Be My Baby (Konigsburg #3) by Meg Benjamin

E-Reader Addict Rating: 🌟🌟

This book took me 12 days to read, which is highly unusual for me – in two ways. First of all, I typically plow through books in two days, three at most. Secondly, if a book isn’t pulling me in by 30 percent I’ll dump it. So I’m not sure why I kept reading Be My Baby since neither of those things were the case this time.

Widow Jessamyn Carroll is on the run from her evil former mother-in-law who is trying to take away her nine month old son, Jack. After fleeing Pennsylvania in the middle of the night she’s landed in the small town of Konisburg, Texas, where she manages a bed and breakfast.

Accountant Lars Tolefson moved from Iowa to Konisburg about a year ago to be closer to his three brothers. Having gone through an acrimonious divorce, he was looking for a quiet place to raise his uber-precocious (to the point of unbelievability, in my opinion) two year old daughter. In search of reliable child care, he posts an ad in the paper and Jess responds.

Unfortunately, the very day Lars leaves his daughter with Jess, strange things start happening. At first Lars isn’t sure who the target is, but it soon becomes apparent someone is after Jess and Jack. Jess’s precarious position brings out Lars’s protective instincts, along with those of the brothers and their wives, and they all rally around to keep Jess and Jack safe.

This book was a contrast in opposites for me. The story didn’t pull me in, but every time I thought I’d add it to my DNF pile, the dialogue would make me chuckle and pull me back in. I love stories about small towns and large, lovingly-interfering families, so this series should be right in my wheelhouse. I also really liked that we knew who the villain was the whole time – no hiding it from the reader for the sake of artificially building suspense, and the heroine didn’t hide her “big secret” from the hero, either, which is unusual and refreshing.

When I’m in a good book I will read any chance I get – standing in the grocery line, waiting for my son after school, while dinner is in the oven. I wasn’t ever compelled to read Be My Baby in my spare moments, and because the past couple weeks have been busy I didn’t read until late at night before going to bed. There was something about the writing that didn’t ever keep me engaged for more than a chapter or two at a time. My biggest problem was with Lars’s daughter, even if she was supposed to be advanced for her age. Every time she was on the page I couldn’t stop myself from thinking how unrealistic she was portrayed, and it just took me out of the story.

Then, we had thoughts like His interest in Jess Carroll had stopped being platonic a long time ago. Uh, you’ve known her for, like, three days. And then later, from Jess: No man was supposed to look sexy with his hands full of dirty dishes. I beg to differ. Maybe the only thing sexier than a man doing dishes is one pushing a vacuum cleaner. Amiright ladies?!?!

So yeah, this one didn’t work for me. But it didn’t totally put me off either, so that’s something I guess. I should have stuck to my initial hesitation before requesting this ARC – this book was originally published in 2009, rereleased in 2017, and offered as an ARC with a new cover in 2020. Bottom line, I don’t have any interest in the rest of the series, nor do I think I’ll read anything else by this author. At this point in my reading and blogging life, I’m looking for more in the stories I read, and sadly this author didn’t do that for me.

* thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Heartland (True North #7) by Sarina Bowen

E-Reader Addict Rating: 🌟🌟

Not gonna lie, this is the first time I hesitated to start reading a Sarina Bowen book.

Despite really liking – or loving – all of the True North series, I wasn’t looking forward to this one. I’m not a fan of young adult romance to begin with, but this author generally steers away from the things I dislike about YA stories. But a while back I read a sneak-peak chapter in Ms. Bowen’s newsletter, and it was all about how the hero could have any woman he wants and he’s with some bimbo-type woman, and I am SO over those characters and just didn’t want to read it. Especially when the heroine is a naive virgin from a strict religious cult. Along with the friends-to-lovers trope – which I also dislike – there wasn’t much going for this book in my view.

Except…that it was written by Sarina Bowen. Who has written several YA books I DID like. So I held my breath and hoped for the best.

