.

‘I hear that!’

‘Hear what?”

“You put feet on table. How many times I tell you not do that, eh?’” (p. 102)

As rich as Milligan’s characterization is, it’s almost a surprise that her love story is a bit thin. Not so thin as to make the reader lose interest, but thin enough for the reader to have a hard time really pulling for the match to be made. Megan seems to fall fairly quickly for someone so afraid of risk…but then again, that’s what love at first sight (or “site” as the case may be) is all about, isn’t it?

Finally, Milligan must be given big kudos for her use of the phrase “teeth in a pickle jar” as the title of her book. Sweet, funny, and the crux of the book’s message, I can’t think of a better title.

Overall, TEETH IN A PICKLE JAR is an enjoyable read, especially for someone who enjoys a light romance with a little humor and rich, charming characters.