Rating 4.5If I had only read the first 3 or 4 chapters, I would have missed out on a good book. I was ready to quit after the first few chapters due to Miss Wingate's use of phonetic Texas dialogue that read more like hillbilly talk (think of the Clampets) and the same for the main character's boss who was eastern European (think Zsa Zsa Gabor). It seemed to stop though after about the 4th chapter (thank goodness). Mandalay Florentino (nicknamed Amanda Lee by the towns folk) is a assistant on th...

Normally I enjoy 1800's westerns, or older British storylines, so this was sort of a recess. Not a bad recess...just different.The story has two voices: Mandalay Florentino, a music executive of sorts, who works for an American Idol sort of singing competition.... andImagene Doll, an Aunt Bea sort of character, who is a sweet older woman who ends up to be quite helpful to Mandalay.The story is all about a small town sweet Christian girl who is making it to the top 5 where she will have her homet...

I was unexpectedly charmed. The book is a romance, without it being an obvious romance. In fact, it's more seemingly about friendship, small towns, and the fish out of water -- but it's got kind of a romantic comedy vibe to it. The two POVs are the heroine's and another female character's. The heroine, Mandalay, is from L.A., and she's in a small town because as a producer in a reality TV show much like American Idol, she's supposed to do a piece about one of the contestant's hometown and childh...

I have read several Lisa Wingate novels. Loved Before We were Yours as well as The Book of Lost Names. However, I also am enjoying the Dailey, Texas series this is #1 in the series but I also read another. Certainly different, However, a true sign of a GREAT Author!😘 In this story ~Dailey's own Amber Amberson is a contestant on ‘American’s Megastar’ and believes to be a finalist.Thei townsfolk are super excited speculating about the fame and glory about to occur.The townsfolk are all great c

It took a while--three tries actually-- but I finally got into this book and enjoyed a great part of it.I have to admit the topic, American Megastar, just wasn't really something that I was intrested in. But I do really enjoy the way that Lisa Wingate puts a story together. In this novel the only problem for me was to read enough to get into the story and appreciate the characters... which the author does superbly. She was able to create a town that had people I would love to know. No one was pe...

Talk of the Town ended up being completely different from what I expected. I expected a romance novel, but I got a story of friendship with romance thrown in for good measure. The story takes place in a small town of Daily, Texas, completely run down and very sad. But the town gets its second chance, when one of their own gets into top 5 in American Idol type of program. The story is told from the point of view of two women. One is Mandalay, the producer of the show who is tasked with top secret...

Very cute story- I'd give it more of a 3.5 than a flat 3 if there was an option. I got 'Talk of the Town' as a free Kindle book back in Feb. and it finally made it's way to the top of the "To be Read' list- now I'm kicking myself for not reading it earlier. The story is told from 2 viewpoints, one being Mandalay Florentino, associate producer of an American Idol like TV show, who has come to small town Daily, Texas to set up a remote shoot the show will be using to spotlight young Amber Anderson...

I enjoy books by Lisa Wingate. She crafts an interesting set of characters and tells an engaging story. I had a teeny bit of trouble getting into this book, but am glad I kept at it. I liked the ending she chose. Good clean writing.

Predictable, but humorous and entertaining. I loved the small town characters. Clean enough to recommend to friends and family.

A sweet, charming romance.EDIT: I honestly had forgotten I'd read this previously; then again, that was four years ago, and I've completed copious books since then. Still, this was a sweet story of overcoming adversity and finding love that also serves as a window into "reality" television. I had no idea there were sequels; guess I need to seek them out.

Really loved the quirky characters and homespun warmth of Daily, a small, Southern town in Texas. Completely drawn in by toe-curling romance. Laughed out loud at sounds-like-me moments. I can't wait to read the rest of Wingate's Texas Hill Country novels. Loved the beautiful picture she painted of God's sovereign hand over all the details and situations of our lives—despite our mistakes, course correcting to come full circle to become the truest self we were always meant to be.

"Talk of the Town" by Lisa Wingate was a different type novel for me by an author that I have never read before, it was a little slow at first but the deeper I got into the story the better it became. There were many different characters that made for one very wild story. You have your big city girl meets small town grandmother, and the Lord begins to take everything into His hands to make a miracle out of a mess. The beginning was kind of a bumpy road, slow but not to the point that I felt the

What a wonderful book by Lisa Wingate and an excellent narration by Johanna Parker!Things I loved:1) Small town charm of Daily, Texas with extra quirky characters like Imagene Doll and Donetta.2) Johanna Parker's voice repertoire - old voice of Imagene Doll, voice of Amber with a Texas drawl, high pitched voice of Donetta with Texas twang, Swedish voice of Ursula, old drunken voice of Verl.3) Imagene Doll's use of animal/farm metaphors - "happy as pig in poop", "they will be all over you like st...

Oh, this would make the BEST movie! PLEASE make this into a movie! At the time I picked this up, it was an extremely busy day/week, but it was killing me each time I had to put it down. Otherwise, I would have read it in one day, instead of two. if I had to pick one adjective, it would be: Charming. Everything about it. So much humor that I kept seeing in my mind being played out, good old small town warmth, a few lessons to be learned in between. I picked it up after reading "Before We Were You...

I really enjoyed this book. I listened to the book on CD. It had me laughing a lot. The characters were so fun and likable. The narrator, Johanna Parker, was wonderful. She brought this book to a ever higher level with her voice talent. I look forward to reading more books by Lisa Wingate. I love her sense of humor and down to earth , real life writing.

Pleasant read, will read next in series & author again. No language, sex, or gore. Christian-based. Recommended.

I read the third in this series first on accident and liked it enough to come back and read the first two. This first one is a fun and easy read. It has cute romance in it and some great character arcs. It isn't particularly fast paced and is a little predictable, but has a happy feel good ending. And the characters are so fun, that's really what makes these books fun to read!

This author can write so well even in different styles. The first series I read of hers, had more of a suspenseful edge, but this book, which is the first book in another series had me laughing my head off! I loved it, and now am going on to the second book!

Great read!Loved this book! Made me wish I could visit Daily. Our town is a lot like it.Now I’m anxious to read the second book.

Rising starSuch a cute story with a big ol' happy ending! I'm ready to read the next book in the series to see what wonderful things happen next!