The Man I Should Have Married

Rating:
Summary: KEPT ME UP ALL NIGHT!
Review: At least 20 years ago there was a Hollywood movie called 'An Unmarried Woman' starring Jill Clayburgh. Although Jill started out sad because her husband dumped her, in no time at all she found a gorgeous apartment, a glamorous job and a great romance with Alan Bates, a sexy, sophisticated artist who was more sensitive and devoted than her husband had ever been. Back then there was something liberating about the idea that a woman could be better off without her selfish husband, but now the movie looks embarrassingly naive.

Pamela Satran's novel is just as far-fetched. It's lucky for Kennedy that her cartoonish husband doesn't appreciate her, since it frees her to hook up with her conveniently available old sweetheart, Declan. Any obstacles to Kennedy's fabulous new life are swept away in an instant. Unfortunately, while this might have been an entertaining fairytale for grown-ups, the writing isn't witty enough to carry it off. The love story between Kennedy and Declan remains as shallow and contrived as their oh-so trendy names.

Rating:
Summary: FUN - FUN - FUN
Review: I am not a wordy person personally. Therefore, I would like to say that this book was fun and entertaining and isn't that what reading is all about. If someone wants an indepth subject they should not have picked this book. It was FUN AND ENTERTAINING. GET it you'll like it.

Rating:
Summary: Great women's literature
Review: I could LITERALLY not put this book down, My kids had Pizza 3 nights in a row because of it. This is a very well written book which i fould very empowering and engrossing. I can not say the same for my husband, this book was defintly written for women.

Rating:
Summary: MY FAVORITE BOOK OF THE YEAR
Review: I'm a longtime fan of Pamela Redmond Satran's essays and humor pieces in Glamour, Redbook, and Parenting, and I also love her baby-naming books -- she wrote the classic Beyond Jennifer & Jason. So I was very excited to discover that she had turned her talents to novels, and I was not disappointed. This is a wonderful book -- very funny, completely involving, with characters who feel like people you want to know. She's got the mother-daughter thing down pat and I loved reading about the heroine's very real struggle to find a rewarding career after spending several years at home as a full-time mom. I can't wait for Pamela Satran's next novel!

Rating:
Summary: MY FAVORITE BOOK OF THE YEAR
Review: Thank you Amazon.com! This book was recommended to me when I logged on to buy something else and boy, am I glad. I probably wouldn't have given it more than a passing glance in the bookstore, but I read the other reviews here on Amazon and was impressed. I finished this book wanting more. I was drawn into the lives of Kennedy and Declan and have been wondering since finishing the book just last night: What would have happened between this couple if the book was just a bit longer? Don't get me wrong, the ending was quite satisfying as was the whole reading experience, but I for one wasn't ready to let the story end.

Kennedy Burns very quickly finds herself as a single mother when her husband Frank leaves her as well as his job at a lucrative law firm to become of all things, a yoga instructor!! Kennedy also happens to be dealing with a very difficult teenage daughter who wants to find her real father. This premise has been dealt with in lots of women's fiction before this, but I really felt that this book dealt all these things in a fresh, new way.

At first, I really couldn't relate to Kennedy. I thought her character was flat and there didn't seem to be a connection between her and her daughters or for that matter, what was happening in her life. I felt that the author was just simply telling a story and as the reader, I was just reading the words printed on the page, I wasn't becoming involved. But that is the beauty of this novel. I continued to change my opinion as Kennedy changed, matured and grew into her new life. A nice thing to see was that Kennedy, who was once very dependent transformed into someone very self-reliant.

Because of the cover art and the title one might think that this is just another run of the mill chick-lit book. Really, there is something deeper and more satisfying at work here. You will be sad when this one ends!!

Rating:
Summary: A Fun, Fast Delightful Read!
Review: Thank you Amazon.com! This book was recommended to me when I logged on to buy something else and boy, am I glad. I probably wouldn't have given it more than a passing glance in the bookstore, but I read the other reviews here on Amazon and was impressed. I finished this book wanting more. I was drawn into the lives of Kennedy and Declan and have been wondering since finishing the book just last night: What would have happened between this couple if the book was just a bit longer? Don't get me wrong, the ending was quite satisfying as was the whole reading experience, but I for one wasn't ready to let the story end.

Kennedy Burns very quickly finds herself as a single mother when her husband Frank leaves her as well as his job at a lucrative law firm to become of all things, a yoga instructor!! Kennedy also happens to be dealing with a very difficult teenage daughter who wants to find her real father. This premise has been dealt with in lots of women's fiction before this, but I really felt that this book dealt all these things in a fresh, new way.

At first, I really couldn't relate to Kennedy. I thought her character was flat and there didn't seem to be a connection between her and her daughters or for that matter, what was happening in her life. I felt that the author was just simply telling a story and as the reader, I was just reading the words printed on the page, I wasn't becoming involved. But that is the beauty of this novel. I continued to change my opinion as Kennedy changed, matured and grew into her new life. A nice thing to see was that Kennedy, who was once very dependent transformed into someone very self-reliant.

Because of the cover art and the title one might think that this is just another run of the mill chick-lit book. Really, there is something deeper and more satisfying at work here. You will be sad when this one ends!!

Rating:
Summary: Okay Read.
Review: The Man I Should Have Married could use an edit to the super-long title, but the novel is practically perfect. It follows the story of Kennedy Burns, who takes her life into her own hands after her husband, Frank, leaves her for another woman. Kennedy is faced with raising two daughters, renovating a dilapidated house, and reconnecting with two men from her past.

The novel goes by quickly, too quickly. I could not put it down! It's a romantic fantasy and would make a wonderful film!

Rating:
Summary: Okay Read.
Review: This book wasn't not the greatest read by any means. I just couldn't love any of the characters. Kennedy, the main character reminded me of the stereotypical "trailer park trash." In fact, it began to bore me to tears. Her and Declan were on again/off again....that it got redundant. Finally by pg. 240, I skipped to the end, which I never normally do, to find out where this on-going garbarge was leading.

I just couldn't get into this one at all. I've been a big reader of chick lit for a while and this doesn't hold a torch to some. This author should continue writing for magazines and leave the novels to more experience writers.