Mr. Broadway

Mr. Broadway
By: Gerald Schoenfeld
334 Pages

Summary:
The Shubert name is legendary in theater circles. Now find out how the family made their name and almost lost in more than once. See how the legacy- all the good and the bad- came to be.

I wish I lived in New York. I've always wanted to go to a Broadway show. However, I've never been able to. So, I live vicariously through other venues. Still, I've always been curious and attracted to the glitz, glamour, sweat, and tears of Broadway tales.

The Shuberts were a set of 3 brothers who would join forces to make one the most successful companies in Broadway history. How could you not be curious as to how they did it? Of all the things I imagined that could happen on their road to success, I never was close to what the reality was.

From untimely deaths, to bitter estrangements, to numerous lawsuits, I came to realize the Shubert story was a sad one. J.J., Lee, and Sam had big dreams, but two of them would never live to see how big those dreams would be. Once Sam died, it was only J.J. and Lee left. These two hated each other to the point they barely spoke to one another. In fact, when Lee died, J.J. didn't attend the funeral.

Just about the first half of the book deals with all the family drama and the numerous lawsuits. I have to admit, I reached a point of skipping because it was depressing to see the lengths greed and selfishness would take people to.

However, you do eventually get to read about the shows and all the people involved in them. I was given an education on shows like A Chorus Line, Annie, Dreamgirls and many others. That was the real joy of the book for me.

If you love theater and Broadway, this book is worth reading. You may have to skim through parts you don't care about.

Rating: Borrow From The Library

The Last Romanov

The Last Romanov

By: Dora Levy Mossanen

329 Pages

She was an orphan, ushered into the royal palace on the prayers of her Majesty. Yet, decades later, her time spent in the embrace of the Romanovs haunts her still. Is she responsible for those murderous events that changed everything?

If only she can find the heir, maybe she can put together the broken pieces of her own past-maybe she can hold on to the love she found. Bursting to life with the rich and glorious marvels of Imperial Russia, The Last Romanov is a magical tale of second chances and royal blood.--bn.com

Attention all fans of historical fiction! Have I got a book for you. The Last Romanov throws a different curve into the whole Romanov story. This time around the story is being told with the addition of the superstitious. Hallucinogenic berries, an opal eye that allows Darya to see what people truly feel. This book tells the Romanov story, but with a new twist.

Comeback Love

Comeback Love
By: Peter Golden
290 Pages

Summary:
Glenna & Gordon fall in love while she's going through medical school in the 1970s. 30 years after Gordon risks it all and goes to see her. Can they find the happy ending they didn't before? Or is closure all that awaits them both?

** Readers who are sensitive about the abortion subject may have trouble with this book. The subject plays a heavy roll within the story. **
It's the 1970s. Gordon Meyers has decided he wants to be a writer. Upon the advice of his Uncle Jerr, Gordon visits an editor at The Long Island Press. He's sent on an assignment to interview one of the medical students at Columbia doing abortion lobbying. Gordon is immediately taken with Glenna and they begin seeing each other.

As they fall in love and their relationship progresses  Glenna maintains her role with New York Medical Students for the Repeal of Abortion Laws. Motivated by a friend's death from infection after a back ally abortion, Glenna wants other women to avoid the same fate. AS time passes, life takes them in different directions. Ultimately, they split. 30 years later, Gordon shows up at her office and they catch up.

For the most part, Gordon just blends into her life. After awhile, he pursues he's writing passion. Sadly, I lost interest with their storyline. I fully admit that I had a difficult time with the abortion aspect. However, I ultimately got bored with their storyline for other reasons. After awhile, I got tired of nothing really moving ahead. I lost interest in what was happening with them, and then what would happen with them. A little over halfway through the book, I just no longer had any interest in the plot or the characters involved. I hate not reading a book in it's entirety, but I stopped reading the book when I no longer was invested in it. The 1970s has never been a time period I was drawn to. I was hoping this book would be the exception, but it wasn't.

