First Lady

Rating:
Summary: Not Up to Standards
Review: I had this book ordered for a month as I anxiously waited for it to ship. As soon as I got it, I sat down to read it. Unfortunately, the story just never grabbed me the way her other books have. I still get teary eyed re-reading parts of Dream a Little Dream and Nobody's Baby but Mine - but First Lady didn't move me the way those books did. Of course, Susan Elizabeth Phillips being OK still surpasses a lot of other writers being great, so buy it, read it, just don't expect to fall in love with it.

Rating:
Summary: Her best work to date
Review: Three blocks from the White House, a gun fanatic assassinates the President of the United States. Cornelia Case is devastated by the death of Dennis even though she feels pangs of guilt by thinking she no longer needs to perform in the media spotlight. However, the new President Lester Vandervort, a sixty-four year old bachelor, asks Nealy to remain as the First Lady. Her father, the powerful James Litchfield, refuses to listen to his daughter's need to heal. She tries to do what is right for the country over the next six months, but Nealy cannot take it anymore. She decides to vanish, knowing the world will look for her and ultimately find her.

Nealy accepts a ride with reporter Mat Jorik who is escorting his "two daughters" whose mother died six weeks ago to their grandmother's home in Iowa. The older girl is defiant and wants Mat to leave them alone. As they journey west, the quartet of travelers become a caring unit who love each other. Still, she is the most famous woman in the world and when the Secret Service catches up to them, there will be four unhappy people unless Nealy allows her heart to rule and not her politically correct father.

FIRST LADY is a humorous contemporary romance that will leave readers admiring the talent of Susan Elizabeth Phillips to turn a fantasy into a wonderful tale. The story line centers on the interrelationship of the travelers and the nation-wide search for the missing First Lady. The characters make the novel seem believable because they feel so genuine. After reading a Ms. Phillips book, readers will dream they have tasted a bit of heaven, as this author is so good she writes like an angel.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: SEP's best so far
Review: About a month ago, a friend recommended SEP's works and I read most of them in one frenzy of enjoyment--as a writer, she's funny, does great characterization, and has a nice touch with POV. But usually I'd have one little problem or another--perhaps a dead spot, perhaps an argument with the hero/heroine that didn't seem to ring true. Not enough to keep me from reading this extremely talented writer, but still... I won't be saying that about this book. First Lady, IMO, has no structural problems at all--the pace zips right along, the conflicts ring true, and the characterization and the feeling of family she always brings to her books are all there. I read this in less than a day and cried buckets near the end. My only quibble (let's see if I can say this without being a spoiler)is that I don't think the hero could've kept his profession at the end...it's called conflict of interest (I used to work in his profession). But that's really minor. All in all, this is a terrific book and I'd recommend it to all SEP and contemporary romance fans.

Rating:
Summary: Another sleepless night
Review: Another sleepless night...I look forward to Susan Elizabeth Phillips' pub dates like I look forward to Christmas! This book kept me up all night laughing and crying. Having a sexy man, an interesting and mysterious heroine, a sullen teenager, and a toddler stuck in motor home together is hilarious. Ms. Phillips knows teenage girls and babies! And she knows about love. She continues to be my favorite author. Buy this for someone for Valentine's Day. I loved it.

Rating:
Summary: Another winner from Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Review: Susan Elizabeth Phillips has done it again! First Lady is an absolute joy to read. I laughed out loud, I wiped away tears...but most of all, I couldn't put it down. For those of you who have already read Ms. Phillips, you know what to expect: humor, sensuality, tenderness, and a cast of characters that are just wacky enough to be completely real. And if you haven't read Susan before, all I can say is settle in for the best reading time you've spent this year. Don't miss First Lady.

Rating:
Summary: Better than "Lady Be Good"
Review: This book has a fun premise: a presidential widow wants a break from living her life in the public eye. After "escaping" from the White House, she winds up travelling cross country with a hunk, a teenager and a baby. I don't think the ending measures up to the author's usual standard, but it was definitely an enjoyable read.