Then proceeded to be disappointed.

Chastity grew up in a strict religious cult in Wyoming. At the age of 19 she escaped and made her way to Vermont, where she’s been living for the past two years. When she met Dylan Shipley from the farm next door, she was in love at first sight with the friendly, handsome and happy young man who is one year younger, but lifetimes wiser about life away from her sheltered compound.

Now, despite no formal education after third grade, she’s enrolled in college and struggling greatly with Algebra. Thankfully she has her best friend Dylan to tutor her. In both algebra, and life in general. He’s also completely clueless how Chastity feels about him and thus has no qualms about giving her a front row seat to his manwhore behavior.

Basically, I am SO over the manwhore “hero” – but can tolerate it if we don’t actually have to see the manwhore behavior. Having to see it here, AND having to see the heroine see it as well, just didn’t sit well with me. At all. No matter Dylan’s demons, no matter Chastity’s acceptance of it. It was a big fat nope for me. Heartland went off the rails in chapter three, and never recovered.

It wasn’t all bad, though. I liked that Chastity was aware of her sexuality and wanted to explore it. It was what essentially led to her running away from the cult. She had these confusing, juxtaposed thoughts in her head though…after years of being told her whole purpose in life, her body’s only purpose is to please a man, she wants to find out what sexual pleasure is all about. And I liked that! But I wanted someone for her that was going to put her first, to keep her the focus at first. Someone who would help her unravel the contradictory thoughts and feelings she had around relationships and the physical aspect of a love life. Do I feel Dylan did that? Nope. When he’s with her it was still about him.

And Dylan…I may have been able to find some sympathy for him if the author had dug deeper and given us more of an explanation for his behavior. He’s still a kid at 20, and to be so jaded and cynical about relationships – and life in general – rang hollow for me. He had a big, loving family, mostly absent of dysfunctional relationships. Yes, he experienced the death of his father six years ago, yes, there’s a lot of stress and tension around the success of the Shipley Farm and his future there, but I didn’t feel the author did a good enough job explaining why that translated to Dylan’s attitude about women and relationships. If I can’t understand why the hero behaves so distastefully, I can’t enjoy the book. If I can’t understand how he came about to change his mind about relationships, I can’t enjoy the book. Just having a sudden epiphany doesn’t cut it for me.

Oddly enough, I plowed through this book quickly. As per usual, it’s brilliantly written. Ms. Bowen is a master storyteller and keeps the plot moving and engaging. Her dialog between characters is THE BEST, and she brings in wonderful side characters who add so much flavor to the stories (drunk Ellie was hilarious!). Yet Heartland failed to give me “all the feels” I usually experience while reading a Sarina Bowen story. If I could have felt like Dylan’s behavior was understandable, or if he’d been redeemed in my eyes, I probably would have raved about this book. But that’s not what happened, so I find myself – for the very first time – not liking a Sarina Bowen book.

I also find myself concerned about Dylan’s twin sister’s book. Yet also intrigued…we know something went down with Daphne and she’ll be transferring schools, and most of the gang from this book is going to be living in the same house next school year. So, another YA storyline, which we know I’m already predisposed to not want to read. We also know Rickie, the owner of the house, has a mysterious background and has shown interest in Daphne. Is the next book going to be Daphne and Rickie?!?! Who knows at this point. But I will absolutely read it because one bad book isn’t going to put me off Sarina Bowen. Not when everything else she’s written has been so damn good.

The Dear Wife (More Than a Wife #3) by Jennifer Peel

E-Reader Addict Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Wow.

Just…

Wow.  This is the most powerful and poignant story I’ve read in the longest time. It is completely gut wrenching. The subject matter was uncomfortable and potentially controversial, and watching this couple’s marriage fall apart was awful.

But, it is also the best story of true love I’ve read in ages. One that made me think and really ponder. I finished The Dear Wife over a week ago, and I’m STILL thinking about it. So much so, I had a hard time getting into another book. I really liked the first book in Ms. Peel’s More Than a Wife series – The Sidelined Wife, and loved the second one – The Secretive Wife, but my head and my heart remain with this story.

