Rating: Summary: Would make a great movie Review: Flirting with Pete would make a very interesting movie. The author kept you going by telling a story within a story. The only reason I give this book 4 stars **** is because the ending was a bit bland. Read this one!
Rating: Summary: Would make a great movie Review: Flirting with Pete would make a very interesting movie. The author kept you going by telling a story within a story. The only reason I give this book 4 stars **** is because the ending was a bit bland. Read this one!
Rating: Summary: take a pass Review: I almost threw this book when I was done with it, I was that mad that I even spent money on it! I can't even articulate how lame this story was-I checked the reviews and they were so positive-"Delinsky outdoes herself" so I took a chance, but what I still can't understand how anyone could say this book was riveting. I felt like I was reading a high school creative writing assignment. There was no character development or enough history to make you care about Casey, and come on, the diary thing-please-juvinile. It just made me think that Barbara Delinsky just wanted to cross off her requisite book for the year without a thought to the intelligence of her readers. Then again, I do not read her as a rule and now I remember why. Ugh.
Rating: Summary: Delinsky does it again... Review: I am a Barbara Delinsky fan, okay. I was before I read this book. However, "Flirting with Pete" is one of her best in my opinion. I couldn't put it down, even brought it with me to a root canal. It is so much more than a romance novel, though it fills the bill in that respect. Delinsky's background as a social worker/counselor really shines through in this particular piece. I can't tell you too much because it would spoil it for you, but rest assured that "Flirting with Pete" would be a worthwhile read for you!
Rating: Summary: TWO THUMBS UP!!! Review: I could not put this book down. Between the mystery, romance and excitement of it all, "Flirting with Pete", is a definite read. I found the ending to be very surprising and I did not pick up on it until I was reading it. Great read :)
Rating: Summary: Amazing Review: I did not read any reviews of this book before I read the story. I didn't even read the book jacket. I sensed that this was a story I wanted to enjoy without knowing anything ahead of time. I was not dissapointed. This is a most unusual story, well written, engaging, and definitely entertaining.
Rating: Summary: Barbara's Best Review: I don't want to give anyway any plot lines but will say this is Barbara Delinsky's best novel to date. I love all her books but this is now my favorite. The book takes you on an emotional, suspensful ride and has quite the surprise near the end. I could not put this book down. This book has it all: suspense, joy, sadness, love, parental relationships and resolutions, fear, and humor. Barbara blended them all together beautifully.
Rating: Summary: A Very Good Read-Unlike Delinsky's Usual Style Review: I enjoyed this book very well, and thought it was well written. Casey always yearned for a father that would pay attention to her, unlike her own. Even after she followed in her father's footsteps in the field of pschology, he still remained distant. So when Connie Unger dies suddenly, and leaves Casey his big townhouse worth a few million, she doesn't figure it out. Why would he, when he seemed to not want her around?
Casey decides then, after her Dad's funeral, that she would move in. In her search through the house, she finds a transcript her dad left entitled, "Flirting With Pete." Is this story real or fictional as told by the late Connie Unger. The book takes us back and forth into the story of Jenny, and her very abusive father. Jenny finds solace in her relationship with Pete, and he is her protector. She doesn't meet Pete however, until her Dad is getting ready to get out of prison on parole. He had committed murder, and the town will have nothing to do with him of course, when he gets out. And Jenny, feeling scared with her Dad's arrival, finds escape with Pete.
Did she die?, Casey wondered as she read her Dad's transcript, or is Jenny alive somewhere? You'll need to read and find out.
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: I looked forward to this book BUT................ Review: I have been an avid reader of Barbara Delinsky since 1984 when I first came upon her book Fingerprints. From that time until now I have read many of Ms. Delinsky's romance and romantic suspense books and enjoyed most of them. I even spent one summer perusing the used stores and online booksellers so I that could own every book she ever wrote including those written under her pseudonyms Billie Douglass and Bonnie Drake. I also remember being excited when Ms. Delinsky made the transition from being published in paper back to being published in hard cover. When I heard that this author's newest book Flirting with Pete would be available in the spring, I couldn't wait to read this book. Now I must admit that while I didn't think this was one of Delinsky's better books, it is still somewhat although I doubt I would recommend it to somebody as a first book to read by this author. In the prologue of Flirting with Pete, we meet Jenny Clyde, whose father has just returned from serving a prison sentence. When Jenny's father is found a few hours later severely injured, Jenny can't be located. The reader is left to wonder briefly as Chapter 1 begins with the introduction of Casey Unger, a psychologist and illegitimate daughter of a renowned psychotherapist Cornelius Unger. Cornelius, known as Connie, has recently died and Casey, although never recognized as his daughter, is attending his memorial service. After the service, Casey is approached by Connie's lawyer who tells her that if she adheres to Connie's stipulations, she will inherit Connie's Beacon Hill townhouse. The stipulation, which includes retaining the cook and gardener is no problem for Casey to follow and she moves into the house. Then over the course of a few days and in a most mysterious fashion, Casey comes across a series of papers titled Flirting With Pete that tells the rather sad story of a young woman. Now Casey is faced with questions which she must find answers to like who is Pete? And who are the cook, Meg and Dan the gardener that she must retain? What is their connection to Connie and even to Casey. And most of all where did these papers come from and why did a man who abandoned her and then ignored her for all of her life even when she followed in his professional footsteps now want her to live in his home. Finally we ask ourselves what has happened to Jenny Clyde, where is she and how does this all relate to Casey and Connie Unger. While the book was intriguing at the beginning, I was ultimately very disappointed by the end. Even the inclusion of a plot involving Casey's mother who is in a coma did little to improve the book or the premise of the mother daughter or father daughter relationship. The book is told as a story within a story as the reader finds the pages of the Flirting With Pete story interspersed between the pages of Casey's story. I did enjoy this unique format as I have also enjoyed in Anita Shreve's book The Weight of water and Diane Chamberlains recent book, Kiss River. But in the end there were just too many unanswered questions for me to really enjoy this book. As I closed the last page I was interested to know why did Connie treat Casey the way he did and most of all what happens to Meg, Dan and Casey in the future. While I realize than even a favorite author may write a book loyal readers may not enjoy, I am looking forward to her next title and am comforted in the knowledge that I have many older titles of this authors still to read. I did rate this book with a B because I it the way I did because I thought the book was well written and I did enjoy the two storylines. But in the end I did conclude that the story was very hard to believe and would rather have reread books like Shades of Grace, Sweet Ember or Three Wishes, which are among my all time favorites of Ms. Delinsky.
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