Catriona Masterton’s fiancé, Ethan, is Normal. 

He plans trips six months in advance and arrives at the airport a minimum of three hours early. He purchases life insurance, luggage insurance, and always opts for the extended warranty. He’s responsible, reliable, and would make any woman a wonderful life partner. 

In other words, he’s the exact opposite of the Masterton clan. 

Cat’s mother has a kitchen gadget fetish, a father whose best friends are taxidermied field mice, and a super stoner man-child brother who lives–where else?–in the basement. Then there’s Nan, her proud Scottish grandmother with a proclivity for profanity and mischief. 

What on earth will Catriona’s Normal fiancé think when he comes home with her to meet her parents? What will he think when he discovers his soon-to-be in-laws invited Cat’s ex to join them for Thanksgiving dinner? 

It took me a bit to get in to this story. The author’s writing style is different, and it didn’t really engage my emotions the way I’d hoped. It did eventually, however, grab my attention, and I had to keep reading. I grew up in a small town with a bunch of quirky people, so I love reading about them. Most of the time I feel like authors try too hard to create the quirks, but Dineen’s characters’ quirks flowed naturally. Once I got into the story, I rushed right through it (I just wish it had pulled me in a little deeper). A solid 3.5 stars.