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Barbara Samuel writes really wel, and I enjoy her books. The difficulty I have is that I am not convinced by her characters, and their relationships, in this story. Trudy is a mature woman married to an immature man- a man who never really accepts responsibility for his actions. Trudy is a wife who keeps letting her estranged husband into her home, while he is still sleeping with the other woman. Trudy accepts his edict of not talking about the infidelity- except when He chooses to do so. The wh...
Not bad, but I am still mad at Trudy for forgiving Rick, he was a waste of space. I was also sick of everyone apologising to Rick, Trudy, their son when he dared to call his father on his shitty behaviour. Trudy needed to grow a spine and to stop comforting Rick when he was feeling sorry for himself. He took basically no responsibility, but kept bitching about his kids and betrayed wife being unhappy with him and not wanting him around all the Time! Get a clue! Stop hugging him and being nice, l...
In a very short time, Barbara Samuel has become one of my favorite writers. “The Sleeping Night” remains one of my all time favorite books. In this well-written "The Goddesses of Kitchen Avenue", Barbara Samuel tells the tale of 4 women who live on the same street, struggling with their relationships versus their own life’s ambitions, their sense of self ; it’s not a light story, on the contrary it deals with realistic issues, and emotions run deep. At moments, it’s quite raw. The main character...
This was another Lifetime movie bottled into a book, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It read quickly and was a nice diversion. The characters in here were likeable enough, I guess, but no one really stood out as anything special. They were a little bland, and all of their stories were so man-centric that they kind of bugged me after awhile. Don't they have anything else going on in their lives than the men they're pining for? Another thing that struck me as odd in this book was that the aut...
I didn't enjoy this one as much as I have some of her others (mainly written under "O'Neal"...) I guess I'm kind of bummed when she includes sex scenes... seems to be a trend more with her older work...The characters were fun, though we don't really read much of Shannelle, and what we do get is all in email form. Not a bad way to write a character, just an unexpected insertion, given the other ladies' stories. A slow starter, though it comes together well, but I wasn't on the side of Trudy and R...
3.5 stars
I couldn't stop reading and I am still thinking about it the next day. I liked that Trudy pulled herself out of grief and devastation to find her old/real self after being a wife and mother for so many years. I liked her. (view spoiler)[I would have liked to see the counseling sessions before Trudy forgave Rick. I know it takes two to make a marriage, but again, I would have like to see the counseling sessions before Trudy apologized for her non-consideration of Rick. I liked her anger and how s...
3.5 stars ✨
The neighbors of Kitchen Avenue are building a strong support system for each other. Young Shanelle, mother of two, has built her dream life with her husband. She loves keeping a nice home and raising her boys, and she also has a burning desire to write. Through emails with her mentor, Shanelle learns to push herself creatively and how to balance her family with her passion. Elderly Roberta has just lost her husband and is sorting through life's memories, a task making her granddaughter nervous
enjoyed the characters but was not impressed with the sex encounters..2 many and i think it made the women appear weak
4 starsAn interesting story of 4 woman’s lives. I was fascinated by one woman’s story more than the rest but still good.
I swooned over this novel. The style of this book is only for a particular type of reader--it has a slow pace and is very character-driven--but thankfully, that is my favorite style.As I read this book, I was in awe at Samuel's well-developed writing technique and the depth of her characters. There is so much genuine culture throughout the cast and I enjoyed seeing their world through different lenses. I related to Trudy from the beginning and loved following her story.This is one of those books...
3/3.5 stars for the writing but -1.5 for the one of the weakest heroines I've ever read. The H was cheating on her for over a year. He used the same pet names for the OW that he used with the h, babysat OW's daughter etc etc. So, of course the h apologizes for being distant and takes him back almost immediately. His excuse for the cheating (not that there really is one) didn't even make any sense. If I understood it correctly, and at this point in the book I was skimming so maybe I didn't, he ch...
3.5 STARSThis is mostly Trudy's story, the three other women have a lot less page time. Honestly, Shannelle's storyline could have been left out all together, I had little interest in her. Jade, fresh off a divorce from a total loser, is searching for strength and finds it in boxing. I can't wrap my head around wanting to partake in such a brutal sport, but I liked Jade's fire. I wish there had been more Trudy/Jade scenes in the book.I found Trudy realistic but frustrating. She was blindsided by...
What a lovely story. It centers around Trudy, 47, whose three kids are grown and whose husband is having an affair, so she kicks him to the curb. And then she falls apart, because she still loves him passionately. Her arc is about finding the woman she was before she gave up her dreams to care for her family, and how does her maybe-to-be-ex-husband adapt, or does he? Meanwhile, a beautiful and sexy man moves in next store, a man with his own broken heart to tend.Although beautifully drawn, this
Let me start by saying something good about this book. Four neighbours supported each other while they were all dealing with difficulties. That's all I can say that is positive.Otherwise, the first 66% of the story was insufferable wallowing in grief! All four women had 'man' problems, and were stuck. It wasn't until this 2/3 mark in the book that they each started to work through their situations. The situation I could not accept was Jade turning to boxing--to show she is strong! Give me a brea...
Book #86 Read in 2014The Goddesses of Kitchen Avenue by Barbara SamuelThis was a good women's fiction read. It details the lives of four women who are neighbors and who are dealing with issues. Roberta's husband just died. Trudy's husband cheated on her. Jade's ex-husband is in jail. Shannelle's husband does not understand her desire to be a writer. Told in alternating chapters, the women work through their issues and help out each other. This was my first book by this author but I will read mor...
There was an overwhelming sense of sadness that accompanied much of the beginning of the book, it made it a little difficult to plug through if you are looking for happier times. Although this is a fairly strong fiction novel that offers strong character development and a character driven plot if you enjoy following women throught the times in their lives that are not necessarily the happiest
Honestly, I only picked up this one for Trudy & Rick's story. I skimmed/ignored the other storylines. It was hard watching them work out the greatest betrayal a marriage can endure, and while I found their responses to each other and to circumstances pretty genuine, I guess I needed a bit more certainty that things were working out. I'm square like that. Spell it out for me.☺Ultimately I did like how it ended, but the whole book felt overstuffed with characters/situations.
I really enjoyed reading about each woman's personal relationships and struggles and the bond they all shared even though each was in a different stage of life. This was right up my alley and a look forward to reading more by this author.