Tips for Tuesday - Books: It's a Love Story & Not Her Daughter; Movie: DIane Warren: Relentless

We may have been given complimentary copies and/or access for review purposes to any books, products, and/or any other visual or audio media mentioned below. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own.

Books: It's a Love Story & Not Her Daughter

Me - It's a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan follows former child actress Jane as she attempts to track down a famous singer she knew in her past in the hopes that he will agree to write a song that might save the movie she is attempting to get made. Along for the ride with her is her coworker/workplace rival, Dan, who she begins to realize may not be such a bad guy after all.

Honestly, at first, I wasn't enjoying this book. I found Jane to be overly shallow,  irritating, and overall unlikable, which made the book as a whole feel unenjoyable. However, somewhere along the way, I found myself growing endeared to her. She demonstrated great character development, as she learned how to let down her walls, stopped trying to be perfect, and embraced being her authentic self for the first time in her life. I also came to like Dan. While he could be surly and blunt, he was also very caring and thoughtful. I appreciated that he was communicative and straightforward about his feelings.

The two of them worked really well together. Their frequent arguing turned into cute banter. They made each other feel safe and valued without having to put on any kind of mask, something neither of them had experienced before. Jane kept Dan on his toes, and he grounded her. Overall, they were just very sweet together. I came to enjoy them a lot as a couple.

Dan's family was also heavily involved throughout the book, and it was such a wholesome addition to the story. Watching Jane bond with his parents and especially his young nieces and nephews was simply adorable and made it even easier to root for them as a couple. They readily embraced her, and she came to love them so easily. The fact that she'd never had a big family of her own and got to find one in Dan's made it even better.

Jane's relationship with her best friend, Clem, was another nice aspect of the story. Although Clem wasn't overly important to the plot, nor was she as developed as some of the other characters, she was so supportive of Jane throughout everything. I always enjoy reading about close friendships in books.

The final relationship of note was between Jane and her mother. Despite their closeness, they were experiencing some tension due to secrets each of them had been keeping for years. This was another rewarding relationship to read about. I liked the way Jane and her mom both tried so hard to protect each other, even if it was sometimes to each other's detriment.  I  also enjoyed watching Jane develop enough confidence and courage to finally confront her mom about the secrets, allowing them to be more open with each other going forward.

This was my third Annabel Monaghan book, and it might have been my favorite so far. I have yet to fall in love with one of her books, but if you're looking for an easygoing, cute, summer romance, I'd definitely recommend giving her– and especially It's a Love Story– a try.

Mom - Today, we are discussing Not Her Daughter by Robin Mahle. Along with her own child, Evelyn Moore is raising the child of her late husband and the woman with whom he had an affiar both of whom are dead.  However, she doesn't actually have legal custody of the child so she she has recently moved her family to another town and tries to stay under the radar to keep away from any legal authorities or anyone who might think they have or actually have a claim on the child. 

The fact that this woman presumably stole a child makes her hard to like, relate to, or root for at first. However, eventually facts are revealed that cause Evelyn to become compartively more likable and put the readers more on her side. There is actually a prior related book as well. Although you do not stricly have to have read that book to understand what is going on in this book, the more you read in this book, the more helpful it feels like it would have been to have more background on the story. Perhaps it would have even been easier to understand why Evelyn did what she did and make her more likable from the beginning to have read that book first.. 

Nevertheless, the story is intriguing and remains fairly compelling throughout most of the book. However, although it's not entirely predictable, there are some aspects of the plot that regular readers of the genre can probably guess at long before they are actually revealed. Still, that is not as much of problem as the resolution of the book. In the later part of the book, the more that the book heads towards it conlusion and the more that is revealed the more convoluted and conveniently concidental it all becames too much to be believable. This ruins the book and makes it overall disappointing. 

Movie: Diane Warren: Relentless

Today, we recommend Diane Warren: Relentless, Warren is one of the most prolfic songwriters of all time. She has written songs for numerous popular singers including LeAnn Rimes, Cher, and Jennifer Hudson. Her hits include "Because You Loved Me", "Rhythmn of the Night", "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing", and many more. 

This film provides a fascinating look at the famous somewhat reclusive songwriter through the eyes of those who know her best including people she has worked with, her friends from childhood, and members of her family as well as through her own eyes. The film also offers interesting tidbits about many of  Warren's songs as well as chance to listen to parts of many of them as the film's soundtrack is full of them. Anyone, who is a fan of Diane Warren's songs is not going to want to miss this movie.

And that's our view. It's a Love Story was published in May. Not Her Daughter was published last week. Diane Warren: Relentless is currently available for purchase or rental digitally as well as for purchase on DVD.

Tune in tomorrow for Where-To-Go Wednesday.

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