Unfortunately, a
bride-to-be isn’t in the position of hand picking her mother-in-law, because
they tend to come with the package. And
while we’d all like to think we marry the man and not his mother, there is an
invisible clause in our wedding vows that includes his mother whether we like
her or not. If it turns out that your
mother-in-law is someone you can imagine spending lazy weekends shopping and
trading recipes with, then I say you’re luckier than most, and you’ve found an
MM – that’s Marvelous Mother-in-law.
In 666 Park Avenue, Jane Boyle is about to marry a man whose mother is not an MM but a B and a W. That’s a bitch and a witch to the uninitiated. And there is a distinction between the two. A B will tend to do everything in her power to make your life miserable and still have the appearance of being the milk of human kindness in the eyes of her son. While a W is just plain evil and doesn’t care who knows it. In either case you’re screwed and you better hope that love can see you through. Lynne, the mother-in-law in question, doesn’t have a long nose, stringy black hair and a wart on her chin, but that’s only because she’s fabulously wealthy and spends thousands of dollars to be the essence of chic. She’s still a witch, a real one.
After a whirlwind romance, Lynne’s son Malcolm arrives home with his fiancée Jane to announce their June wedding. The bride to be is ecstatic to meet his family and feels as if a fairytale has descended like a dome over her humble life. But a house is about to fall from the sky and the wicked witch won’t be the one under it. No, she’ll be on the roof orchestrating the entire series of bizarre and evil events about to take place. But, Jane’s got powers too – and that’s where this book gets interesting. Jane is an uninitiated newbie in the world of witchcraft, and her untapped powers are precious enough that others lay in wait to steal them. Jane’s got a lot to learn in very little time, and trying to save her romance and her life will be a test of her considerable powers.
666 Park Avenue’s heroine has guts and substance. She knows what she doesn’t know and figures out a way to get what she needs. She’s cunning, clever, and disarmingly pure at her core and that’s one of the main reasons I enjoyed her as a character. Gabriella Pierce has written a witty, fast paced story that keeps you guessing until the very, very, very last page.
Back to mother-in-laws? Can you avoid them or do they come with the marriage package?
Maria Lokken is an avid romance reader and an award winning television producer
They come with the deal.
It's a daughter-in-law's responsibility to try to get along with her mother-in-law, and to remember that mother-in-law is probably the first woman the man she is going to marry ever loved. I think the daughters-in-law need to make a much bigger effort than the mothers-in-law, and really hate to hear how little my generation respects their husbands' mothers. He wouldn't be who he is without her. He loves her the same way I love my mother. Would I be happy if he hated or mistreated my mother? Oh no he doesn't. 
But if serious effort has been made, and not just lip-service, but real, serious effort and MIL is still a B and/or W, by marrying me he said "I choose you over everyone, even my mother" (just as I said to him) and I expect him to choose me. To refuse to let her abuse me. To go so far as to be willing to cut her out of our lives if she's abusive to me. [All the same if a member of my family is rotten to him.]
All that said, I got one of the MMs. Occasionally she forgets that her baby is all grown up, but the vast majority of the time I am one of the lucky women who gained a second mother. As long as I don't complain about her son, I can tell her anything. I can call her in tears because I had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day - just like I might call my own mother. I go to lunch and dinner with her, just like I might with my own mom.
I'm putting this one on my wishlist.
