A Successful, Totally Out of the Box Marriage!
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Rida is an orphan who meets Spencer while she is serving in the USO during WWII and he is serving as a naval officer.  They meet at an Officers Club Dance.  Rida loves to dance and have a good time.  She is an orphan from California and has no idea of her origins but doesnt really care. Actually she considers her unknown status as a mandate to speak her mind at all times and to defy what other see as necessary conventions of behavior.  Spencer has one thing on his mind, to divert his constant worry about being killed in this nasty, crazy war.  Rida totally diverts his paranoia and rivets his attention on her startling nature.  This works well and promises for some audacious moments, especially when she informs him she is engaged to four other men.  She admits they all know about each other and don't mind at all.  Spencer thinks, as a young man of the gentle, upper class Boston aristocracy, that he must make Rida realize the error and danger of her ways.  Of course, he fails miserably and decides the only way to protect her is to marry her.  Theirs is a love affair that truly understands and accepts each others nature, his of academic propensities and hers of practical truth and planning for the future.
This then is a unique novel of two characters who complement each other perfectly but who are hardly understood by his Hargrove relatives.  The story is told from the narrative voice of Rida or Mumma (as she is called by all) who supports her husband through his obtaining a Ph. D. in classics and starts her own realty business.  But the gripping essence of Mummas story is the way she shocks Spencers family and the acquaintances of her daughters with her refreshing truthfulness and unwillingness to conform to dress and social conversation.
Numerous funny scenes fill these pages in which Mumma shocks all and yet also can perfectly read peoples false veneer to who they are truly are.  In one particular scene, she intuits that a certain teacher is taking advantage of her daughter and sets about eliminating that person before damage can be done.
Even the end of the novel is mesmerizing as we see how Mumma handles her husbands life and death and then plans the immediate days after her own death.  The reader knows that her personality will be the subject of days and days of thoughts and conversations among her daughters as they try to figure out just who she was and remain just as befuddled and mournful of her dynamic, astonishing presence!
Cynthia Voigts foray into contemporary adult fiction is delightfully well-crafted.  The plot is simple but the characterization is the central focus that defies any stereotypical pattern.  Nicely done, indeed, Cynthia Voigt!!!
1352757
Fun and colorful! Crazy and wild reading! A wedding gone amok. This story was a real page turner! I couldn't stop laughing at the absurdity and craziness.  Everything that could go wrong at a destination wedding did. It was complete insanity brought to vivid color by Lucy Score's words. Franchesca Baranski is beautiful, intelligent, and not part of the richy rich crowd, but her best friend Pruitt is. They are mostly like sisters and Franchesca takes her maid of honor duties very seriously. That's why she's determined to get Pruitt and Chip married, with no complications from the best man, Aiden Kilbourn. Even though he turns the wedding on its head. The beginning of this story just completely takes off at full steam. If you've ever watched reality TV, then you'll have no problem picturing the socialites described. There are some insane things that happen at the wedding in Barbados, but that's only the beginning. The chemistry between Franchesca and Aiden hits its boiling point, but she runs away back home to Brooklyn. And that's where the real fun begins.

I loved Franchesca and Aiden's relationship. It was messy and complicated. This story is definitely not smooth sailing. It's about two similar people, living very different lives with complete opposite bank accounts. Aiden is super rich and Franchesca is scraping by paycheck to paycheck. But the loyalty and desire and intensity these two have for each other really jumps off the page. They not only desire each other, but calm each other and their chemistry as they are building their relationship is off the charts hot!

I just loved not knowing what to expect from page to page while reading The Worst Best Man. This story took me by surprise in the best possible ways and turned my nightly reading into a fun adventure. I loved it!
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I greatly enjoyed this book!  I was most appreciative of the value of faith the author places within the marriage and more importantly in seeking God along the way in day-to-day life.  Her characters are fun, respectable and I found myself wanting to know them in person!
I'm looking forward to book 2 in the series to see where the story goes and what on earth Katherine was thinking!!!
1950332
WOW!  What a way to start a honeymoon!  Seems like Maggie just can get a break from her conniving first husband.  But with new husband, Dr. John, I think she can handle anything.  In this book, we also see that Frank does have a heart, but how is he going to deal with that little fact?  What would you do if you found out your dad had a whole other family?  That could be quite a shock, but Maggies family, well I would be proud to call them family.  Will Susan and Aarons life ever on an even keel?  Again the love of the people in this town is just awesome!
3822239
I really enjoyed this story. I liked the characters and the conflict on the story a whole lot. A lot of characters have roles in the book, so I had a bit of trouble keeping them straight at first, but I got it. :)
This was not your typical wedding story, and it was refreshing! I loved that this romance was clean without any steamy sex scenes, and any innuendo was kept between married couples, which is totally ok with me.  I really enjoyed this one, and may try more in the series.
3653166
I don't consider myself a huge reader but when I picked up this book, I could hardly put it down. I felt as if I was sitting at a table with a friend talking over coffee. It was so inspirational and so encouraging. I have been married for almost nine years and I wish I had had this book when I was a newlywed! Its not a self-help book but a collection of stories from couples who have been happily married from around the world. It was amazing to see that the core elements to having a happy marriage are universal and were seen in each story around the globe. I would highly recommend this book and will definitely be sharing this book with friends and family!
305793
Wow! This book really did take me by surprise, and it was definitely a stunner. The book appears to be a sweet story of two divorced people finding love again after a chance meeting. As I read about their developing relationship, I found myself kind of shaking my head - incredible chemistry, great sex, him pushing her for increasing intimacy, all virtually immediately - really? It seemed over the top and unbelievable, but I pushed through the book despite that, and I never really had a clear suspicion of what the bigger picture was. And then came the big surprise - and it was HUGE!

