Rating: 
Summary: Leisurely Reading
Review: For a nice leisurely read this was a great book. I read it in a few days and was a bit disappointed becasue this was my second book by Landvik. Angry Housewives has it all over this one. I guess it's unfair to compare because they have nothing to do with one another. It was a nice read though.
Rating: 
Summary: Southern Hospitality Alive and Well in Minnesota!
Review: Being a true Southern belle, I search for Southern authors that write of Southern tales however, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Southern is indeed a state of mind that has crossed the Mason Dixon Line! This story of two Minnesota sisters and their loves, losses and lives. The strength of the characters is a strong as a cup of Chicory made by Frenchie Boudreaux in the bayou. The Norwegian mother in law with the heart of gold and the gift of a dessert baker - the crazy patrons of Patty Jane's House of Curl - each one jumps out of the pages with sights and smells. This novel will make you grab for the tissues and have you laughing out loud like an idiot. You won't want to leave these women.
Rating: 
Summary: Good story
Review: An interesting story about love lost and the bond between women. A fair amount of heartbreak goes with this story.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Book About Sisters and Relationships! A+++!
Review: I loved this book all the way through, and read it almost straight through without laying it down.
It is about the lives of Patty Jane and Harriet, two sisters who are very close. Patty Jane married a gentleman, Thor at the beginning of the book, and got pregnant soon after. Thor, not ready at all for fatherhood, soon disappears from Patty's life,never to be seen again for years. His reappearnce years down the road, brings forth a shock in more ways then one.
Harriet,the other sister meets a man Avel with whom it's love at first sight. Avel is very very rich as he is heir to a grain fortune. The two plan to marry until Avel is killed in a plane crash instantly, and poor Harriet is so grief-stricken, she turns to drinking. Later on in the story, she falls in love again with Reese, a former alcoholic who helps her to recover.
Patty Jane opens a beauty parlor in her home, namely the House of Curls. This is where people find a support group, and also a school where people can give workshops at night. It becomes a place where people can laugh and cry together.
Nora, Patty Jane's daughter is also one of the story's highlights. When her dad Thor reappears in the story, Nora will learn to cope with his serious handicap and is the one that is of the most help to her dad. When her Aunt Harriet comes down with lung cancer, Nora and her mother as well, have to learn to cope again.
This is a book that is hard to forget.
Rating:
Summary: Heartwarming, predictable....and kind of unpredictable
Review: I'm glad I read PJHOC - it was an easy read with heart. In some ways too much was crammed into one story. The alcoholism seemed to be dealt with and put away a little too neatly and unrealistically. Thor's outcome was borderline ridiculous and frustrating. But the description of Nora's relationship with him was very poignant. A little too much tragedy between the two sisters, although the author has a nice ability to bring the reader to tears (at least this reader) at an unexpected moment.
Rating: 
Summary: I wanted so much more....
Review: So here we have another women's survival story. Landvik starts with a good idea, a young bride whose sexual appetite and pregnancy scare off her too-handsome husband (whose story isn't resolved until almost the end of the book). Patty Jane, her sister, Harriet, and her mother in law, Ione, make an interesting combination, focusing on generational interaction and bonding. The book traverses their lives for about 40 years, mixing joy and adversity.
But, I was hopeful that the characters would come alive, jump off the page and grab me. But they didn't. The characters were almost believable but just not real. They were one dimensional, and lacked depth. The multigenerational storyline is familiar, the troubles almost predictable. There were a few plot twists but on the whole, they felt contrived.
The only true wisdom of the book is toward the end where Patty Jane decides to "pretend" that she can handle all that life has dealt her. Even though she belives she is "pretending," she exhibits strength and perserverence. At least, that's what I hope the author has intended.
This is a quick bedtime or beach read, but nothing that will change your life.
Rating:
Summary: Leisurely Reading
Review: For a nice leisurely read this was a great book. I read it in a few days and was a bit disappointed becasue this was my second book by Landvik. Angry Housewives has it all over this one. I guess it's unfair to compare because they have nothing to do with one another. It was a nice read though.
Rating:
Summary: Just got worse and worse to the point of comedy
Review: Lorna Landvik's novels are worth the money every time. But if you are an inveterate library user, then grab her titles there.Once again, in Landvik's characters, you can expect a generational ride, as the tale won't be over a single day or week or month, but years. And the characters will suffer through the things that life hands them, and find joy and friendship and sufficient humor to pull the reader along. I recommend reading anything Landvik writes. And as a southerner, it is fun to see the "woman story" from the point of view of ladies from the north, those with Scandihoovian roots. I like Landvik's story telling ways.
Rating:
Summary: Great Storyteller - Lorna Landvik
Review: Although there are male characters in this book they stand on the edge. This is a well-balanced story sending the message that women don't need men to succeed but that we all need love and when we invest our heart in someone elses' life we might get hurt. I really enjoyed how this message was communicated to the reader. I salute Lorna Landvik in her realistic portrayal of women within the family!
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