Synopsis: UNEXPECTED CHANGE CAN BE LIKE A BREATH OF FRESH AIR— A LITTLE BRISK AT FIRST, BUT MAGIC FOR BODY AND SOUL...
Cartoonist Sarah Moon tackles life's real issues with her syndicated comic strip just Breathe, which is how the subject of infertility became fair game for her wickedly satirical pen. As Sarah's cartoon alter ego, Shirl, undergoes artificial insemination, it mirrors Sarah's own desperate attempts to conceive after her husband's bout with cancer. However, Sarah's dreams of the future did not include the infidelity of her now fully recovered husband. Faced with the unthinkable, Sarah asks herself, what would smart, sassy Shirl do? She'd floor the gas pedal straight out of Chicago.
She heads back to the small Northern California coastal town where she grew up. Just as she's settling in, a sudden dizzy spell lands her in the arms of somebody she never expected to meet again: Will Bonner, the high school superstar she'd skewered happily in her old comics. Now a local fireman, he's raising his teenage stepdaughter alone and looking better than ever. It is at this promising juncture that Sarah discovers she's pregnant. With twins.
The irony is delicious. Here she is, back home in a place she couldn't wait to leave, pregnant with the babies of a man she just divorced. Now her heart is calling out to a single father of a troubled girl who reminds Sarah a lot of herself. Hardly the most traditional of new beginnings, but who says life, or love, is predictable...or perfect? The winds of change have led Sarah here. Now all she can do is just close her eyes...and breathe.
My Thoughts: I thoroughly enjoyed this story from beginning to end. The story covers a year (maybe year and a-half) of Sarah’s life. It begins in Chicago while she is happily married to Jack, and is hopeful that she and Jack will soon be expecting a new addition to her family.
Things happen (will not divulge any spoilers here, sorry!), and Sarah finds herself back in her hometown in Northern California. There, she must go about rebuilding her life and coming to terms with her past. Unfortunately, Sarah was an outcast in school ~ an artsy type who never fit in. She soon learns that not everything is how it seemed in high school.
I enjoyed the building of her relationship with Will, a former classmate. The pacing was slow, which I appreciate. Sarah and Will were not friends in high school, so I appreciated the fact that Susan took the time to build their relationship and actually make it believable. I also enjoyed Sarah’s relationship with Aurora, Will’s daughter. The fact that they became friends before Sarah and Will did added a great likeability for me to this story.
There were a few choppy things I couldn’t get passed. The first was Sarah’s babies. In one chapter, they were three months old, and then it seemed like the next chapter they were eating cheerios, sitting in high chairs, and able to indicate when they wanted to be picked up. Evidently, there was a passage of time between the chapters, but I missed any indicators if there were any.
The second, something big happens to Aurora’s friend, Glynnis that effects Sarah, Will, and the whole coastal town where they live. But we don’t see it in the story. It’s referred to, but the story’s not told. Glynnis is supposed to be Aurora’s best friend. And the fact that Aurora is Will’s daughter and therefore, a central part to the story ~ I just thought that what Glynnis did and how they found out should have been in the story. Aurora’s reaction should have been there. The fact that it wasn’t, seemed to leave a tiny hole in the tale for me.
Verdict: This was Very Good. It would have been excellent, but there were some timing issues that I couldn’t get passed. As far as I’m concerned, Susan Wiggs rarely disappoints. This is a definite keeper.
Labels: Contemporary Romance, Mira, Susan Wiggs, Very Good
Synopsis: An awkward misfit in an accomplished Boston family, Isadora Peabody yearns to escape her social isolation and sneaks aboard the Silver Swan, bound for Rio, leaving it all behind.
Ryan Calhoun, too, had a good family name. But he'd purposely walked away from everything it afforded him. Driven by his quest to right an old wrong, the fiery, temperamental sea captain barely registers the meek young woman who comes aboard his ship.
To the Swan's motley crew, the tides of attraction clearly flow between the two. Teaching her the charms of a lady, they hope to build the confidence she needs to attract not only their lonely captain's attention, but his heart, as well. For everyone knows the greatest charms are not those of the formal lady, but rather the possibilities of a new world built on love.
My Thoughts: ***apologize in advance. I read this about a month ago, and my recollection of the story is sketchy at best. I also am unable to find my book to reference certain points, so it is what it is.*** Also, Charm School was one of the books that’s been in my TBR pile for years. I’m challenging myself to try and get my pile down this year.
Isadora “Dora” Peabody is the misfit of her entire family. While her siblings are all tall, blond, and beautiful; Dora is dark, homely, and overweight. Which, I guess, makes her the perfect heroine for an ugly duckling kind of story. Ryan, on the other hand, is the handsome son of a Virginia plantation owner.
Dora’s first meeting with Ryan was actually through his mother who had been searching from him. And let’s just say he was **ahem** otherwise occupied **ahem** when they first come upon him on the boat. But, this was exactly the catalyst that Dora needed in order to hire herself as a linguist on Ryan’s next venture. See, a friend of Dora’s family owns the ship, and thus she seals the position as linguist, but also agrees to spy on Ryan for her friend. And as poor Ryan’s luck hadn’t just gotten bad enough, his mother and servant also book passage on his ship to Rio.
I enjoyed how Dora forced herself a position on Ryan’s boat and how they begrudgingly became friends. I enjoyed how Dora lost herself on the boat, lost her inhibitions, and soon became comfortable in her own skin. She eventually becomes less clumsy and also loses weight, morphing into quite a beautiful woman (which is a side rant for me. Why, why, why, why, why do authors have to do this? Why can’t the heroine stay a little plump, or homely, or whatever? Personally, that’s a story I’d love to see). I love the friendship she developed with Ryan’s mother, Lily (?? I think that’s her name??).
