The Good Woman by Jane Porter

Meg Brennan Roberts is a successful publicist, faithful wife, and doting mother who prides herself on always making the right decisions. But years of being "the good woman" have taken a toll and Meg feels burned out and empty, more disconnected than ever from her increasingly distant husband. Lonely and disheartened, she attends the London Wine Fair with her boss, ruggedly handsome vintner, Chad Hallahan. It's here, alone together in an exotic city, far from "real" life, that Chad confesses his long-standing desire for Meg. Overwhelmed, flattered, and desperately confused, Meg returns home, only to suddenly question every choice she's ever made. Fleeing her responsibilities—with consequences as reckless and irreversible as they are liberating—Meg must decide whether being the person everyone needs is worth losing the woman she was meant to be. (synopsis from www.janeporter.com)

Trade paperback, Berkley Trade, 368 pages

On the surface, Meg Roberts has it all.  She has a loving husband, three children and a job she loves doing PR for an area winery.  But Meg is feeling as though she is missing something, that her life lacks some essential thing that she can’t put her finger on.  She and her husband Jack have been married for seventeen years but she feels as though they are losing the connection between them. Meg discovers that her charismatic boss Chad has been harboring feelings for her and drifts into an affair which causes the disintegration of her life as she knows it.

Meg is an interesting character.  She has always been the good girl, the good wife, the good mother and she has a strong sense of loyalty and a need for structure. This story looks at how someone who has been so tightly controlled all of her life finds herself doing something that she knows is wrong and also knows could ruin her life. The book does not make excuses for her behavior or paint her husband in a terrible light. Yes, he is sometimes distracted and may be a little selfish in the marital bed, but does that excuse adultery? Meg’s family is an old school Irish Catholic one that is having issues of its own. Her sister Kit is getting over the breakup of her long term relationship. Her sister Sarah is married to a professional athlete who cheated on her in the past.  Needless to say, Sarah is not sympathetic to Meg’s situation.  Meg’s parents are supportive but unhappy with what she has done and they are dealing with their own problems as well. The story weaves all of their lives into Megs and gives the reader a variety of viewpoints of Meg’s situation.

When I started the book, I was concerned about the theme because I wasn’t sure I could relate to a character that cheats. However, the way the topic was handled in this book made it relatable and not uncomfortable.  The resolution of the situation is handled realistically and appropriately. Ms. Porter did not take the easy way out for the character.

This is the first book in the series about the Brennan family.  Based on the characters from this book it looks like they will all be pretty interesting. The next book is due out in February, 2013.

A Turn in the Road (Blossom Street # 8) Review of Audio book

Synopsis

In the middle of the year, in the middle of her life, Bethanne Hamlin takes a road trip with her daughter, Annie, and her former mother-in-law, Ruth.
They’re driving to Florida for Ruth’s 50th high-school reunion. A longtime widow, Ruth would like to reconnect with Royce, the love of her teenage life. She’s heard he’s alone, too...and, well, she’s curious. Maybe even hopeful.
Bethanne herself needs time to reflect, to ponder a decision she has to make. Her ex-husband, Grant — her children’s father — wants to reconcile now that his second marriage has failed. Bethanne’s considering it....
Meanwhile, Annie’s out to prove to her onetime boyfriend that she can live a brilliant life without him!
So there they are, three women driving across America. They have their maps and their directions — but even the best-planned journey can take you to a turn in the road. Or lead you to an unexpected encounter — like the day Bethanne meets a man named Max who really is a hero on a Harley. That’s when Bethanne’s decision becomes a lot harder. Because Grant wants her back, but now there’s Max....
From Seattle’s Blossom Street to the other end of the country, this is a trip that could change three women’s lives. ( Synopsis from Barnes & Noble.com )

Read by Joyce Bean, 10 hours on 9 CD's

It is always satisfying to read or listen to a Debbie Macomber book. When you finish, you feel positive about life and people's ability to rise above their difficulties. In this book, the main character, Bethanne, has to decide if she will forgive her cheating ex-husband and take him back.  She has gone on with her life, become a successful business woman, and has a big choice to make. She needs to consider if the 20+ good years are enough to balance out the 6 bad ones. This is a common theme with women whose husbands cheat- would it be better for their family or children, do they still love their spouse, are there financial considerations? Bethanne's daughter Annie, desperately wants her parents to reconcile, again, a common issue even with adult children of divorce. Ruth, the mother-in-law, is in the middle as she loves her son and wants him to be happy but feels the same way about Bethanne.

