Review: Love is a Four-Legged Word by Michele Gorman

by Donna Huber

Scarlett barely had time to register the furry flash of red before it rugby-tackled her in the park. One second she was talking to the dog owners and the next she was staring up at the grey March sky through the bare branches of the horse chestnuts.

My Review

I love Michele Gorman's books. She knows how to have fun with her characters while also dealing with real issues of relationships. It can be a difficult balance to find, but Gorman seems to do it with ease.

Scarlett and Rufus are struggling to have a baby and it is causing a strain on their relationship. Their best friend Shannon is trying to work up the courage to talk to "Mr. Darcy", but will she become the wedge that breaks Scarlett and Rufus apart?

As you can tell, the main characters are dealing with some heavy issues, but the secondary characters add levity to the story. Scarlett and Shannon co-own a dog walking and training business. Shannon does the dog walking as she finishes up art school and is where she encounters "Mr. Darcy" (it is the name she came up with since she hasn't been able to ask him his name). Scarlett trains dogs and we really get to know 3 of her clients - Charlie with his vacuum cleaner dog Barkley, Max and his humping dog Murphy, and Margaret who needs to show her dog Biscuit who is in charge (actually she needs to do that with her whole family). Whenever dogs are involved, you know there are going to be moments of hilarity.

I hate that it took me so long to read through Love is a Four-Legged Word, but life got in the way. Thankfully, Gorman made it easy to slip right back into the story with relatable characters and engaging writing. Each time, it felt like I was getting together with old friends and catching up on what they had been doing in the intervening time. I know the holidays can be crazy, but this would be a great book to pick up whenever you found yourself with a few minutes to spare.

Buy Love is a Four-Legged Word at Amazon

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour. 

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Relateable Story ~ Match Me If You Can by Michele Gorman #MondayBlogs

review by Donna Huber

I love Michele Gorman's books and was very much looking forward to reading Match Me If You Can. It sounded like a story I could really relate to.

Catherine runs a matchmaking business and her flatmates Rachel and Sarah join up to find love. I've been trying my own hand at online dating.

A side story is the house renovations with Nate and his crew of bumbling builders. Since November. I've had a crew in my house fixing the damage from when the tree fell on it.

I was hoping for some laughs and to escape some of the reality of my own life, unfortunately there weren't really any laughs. There might have been a few smiles, but really I felt like it was taking to long to get through the story. There also was no "I have to know what's going to happen" vibe to have me hurrying back to the book every chance I got it.

There are really 3 story lines intertwined yet pretty separate based on the three main characters. Here's a quick rundown...

Catherine - in her 30s, divorced, owns half of RecycLove.com and matchmaking service with her ex-husband.
Rachel - in her 30s, a junior architect, competing for a high dollar account against ex-boyfriend James.
Sarah - in her late 20s, works from home designing wedding cards and she bakes. She has a 16-year old down-syndrome sister who, along with her brother Robin, are responsible for since their mother died.
Robert - Catherine's ex-husband who sells his half of the business to his fiance Magda.
Paul - a client of Catherine who she tried to "improve" to get better dates.
Alis - a client of Catherine who she signs to spite Magda though she has no clue who on their roster would want a date that is more than a bit out there.

I think I liked Sarah best, though I also think some of her plotline could have been cut to more streamline the story. Or perhaps her own book. Actually I kind of wondered if the whole book wouldn't have been better broken up into 3 separate but intertwined books. Because on their own I enjoyed each character's story but there wasn't any synergy having them all together.

While I was rooting for Rachel to win the competition and for Catherine to some how wrestle her business back from Magda, it was Sarah who I was most concerned about and probably identified best with.

She takes care of people and is happy with the status quo regarding her life. But she lets Rachel talk her into joining the dating site and into a makeover. And at first she really likes the new Sarah. In moderation I would have been all for it as it made her more outgoing. Yet, she wasn't being true to herself. She is also the youngest of the three woman who maybe had more responsibility. So I understand the whole "throw caution to the wind" thing. But when she screwed up the bake off because she had been out all night, I really hoped she would wise up.

Rachel, Catherine, and Sarah all grew through the novel, learned a bit about themselves and what love is, and if you are looking for happily ever after, then Match Me If You Can is your book. I did enjoy how the story wrapped up, but I want to know who won the bake off!

Buy Match Me If You Can at Amazon

Book info
available formats: ebook and print (448 pages)
published: January 2016 by Notting Hill Press
ISBN13: 978-1522887485
genres: romance
source: publisher
read: January 2016

A free ebook was provided for this review. Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.

