Code Red
By Amy Noelle

One day in college, Nicole decides to surprise her boyfriend with some cookies. As she goes through the dorm after retrieving the cookie dough, she is the one who is surprised, when passing a room, to find her boyfriend with another girl, a girl who knew nothing about Nicole. She tells off the guy, befriends the girl, and together, with three other friends, they form a pact to help each other refrain from getting too involved with men. Their code phrase is Code red, and when one of them says it, the others come together to help. Years later, three of them have gotten married or seriously involved, one is ready to let go of the past, and only Nicole clings ferociously to her plan to avoid all handsome decent guys and avoid all serious non one-night stand involvement. That is until Josh Daniels walks through her office door, and nothing is ever the same. As she desperately tries to cling to her code red, and her friends try to talk her into getting involved, the story really takes off into a glorious and funny romance.
This book was delightful. The humor had me laughing out loud constantly. The characters, the friendships between the women were strong and believable. In some ways, many romances are a dime a dozen with a formulaic beginning, middle and end. That’s all right, because it’s what we all expect from a romance novel. But Amy Noelle’s humor and somewhat quirky character makes this book fresh and new, unique in the genre. Normally, I scoff at a young girl who gets her heart broken once and swears off men. I was certainly never that way, and I mutter to myself about waiting till you’ve had half a dozen or more before you start giving up, girl. But again, though I would normally stop reading the book at this point, the author makes this situation seem perfectly natural and believable and just plain funny. I loved this book from the very beginning straight through to the end. Few romance novels can make me laugh and so totally captivate me as this one did. Amy Noelle and her delightful storytelling gives us a breath of fresh air, and I will be looking forward to more from her.