James and Avery Decker have been married for over twenty years and have the kind of marriage everyone envies. They even appear to have weathered the devastating loss of their young daughter four years ago. Appear being the operative word.

Lately, though, everyone in the Decker family has noticed things are “off” between the couple they admire, but no one knows what is going on. Avery continues to put on a happy face, and James is just grumpy.

After a long year of mounting issues, Avery has reached the end of her rope. When she discovers her husband is flirting with crossing the line of infidelity – in addition to having a pornography addiction he doesn’t think is a problem, she realizes she deserves better and tells James things are over.

Watching Avery come to this conclusion was gut wrenching.

Watching her deal with the fallout of her decision to demand better for herself, tore my heart apart.

But watching her put on her big girl panties and make plans to do what was best for herself and her sons – and even James – made me cheer her on. With the support of her two sisters-in-law, she was able to keep her head above water and just keep swimming.

This story is overwhelmingly real. It’s rare that a 20 year marriage doesn’t face a crisis or two, and every action is going to cause a reaction – some healthy, some destructive. Losing a child has got to be the most difficult thing a marriage can experience, and it’s just a fact that two people are going to cope differently. What one person thinks is helping may really not, and the other person may think their way to cope doesn’t affect the other. Before you know it, things have strayed so far from where you were that you don’t know if you’ll ever get back what you once had… As much as I hated James for the choices he made, I could understand how he got to where he was that caused his marriage to implode.

But really, this is Avery’s story of how she found the courage to demand better for her marriage, and for herself. She really didn’t want to call it quits, but when faced with a husband who wasn’t willing to admit his problems, she had no choice. I loved how her two sisters-in-law, Samantha (who is actually James’s sister) and Delanie (who is married to James’s brother, Peter), played the good cop/bad cop roles in facing James and how to deal with him. We all need one friend to talk us off the ledge, and the other by our side ready to help us push the offending party off the cliff! It was so wonderful to see the whole Decker family support Avery’s decision to end her marriage if that was what needed to happen.

Thankfully, James pulled his head out of his ass before he completely lost his family. He had some serious demons to fight and it was hard watching him battle. What made this a true story of redemption was his sincere remorse for hurting his wife and family, and his desire to repair the damage he caused. So often in books we have a man who behaves poorly and all he gives is a half-hearted “I was a jerk” and everything is forgiven. Not here! I loved how this story showed all the feelings, all the emotions, all the hurt, all the anger. Nothing was swept under the rug. But then the couple was willing to do the hard work – yes, both of them (because with most marital problems there’s usually at least some culpability on both parties), and they fought for their relationship and healing. Yes, it was ugly. Yes, it was hard to read. But it was the most beautiful story of love and forgiveness I’ve read in forever.

Besides being a fantastic story about a troubled marriage that finds healing, I’m impressed by this book on two counts. First, The Dear Wife has some very religious aspects (as you might expect from a family with a son who was a priest at one time), showing how faith is important and can help you through your darkest hours. Often times, a faith message is thrown into a story and its presence feels out of place and preachy, or is used to prosthelytize, but that was not the case here. These characters struggled with their faith in very real ways and this was perhaps the most realistic portrayal of people of faith in a book that isn’t specifically labeled as “inspirational” romance. I feel it was done so well that even if someone is opposed to religious themes in a book, they wouldn’t feel offended or put off with it here. And that is quite the feat.