Rating: Return It/Borrow From the Library

Always The Designer, Never The Bride

Always The Designer, Never The Bride

By: Sandra D. Brickner

319 Pages

Summary:
Audrey is returning to Atlanta for her best friend's wedding. Then it's back to New York to figure out what she'll do about her failing wedding dress design business. However, her visit to Atlanta doesn't go the way she thought it would. From meeting the handsome J.R. to a surprise client that takes her business in a new direction, Audrey has the trip of her lifetime.
Book #2 in what I've dubbed as the Tanglewood Inn series is every bit as good as it's predecessor, Always The Planner, Never The Bride. I loved this installment every bit as much as I loved the first. Characters I loved meeting are back, and I got to meet a couple more that I love as much, too. Reading this series is a joy because Brickner creates such a wonderful family environment with all the characters. Always  The Designer, Never The Bride was a book that I curled up with and hated to put down. I loved every page of it.
Audrey Regan is a wedding dress designer who's business is on the verge of collapse. She attends her best friend, Carly's, wedding in Atlanta thinking she'll only be there for a couple of days. While visiting everyone, she hopes to nab a high profile client. Things don't work out, but she does meet a different bride with a wedding dress crisis as a favor. Little did Audrey know, this client was going to change her future.
I loved watching Audrey's life take one turn after another. She fights her attraction to Carly's brother-in-law, J.R. In the end, neither could walk away from what they felt, though they both tried. I loved seeing her fight for her business. Audrey tried to satisfy a spoiled brat of a client, but new how to gracefully bow out. As a favor, she agrees to meet with Lizette, a bride who's getting married in 3 weeks but has no dress. Audrey creates a one of a kind gown that gets the attention of a highly successful designer. She was a class act when she discovers what he's done with her work and ideas.

All of the supportive characters were fun to read. Andy and Sherilyn, from Always the Planner, Never The Bride, return. This time around they are pregnant. The staff at Tanglewood Inn are every bit as inviting as they were in the first book.

If you enjoy light books that make you feel good, then you will enjoy Always The Designer, Never The Bride. Reading this book was like revisiting old friends you haven't seen in a few years. That homey, comfortable feeling takes over and it's like you've never been apart. I thoroughly loved reading this book from beginning to end.

Rating: Buy It!

Mr. Darcy Forever

Mr. Darcy Forever
By: Victoria Connelly
314 Pages

Summary:

Sisters are forever...

 Sarah and Mia Castle are closer than best friends and share just about everything, including a deep and abiding love for all things relating to Jane Austen. Their annual trip to the Jane Austen Festival in Bath is a highlight of their lives—until the year they discover that no matter how close two sisters may be, it's impossible to share one man between them. Even ifhe does seem like their own perfect Mr. Darcy, if one wins him, won' t both of them lose? --bn.com

There are countless authors who use Jane Austen or her books as the focal plot of their own books. In recent years, I feel like I can't turn around without seeing another book who's plot is somehow connected to Jane Austen. Being a fan of hers myself, my curiousity has been peeked and I've tried several of them. Victoria Connelly has managed to do what none of them could: write a book about using Jane Austen in a way that I enjoyed. Mr. Darcy Forever is her second such book and, I hope, not her last.

Huge fans of Jane Austen, Sarah has arranged for them to spend a week in Barton Cottage- the actual cottage used in the 1995 film version of Sense & Sensibility. Sarah has plans of a sisters only trip full of bonding. All that goes down the drain when Mia literally bumps into Alec. Mia quickly falls for Alec and he has no problem encouraging her. All the while, Alec really has his sights set on Sarah. Sarah realizes she's fallen for him, as well, but refuses to act on it because of Mia.

Once the sisters go home, everything changes. Sarah begins talking to Alec over the phone. Things grow and they fall in love, have a relationship, and get engaged all before Mia ever finds out. Once Sarah tells her sister, Mia walks out. Three years later, you learn that Mia got pregnant from her one time with Alec and the marriage between Sarah and Alec ended in divorce when he could no handle her OCD.

Both sisters have decided to attend the annual Jane Austen Festival and it becomes the backdrop for their reunion. Alec shows up, as well, begging for Mia to take him back. He tells her what they had was magical and he's always loved her. She proceeds to slap him. When she informs him that he has a son, he has no interest in having anything to do with him. Both sisters meet someone who they fall in love with and have the happy ending with.

The book was good, but I still like  Dreaming of Mr. Darcy better. Alec was the character you wanted to slap silly and loved it when Mia did it. Sarah stays as OCD as ever, but meets and falls for a fellow sufferer. I felt Mia was a little immature and too vocal at times, but I loved how she falls for an older man who is a widower.

Rating: Borrow From The Library