The story is told from the perspective of Perla, and her point of view, insecurities, and issues are all too clear. She is wounded by her divorce from her "one and only" and is saddled with debt that causes her to work multiple jobs, etc. Matt is an over-the-top wealthy doctor, but the author doesn't really allow us to see much about him other than the fact that he seems too good to be true.

As far as the plot goes, it is absolutely essential to read to the end of the book - what a cliffhanger! My only fear is that the author does such a good job of leading you down the "sweet romance" path, that some readers might stop reading before they get to the end - DON'T DO THAT! The story of Perla and Matt is far more complex than it appears on the surface, and I can't wait to find out what happens next!

*I received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.*
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Magnificent!!! True love and story about marriage. Not everything is like fairy tale
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More? Yes, much more!  The book is well written with a synergistic flow that, I am quite sure, can have been no accident.  The end result is an exciting and well developed plot that keeps you from putting this book down until you absolutely must do so.  From a near impossible "marriage" fraught with hatred and misunderstanding, she truly weaves her magic!
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I was hoping this book would be good, but it was even better than I expected! I've read a lot of marriage self-help books over the years and so far, this one's my favorite. There were a couple of sections the author could have expanded on, but other than that, the book was really good. As soon as I downloaded it, I put a few of the tips into play and I can already see a difference in my relationship with my husband. She also gave me lots of tools around the bigger issues that we're always arguing about, so I feel like I have a pretty good game plan from here on out.

These are the steps:

Step 1: Figure Out What Makes You Resentful

Step 2: Learn When to Say Yes and When to Say No

Step 3: Honor Who You Are and Where You Came From

Step 4: Figure Out What Makes You Happy

Step 5: Reframe and Retrain Your Brain

Step 6: Communicate More Clearly and Effectively

Step 7: Learn How to Have Fun Again

Step 8: Decide What Kind of Marriage You Want to Have

Step 9: Decide What Kind of Life You Want to Have

Personally, I found Steps 3 and 5 most helpful, because they helped me gain a real clarity around the big, recurring issues in my marriage. I never thought it could be so easy to change some of these patterns! Then, once I got closer to the end of the book, Steps 8 & 9 pulled everything together. I wasn't expecting it, but this book is already turning into a game changer.

What I liked:

  The writing was clear and easy to follow. I appreciated how clearly she outlined the issues, then showed me what I could do about them. It was a nice break from books that go on and on without actually giving you any useful information.

  Super-helpful tips for changing the status quo--and there were lots of them! They made the process feel actually achievable.

  Each step is interspersed with personal stories, which helped me feel like I wasn't alone in my predicament.

  There's a big section on how the past affects the present.  I found myself resisting this at first, but as I went deeper and explored my own family roots, I was shocked at the patterns I found and how directly they correlated to the problems in my current marriage.

  I liked that the book was addressed to both men and women. A lot of these books are so touchy-feeling that I can't get my husband to read them, but this time, he was open to reading a few sections alongside me. I think the humor helped.

(This book is about marriage and she doesn't say it, but you can use a lot of these  tips and techniques to better understand the other relationships in your life, too.)

What I didn't like:

  I wish she'd included more information in Step 5, the chapter about rebooting your brain. It was really interesting to read about brain chemistry and its role in resentment, and it made me want to read another book on the subject.

Overall, it's a great little book. I'd definitely recommend it for anyone struggling with their resentment. It's already helped me!
3629415
After reading A Changing Marriage by Susan Kietzman, I can't stop myself from quoting Mignon McLaughlin's famous words about "marriage", who was an American journalist and author.

"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person."

Hopefully if Karen Spears and Bob Parsons had followed this quote blindly, then their marriage wouldn't have been called A Changing Marriage in Susan Kietzman's new book.

