"I never want to leave this town. Cannes is a village on happy juice. LSD. It's the Wizard of Oz on shrooms."

I want to live in Cannes, California. It's definitely on my list of Fictional Places I'd Like to Live. I'd have a comfy chair and a big bowl of popcorn and I'd park myself on the sidewalk and just watch. It's crazy town in the most entertaining way possible.

I can't move to Cannes, but at least I have these books and I can visit this nutville and it's residents anytime I'd like.

In Love Game there's an ill wind blowing, and her name is Luanda. She's brought a special brand of crazy to Cannes and it's undoing all the good matches Gladys and her grandmother Zelda have made. Add to that a suitcase full of spider infested clothes, Gladys car keys going into a ravine, a group kidnapping and a murder and you have the makings of a very entertaining week in the best possible slapstick style.

I like Gladys, but I have to admit she's not always my favorite character in the books. I don't think I could be friends in Real Life with someone who has been known to be extremely flighty. But she's still a character you can get behind and cheer on. While each book has presented the entire cast in all it's zany glory, I would have to choose Ruth as my favorite from this book - she's got all the best lines. I should hope to be her when I'm in my 80's. She reminds me of the little old lady cartoons on the Hallmark cards - you know which one I mean? The skinny one that smokes, wears glasses, and has absolutely no filter between her brain and her mouth.

The romantic angle of the book is chaos of the best kind. I normally HATE HATE HATE love triangles, but what Gladie has going on here really doesn't qualify as a love triangle - more like it's raining men. (Hallelujah!) Holden is out of town and out of touch in this book, but we have a new player - Remington Cumberbatch. A detective working for Spencer Bolton, he's around often enough to keep Spencer from a sure thing and Gladys' hormones in overdrive. The chemistry is constant and intense between Gladys and both of these men, and her flirtations are fun without stretching the readers patience.

The kidnapping/murder was excellent - Ms. Sax can write a mystery. I didn't even know who to suspect until the end, when Luanda's denouement puts Gladys in the spotlight, leaving her to piece together the clues and come up with the answer. I'm not sure how realistic the deductions are, but they were fun nonetheless.

I'm hooked on this series and I hope Gladys has a long run full of fun, laugh-out-loud adventures. I'll be looking forward with eagerness for the next one. ( )

When I added this book to my Goodreads' "currently reading" shelf, I happened to glance at other reviews mentioning the fact that this book is more mystery than romance, so I was prepared. I think I would have felt let down if I hadn't prepared myself for a mystery. Don't get me wrong, the book is good, and I enjoyed it immensely, but despite what the book itself and the cover might tell you, this is no fun romp of a romance.

I always thought the highest praise you could give an author's characterization is that their characters feel real - and "Love Game" fits that bill. I've known some seriously grumpy old ladies, and I can imagine Ruth fitting right in with them. Heck, I've known a few Spencer and Luandas in my time, for that matter. Each character had their flaws and problems, and I loved them for it. I already want more of the series and more of the characters, but there is no notion of a fourth book in our future.

While mystery is not my top genre, I thought the mystery in "Love Game" was solid, and worked out well. Gladie clearly has a gift for getting into trouble, but she also has a gift for getting them all out of it. She may stumble into the mess, but she's bright and plucky, and she can figure out how to solve whatever problem is looming.

Cover Lovin': I like this cover. I think this would be a great cover... for a different book. This cover implies a fun, contemporary romance. And while Gladie has her share of romantic feelings in this book, "Love Game" is essentially a mystery novel with some relationship issues thrown in. The rest of the covers in the series are about the same - more love than mystery.

Recommendation: For fans of Stephanie Plum that want a bit more of a modern take. For mystery lovers that love that small-town dynamic, with a bit of spicy romance included. For readers who understand that love is complicated and sometimes you just can't figure out what you want. ( )

Love Game is the third book in The Matchmaker series by Elise Sax, and if you're new to the series don't read this as a standalone, the other books are just as funny so save a step and start at the beginning. If you like your mysteries with a bit of romance and lots of laughs then you are bound to love this series. Elise Sax does a great job at writing quirky characters that will make you laugh out loud, and her stories are definitely interesting and memorable.

As usual Gladie stumbles upon a murder case and does her best to solve it, all while finding herself in strange, dangerous, and often hilarious situations. I found myself smiling and laughing throughout a good bit of this book.

I think that the only reason I didn't enjoy this book quite as much as the last two was that Gladie simply has way too many irons in the fire. I'm all for a good love triangle, if it's done right, but I've been dying for Gladie to get with Spencer since the very first book! And now she has three different possible love interests: Spencer, Holden, and now Remington too. I was about to go crazy with frustration throughout this book, and I'm hoping that her man drama is at least narrowed down in the next book. I did however thoroughly enjoy this story, and am anxiously awaiting the next installment in The Matchmaker series. ( )

Love Game was cute in it's entirety. I admire books that like to build up a romance and triangle more the next romance junkie, but it also can get very tiring when stretched for too long. ( )

In this third book in the series, Gladie is struggling to expose the new psychic/matchmaker in town. Grandma Zelda's mojo is wonky because of the new psychic so she is not able to lend her all knowing hand as much as usual and Gladie continues to have one mishap after another. The only good thing that happens is that there is a new hunk in town who is more than a little interested in Gladie.

I just love this series. It is so funny. Even though it is hilarious, I have managed to bond with Gladie and some of the other characters. I wish crazy towns like this existed. I would move there in a flash. ( )