Rating: 
Summary: "Trust"-fund tot
Review: "Legally Blonde" author Amanda Brown's "Family Trust" is exactly the sort of ultra-light fluff that would be more fun as a movie. It's so light and frothy and predictable that it ultimately is a lot more annoying than entertaining, with the designer brand-names and cutesy kids.Becca Reinhart is a high-powered businesswoman. Edward Kirkland is an idling playboy with a shallow socialite girlfriend. The only thing they have in common (besides oodles of money and a disinclination to marry) is friendship with the adoring couple Amy and Arthur. Unfortunately, Amy and Arthur are killed in a tragic plane crash, leaving a four-year-old daughter behind. But because they were unmarried and made separately, their wills leave joint custody to Becca and Edward. Despite the fact that they don't even know each other, Becca and Edward do their best to be a surrogate mommy and daddy for little Emily. They have no experience, and have to deal with nosy child shrinks, a delighted "Bubbe," and their own growing attraction. "Family Trust" is your basic chick-lit with a precociously, sickeningly cute child thrown in, apparently because Becca and Edward would be disgusted by each other otherwise. You can basically tell within in the first few chapters just what is going to happen at the end. And the stretch of goofy plot developments, like Becca hunting down a nice Jewish man to marry quickly, don't make the trip any more fun. Brown's writing is amusing and breezy in many places with her spoofing of yuppie childrearing, but it lacks wit. In its place, she puts dozens of brand-names, chic New York locales, and drooling descriptions of the characters' clothes, hair and furniture. It's amusing in a way for a few chapters, but then the materialism starts to wear a bit thin -- enough about tiaras, Mozart classes, mohair cardigans, and no more about "jungle cat" fads. Becca and Edward are singularly flat characters -- they're both gorgeous single people with a soft spot for kids. Not much more to them than that. Emily herself is one of those obviously fake, idealized small children that populate such books. The one shining star is Becca's warm, flamboyantly-dressed mom, who comes across as the most real person in the whole book. Predictable and lighter than a feather, "Family Trust" is a basic point-A-to-point-B chick-lit novel, with forgettable characters and blah writing.
Rating: 
Summary: Amanda Brown has written a witty and fast-paced book
Review: Amanda Brown, the author of LEGALLY BLONDE, has another success on her hands with her second novel, FAMILY TRUST. This witty and fast-paced book follows the relationship of two people, Becca Reinhart and Edward Kirkland, who are thrown together after Becca's best friend Amy and her significant other Arthur, Edward's best friend, die in a plane crash. Their wills name Becca and Edward as joint legal guardians of their four-year-old daughter, Emily. Parenthood is the last thing on either Becca's or Edward's mind. Becca is a hyper, high-strung successful businesswoman whose every move is dictated by her palm pilot and her jam-packed schedule. She has little time for dating, let alone parenting. Edward is a rich guy whose social life takes up more time than a nine-to-five workday would. His job seems to be present at various functions at which his family donates money. However, both of them rise to the challenge of being parents to Emily and strive to put her needs first. They begin a three-month trial period. At the end of three months, the judge will determine who will receive permanent custody. The judge tells them that if one of the two marries, chances are that that party will be the one to receive permanent custody. Becca takes a two-month paid leave from her job, and Edward and Becca move in to the apartment that Emily's parents bequeathed to her so Emily would not have to leave the only home she has known. Becca and Edward both play a large role in Emily's life, taking her to various lessons, playing with her, and tucking her in at night. But all is not idealistic in their world. A viper named Bunny dwells there as well. Bunny, or Roberta Stirrup, is a nasty woman whose main purpose in life is to marry Edward. Bunny was picked by Edward's mother to marry Edward when they were young children, based on her status. Bunny figures that when she and Edward marry, she will send Emily off to boarding school to get her out of her hair. Needless to say, the tide of maternal feelings does not flow deeply in Bunny. Bunny bamboozles Edward into a wedding date, which may seem slightly unbelievable, until readers learn how driven Bunny truly is --- even though Edward realizes he has fallen in love with Becca. Becca resigns herself to having lost Emily and Edward. But the path of love is full of twists and turns, which readers will enjoy negotiating while reading this book. Both Edward and Becca are characters who readers will come to care for, and Emily is a sweetheart. In addition, readers will love to hate Bunny and will be waiting for her to receive her comeuppance. Brown's writing style flows well, and she seems to have a good sense of both the business and domestic worlds. FAMILY TRUST will most likely appeal to female readers in their twenties and thirties. Do I see movie rights to this book in Brown's future as well? It's possible --- and it would be quite welcomed. Becca Reinhart is a career-oriented woman who has no desire to marry and raise a family. Edward Kirkland is a rich playboy with a very busy social life. But when a little girl named Emily enters their lives, these two individuals who have never met suddenly find themselves immersed in the trials and tribulations of domestic life. --- Reviewed by Melissa A. Martin
Rating: 
Summary: Light-hearted Romantic Fairy Tale
Review: Becca Reinhart is a Jewish girl from Brooklyn who has become a high powered Wall Street whiz-bang. She is so busy rushing from one important meeting to another that she barely has time to schedule a cup of coffee. Edward Kirkland comes from Old Money. He is a laid-back, relaxed young man who has never held a real job, except to administer his family's philanthropic foundation. He spends most of his evenings in a tuxedo, attending various chi-chi social events to raise money for worthy causes. Things begin to change when the two of them are named co-guardians of a newly orphaned four year old Emily. This is a culture clash that would put The Nanny to shame. The romance is rocky with numerous complications. There is so much to learn about parenting, about relationships, about getting a kid accepted in the right schools! And then, there is Bunny Stirrup, the absolutely delightful villain of the book who is expected to marry Edward. So, what will happen? Will Edward and Becca end up happily together? Or, will they come to their senses? Read it and find out. There is nothing believable about this whole story. If you accept that, and read it as a light-hearted romantic fairy tale, you will enjoy it. Author Amanda Brown does a little too much explaining, too much looking inside her characters' heads; but she has a wonderful sense of humor, and she gets you to care about her characters. Oh, and you will ADORE the villain! Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.