Synopsis:
Karen Spears and Bob Parsons fell in love in the first time when they were in college and soon they become the most happening and most envious couple in the whole campus due to their honesty and true love for each other. Bob proposed on his very last year in the college and thus after Karen's graduation they get married in their hometown and began their new life together. However after the birth of their two children and Bob's constant urge to climb the corporate ladder made them drift apart from each other. And eventually they forgot about all the vows they had written down for each other on their marriage day, and finally they forgot to love each other at all. Read this book for sure to find out how they survive in their failing marriage or whether they survive it at all.

According to statistics, there is one divorce in every 10 minutes! Now I'll not start judging the whys and hows behind those divorces, since I'm no expert, moreover, I'm not even married, so I can't say a thing. But this is not about only marriage; it's mainly about any relationship. All, I can say that after reading this book what I learnt is that we need to trust and forgive each other more and more. And it's the sole responsibility of the wife/woman in that relationship to hold the gravity between her husband/man.

What I felt about the book is I'm sure that anyone whoever reads this book even for once will bound to see the goodness and the effects after reading this book. And that's probably is the reason why I love to read this kind of book which makes you see things with a changed perspective. The author has not only made us belief that how it's the responsibility of a couple to make things work in their marriage, but also shown us how to lead life with happiness, kindness, joy unless they are shared with the loved ones. This is a book about relationships of all kinds- between lovers, between parents, between children and parents, between friends.

This is not the first time I'm reading any Susan's book, I read The Good Life which was equally compelling like this book. From the very beginning I found myself feeling gripped to the very core of this tale, which is written compassionately. The flow of narration is smooth and perfect with the portrayal of realistic characters that will make you more connected to the story. The author has handled the fading chemistry between Karen and Bob with such brilliancy and moreover, while reading this tale you'll feel that this kind of stuff and this kind of negative thoughts often come into our mind. From falling in love to proposing to getting settled to having second thoughts to falling apart- every fold of a typical marriage is quite striking described by the author. Because of its realistic edge, the book is an instant page-turner with its engrossing plot.

It's a must-read book for everyone and in one word- simply heart-breaking and thoroughly charming.

Courtesy:
Thanks to the author, Susan Kietzman, for giving me this opportunity to read and review her book.
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What a fun read! Man Hands is the perfect book if you are in need of something funny and light!
I loved the banter of this book, and some dialogues were simply hilarious 

Brynn and Tom's Story starts with a bang, literally. Their attraction is immediate and scorching, but I loved that it wasn't cheesy or a "I love you even if I've known you for 1 min" type of attraction.
The first word that comes to my mind thinking about their relationship is hot, because their sexual chemistry is for sure woooo. And it was described perfectly, without going over the top:)
Their relationship, after the first encounter, progresses quickly, thanks also to the agreement between Brynn and Tom. It was lovely to see how it changed to something more than a simple sexual relationship.
One thing that I really appreciated is that both Brynn and Tom were down to earth, a little self-deprecating, so I had a great time reading their story.

Oh, and last thing: no drama! Absolutely no gratuitous drama, and this is always a huge plus for me!
So yes, absolutely, read this book, you will for sure have a great time!

*Living in Our Own Story* Blog
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Marry in Haste, the first in a new series centered on marriage of conveniences, has restored my faith in Anne Gracie's fantastic characterization, finely woven plots drizzled with sweet humor. This is very much a journey of self-discovery for our hero, Cal, as he learns the value of family and love, and naturally, that marriages are never convenient.

Major Calbourne (Cal) Rutherford is taking a temporary absence from soldiering upon discovering that the Earldom of Ashendon has, surprisingly, fallen on him due to the death of his father and older brother. To say that Cal is unprepared to his new responsibilities is an understatement, for he now has to deal with two headstrong nieces, an aunt who is too sweet to watch over said nieces, and kill the assassin (aptly named The Scorpion) before more victims arise. Cal, used to military discipline, quickly learns that he is ill-prepared to deal with his nieces, and sought help in the form of a marriage of convenience to the only person who can - Emmaline Westwood, respectable teacher at the girls academy his nieces were kicked out from. Thus begins Cal's belief that his "convenience" will remain, while Emm takes care of his nieces. Lord, what fools these mortals be!

Love was never part of the equation, but the growing days as Emm restores order to his household makes Cal realize that his well-ordered life was in fact missing something. For Emm, betrayed by men in her youth and subsequently cast out, she quickly learns that Cal isn't just the harsh man he seems to be, but rather a kind, trusting, honorable man who would do anything for his family. Their journey isn't smooth, but it is devoid of silly plot devices for dramatics. Instead, we are allowed to see each character develop in an organic way, as each action, each step, makes them reflect upon themselves and the loved ones around them. Cal and Emm are not perfect beings, but far from letting us dwell on a handsome visage or a beautiful figure, Ms. Gracie makes them learn from their imperfections so that this journey, this romance, becomes a budding flower in spring.