Secondly – and I’m still blown away by this – Ms. Peel decided to write a book about pornography addiction, which goes so far out on the limb of “acceptable” romance topics, which is remarkable all on its own. However, in her author’s notes she tells how she knew she couldn’t have readers pulling for this couple unless we’re already engaged in their story, which would be hard to do in one book. So she wrote TWO OTHER BOOKS first, with this story as the end goal. Which okay, maybe other authors have done that. But you can tell when one story is just a means to another. That couldn’t be further from the case here. The Sidelined Wife and The Secretive Wife were great stories on their own. To have written two great books, in the process of getting to the main story you want to write, completely blows me away. I am in awe of Jennifer Peel’s storytelling abilities. Clearly the woman’s got skillz!

It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book that I could hardly put down. And because of Jennifer Peel I’ve just read two in a row. The Dear Wife is unbelievably touching, compelling, and totally heart wrenching. It’s also an amazing story of true love. The Dear Wife touched my heart deeply and I have a feeling it will be a long time before James and Avery’s story lets go.

The Secretive Wife (More Than a Wife #2) by Jennifer Peel

E-Reader Addict Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

After thoroughly enjoying The Sidelined Wife, I knew I had to read the rest of Jennifer Peel’s More Than a Wife series. But what I didn’t know is that after a mostly fun and lighthearted first-in-the-series book, The Secretive Wife would take a turn into solemn and heartbreaking.

Delanie grew up as the only daughter of psychiatrist parents who treated her upbringing like a case study in child rearing. It left her feeling more like a test subject and less like a beloved daughter. As a result, she grew up self-confident and self-sufficient, never needing anyone to be happy with her life, nor letting anyone in. But when she met and fell in love with Peter, a former priest – who told her about his wonderful, loving parents and siblings – she couldn’t wait to be part of a family.

What she got instead was Sarah, a mother-in-law who detested her and was openly hostile. And while she felt loved by the rest of the family, especially her sisters-in-law, no one really stood up for her, either.

The relationship with Sarah is further strained by Peter and Delanie’s secretive behavior around how they were able to afford to buy their large house in an exclusive gated community. Peter works for the family’s gardening/landscaping business, and as far as the family knows, Delanie is a freelance journalist. In reality, she’s the nom de plume behind an exceedingly popular New York Times best-selling seven book series – and staying anonymous is not only what she and Peter want, it’s in her multi-million dollar contract that she remains so.

When her secret is disclosed in a scheming, scandalous betrayal of epic proportions, holes are poked in Delanie’s carefully crafted life and secrets start leaking like a sieve. Everyone from her past is willing to spill some tea, and as the press is apt to do, it’s all twisted and presented in half-truths and outright lies. With things spiraling out of control, it causes Delanie to question everything about her life and puts doubts into Peter’s previous rock-solid relationship with his wife.

This story hit me right in the heart. It’s been a long while since a book had me itching to read it during every spare moment…hoping my son would dawdle on his way to the car after school…scrambling to get in as many pages as I can while dinner is cooking in the oven. I loved this story!

Delanie was such a sympathetic character. Having grown up with cold parents, she was hoping for a warm relationship with Peter’s parents. When she didn’t get that, she held her head high and had the confidence to just do her thing. She knew who she was and didn’t need anyone else to validate her. I admired her spunk and that when her mother-in-law refused to accept her, she dug in her heels and did little things (like being openly affectionate with her husband and claiming to keep racy pictures in the locked attic) to make digs at Sarah. I admired her for hanging in there as long as she did before removing herself from that toxic relationship. But my heart broke that deep down she truly wanted that love and connection you get from family, and instead she was rejected and had to deal with Sarah’s open hostility.

I also really liked Peter. He was in such a difficult position, stuck in a hard spot between his beloved wife and his mother – who was behaving completely out of character from the kind and loving mother he knew growing up. I was so glad to see him stick by Delanie’s side and call his mother out when she crossed the line. But I also kinda liked that he wasn’t perfect and made a big mistake – it’s never fun to read about perfect characters, and made him completely relatable.

I can’t think of a single thing I didn’t thoroughly enjoy about this book. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it kept me on the edge of my seat. I love this series. And that is all.

