Flirting with Pete

Rating:
Summary: A Touching Tale
Review: I hadn't read a Barbara Delinsky novel before, and this one showed up at my house unexpectedly. I hadn't ordered it, but it came anyways, so I decided to check it out. It's one of the best "book" decisions I've made in a long time.

The novel centers around Casey Ellis. Raised by her mother and not acknowledged by her father, she was constantly searching for approval from her father. She followed in his career path and strived to be as good as him in the field of psychology. It isn't until he passes away and leaves her his townhouse that she really learns about what made him tick and why he chose not to acknowledge her as his daughter.

Casey finds a journal about a young girl named Jenny. Her mother was killed and her father is in prison. Jenny is an outcast and terrified of her father coming home...until she meets Pete. He is everything she ever wanted in a man and makes her feel loved. He is perfect! But is he too good to be true?

Casey can't help but want to know more about Jenny and find this girl. It seems as though her father left her a mystery to solve. This book is the discovery of two girls and their father-daughter relationships..what they need from these men and what they don't. It will make you laugh, cry, want to scream! I recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: A Summer Delight!
Review: It was very creative to weave two stories together. My husband made a comment this morning. "You finished the book? Man, you hardly put it down. Addicting huh?"
Delinsky has the talent to take you into the sights and feelings of her locations and characters.

Rating:
Summary: Flirting with Success
Review: Just loved this latest Delinsky novel - it ranks with my all time favorite Coast Road! Her literary style - a fragmented journal within the main story made for an interesting scenario. Characters in both were essentially trying to conquer their own demons and the author delved into their minds and souls. Jenny and Pete, Casey and Jordan and the other relatives and friends added to the emotional environment. The added touch of mystery was equally enjoying. Several tears were shed over the relationship of Casey and her mother which resonated personally. To see how the journal and the story complemented and evolved and came full circle was satisfying. If I had one complaint it would be about the descriptions of the abundant flowers in the gardens. I am a budding gardener and did pick up some tips but thought the story would have been fine without the excessive descriptions of the flowers.

Flirting with Peter was a quick read, entertaining and interesting as the reader starts to fill in the blanks with the subtle clues. A character study is one of my favorite genre to read and Barbara Delinsky did a superb job in this one.

I'd sure like to meet a Pete or a Jordan!

Rating:
Summary: AN ASSURED READING
Review: Popular voice artist Linda Emond gives an assured reading of Barbara Delinsky's latest heart-tugging tale in which the lives of two women seeking answers are interwoven.

Casey Ellis is a successful young professional woman who has always sought to know her father, famous psychologist Cornelius Unger. Her birth was the result of an almost passing relationship between her mother and the father she has never known. Now, her mother lies comatose, the result of an accident, and her father has died. Surprisingly, he generously remembers Casey in his will, leaving her an elegant townhouse on exclusive Beacon Hill. Not only is the townhouse luxurious, it also comes with a full staff.

Shortly after taking possession of her new home Casey comes across a puzzling journal among her father's papers. It was written by a young woman, Jenny Clyde, who detested her father, a man in prison for killing Jenny's mother. He will soon be released and Jenny fears further abuse from him.

The journal and the story it tells baffle Casey. Is it a true account or fiction? And, very importantly, what does it tell her about the father she would like to know?

Of course, there's romance mixed with the mystery, which is always an irresistible combination.

- Gail Cooke