Rating: Summary: Will the real Barbara Taylor Bradford please write ! Review: I began skip reading this book after the first chapter - no character depth and the story just seem to jump around with no purpose or focus. This book along with most of her books in the past few years have none of the qualities of that wonderful novel...Woman of Substance. The books now just seems to be quick put togethers to keep the author's name on the book lists.Thank heavens for libraries - would hate to be wasting good money on disappointing literature! How about it, Barbara - don't you have another Woman of Substance waiting in wings!
Rating: Summary: Where this book belongs... Review: I bought this booking thinking it couldn't be that bad. It is on the NY Times best selling list. This was the worst book I have ever read. There was no plot, no story line. The author spent more energying describing every meal that was eaten than she spent developing a story. Even as a mindless airport book I do not recommend this book.
Rating: Summary: A Terrible Read... Review: I can't remember being so disappointed by a book! I've read many other books by BTB - her reputation must have gotten this one published - if written by anyone else, it never would have seen print! I just finished it - shaking my head - can't believe she opened so many doors but never took any of those themes to fruition! What a badly written book - I'm just glad I didn't buy it!
Rating: Summary: Incomplete. Review: I enjoyed the beginning of the book. The heroine, Val, in Kosovo, finding out her lover was married and finding a new relationship with Jake. THEN it just kind of fell apart. I didn't enjoy the shallow relationship with her brother (they don't speak for years and then he finds out she will give him the company and he LOVES her), the Angelique character, who SHOULD inherit Lowell's, but no one even thinks of trying to find, the brief flirtation with the artist (why? ), the goofy mother who is just left hanging, and her return to Kosovo, where she swore she did not want to go, to be with Jake. I thought there must be another cassette that was missing.
Rating: Summary: A Good Read Review: I first bought this book and then read the reviews. I was disappointed when I read them; I thought I had wasted my money. But when I read the book I couldn't understand why so many people didn't like it. Reading a book written in first person instead of third was different but I found that I liked it. It was almost like Val had written a long letter to me telling me about her life. As for the conflict with her mother and brother, I didn't think it was overwritten. After all if you are telling someone about your life you will more than likely tell more details than if someone else was telling your story. They wouldn't know everything to tell. I felt sorry for Val when she found out about Tony's deception, and I don't know if I'd feel the same way had this book been written third person. You must have an open mind when you read this as there aren't a lot of books written in this style. I haven't read but one other book by this author so I can't really compare this book to her others but I really don't think that is too fair to do considering this was written in a different style. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did!
Rating: Summary: A Welcome Change of Pace Review: I found this book to be a welcome change to what I usually read. I read her first book A Woman of Substance and I loved it. I think that Mrs. Bradford keeps trying to rekindle the spark of that first novel and never has made it back there. It was an easy read. I think the most interesting aspect of the novel is that Valentine was a confused woman and she had to face her problems head on and ending up becoming a better woman for it. She faced her mother head on and found out the lies her lover told her. Then comes in Jake. Wonderful and sweet Jake. We wish all men were this considerate and gentle. I also liked how she reconciled with her brother after 8 years of not talking or seeing him.
Rating: Summary: Mindless Drivel Review: I had to literally FORCE myself to finish this book, hoping for something to happen. No such luck. The set-up is of a very successful, independant woman who discovers she is (surprise!) not complete without a man. This book had the potential to bolster women's independance, but failed miserably. It was a terrible ordeal to read, very predictable and the ending was pure relief for the reader.
Rating: Summary: WORST READ IN A LONG TIME... Review: I hadn't read a BTB in quite a while, but picked this one up off the library rental shelf for $.10 a day. I kept it for 2 days and felt that $.20 was overpaying for the torture of making myself read to the end. This book is terrible! It is one of the worst books I have come across in a long time. Do NOT waste your time or money on this one!!!
Rating: Summary: Very Disappointed Review: I have read all of BTB's books. I was very, very disappointed in this book. As with so many other devoted BTB fans, I felt that I should finish the book. I kept thinking it would get better. It never did. Thank goodness I did not buy this book.
Rating: Summary: Stilted! Review: I have read and enjoyed Barbara Taylor Bradford's books in the past, and I eagerly anticipated the latest, Where You Belong. However, I was very disappointed--the writing was stilted, the storyline one dimensional, and the dialogue laughable. As I read, my constant thought was "did Barbara Taylor Bradford really write this book?" I felt as if I were reading a very bad freshman English 101 creative writing assignment.
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