An Everyday Hero (Heart of a Hero #2) by Laura Trentham

E-Reader Addict Rating: 🌟🌟🌟

An Everyday Hero is another great story in Laura Trentham’s women’s fiction Heart of a Hero series.

Greer Hadley has tucked her tail and returned home after spending 12 years in Nashville seeking fortune and fame as a songwriter and musician. But a night of drinking at the local bar has her making some poor choices which land her in front of a judge, sentenced to 50 hours of community service – to be served at the Music Tree Foundation, a non-profit organization that uses music to help veterans and their families deal with trauma. She’d rather pick trash up off the road instead.

Greer’s first assignment is a surly teenage girl named Ally, who recently got into trouble for shoplifting in the aftermath of losing her father in Afghanistan. Her second assignment – one that will earn her double hours if she’s able to convince him to come out of hiding – is Emmett Lawson, the town’s former football star who returned from a tour overseas with as many emotional scars as physical ones.

Despite wanting to get in, serve her time, and get out, before she knows it Greer is invested. Despite having been beat down, chewed up, and spit out by the Nashville music scene, she finds her long-lost plucky determination to succeed at her assigned tasks. And before long, Ally and Emmett have helped Greer find her way as much as she did for them.

I enjoyed reading this story and know my rating doesn’t reflect how much I enjoyed it. An Everyday Hero is a sweet story about a heavy topic. It was low on angst and absent of contrived conflict. The dialog between the hero and heroine was engaging and witty. But for some reason, after being pulled in right at the start, I didn’t stay that way. The problem was that I wasn’t ever compelled to keep reading, and I didn’t have a hard time putting my Kindle down. I loved the characters, I loved their interactions. I really, really liked their stories and how the two storylines merged.

I truly think this time it’s a case of me being in a weird headspace. Normally I’m able to pick up a book and let go of all the stress in my life, leave my world behind and immerse myself into the book I’m reading. For whatever reason, I wasn’t able to this time. At the moment it has me pondering if this book wasn’t enough, or if I’m just really stressed right now… Nonetheless, there were plenty of moments during this story where I thought “There’s the Laura Trentham I’ve known and love!” And I’m definitely looking forward to more from this series!

* thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Homewrecker by Mignon Mykel

E-Reader Addict Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

This is going to be, perhaps, the most vague review I’ll ever write. I can’t really go into much about the plot because that would spoil things, but I can say this: Homewrecker is a really well written story that deals with a hot-topic situation and did so without pandering or seeming contrived. So often an author will want to write a “relevant” story and what comes out is forced situations and forced emotions and nothing seems natural or realistic. Not so here. This is especially great to see – I’ve been a Mignon Mykel fan for quite a while and have read several of her books (although not as many as I’d like). Her earlier books were good, but she’s definitely grown as an author and improved her writing, which is always something I love to see!

Our heroine is Tatum O’Malley, which is the screen name for 18 year old actress Dylan O’Neill. When she’s seen hanging all over her married co-star after a party, the paparazzi makes their own conclusions about what’s going on, sending Dylan into hiding.

Cade Johnston is a former motocross champion with a new movie career. When the new co-star he can’t stand anyway ditches his latest project, he goes in search of the elusive Tatum.

And that’s all I’m gonna give you!

The story is quick, and yes, the hero and heroine have a bit of an insta-love situation going on. But it was mostly sweet and I could see how the couple was able to develop feelings for each other despite not having spent a whole lot of time together. Would I have liked to see that relationship develop? Of course! But this is a novella, and I’m not going to hold a short story to the same standards I have for a full-length book. It was developed enough for me.

I really liked the heroine. She had every reason to be bitter and keep people at arms length, but instead she was just cautious and guarded. I liked how protective the hero felt about the heroine, and how he wasn’t afraid to jump into her messy situation.