Short Story: Weightless by Michele Gorman

by Donna Huber

I was introduced to Michele Gorman's writing last year when I read Christmas Carol (read my review). Then around Valentine's Day I picked up Weightless. I don't usually read chick-lit around that holiday (I'm a single gal approaching 40, murder and mayhem is more my reading taste for that holiday). Yet, I couldn't pass it up as I knew it would be a fun short story. And Weightless didn't disappoint.

Next year will be my 20th high school reunion. I didn't go to my 10th. I was not in the popular crowd. I flitted between crowds, but never really belonged to any of them. So I understood Annabel's trepidation about attending her 10th high school reunion.

What if the guy you crushed on throughout high school start chatting with you at the reunion? You thought he didn't even know you existed, but here he is and dare you believe that he actually seems to be happy to see you. Then mid-mental happy dance you realize he just called you by the wrong name. And not just any wrong name, but the name of the most popular girl in the school. Do you play along or correct him? Maybe he will see what a great person you are and the perfect opportunity to tell him who you really are will come up.

Buy Weightless at Amazon

It is a case of mistaken identity, but the other party isn't the only one discovering who Annabel truly is. The main reason that this chick-lit novella didn't have me rolling my eyes at Valentine's Day is because of the message contained within the pages of Michele Gorman's Weightless. I like how she can entertain, yet remind the reader that who they are as a person is important and beautiful.

Looking for a quick read to end your weekend or perhaps some entertainment for tomorrow's lunch break. Pick up of copy of Weightless by Michele Gorman. You may also want to pick up her newly released in the US - The Expat Diaries.

Book info:
ebook 
Published January 2014 by Notting Hill Press
Source: Smashwords
Read: February 2014




Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small fee is earned when purchases are made when purchases are made at Amazon through the link above. 

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New Short Story: Weightless by Michele Gorman

Attention Chick-lit Readers! Michele Gorman, author of Christmas Carol, has a free Valentine's Day gift for you. Get her new short story, Weightless, FREE at Smashwords February 11 - 14. Just use the coupon code: ZH34Q

Sometimes looks can be deceiving

Annabel's not surprised when nobody recognizes her at her 10 year reunion. The spotty fat teen nicknamed AnnaBall by the school bullies is long gone. But standing on the edge of the popular crowd, she still feels like that girl. That is, until Jack, her teen crush, starts flirting with her. Much to her amusement, he has mistaken her for Christy Blake, Annabel's chief tormenter before she moved to France in their last year.

It's just a bit of fun at first, letting Jack believe she's Christy. After all, he was nuts about her before she said au revoir to England. And when he asks Annabel out, the fun becomes something even more interesting. The more they date the deeper they fall for each other. So what if Annabel has to fib a little to keep up the façade?

As the lies start compounding, and she realizes that they're falling in love, she has to tell him who she really is. But she'll lose the love of her life if she does.

Only 99 cents at Amazon

Girl Who Reads is an Amazon and Smashwords advertising affiliate; a small fee is earned when purchases are made at Amazon or Smashwords through the link above.

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Review: Christmas Carol by Michele Gorman

Christmas Carol by Michele Gorman is the perfect holiday read. And while titled for the Christmas holidays, it really could be read any time you feel the need for a light romantic tale that is short enough to read in an afternoon.

Carol is your typical singleton who is "happy" with life. She has a great job that demands a good deal of her time. So much of her time that she can't sustain a relationship. Her sister's wedding is approaching - a lavish affair at a castle in Scotland as her late grandmother's considerable wealth can only be spent on the girls' weddings. Carol is supportive, as supportive as a singleton with several failed relationships can be. The wedding isn't really the issue. The kicker is the guest list: two ex-boyfriends and an on-again-off-again flame.

Buy Christmas Carol at Amazon

Christmas Carol reads like a Lifetime movie version of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. I was worried that is would be like Ghosts of Boyfriends Past, which I didn't really enjoy. Gorman's novella is much more fun. (There are no ghosts.) I could see myself some in Carol. She was very much a real person. Sometimes with romances I feel personalities are over the top and situations are too contrived. Not with this novella. The realism of the story increased my enjoyment of the story, though it may have hit a little closer to home than I would have liked.

Last Christmas I read Dating Mr. December by Phillipa Ashley and Michele Gorman's Christmas Carol had the same feel. It really was like reading one of Lifetime's Christmas movies (which two Christmas's ago I had a marathon viewing - I was too sick to read). It has just the right combination of pulling at the heartstrings and giving hope.

Book Info:
ebook & paperback (100 pages)
Published September 2013 by Notting Hill Press
ISBN 13: 9781492242611
Source: publicist
Read: December 2013



Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate;  a small fee is earned when purchases are made at Amazon through the above link.  A free ebook was provided by the source.

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