Helpful Score: 3
Read from July 06 to 18, 2010
review This book is just WOW. I did not want to put it down & trust me, it was hard to put this book down even when I had to go to the bathroom.
Tessa is 37 and she is a wanderer. Her dad lives in California with 3 dogs. (Which by the way is funny, because one of the dogs name is Peaches & that's my dogs name) But anyway. She got injured during a hiking trip & she has been living with her dad in order for her broken arm to heal. She then decides to go to New Mexico to investigate for future touring/hiking trips & she runs into a web of secrets she never expected to find while she was here.
She meets Vince, and boy is he a hunk. She falls for him instantly & she can't seem to stop running into him & his adorable three little girls. She finally decides she can't keep herself away from him & their relationship conists of a whole hell of a lot of love making. From there, secrets about the town start sparking little "memory flashbacks" for Tessa & she finds out a lot of things about her family & her past.
One of my favorite things about this book is a quote that Tessa says a lot throughout it. "Here I Am", she says this usually when she looks up into the sun of a morning. This seemed to stick with me while I was reading it. I'm not sure why, but it just makes you feel good to look up into the sky & say it. Try it, I dare you. (:
The other cool part about this book is how it features some recipes from the 100 Breakfasts Cafe menu. If you like to cook, that's also a plus from this book.
You need to read this book. It's a mystery, romantic, sweet novel all in one & you'll not want to put it down for one second. I love this book & I love the style of writing the author has. It keeps you on your toes.
review This book is just WOW. I did not want to put it down & trust me, it was hard to put this book down even when I had to go to the bathroom.
Tessa is 37 and she is a wanderer. Her dad lives in California with 3 dogs. (Which by the way is funny, because one of the dogs name is Peaches & that's my dogs name) But anyway. She got injured during a hiking trip & she has been living with her dad in order for her broken arm to heal. She then decides to go to New Mexico to investigate for future touring/hiking trips & she runs into a web of secrets she never expected to find while she was here.
She meets Vince, and boy is he a hunk. She falls for him instantly & she can't seem to stop running into him & his adorable three little girls. She finally decides she can't keep herself away from him & their relationship conists of a whole hell of a lot of love making. From there, secrets about the town start sparking little "memory flashbacks" for Tessa & she finds out a lot of things about her family & her past.
One of my favorite things about this book is a quote that Tessa says a lot throughout it. "Here I Am", she says this usually when she looks up into the sun of a morning. This seemed to stick with me while I was reading it. I'm not sure why, but it just makes you feel good to look up into the sky & say it. Try it, I dare you. (:
The other cool part about this book is how it features some recipes from the 100 Breakfasts Cafe menu. If you like to cook, that's also a plus from this book.
You need to read this book. It's a mystery, romantic, sweet novel all in one & you'll not want to put it down for one second. I love this book & I love the style of writing the author has. It keeps you on your toes.
Loved this book! I read it from cover to cover in one night. It was as good as her first book and I am looking forward to more! The characters are so real and the story just takes you along, wanting more and more. 8 Year old Natalie is a show stealer! This is the kind of read that makes you smile and think that happily ever after can really happen, even when life tosses you lemon after lemon.
Helpful Score: 1
(This reviewer read/reviewed the book as an ARC.)
Im a sucker for any kind of book with recipes, whether its a cookbook with stories, or a fiction/non-fiction book with recipes. Most of the time if its fiction with recipes, I am disappointed with either the recipes, the story, or the writing (generally, the latter, unfortunately). To find an author who writes well, tells a great story, and also develops intriguing recipes is, for me, at least, a rarity. Ms. ONeal has done all three in The Secret of Everything.
The New Mexico town of Los Ladrones, the Green Gate Organic Farms (formerly a Sixties commune), and other locales are richly, but succinctly detailed by Ms. ONeal. Here and there are odd metaphors such as, a watermelon scent of freshly cut grass which may not have lasted to the published edition. The characters and plot develop gradually, keeping the reader (at least this one) intrigued, nugget by nugget, as to the secret.
The secret is not too painfully obvious, but neither are the revelations and resolutions a total surprise, given the genre. Strictly romance novels are not my first choice for the small amount of pleasure reading I do. Thankfully, Tessas search for her place and identity is not overshadowed by the romance.
Being about half-way between the two generations of characters in the book, I found much with which to identify in the elements of the setting of this book, such as the era of the secret and the music. The two main characters are in their late thirties, and a couple of times their remarks seem more likely of twenty-somethings, but I suppose we all pick up the slang of the younger generation.
Im not sure I would reread (except to see if the published edition was a bit more polished), but I would definitely like to read Ms. ONeals previous books, as well as highly recommend The Secret of Everything to others.
Im a sucker for any kind of book with recipes, whether its a cookbook with stories, or a fiction/non-fiction book with recipes. Most of the time if its fiction with recipes, I am disappointed with either the recipes, the story, or the writing (generally, the latter, unfortunately). To find an author who writes well, tells a great story, and also develops intriguing recipes is, for me, at least, a rarity. Ms. ONeal has done all three in The Secret of Everything.
The New Mexico town of Los Ladrones, the Green Gate Organic Farms (formerly a Sixties commune), and other locales are richly, but succinctly detailed by Ms. ONeal. Here and there are odd metaphors such as, a watermelon scent of freshly cut grass which may not have lasted to the published edition. The characters and plot develop gradually, keeping the reader (at least this one) intrigued, nugget by nugget, as to the secret.
The secret is not too painfully obvious, but neither are the revelations and resolutions a total surprise, given the genre. Strictly romance novels are not my first choice for the small amount of pleasure reading I do. Thankfully, Tessas search for her place and identity is not overshadowed by the romance.
Being about half-way between the two generations of characters in the book, I found much with which to identify in the elements of the setting of this book, such as the era of the secret and the music. The two main characters are in their late thirties, and a couple of times their remarks seem more likely of twenty-somethings, but I suppose we all pick up the slang of the younger generation.
Im not sure I would reread (except to see if the published edition was a bit more polished), but I would definitely like to read Ms. ONeals previous books, as well as highly recommend The Secret of Everything to others.