Rating:
Summary: BEYOND FIVE STARS
Review: What can I say about a book by Susan Elizabeth Phillips that hasn't already been said? She is one of those rare individuals who have talent beyond belief. I only discovered her two years ago, but since then have read (and re-read) all of her books. FIRST LADY is everything and more I have come to anticipate and expect from Susan E. Phillips. Make sure you have several hours free when you start reading because if you are like me, once you start, you won't be able to put it down. Another incredible story! Five stars are not high enough.

Rating:
Summary: good, but not as good as dream a little dream
Review: First Lady was a good read. Better than Lady Be Good, but not half as entertaining or moving as Phillips bestseller, Dream a Little Dream, nor as funny as Heaven, Texas. Mat has a major chip on his shoulder (of course), but melts under the charm and zest of Nealy and baby Button (who created the lightest moments in the book) Would have liked to see more of Nealy's father and his reaction to the whole escape. The trek across middle America helps move the book along quite well, and I got a kick out of the characters they meet along the way. I was anxiously awaiting First Lady, and was mildly disappointed. But i don't regret rushing out to buy it the minute it hit the stores.

Rating:
Summary: Very Enjoyable!
Review: Not so much a romance as an homage to family (the non-traditional variety) and to those decent folks willing to subject themselves to the scrutiny and ugliness that can accompany a life in politics.

First Lady Cornelia "Nealy" Case is burned out. She's been in the public eye all her life first as the daughter of the Vice President (now the party chairman) and most recently as First Lady. But the death of her President husband presents her with her first thoughts of freedom - until the new President, a widower, asks her to stay on and act as his First Lady. She very reluctantly agrees, but after six miserable months she plots her escape!

Journalist Mat Jorik is in career crisis. He's looking to regain his journalistic integrity after an ill-advised foray into tabloid TV. All he needs is that Big Story that will put him back on top again. But in the meantime, he's got other, bigger problems. He's become responsible for the two daughters of his ex-wife who has recently died. The last thing he wants is to care for two kids that aren't even his (especially after practically raising his six younger sisters!), and so he packs them into a Winnebago and embarks on a trip from Pennsylvania to their grandmother's in Iowa.

These unlikely travelers meet up at a truck stop when Nealy's car and money are stolen. Nealy, disguised as a pregnant woman down on her luck, is not recognized and Mat offers to let her travel with them if she will take care of the children and she agrees. And so begins this strange odyssey of a man who doesn't want a family, a woman who's getting her first taste of a normal life and two kids who desperately need a family. My heart went out to fourteen-year-old Lucy, sullen and cynical on the outside yet vulnerable and hopeful on the inside, she's desperate to get Mat and Nealy together so that she and her baby sister are not separated and put into foster care. As the days pass they begin to bond, but will Mat's reluctance for family life mean the girls' future is in jeopardy? And what happens when Nealy's true identity becomes known, not to mention when she discovers Mat is not the steelworker she assumes he is - that he's that sworn enemy of anyone in political life, a journalist? Is Nealy his Big Story? Would he betray her and all they shared to re-establish his journalism career?

A very enjoyable story with characters you will care about. However, as with other reviewers I do have a couple of issues. Given how much she enjoyed her freedom, Nealy's choice to go back to life in the public eye (and subjecting the girls to it) seemed odd. And I would have like to have seen more romance between Mat and Nealy, though their close proximity to the girls made intimacy difficult. The kids (Lucy in particular) were almost more interesting than the adults and the epilogue was a little too cute and idealistic. A flawed but still enjoyable read.

Rating:
Summary: Pleasing and amusing story
Review: I always like Susan Phillips, but reviews for this one made me skeptical. I'm glad I ignored because it was hard to put down. The characters were so dimensional and there were so many humorous, heartwarming and romantic scenes that I wanted to keep reading until I was through. A definite keeper for me.