I think Ms. Macomber did an excellent job of exploring all of the confusion a woman in Bethanne's place would have and also the feelings of Annie and Ruth were authentically portrayed. My only caveat- Annie was over the obnoxious line and I would have liked to see Bethanne put her in her place a little more forcefully ( especially since Annie was going through a similar issue with her boyfriend)!

Max was an interesting character, who was the proverbial fly in the ointment for Annie, Ruth, and Grant (the cheater) and their plans for reuniting the family. Max has had personal trauma in his life and took the opposite track from Bethanne- dropping out and becoming a biker. He was portrayed in a multi-dimensional way that made his character believable. He had tough decisions to make as well. Bethanne's choice is not obvious until the very end of the book which impressed me. She really goes back and forth over her decision.

Joyce Bean does an excellent job of narrating the story.  She made it come alive and all of the characters were fully fleshed verbally. Very enjoyable!

Library note: The Turn in the Road is available at RPL in regular and large print in the new fiction section. The audio CD is in the Books on CD stacks.

Emily and Einstein-Linda Francis Lee

He was a man who didn’t deserve a second chance. But he needed one…

Emily and her husband Sandy Portman seemed to live a gracious if busy life in an old-world, Upper West Side apartment in the famous Dakota building.  But one night on the way to meet Emily, Sandy dies in a tragic accident.  The funeral isn't even over before Emily learns she is on the verge of being evicted from their apartment.  But worse than the possibility of losing her home, Emily is stunned when she discovers that her marriage was made up of lies. 
Suddenly Emily is forced on a journey to find out who her husband really was . . . all the while feeling that somehow he isn't really gone.  Angry, hurt, and sometimes betrayed by loving memories of the man she lost, Emily finds comfort in a scruffy dog named Einstein.  But is Einstein's seemingly odd determination that she save herself enough to make Emily confront her own past?  Can he help her find a future—even after she meets a new man? ( Synopsis from Barnes & Noble.com)

I am a big Linda Francis Lee fan. Her previous novels combine romance and humor and are the kind you say-oh that was cute- when you are done reading them.  Not so this novel, which makes you  think about your preception of people. The premise- wife cheated on, nasty in laws, husband trying for redemption, has been done before. This book, however, took it to another level. Emily has been cheated on, but she was so oblivious to problems in the marriage that you want to give her a good talking to. Sandy, the deceased husband, is so self absorbed you don't feel sorry for his death in the beginning of the book. Sandy's mother is a bit of a stereotype, but in this book it works.

All of the characters have to grow up and see the reality of the world around them. Emily has a chance to become a person who confronts her problems rather than creating a happy little fantasy world. She gets a second chance for happiness and it's based on a real understanding of her feelings and what the other person is all about.  Sandy has to learn that he was so selfish that he caused his own unhappiness and didn't care about causing other's as well. Being reincarnated as a dog is perfect because he was a dog as a human! Appropriately, he becomes more human as a dog than he was as a man. It's a hard lesson for him to learn and he doesn't get it right the first couple of times. And, we learn why the nasty  MIL became that way.

I have to say that this book made me cry. Even though the characters were not totally sympathetic, I found myself rooting for them- even the nasty  MIL. The ending was satisfying on many levels.

Library note: This book is available in the Adult New Book Section at RPL. I recommend reading  The Ex-Debutante by the same author-it's hilarious!