Rating:
Summary: So much Fluff it could just fly away
Review: Becca Reinhart is thirty something who thinks about work. Edward Kirkland was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. They didn't have anything in common, until they had custody of little Emily Sterns, thats when all their lives change. But some people including Bunny Stirrup don't want this new family survive and they would anything to stop it.
This book looks like it would be fun. But Ms. Brown does bring any real emotions behind the characters. Many of the characters seem so fake would not act the why that did real life. It was an okay but seem to lack something.
Rating: 
Summary: Don' t waste your time with this book
Review: I am all about mindless beach reads but this book was such a waste of time. The main characters are totally unbelievable. I was so bored with them - of course they will end up together, they had no conflict from the start! And obviously the author has little experience with children because no child happily replaces her dead parents with a couple of family friends. Don't waste your time on this book.
Rating:
Summary: Don' t waste your time with this book
Review: I am all about mindless beach reads but this book was such a waste of time. The main characters are totally unbelievable. I was so bored with them - of course they will end up together, they had no conflict from the start! And obviously the author has little experience with children because no child happily replaces her dead parents with a couple of family friends. Don't waste your time on this book.
Rating:
Summary: i LOVED this book..
Review: i dont see why everyone's reviews are on the down side because i thought it was great.. i read it in one sitting 2 hours..
the book is about Becca overworked and no social life and Edward who's whole life is social.. both of their friends die and they are awarded joint custody of emily...it continues on to become a great story..
Rating: 
Summary: decent but nothing extrordinary
Review: I'm a big chick lit reader, and after reading a couple of reviews of this book i decided to get it. I guess my expectations were so high that i was slightly disappointed when i began reading. its hard to have a light and funny story when the first few chapters dive into explaining the contrasting personalites of the two people, and then into the tragic accident. there was not much chemistry or interaction between Becca and Edward. the shining star of the story was little Emily with her bright personality. Even though the book was a decent read, i wouldnt recommend this book as a must read but as a if you are bored and have nothing else, why not read. some books i definitely recommend are "Can you keep a Secret" by Sophie Kinsella, "Boy Meets Girl" & "Boy Next Door" by Meg Cabot. make sure you bring extra books because you will fly through these books.
Rating:
Summary: unreadable
Review: I'm joining "amyincanton" in the minority. Given the large number of books being written in this genre, I would put this one way at the bottom of the list. Saying the characters are "unrealistic" just doesn't give the flavor - after all, none of these books are really realistic, and if we can identify with the characters, we don't care. But here is mean "so far off the map that they aren't even realistic for a chick lit romance" and the plot too preposterous for suspension of disbelief. I was irrevocably turned off after two pages of reading about Becca's great life -- come ON, even Warren Buffet doesn't live that life, and at 31 or so, a highly successful banker/investment adviser/FEMALE is still going to have many bosses above her and much less power. And that kind of unrealism to that degree, is a real turn-off for me. (Plus, it made her unlikeable in her invinceability). I also agree that the idea that some rich guy today would marry at his mama's bidding is ludicrous, and if there were such a person, he would be a candidate for serious psychiatric counseling.
Rating:
Summary: Wimpy--And not just the male protagonist!
Review: Okay, I realize from the other reviews, that I am in the minority of people who really didn't like this book. To me, though, this book lacked passion, originality, a believable plot, and likeable characters (including the little four-year-old girl who needed a lot more discipline than she was getting). Without saying too much as to spoil the ending (but, honestly, was anyone REALLY surprised by the ending?), I just have to say that I just found the whole premise, including the love story, to be ludicrous! Who would list someone as guardian of their child without consulting that person first to make sure that your child would be left in capable, welcoming hands? Did Amy and Arthur really consider Becca and Edward as the parental types? What groom-to-be of such wealth would be such a doormat that he would just meekly go along with a forced wedding in which he didn't love the bride, and really was only expected to show up the day of the wedding? Also, with Edward's incredible wealth, I didn't buy for one moment that he and Becca would have had that much difficulty getting Emily into a preschool. And, I want to know what happens after the book ends (again not to give away the "surprise" ending) (...). This book was filled with unflattering stereotypes and occurrences that were neither plausible or interesting. For those other reviewers who applauded this book for being good "light reading," I think for my light reading, I'll stick to books by Sandra Brown or Linda Howard.
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