I enjoyed feeling like a friend to both parties along this journey, and one of the best moments is when, contrary to romance novel hero behavior, Cal confides in Emm his dangerous mission to seek her understanding and help, that his transformation becomes almost complete. The end involves a little bit of adorable fluff, but nonetheless, the characters charm you into their lives, and very quickly, you realize that you never want them to leave you. I remain a grateful fan of Ms. Gracie, and eager for more of this series.

*I received an advanced reader copy via Netgalley for an honest review.
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Luke Brandon finally ties the knot with his beloved Becky Bloomwood. But just like anything that Becky touches, there are bound to be complications -- lots of very expensive and hilarious complications!

It's hard to believe that Sophie Kinsella can keep topping herself with every one of her books featuring this "Lucille Ball" of a character who never met a purchase that she couldn't justify. Shopaholic Ties the Knot takes readers from England to America and back again, following the insanity that evolves when Becky just happens to schedule two weddings at the same time.

How can our girl pass up a fairy-tale Plaza Hotel extravaganza paid for by her future mother-in-law? The fact that there's already a wedding being planned by her own mother back in England is certainly of little consequence... Certainly, it will all somehow work out?

As we've come to expect from Sophie Kinsella, her characters are put through the wringer with hilarious consequences. But in Shopaholic Ties the Knot, we're also in for some deeper issues to be explored with Luke's relationship with his mother, who abandoned him as a child. Becky's perceptions of Luke's grief reflect her deeper, more sensitive side. It's clear that she loves Luke for himself, and not for his considerable wealth.

It's rare that I fall so in love with an author's talent that I feel compelled to buy everything that she writes. Sophie Kinsella is an amazing writer! Don't miss this wonderfully charming and funny novel!
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We aren't very far into this book but so far we LOVE it!  It's a great way to change things up and step out of your comfort zone for each other.  Our marriage is fantastic but I want it to stay that way and making you look at things differently is just what you need after 10+ years!
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AAAHHHH!! I LOVED IT!!  I loved it so much, I almost don't know what to sayhow do you put something so incredibly awesome into words??  Yes, it is THAT awesome! In this modern-day romance, reporter Chloe Lochlan teams up with politician Knox Hamilton to form the ultimate marriage of convenience. And boy, is it ever convenient! He needs a wife to bump his poll numbers, she needs a story- the kind of story she could only get with inside access. When Knox first approaches Chloe, she is hesitant, but the marriage idea isn't so bad.  They have a past together, and the flames are quickly rekindled- or perhaps they never really burnt out. Either way, their reunion is HAWT!

I love Ms. Ballances casual and contemporary writing style. It felt like I was chatting with my bestie! This book has it all- great character interaction, steamy sex scenes, witty one-liners, and an interesting plot. A fun twist on the classic marriage-of-convenience story.  And did I mention the steamy sex scenes?? OMG, soooo hot!! This one is definitely a keeper!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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First Thought after finishing this book: Life is such a messy thing isn't it?

What I liked about this story:

  The different POV's that Riggle presented. Each character was able to really come to life because the reader was able to read their thoughts first hand. I think this made the story work for me because I enjoyed getting to know each one a bit better and to learn what made them tick.
  The younger characters Dylan, Angel, and Jewel. They actually had a lot more common sense than the adults and really put into perspective the effects of divorce and blended families have on the children.
  The father being portrayed as the caregiver for the children and doing ANYTHING to keep them safe from their off-balanced mother. It was quite refreshing to see a dad portrayed in a more positive light!
  Michigan author and Michigan locations- love that!!!!!!

What I didn't like about this story:

  The overwhelming weakness of each of the adult characters. Not one of them had a bit of common sense about them and that drove me crazy!!! I thought Casey was a wimp frankly and really needed to take charge of her life. Michael was a pushover when it came to his ex-wife. Even though I think he was a great dad trying hard to keep it altogether, he caved way too often to his ex-wife and her whining!! Mallory, the ex-wife, just drove me crazy with her neediness and her continual blame game.

Personal Thoughts:
While reading this book I was instantly reminded of what my brother went through when his first marriage ended. He was the one who stayed in the home and kept his girls. He was the one that made sure that they ate, did their homework, chores, and tucked them into bed. He was the one that was there for the tears, the sadness, and the bad days. He's remarried and with the help of his wife they have blended their two families into a seamless unit. He is the type of Dad to be applauded but gets very little accolades for his role as the main parent. Thanks to this book we may see more stories that portray fathers in a much better light!

Recommend? I absolutely would recommend this book to friends. This a chaotic family story and that's what really happens in real life- crazy people, impetuous teenagers, scared children, hurt feelings, secrets, and that fear of someone knowing the real you and deciding that you're not good enough to be loved.

Rating: 8/10