And I REALLY liked how the author didn’t wrap everything up in a nice, neat, tidy bow with a happily ever after. Which is unusual because I’m all about the nice, neat, tidy bows. But the author is right…these are young characters and leaving them – for now, since a part-two novella is to follow shortly – with happy for now, is appropriate. Ms. Mikel didn’t leave the story with a cliffhanger, which I’m grateful for. Instead, I’m left anxiously awaiting the conclusion of Dylan and Cade’s story later this month!

Heart Words (Sweetbriar Hearts #2) by Nora Everly

E-Reader Addict Rating: 🌟🌟

I had high hopes for this one. The first book in the series (In My Heart) was pretty good and the author steered clear of many of the cliched things I despise from today’s authors. But this one…this one started out with the heroine talking – repeatedly – about how the hero’s deep voice made her tingly, and his touch was like electricity, and … and I just wanted to whine “where is the plot??” I was so disappointed. Even more so because second-chance romances are my jam, so I was really looking forward to it.

Rose and Trevor met a year ago and had a secret long-distance relationship for several months. Only problem was, Trevor wasn’t exactly free to start something with Rose, so when Trevor made the difficult choice to break things off, Rose was heartbroken.

But now Trevor has moved with his two young children to the small town where Rose (and her big, nosy family live), and he’s determined to win her back. Unfortunately, things don’t go smoothly. Both are repeating the same mistakes they made the first time around (mainly, not communicating), and an unknown bad guy is making things even more complicated.

I wanted to like this one, but sadly did not. Less Pecs More Plot has been my motto for several years now, and this book is the reason why. I don’t want to read paragraph after paragraph about tingly body parts or hawt the hero is. The occasional mention is fine – chemistry is important, after all. But that can’t be the majority of the plot.

Also, this book is the reason why I don’t like first person POV, which lends itself to too much telling and not enough showing…to too much repeated internal monologue. The author did a much better job this time (as compared to the first book in this series) of giving us a more equitable split of hero vs heroine chapters, but it still was heavy on Rose. So we got lots of borderline whining, which isn’t a good look for someone who is in her late 20s. Add in that this couple’s main problem was that they wouldn’t just TALK to each other – about their thoughts, about their feelings, about what was going on – and I just felt frustrated. Even the cute, funny kids couldn’t save it.

Additionally, I’m not sure what happened between the last book and this one, but this book needs a significant amount of proofreading/editing. There were a bunch more errors this time – everything from missing words to extra words, and several times things were explained that had already been told (who characters were, or something about them – such as the younger brothers not being identical twins). I’m able to overlook the occasional typo, but when it starts to detract from my ability to stay in a story, that’s when I feel like I need to mention it (more for my own purposes and less to complain about it – I write these reviews primarily for myself, so I can remember what I’ve read…if others find them useful, that’s just extra gravy on the biscuits!).

So now I find myself trying to decide if I’ll keep reading this author. This series is one-for-two in my enjoyment. And I’m not sure if I’m interested in reading more about Rose’s other siblings (FYI, there’s four more left). The oldest brother has two kids and is divorced from his apparently terrible wife (so that is sorta interesting to me – who doesn’t love a wounded single dad?), the oldest sister has a horrible husband and this book hinted that things may hit the skids (but I’m not sure I want a front row seat to that one), and then there are the twins, one of which sounds like the plot to his story will be friends-to-lovers (which is NOT a jam of mine, so that one definitely doesn’t interest me). When you add in the quasi-suspense storylines Ms. Everly has thrown into the first two books that didn’t completely work for me, I’m just not sure where I’ll land. I’ll probably give the Sweetbriar Hearts series one more try, but probably ONLY one.

The Sidelined Wife (More Than a Wife #1) by Jennifer Peel

E-Reader Addict Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Wow, do I have LOTS to say about The Sidelined Wife. Lots. Some of it good, some not.

But first I want to say that I really, really liked this book! It takes place in a small town where the heroine (and her siblings) grew up, and has a close-knit family where everyone is all up in everyone else’s business. Along with fantastic dialog, these are a few of my favorite story things!

