Starting over: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: SURPRISES SPICED WITH ROMANCE
Review: Aptly titled, the story is all about beginning again. Now living on her family's farm in a small Scottish town, 38-year-old Liz Dewhurst is reeling from the disintegration of her marriage. But not to worry, a broken heart may be mended when Liz takes in a boarder - a handsome older man, Arthur Kempler, a professor at her son's school.

True to the Pilcher program (which the author's mother novelist Rosamunde Pilcher mines so successfully) complications develop. The farm is on the verge of bankruptcy; developers want to turn it into a posh golf course. This is a fate that Liz's father, a fifth generation farmer, cannot countenance. The betraying Gregor, Liz's ex husband, with his filly of the moment in tow shows up to lobby for the golf course as he owns adjoining property.

What conundrums - if Liz turns down the tempting financial offer town folk will be unhappy as they perceive the golf course to be an asset. However, if she accepts it, she will be helping Gregor and his new lady friend.

When Arthur invites Liz to join him on holiday in Spain, she accepts. There is much more than the Prado in Spain as the pair soon discover when they meet someone that neither of them expected to see.

Surprises spiced with romance make "Starting Over" entertaining listening.

Rating:
Summary: Second chances
Review: Liz Dewhurst feels as if her world is falling apart. Her husband has left her for another woman, her mother has died, and the farm which has been in her family for 150 years is being threatened with foreclosure. Her son Alex is estranged from his father and feels a keen responsibility for his mother and widowed grandfather. A developer appears and proposes to create a golf course on the property belonging to Liz and her ex-husband. Liz is opposed to this, but financially it seems to be the only solution to her problems. Alex tries to help by bringing his German teacher, Arthur, home as a boarder. Although Liz and her father are not too pleased by this arrangement at first, they soon grow fond of their new boarder.
Arthur is estranged from his son due to past indiscretions
and needs a travel companion to replace the son who refuses to go with his wayward father. Liz is persuaded to go, and she embarks on a voyage of self-discovery as well as investigating a new culture. Pilcher makes some statements about love and loyalty which are important although some may disagree with him. This is a pleasant read with a gentle message.

Rating:
Summary: Trite Waste of Time
Review: Robin Pilcher's first book, "An Ocean Apart" was one of the best books I had read in a long time. I was glad to find this one. What a waste! Badly written. Pilcher's character's have all been in other books. Some of the scenarios are laughable. The love interest knocking on Liz' door at a hotel pretending to be a bellboy and then leaning up against the doorframe when she opens it is written to melt our hearts but appears sophmoric. The book is overall very wholesome until you get towards the end when Will encourages Liz to use the "F" word to get out her frustrations, so she does to a point of ridiculousness. Then, she is encouraged by a woman they meet to have sex with Will because it brings healing and SHE KNOWS because she cheated on her husband and now things are wonderful. A silly book that had potential, but Pilcher tries too hard and needs to be more original.