Frankly, at the beginning, Ryan really isn’t that endearing of a character. But what does endear him to me is his friendship with Journey, his former slave who he gave his freedom. And now, he was sailing in order to save enough money in order to free Journey’s wife and children from their lives of slavery as well.
Verdict: This was Okay. I’ll need to read its sequel, The Horsemaster’s Daughter before I decide on whether or not it’s a keeper. I’m just undecided. The read itself was okay, and there were some humorous parts. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t a story that stuck with me.
Labels: Historical Romance, Okay, Susan Wiggs, TBR Challenge
Recommended by: Got it from the library.
From the Back Cover: Sometimes it takes a leap of faith in order to soar...
A gifted teacher, Lily Robinson adores her students, but fiercely guards her independent lifestyle. Deep inside, she is afraid of loving too deeply for fear of getting hurt. Only her best friend, Crystal, has ever been able to get close. Now an unthinkable tragedy has drawn Lily into the shattered lives of Crystal's family — a family that suddenly needs her.
Sean McGuire is a rolling stone used to living in the shadow of his famous brother, Derek. He's made his own way in life, playing by his own rules. Then one April night everything changes when a fatal car crash orphans Derek and Crystal's three children. In an instant, Sean finds himself in the role of guardian.
Sean and Lily are brought together by tragedy, joined in their grief and their mutual love for these children. But raising three kids is a monumental job, and Sean realizes he's in over his head. And though Lily has been the unofficial aunt to these children since they were born, planting emotional roots means taking risks — and Lily's not sure she can.
The ups and downs of love and family life can be a roller-coaster ride — thrilling, unpredictable and downright terrifying, yet filled with incredible delight. and Sean and Lily are about to discover the possibilities that make everything seem worthwhile — a future filled with hope, happiness and the certainty that trusting love is the best choice of all.
My Thoughts: Wow. This book zigs and zags every possible emotion I could possibly have. I was crying one minute, mad the next, laughing the next, etc., etc. Plain and simple, this is a love story. The love between a husband and wife, love between parents and children, love between siblings, love between friends, falling in love, falling out of love ….it’s all there.
I’d say this one is Very Good ~ maybe just shy of Excellent.
(That’s three ~ I’m scared. Do I dare try for four good books in a row?)
Labels: Contemporary Romance, Susan Wiggs, Very Good
Recommended by: No one. I got it on an impulse at the library.
From the Back Cover: Real estate expert Olivia Bellamy reluctantly trades a trendy Manhattan summer for her family's old resort camp in the Catskills, where her primary task will be renovating the bungalow colony for her grandparents, who want one last summer together filled with fun, friends and family. A posh resort in its heyday, the camp is now in disarray and Olivia is forced to hire contractor Connor Davis -- a still-smoldering flame from her own summers at camp. But as the days grow warm, not even the inviting blue waters of Willow Lake can cool the passions flaring or keep shocking secrets at bay. The nostalgic joy of summers past breathes new promise into a special place and people . . . a promise meant to last long after the season ends.
What I Liked: I enjoyed Olivia and Connor and their story ~ the fact that they’ve known each other since they were children and the fact that they had some growing to do before their relationship would work. I also liked the element of the summer camp (since I went to summer camp every year when I was young).
What I Didn’t Like: Too many side characters! It seemed they were all forced on the reader and I lost interest in them. It was getting to where I was having a hard time keeping everyone straight. This book was about 200 pages too long and should have focused on Olivia and Connor, versus Olivia and her whole family.
Verdict: I’d say it’s Good. The book itself was too long and Ms. Wiggs tried to capture too much of the family element within this book, versus spreading it out. This is the first of a series, so there is time in future novels to explain these things.
Labels: Contemporary Romance, Good, Susan Wiggs
Back on subject. I thought the book would be about Olivia (heroine) and Connor (hero). At least, by reading the synopsis in the front of the book, that's what I thought it would be about. Although, why it would take 534 pages to reach a conclusion is beyond me. Maybe that should have been a clue. Okay ~ here's the synopsis. What do you think the book is about?
Synopsis:
Exploring the many facets of love and friendship, New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs evokes a summer in the Catskills, where family ties clash with family secrets during lazy days and hot, languid nights . . .
Real estate expert Olivia Bellamy reluctantly trades a trendy Manhattan summer for her family's old resort camp in the Catskills, where her primary task will be renovating the bungalow colony for her grandparents, who want one last summer together filled with fun, friends and family. A posh resort in its heyday, the camp is now in disarray and Olivia is forced to hire contractor Connor Davis -- a still-smoldering flame from her own summers at camp. But as the days grow warm, not even the inviting blue waters of Willow Lake can cool the passions flaring or keep shocking secrets at bay. The nostalgic joy of summers past breathes new promise into a special place and people . . . a promise meant to last long after the season ends.
So, do you think the book is about Olivia and Connor? Well, so far, it's not. I'm 120 pages into it. I've seen Connor twice. Once, in a flashback when Olivia first met him, and one small present day interaction. That's it. What I have read are Olivia's flashbacks, her father's flashbacks, some present day drama, and quite a bit about Olivia's best friend Freddy who acts gay but isn't.
If something doesn't change soon, I don't know if I'll be able to finish this thing. Oh ~ and it's the first book of a series. You know how I am with series.
Update:
Well, I finished the book. I'll post my thoughts tonight when I get home from work.
Labels: Susan Wiggs
Labels: Connie Brockway, Julia Quinn, Kinley MacGregor, Lisa Kleypas, Sabrina Jeffries, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Susan Wiggs