by Dee Ernst
ARC Review
Published: November 19, 2013, Montlake Romance
My rating: 4.5 of 5 ⭐️
With her daughter preparing for her wedding and her youngest son getting ready to graduate from University, widow Kate Everett decides it is finally time for her to make some changes. First of all she wants to downsize. Everything. She gives up her job as a high profile tax lawyer, hoping to do something a little less time consuming, and she sells the big house her kids were raised in and buys a much smaller, but fabulous condo in a luxury townhouse complex. Kate has even, albeit reluctantly, signed up with an online dating site. It's time to move on with her life! Easy going from here on in.....
Of course, the ink hasn't dried on the contracts for the house, or her youngest announces he wants to move back home, and not just that, he is bringing his girlfriend, the one Kate knew nothing about until just then, with him. That wasn't the end of it, the perfect part time job she had lined up suddenly lost it's funding and no longer existed. Then there was the wave hello, on the dating website, from the man who crushed her heart thirty odd years ago.....the big-love-lost, who came right before the man she ended up marrying. That certainly had been nowhere in her plans......
And last, but in no way least, there is her mother, with whom she has not communicated in years, because the woman can carry a mean grudge, who after a nasty fall can no longer stay in her own house and needs someone to look after her. Yea......you guessed it, Kate has the space and the time, and even though mommy dearest does her best to boycott the hell out of the transition, she ends up in Kate's basement. So much for that peaceful 'empty nest' Kate had been dreaming about.
And naturally, with all of this unscheduled and unplanned activity swirling around in her newly chaotic life, her heretofore non-existing dating life suddenly becomes all kinds of active. There is a very nice, but slightly possessive gentleman she is able to get her feet wet with. Then we have her long lost love, Jake who is eager to make up for lost times and right past wrongs. And finally there is the new arrival Edward, her daughter' father-in-law to be, who has just flown in from the UK to attend their wedding.
And Kate thought her life was slowly emptying out.......she has more people now then she knows what to do with!!
******
Brilliantly entertaining story in which I can recognize aspects of my own life, but much, much more amusing!!!
A wonderful variety of characters, for whom we can probably find similar individuals in our own circles. Kate's interactions with her children reminds me of myself with mine in so many ways. The descriptions of her 'talks' with her mother....or rather dialogues, since her mother doesn't say much back, are hilarious and even some part of that dynamic is familiar.
I loved the matter of fact way and humour with which Kate deals with all the roadblocks thrown in her path. She could finally plan for her future at this point, but absolutely nothing goes how she thought it would; nothing comes to fruition. Most of the responding she does by instinct, used, as a mother, to reacting off the cuff when an unexpected situation presents itself. But it's more than that, she adapts and molds with grace, good nature and a smidgen of 'evil', while still trying to make the right choices for her this time around!!!
Dee Ernst shows great insight in issues of all ages, genders, preferences and mind sets and is able to display it all in a delightful way in her characters. This story was an absolute treat to read!!!
✨A vibrant, touching and witty account of the life that happens while you make other plans.✨
**ARC provided by NetGalley and Montlake Romance in return for an honest review.**
Great review. Cant wait to meet Dee tomorrow and read her book!!! Joelle in NJ
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!! Great for me to get feedback! I appreciate it, and give Dee my regards!!😉
Delete