The Summerhouse

Rating:
Summary: Pure escapism and magic!
Review: Ever since I read "A Knight In Shining Armor" years ago, I have been a devoted fan of Jude Deveraux's books. This book is no different ~~ it's so good that I know that I will read it again. In fact, it seems that Jude writes better everytime she gets a new book out!!

A brief meeting between three women at NYC DMV center leads to a reunion 19 years later. The paths these three women took in life only led to sadness and pain for all three of them. They gave up their dreams and aspirations for the men in their lives and when they got together to celebrate their 40th birthday, they commisserated in their misery. Upon discovering Madame Zoya's business card, they decided that maybe they can go back into time and "fix" what went wrong in their lives ~~ a second chance to regain control over their lives. An opportunity that every one of wishes that we could have at one point in our lives.

And what the three ladies, Madison, Leslie and Ellie, have discovered surprised them. They thought they would "fix" things that went wrong in their lives ~~ only to be taught lessons themselves.

It makes for a great beach read or even a rainy day read ~~ let me warn you. You cannot just dump this book halfway through and pick it up days later. This book is so enticing and will grab your attention every chance it can get. =) So knock off a day just to read this book ~~ forget the laundry piling up or send the kids to a play date. This is one book that should be savored and read with a cup of hot tea and chocolate. As a reviewer in People magazine called a book somewhere in its reviews ~~ this book is eye candy. You won't regret an afternoon of pure escapism. Calgon should use Jude's books as their motto ~~ "Take me away" instead of bubble bath ~~ it's more efficient than bubbles!

5-13-02

Rating:
Summary: Would someone please teach her how to write?!
Review: I don't usually read books of this genre, but I liked the premise of having an opportunity to go back to an earlier time, to redo a past mistake(s). And the author had received many favorable reviews. But the book was a disappointment. The writing was stilted and awkward - her words and sentences were without beauty or grace. Similarly, there was no subtlety in the way she discussed her characters. Everything was spelled out bluntly, as if she doesn't expect her readers to be bright enough to read between the lines. I will not be reading any of her other work.

Rating:
Summary: I was disappointed by the middle/ending of the book
Review: I was really very excited to read this book because it sounded similar to the plot of my favorite movie "Sliding Doors". I even got my girlfriend who is a devote of that movie psyched about the title, however I am not sure if I want to give it to her now, I don't want to disappoint her. This is a new author for me, I have never read one of her books, and I really hate it when people give away the whole storyline of the book. However, I will say that the book had a great beginning and even the middle where they get to go back to their past lives was pretty good. My complaint with the book is that the author spent too much time focusing on the beginning of the book and not enough on what happened to the characters during their three week period or what happened to them after they came back and why they made the choices they did. I don't know whether she ran out of pages or time, but I was really disappointed in Part Two and Part Three of the book. It was a major let down after building up the characters so much. I will read another title by this author, however as most people I hate to be disappointed and love a good book to "sink my teeth into". But if I am disappointed again I can't bring myself to read another title by her. She needs to focus on the characters in the middle and end of book as she does in the beginning.

Rating:
Summary: Good concept, but little imagination in the writing
Review: I would definetely recommend this book to anyone looking for a great read! I found it to be horribly close to the American home, the three women involved going through such real (sometimes exaggerated, but nonetheless real)disasters. And then a chance to do it all over again... This book teaches about the rarity of second chances. Live life to the fullest now!

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Summary: Sometimes a Girl Just has to Read a Romance
Review: Leslie Headrick has a husband who she believes is having an affair with his personal assistant, a girl half her age named Bambi of all things. Her children don't seem to know she's alive. And her life seems to be one committee meeting after another. Her husband has taken over the house she loved and turned it into a showcase she hates. Years ago she had a summerhouse out back that she'd planed on setting us as a dance studio, her retreat from the world, but her husband put a TV out there and her children started storing their junk in it, so now even that isn't hers.

Elle Abbott is a writer who hasn't been able to write a word ever since her good for nothing husband took everything she had in a brutal divorce. He claimed he co-wrote her books and the judge believed him, so now she has to support him for the rest of his life off her royalties. And if that isn't bad enough, she's gained forty pounds since the divorce. Her life has gone to pot.

Madison Appleby, who used to have such big plans, wound up going back to Montana to care for a fiancée who had jilted her. He'd had an accident and can't walk. His wealthy parents were cheap and because Madison had some nurses training all of a sudden she was a good catch for their invalid son. She married him and her life had gone downhill ever since.

Nineteen years ago, these three woman met when they had such promise, now Elle wants to meet her friends again. She asks them to visit for a few days in a cabin in Maine. Leslie and Madison come and while out for an evening walk they decided to go to visit Madam Zoya who tells them she can send them back to any point in time and they can change their lives. Can she? And if so, will the change be for the better?

