Rating: 
Summary: Well written
Review: Jeanne Ray has presented us with a humorus but thought provoking
family saga in her novel "Step Ball Change." I especially enjoyed the developing relationship between the dancing sisters.
This is a book to warm your heart and paste a smile on your face.
Beverly J Scott author of Righteous Revenge
Rating: 
Summary: A delight!
Review: Jeanne Ray is another author I will be checking to see if she has written another book. This is the second one I've read and I really enjoyed it. You have family, humor and sass all tied into one novel and it makes for a quick and delightful reading!There is Caroline who is happily married to her husband of over 40 years, Tom, who is a public defender. Daunted by the fact that their only daughter is engaged to a rich man in town ~~ they try to figure out ways to help pay for a lavish wedding. To top it off, their house is in process of being rebuilt ~~ after getting an order in for a "Florida" room, the contractor discovered that their foundation is cracking. He'd get to it when he can among all the other jobs he had lined up. To throw this in the mix, Caroline's sister, Taffy, is coming up for a visit since her husband left her for a woman who is two years younger than their daughter. To add even to the interesting mix is more romance ~~ Caroline's daughter becomes involved with two men while trying to make up her mind about whom to marry. Then there is Caroline's youngest son, in law school and teaching dance classes. Caroline does the only thing she knows how ~~ taking refuge in her dancing studio. And the problems all sort themselves out in a delightfully funny way. It is truly a story to read in a day ~~ it's funny and sassy and you can't put it down! 2-13-04
Rating:
Summary: A Tap Dance of a Read
Review: Like Julie and Romeo (Jeanne Ray's first bestselling novel) Step-Ball-Change is a comic novel full of light moments and romance. It is a domestic novel in the most literal sense of the phrase: most of the scenes take place around the McSwain's kitchen table. Caroline McSwain, age 62, is happily married to her husband Tom and enjoys her job as a dance studio owner and instructor and her role as a mother of four grown children. Though there is a constant low level of chaos in her life due to the renovation work being down on their home, the chaos level jumps at the beginning of the book when two tearful phone calls come at the same time. The first is from her daughter Kay, who has just become engaged to Trey Bennett (of The Bennets, who own the local hospital and bank). The second is from her sister Taffy, who is in need of comfort and a place to flee her philandering husband. Though Caroline and Taffy have never gotten along well, Caroline invites Taffy to come stay for an indefinite period of time. How Caroline dances the ever thought-provoking exchanges with her sister while keeping the home fires burning for her adult children makes for an entertaining tap dance of a read. Jeanne Ray makes the sixth decade of live seem vital and full of humor and possibility, while also capturing the depth of the sister relationship. This was a wonderful book to read, and I look forward to Eat Cake, which will be published in May of 2003.
Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended charming read
Review: Lovely little book. The writing is witty, characters are charming, and I'm sure you'll recognize several of your family members here. Doesn't everyone have a relative's dog that has never bitten before? I'm bummed Ms. Ray only seems to have two other books - but am enjoying Julie & Romeo right now. Thanks, Ms. Ray, for a delightful story.
Rating:
Summary: Another fun novel from Jeanne Ray
Review: No one can make domestic chaos as much fun as Jeanne Ray. In her second novel, Ray creates two delightful characters in Caroline McSwain and her long-time husband, Tom. Just as they congratulate themselves on having a quiet night with a dinner for two, the McSwains are interrupted by two phone calls. One of them is from their emotional daughter Kay, who has just become engaged to one of the wealthiest men in town, and the other is from Caroline's sister Taffy whose husband is leaving her for another woman. Thus starts the delightful chaos which envelopes the McSwains and their friends. One especially enjoyable character is Woodrow, a contractor who is making the McSwain's home improvement project into his life's work. In his spare time, he trains Taffy's wayward dog and begins to restore her self-esteem. By the time things are worked out and the proper people have become couples, the reader has had some good laughs and has grown very fond of Ray's loveable characters. Ms. Ray, please keep these delightful books coming!
Rating:
Summary: Dancing sisters
Review: Parents of toddlers think they have the toughest job. It's a busy time but it is possible to feel like you are in charge. Jeanne Ray's book illustrates that parents of adult children have it just as tough, big problems but no control over how the problems are solved. The characters in this book, especially Woodrow, are warm, wise and loving. They felt very real to me. I enjoyed reading the dialogue as the family ties grew and bent to adapt to changing situations. The scene of the dancing sisters will stick in my mind for a long time.
Rating:
Summary: AN EXPRESSIVE READING
Review: Tennessee author Jeanne Ray gives expressive reading to her second novel, "Step Ball Change," the story of blissfully happy Caroline and her family. Did I say "blissfully happy"? Caroline thought she was. What more could a woman want? She's happily married to Tom, has four grown children who, like their father, are lawyers, and she runs a dance studio. All's not only well but wonderful until she receives two telephone calls. The first is from daughter, Kay, delightedly announcing that the wealthiest, most desirable man in Raleigh, North Carolina, has just proposed. The second is from daughter, Taffy, sobbing that her husband is going to leave her for a woman younger than their daughter. Well, when Caroline's life starts to crumble everything does, including the foundation of her house. Enter Woodrow, faithful contractor, and his crew who seem intent on joining the family. Next, Caroline and Tom discover that they're going to pay for Kay's society wedding. It doesn't rain but it pours, and "Step, Ball, Change" pours lots of humor into a rapidly paced plot that will keep listeners entertained. - Gail Cooke
Rating:
Summary: Elopers Unite!
Review: The plot of this novel is detailed in so many other reviews that I will try not repeat it all again. Suffice to say, this is a delightful story that can be read easily in an evening. By page thirty we have met most of the main characters and they are truly likeable people. Enter 'sixty-something' Tom and Caroline McSwain. Both have fulfilling careers; he's a public defender approaching retirement and she's a dancer running a small dancing school. The four McSwain four children are grown now, but the story of their parent's own wedding has become something of a family legend and early on we are entertained with an amusing account of their elopement. Ironically, a large portion of the book deals with their daughter's impending marriage to a member of Raleigh's blue blood society...and what a financial disaster it could turn out to be for Tom and Caroline. The McSwain's are a family with a great sense of humor. The dialogue is fast paced and dotted with snappy one-liners. (Why can't my family be as witty?) The description is apt without being excessive, and many times Ray's subtle, yet insightful, phrases touch the heart deeply. As we read along and watch members of the McSwain family agonize over the age old question of: What love is and if it's real? One thing we know for certain is that the size of the wedding has absolutely no bearing on the ultimate question - will love last? Excellent!
Rating:
Summary: Reads like a chick flick!
Review: This book reads like a chick flick, and that is not a bad thing. The characters were different enough to be exciting, and the story was dramatic only in that which happy ending would happen was slightly unpredictable. No worries about people dying or lives falling apart here! This was a great, quick, light read - perfect for entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly delightful!
Review: This is my favorite of Jeanne Ray's books. I'm a writer, too, and when I finished STEP-BALL-CHANGE I thought how much I wished I'd written it, and that's the highest compliment I can pay another author. Jeanne Ray is a terrific writer. Not only does she have a great sense of humor (and I laughed out loud many times while reading this) but she has something to say about life. I caught myself nodding my head in agreement more than once. I especially loved her observations about marriage. And I absolutely loved the way she depicted Caroline's relationship with her sister. Jeanne, if you read this review, don't pay any attention to the person who only gave STEP-BALL-CHANGE one star and said it was boring. She's wrong. This story is charming and warm and wonderful, and I hated for it to end. And you are a WONDERFUL writer. I only wish there were more than three Ray books to read.
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