I Think I Love You

Rating:
Summary: Cherish is the word I use to describe...
Review: A real treat to read. The phrase "a hoot" comes to mind. "I Think I Love You" was my first Stephanie Bond read, but it most certainly won't be my last.

Rating:
Summary: Cherish is the word I use to describe...
Review: A real treat to read. The phrase "a hoot" comes to mind. "I Think I Love You" was my first Stephanie Bond read, but it most certainly won't be my last.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: I had thoroughly enjoyed OUR HUSBAND, Stephanie Bond's earlier book, so I expected to like I THINK I LOVE YOU. Yet I more than liked it, I was awed by it.

The story was far more detailed than one expects a genre romance to be. Ms. Bond lets the reader know right from the beginning that she was inspired by the Nancy Drew mysteries of our collective youths, and I THINK I LOVE YOU is very much a Nancy Drew book for the modern woman.

The tension among the three sisters who are the focus of this novel is altogether plausible, and its history is well-explained. The separate plots concerning each of the three sisters also are compelling, and the backstory of small town Southern life is extremely interesting. I was awed by Ms. Bond's imagination and I cannot wait to read the sequel that the final pages of this novel promise already is in the works.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: I had thoroughly enjoyed OUR HUSBAND, Stephanie Bond's earlier book, so I expected to like I THINK I LOVE YOU. Yet I more than liked it, I was awed by it.

The story was far more detailed than one expects a genre romance to be. Ms. Bond lets the reader know right from the beginning that she was inspired by the Nancy Drew mysteries of our collective youths, and I THINK I LOVE YOU is very much a Nancy Drew book for the modern woman.

The tension among the three sisters who are the focus of this novel is altogether plausible, and its history is well-explained. The separate plots concerning each of the three sisters also are compelling, and the backstory of small town Southern life is extremely interesting. I was awed by Ms. Bond's imagination and I cannot wait to read the sequel that the final pages of this novel promise already is in the works.

Rating:
Summary: I wish I liked it more. *sigh*
Review: I picked up this novel after reading a charming but uncomplicated romantic-comedy novel by the same author. However, this particular book has significant depth and authenticity; my previous experience with this author gave no clue that she could write a book such as this one.

While the author may have meant for this novel to be funny, it is, in my opinion, more of a straight fiction book. The story concerns a highly dysfunctional North Carolina family of three illegitimate adult daughters, their bohemian parents, a live-in-boyfriend/ former fiance/ object of teenage desire all wound up in one dubiously deserving man, an uncle with political aspirations -- and his late wife, who was murdered while the girls were still in the teens, and whose murder the trio unfortunately witnessed.

As is usual in any fiction book, a problem arises... in this book, about five problems arise concurrently. First, the bohemian parents, while never married, have separated, necessitating the liqidation of their antiques business. Eldest Daughter is dodging the angry wife of her latest conquest. Youngest Daughter is dodging the rather psychotic aforementioned live-in boyfriend. The sisters are askance at a resurgence of interest in their late aunt's murder. And Middle Daughter, the "good child," is cajoled into help liquidate the antiques store, assisting a rather attractive and engaging appraiser hired by her mother.

In a masterful and clever way, the stories converge for an ending that's satisfying as it leaves positively no loose ends. I can't imagine the work and effort that went into this novel.

Now, I took off two stars because IN SPITE of everything, I had next to no affinity for these characters. Mostly, I wanted to spank them, or I wished that someone would stand up and say, "Hey, grownups don't act like this" and walk out. The Middle Daughter is wishy washy, the oldest and youngest are harpies, the parents are infantile, and the peripheral characters are pure stock. The only one who's vaguely interesting on his own is the engaging antiques appraiser... he'd be a good candidate to walk out. Instead, throughout the story he's vaguely amused.

I think this a book downright EXCELLENT for plot and mediocre for character... depending on your tastes, this could be a sure bet for you.

Rating:
Summary: I wish I liked it more. *sigh*
Review: I picked up this novel after reading a charming but uncomplicated romantic-comedy novel by the same author. However, this particular book has significant depth and authenticity; my previous experience with this author gave no clue that she could write a book such as this one.