Samantha Decker has just finalized her divorce, a few months before her 40th birthday. Now a single mom to a 15 year old son, Sam is navigating a new life after being blindsided by her husband’s infidelity. During a moment of frustration she makes a post on her blog that ends up going viral.

Reed Cassidy was Sam’s younger brother’s childhood best friend. Now he’s all grown up and come back home to coach the high school varsity football team that Sam’s son plays on. He always had a crush on Sam and is all about getting a chance to be with her now that she’s divorced.

Sam initially has a hard time getting past the fact that Reed is a “younger man” and isn’t sure if she’s even ready to be dating. But Reed is relentless in his pursuit – although not in an alpha-male, grunting, demanding kind of way. He’s sensitive to Sam’s concerns, aware of her issues, and comes up with creative ways for them to be together. Sam has a lot of baggage to wade through and Reed isn’t afraid of any of it. Add in her new-found “fame” because of her blog and the new couple is in for a bit of a bumpy ride.

Reed was freaking awesome and I loved him. In a deep and wide sea of “romance” novels that seem to be all about getting to the physical relationship as soon as possible, I love a hero who is willing to play the long game. Who is willing to develop an emotional connection first. These are the stories I love the most and checked so many of my boxes!

Besides loving how Sam and Reed’s relationship developed, I loved how this book didn’t take the usual “brother’s best friend” route with that trope – which is a storyline I usually stay away from. Because if a guy is such a jerk that you don’t want him dating your sister, why are you friends with him? Or, if the friend has a bad reputation for how he treats women, if he’s your best friend why can’t you have a conversation about it? I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where a guy’s best friend is interested in his sister and he’s rooting for the friend and sister to work things out. It was so refreshing and I LOVED IT.

However…

I have a bit of an issue with Sam feeling like she’s been “sidelined” – and warning…here’s where I get a little ranty and probably more than a little rambling. I am completely able to sympathize with Sam’s feelings of being marginalized and taken for granted. I have a great husband who is a very hands-on father and doesn’t hesitate to help around the house. But even so, I have occasionally experienced some of the feelings Samantha expressed in her blog posts. Where she lost me a little bit is in her assertion that she’d been “sidelined” and taken out of the game. Because really, she took herself out of her marriage. Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t blame her for deciding to divorce her husband. He had an affair which resulted in greater consequences than just broken trust. However, her husband was remorseful and wanted to work things out. Again, I get why she didn’t feel like that was an option for her. No judgement from me there. But her blog posts read like her husband swept her aside and replaced her for a younger model, which just isn’t the case.

Also, the “heroine” displayed some rather aggressive acts of vindictiveness that I couldn’t get behind. Demanding her husband’s new luxury SUV in the divorce settlement was just the start, and him giving it to her sort of endeared him to me. Add in the late-night ranty voicemail messages, and I saw a woman who let her anger get the best of her more often than not. I’m not saying her anger wasn’t justified, but she had the chance to take the high road – to be the bigger person – and she failed over and over again. And didn’t seem sorry about it either. We are all entitled to feel how we feel, but as adults we’re responsible for our actions. I would hope that a 40 year old woman would behave more maturely than her 15 year old son. Since that is debatable, it made it hard for me to root for Sam, or cheer her on. Another thing? A marriage rarely falls apart solely because of one person. Whether Sam wants to admit it or not, she had some culpability in the demise of the relationship. To place the blame totally on her hapless ex-husband doesn’t bode well for future relationships.

But other than the questionable behavior of the heroine, this book was fantastic. I love big, loving families that stick their noses into business that isn’t theirs. I especially love it when they talk things out, asking the hard questions and having heart-to-heart conversations. I love when there are realistic challenges and the couple deals with them realistically. And the witty banter between the hero and heroine, along with the side characters, was top notch. I have to confess that I hesitated to read this book – I saw it being touted so many places and I let my scepticism get the best of me. I’m glad I decided to give it a chance – and I can’t wait to read the other books in the series!