Rating: 
Summary: One of the BEST
Review: Summerhouse is the best book I have read in a long time. Jude Deveraux is an artist that keeps me reading into the wee hours of the night. I read this book in a few days-- I couldn't put it down. The thought of seeing what life would be like in the "what ifs" was really fun.
Rating: 
Summary: From Bad to Worse
Review: I found the first few chapters to be cheesy and contrived. And then it got worse. The author first started losing me with the ice cream/"Ira's Girls" bit -- just not a credible event. My alarm went off, but I (unfortunately) kept reading. Eventually, the book turned into a completely unsuccessful attempt to blend unbelievable and unimaginative reality with hokie fantasy. All in all, an absurd story and an awkward and frustrating read.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Beach Book
Review: This is the first Jude Deveraux book I have read. I found the story line a little hard to believe. I mean, if you had just met two other people at the DMV, would you go spend a week-end with them 19 years later? Getting past that, it was a fast read with an interesting twist, but a little too quick to tie up the loose ends. I am glad I got this at the library and did not buy it. It is not a book that I would read again.
Rating:
Summary: Fate?
Review: How would you like to go back in time and correct past mistakes made in your life? That's exactly what these three women did in one of most interesting Jude Deveraux novels ever. Leslie, Madison and Ellie, three women who just turned 21 years of age meet at the DMV in NYC ready to conquer the world discover they not only share the same birthday but each is destined to meet again in the unforeseeable future. Leslie once destined to become a famous dancer is now a wife and mother of two children who feels her family has taken her for granted and that her husband is cheating on her. Ellie who had dreamed of being an artist but turned novelist in order to support herself and a husband who won't find a job. Ellie can't seem to get over the injustice done to her when she divorced this lazy man who has taken away her dreams and her money. Madison a beauty with a good heart who ended up not going to college in order to take care of her sick mother. Her hometown finances her way to NY to become a model. Madison ends up marrying the man she loved but who dumped her for a "smarter" woman and who has now been injured in an auto accident but his cheap parents who won't pay for a nurse and gets Madison to rehabilitate Roger for free. As each woman nears her 40th birthday, Ellie looks up the other two and suggests spending the weekend together and each discovers the lives they planned to live at 21 and the ones they attained at almost 40 are totally different. Each woman is miserable for totally different reasons and after an outing to a local restaurant each woman discovers a card which states " Futures Inc. Have your ever wanted to rewrite your past?, Madame Zoya can help". Well these ladies decide to visit Madame Zoya and that's when their lives take a definite turn. Would you go back to the past with the knowledge of the future in order to correct mistakes you had made? I wish it were possible but since it's not, enjoy this wonderful novel of three women who had the opportunity and did just that. Believe me you won't be able to put this novel down until you finish it, it was simply fantastic!
Rating:
Summary: What would you choose?
Review: Jude Devereaux really surprises the reader in this one. It's very different than her recent endeavors. It takes me back to "A Knight In Shining Armor", which is the first book I read by Jude. Although it takes place in a totally different time frame, you are engrossed in the book from beginning to end. It left me wondering what I would choose to do, given the opportunity. The only thing I will reveal is that if you are anywhere near the age of forty, what would you change about your life knowing what you know now? I recommended it to a friend and she read it in two days... it would've been one if not for that pesky thing we call jobs!
Rating:
Summary: Refreshingly New Perspective
Review: Despite many of the mixed reviews I read here, I ordered this book anyway, and was very glad I did. I find Ms. Devereaux's work to be hit-and-miss, but overall enjoy her work quite a bit. This novel, however, was truly excellent. It helped me face my impending aging with the perspective that life is not over at 30, or 40, or 50, depite what many books, magazines and movies seem to tell us, and that we can start over or re-make our lives in whatever way we wish - even if we don't get to go back in time. These women were very rich creatures, had made mistakes as all of us do, and yet were given the opportunity to retrace their steps and right an ancient misstep - what a fantasy! I found Madison's story the most compelling and wished for more. This reminds me somewhat of Katherine Stone's work, in the development of such different stories at once, and I think we receive enough detail but each of these stories could easily fill its own book. Great read, you won't be able to stop turning the pages until you finish.
Rating: 
Summary: After "Temptation" - could it get any worse?
Review: I am truly amazed. My favorite author has written another book that is totally off-beat. Where is she getting these story lines? Where is she getting these characters? After reading her last book, "Temptation", I assumed it couldn't get any worse. I was proven wrong. I don't know how anyone who has written so many wonderful stories can lose their talent so quickly. This book was published because of the name of the author, not the written material. If a book like this was submitted for publication by an unknown, it wouldn't make it beyond the first few paragraphs, before being "returned to sender". I have learned my lesson. After two in a row, I'm moving on. Better yet, I'll just go back and read all her GOOD books for a third time to remind myself why she was the best for many years.
Rating:
Summary: SLOW, MEANINGLESS
Review: I did not like this book at all. This is the frist (also last)book that I have read by Jude Deveraux. I found it slow and very shallow. What more can I say? Save your money.
Rating:
Summary: Twice in a lifetime...
Review: After taking some time to spend with her new baby, Jude Deveraux has finally come back to the writing scene. She burst back in with the wonderful _Temptation_, she gave us a teaser in _A Season in the Highlands_ and now she's got her next fabulous book- _The Summerhouse_. I bought literally sight unseesn, but I had a little apprehension and didn't know if my hard earned money would be wasted on buying this in hardcover. Let me tell you, this book was worth every penny. Haven't we all wondered about what we would change in our lives? That one that got away, the plane we didn't take, the vacation plans that fell through... Everyone always wishes they could change something. The three main characters in _The Summerhouse_ get that chance. Jude Deveraux brings her book alive and the plot is fantastic. Leave it to Ms. Deveraux to dig up an old storyline and make it fresh and exciting. She revived time travel with _A Knight in Shining Armor_, and she has now put a new twist to it in _The Summerhouse_. Sure, it's not totally 100% perfect- the ending is a little choppy, but it's not enough to bring down my opinion of this book. For all of you Jude Deveraux fans who've been missing her, she's back and stronger then ever with _The Summerhouse_. This is one book you've got to read.
Rating: 
Summary: The Summerhouse
Review: The Summerhouse was a decent book. I have recommended it to my friends. It was, however, redundant and overly descriptive at times. The premise is great, but I think too much of the book was spent on the characters' past lives--or maybe too little time on the characters' current lives. She glossed over the most important part of the book. The murder part was extraneous. It really didn't fit into the plot. Overall, I would recommend the book to romance lovers. As with all of JD books,the characters are heartwarming and interesting, and she makes for light reading.
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