While the author may have meant for this novel to be funny, it is, in my opinion, more of a straight fiction book. The story concerns a highly dysfunctional North Carolina family of three illegitimate adult daughters, their bohemian parents, a live-in-boyfriend/ former fiance/ object of teenage desire all wound up in one dubiously deserving man, an uncle with political aspirations -- and his late wife, who was murdered while the girls were still in the teens, and whose murder the trio unfortunately witnessed.

As is usual in any fiction book, a problem arises... in this book, about five problems arise concurrently. First, the bohemian parents, while never married, have separated, necessitating the liqidation of their antiques business. Eldest Daughter is dodging the angry wife of her latest conquest. Youngest Daughter is dodging the rather psychotic aforementioned live-in boyfriend. The sisters are askance at a resurgence of interest in their late aunt's murder. And Middle Daughter, the "good child," is cajoled into help liquidate the antiques store, assisting a rather attractive and engaging appraiser hired by her mother.

In a masterful and clever way, the stories converge for an ending that's satisfying as it leaves positively no loose ends. I can't imagine the work and effort that went into this novel.

Now, I took off two stars because IN SPITE of everything, I had next to no affinity for these characters. Mostly, I wanted to spank them, or I wished that someone would stand up and say, "Hey, grownups don't act like this" and walk out. The Middle Daughter is wishy washy, the oldest and youngest are harpies, the parents are infantile, and the peripheral characters are pure stock. The only one who's vaguely interesting on his own is the engaging antiques appraiser... he'd be a good candidate to walk out. Instead, throughout the story he's vaguely amused.

I think this a book downright EXCELLENT for plot and mediocre for character... depending on your tastes, this could be a sure bet for you.

Rating:
Summary: strong look at a dysfunctional family
Review: In Monroeville, North Carolina, the three sisters Justine, Regina, and Mica grow up in a strange household where their hippie parents refuse to marry though they have lived together for almost two decades and co-own M&G Antiques. The oldest high schooler Justine takes her siblings to spy on lover's lane. However, what they see frightens them as they observe someone killing their Aunt Lyla. Since they cannot identify the murderer, the three siblings agree to remain silent.

Twenty years later, the trio lives in separate parts of the country. Justine is an executive at a cosmetics firm in Pennsylvania. Regina edits nonfiction self help books in Boston. Mica is an internationally famous hair model living in Los Angeles. The threesome rarely talk to one another since the homicide incident and Mica stealing Justine's boy friend nasty Dean Haviland. However, circumstances in their lives and that of their parents bring the trio back to Monroeville where they can continue to squabble or begin the road to healing.

I THINK I LOVE YOU is no bubblegum Partridge family teen tale, but instead Stephanie Bond provides a strong look at a dysfunctional family. The story line works because the three sisters seem like real siblings struggling with rivalries, loves, and just meeting one another halfway. The schism between the trio makes the tale work though their new male interests relatively fall into place to easily. Still fans will bond with the cast and expect more lay it on the line type of relationship dramas from this talented author.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: I KNOW I love Stephanie Bond!
Review: This is my second book by Stephanie Bond, my first being her previous GOT YOUR NUMBER, and I will continue to pick her up. She has a way of throwing the reader into a rough situation and, while still taking that situation seriously, showing the reader the comedic side.

I THINK I LOVE YOU is a story about a very self-destructive family going through one jam after another. The center being the three sisters. We see the majority of this story through Regina, the "middle child" going through the textbook (and Bond style) issues. Toss in a couple murders, a sexy appraiser, and a crotch sniffing dog and you've got yourself a hit. The only thing this reader would have enjoyed more was some added tidbits into the romances of the oldest and youngest sisters. However, I was far from disappointed. I THINK I LOVE YOU was an fast-paced read with some shocking twists, cringe worthy pranks, hair pulling brawls, and just a dab of romance. If the romance was a little lacking it was more than made up for with belly laughs. I am definitely keeping an eye on Stephanie Bond.