I am a voracious reader, but as a general rule I don't read romance. My tastes run more to King, Koontz, Baldacci and Grisham, but every now and then a girl just has to read a romance and when I do, there is no contest, I buy a book written by Jude Deveraux, because she writes a story as good as anybody out there. Plus she can add that certain touch of the unbelievable, a la Madam Zoya, and have the reader swallow it hook line and sinker, and come back begging for more. Ms. Deveraux never disappoints and THE SUMMERHOUSE is one of her best.

Reviewed by Stephanie Sane

Rating:
Summary: a chance for change
Review: THE SUMMERHOUSE tells the story of Ellie, Leslie, and Madison who meet on their twenty-first birthdays at the Department of Motor Vehicles in New York City. They spend only a few hours together, but during this time they share their dreams for careers in New York. Ellie hopes to become an artist, Leslie longs to be a dancer, and Madison expects success as a model. Nineteen years later, as her fortieth birthday approaches, Ellie is urged by her therapist to reconnect with Leslie and Madison. They meet in Maine for a weekend and share the stories of their lives. Ellie became a best-selling author but is coping with depression after having been through a financially disastrous divorce. Leslie left New York to marry her college sweetheart who has controlled her life. When she didn't achieve success as a model, Madison returned home to marry and nurse her unappreciative invalid husband. While in Maine, the three find themselves in the home of Madame Zoya whose business card asks, "Have you ever wanted to rewrite your past?" Madame Zoya explains that each woman can relive any three weeks from her life, and at the end of three weeks each one may keep her life as it is or go with the new future she has created. Because all are unhappy, they take the opportunity to relive the three weeks. Then a new choice must be made - to return to the present life or go with a new future.

Jude Deveraux is the author twenty-six bestsellers including A KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR, HIGH TIDE, AN ANGEL FOR EMILY, AND LEGEND. She is one of today's top selling romance authors

THE SUMMERHOUSE is based on an interesting idea. The thought of visiting Madame Zoya and having an opportunity to make new choices is intriguing. Deveraux describes the women in detail, and from the beginning the author is quite clear about the decisions Ellie, Leslie, and Madison have made that led them on the paths their lives have taken. By the time the women have the opportunity to relive the three weeks, the reader is focused on which decisions they need to make in order to have a happier life. This is a strength of the novel because it leads the reader to care about the choices they make.

Although the book is a bestseller, it has many weaknesses. The women are portrayed as independent women, yet their identities seem to depend on their relationships with the men in their lives. Physical appearance seems to be a critical factor in determining the happiness of both the men and the women. The characters lack depth, and although the author tries to avoid stereotypes, she is not always successful. For example, Madison is portrayed as a woman who wants to be noticed for her intelligence rather than her beauty, but when Thomas says "you're the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life," she wonders if he means "the most beautiful" or "just one of the most beautiful." The word beautiful is a major descriptive word throughout the book, and other adjectives include cute, delicious, and dazzling - not vocabulary one expects from a best-selling author.

THE SUMMERHOUSE will appeal to readers who enjoy an easy-to-read romance novel. Others who want to escape into another's life or examine the choices in their own lives will enjoy the premise of THE SUMMERHOUSE.

Rating:
Summary: A great read even the third time!
Review: This book is just fast enough to keep you on your toes. The characters are real enough to care about and the plot although not realistic (by intent) is well plotted out and exciting to witness. You won't be bored for even a moment!

Rating:
Summary: Silly
Review: This book was amazing from start to finish. The characters are very real, tender people who make you feel as though you know them. This book ran me through a rollercoaster of emotions. It was an utter joy to read!

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Summary: The Summerhouse basks with imagination
Review: While The Summerhouse requires a fertile imagination to be appreciated but once your belief is suspended, the wistful read will enchant with sheer escapism. Jude Deveraux begins the sorority read with a serendipitous meet at the New York Motor Vehicle Department where three women Leslie, Ellie and Madison fatefully exchanged their personal tales. When they reunite twenty years later at Maine, each is haunted and distressed by their personal lives. Leslie finds the happiness of her marriage on the verge of crumbling; Madison gave up a modeling career to care for her wastrel-of-a husband and Ellie is viciously betrayed by her husband, leaving her impoverished and depressed. The tale takes a twist when they chanced upon Madame Zoya who offers them the opportunity to relive their past for three weeks and leaving them open options thereafter.

The Summerhouse's unconventional plot is narrated with clarity from Deveraux's focused writing. Beneath the cloak of fun time-travelling and a glimpse of the past bears a gentle cautionary tale of living lives without regrets. The warmth of the friendship and reunion basks against the reclaiming of their self-esteem, love and belief. With such a bright perspective on the small miracles of life and luminous ever-afters, The Summerhouse engages as the perfect beach-read.