Rating:  Summary: Romance without smut Review: I loved this book. A woman is in a car crash and thinks she is going go die. She promises to "do good" if she is allowed to live. You then get to see how she goes from a self-centered, rich person to a truely caring, helpful one, and all the bumps that go along with it. Her family thinks she is losing it (her mind) because they don't understand why she is changing. The people at the country club don't understand. It's a very enjoyable book. There is romance in it, but the sex scenes are not explicet, which I truely enjoy. It is nice to read a book that doesn't go into detail with the bedroom scenes and leaves something for your imagination.
Rating:  Summary: Interesting and unusual Review: I picked this book up in the Romance section, and really enjoyed it. It focuses on Jane's struggle to change herself for the better after a near death experience. It by no means is a traditional romance. Very readable and a nice change.
Rating:  Summary: the rating is relative to her former books Review: I put Pamela Morsi in the unreadable category 3 or 4 books ago, after loving her first turn-of-the-20th-century romantic comedies. Imagine my surprise when I gave her contemporary non-romance a try. The read was pleasant, sometimes amusing, never dynamic, got extremely light weight toward the end. But, if you're looking for something to read while you're waiting for the oil to get changed, here's your book. Not deathless prose, but so much better than her most recent efforts. And the ending might have been Morsi's shot at what I'm told is the new trend in the romance genre, toward real life stories that don't rely on the happy ever after perfect couple solution. I will buy and read Finding Wisdom when it comes out. (If you want a self help book, this is not it.)
Rating:  Summary: Doing good, pretty bad . . . Review: It seems that Pamela Morsi has fallen into the fiction trap. As with other authors, when she tries to make her books appeal to a broader audience, she abandons everything that made her popular in the first place.I have been reading romance novels for many, many years and have a select group of authors that I buy without first reading the first few chapters in the store. Ms. Morsi used to be one of these 'buy-w/o-sample' authors for me, since this last book though; she is no longer on my short list. While I admire what she attempted to do with this book, she could have shown the growth of the lead character without sacrificing the developing romance. The story, while it had a great moral core, really wasn't that compelling. Maybe Ms. Morsi will go back to her earlier work and pick out the key elements that make the character driven pieces work; and find a way to incorporate these elements in a format that appeals to a broader audience. I guess after Ms. Morsi accidentally threw the baby out with the bath water, she compounded her error by writing 300 pages about the empty tub.
Rating:  Summary: She did Really Good! Review: Nearly everyone has made a deal with God at some point in their lives. To pass a test, to catch a guy's eye, to beg for health for a loved one. But how many of us have followed through on what we promised we would do? After a terrifying accident, Jane Lofton makes a deal with God to "do good." After a miraculous rescue, by a wonderful! elderly man, Jane sets out to do just that. Looking beneath the surface of her country-club lifestyle, and behind the scenes of the charities she and her friends have been involved in, Jane discovers that doing good is difficult at first. As her relationship with her rescuer develops, she discovers a true friendship, and a sense of purpose. As she gets to know the people who are benefitting by her acts of good, she realizes that doing good is a much more simple thing than she had originally believed, and a very satisfying feeling. I have always tried to practice random acts of kindness, and believe that Pamela Morsi may have committed the ultimate kind of "doing good" with this book.
Rating:  Summary: Doing good is GOOD! Review: Needless to say, its a "light" beach read. That where the negatives to this book end. I actually cared about Jane. I cared before she started doing good and I rooted her on through every messy decision. She never said being rich was wrong, but she found that using her status to help others more enriching than face lifts and "getting more". The characters showed frailty and strength. Chester became mentor and Scott became human. Though the secular nature of the book will keep most "morally focused" people frustrated, God is never denied and is shown as someone who loves us regardless of our walk or our weaknesses. Doing Good is always the right thing and Morsi nails this lesson on the head!
Rating:  Summary: doing good is harder than you think Review: Not having read Morsi before, I was unencumbered by expectations of a pure romance novel. What I discovered was a very readable story about a very likable character struggling to grow into the person she would like to be. Having made a promise to God, under extreme circumstances, to do good for the rest of her life, Jane finds that to be easier said than done. Her idea of doing good doesn't always work. But, persistance pays off and, despite some trite coincidences in the story line, the author gives us an enjoyable yet thought provoking woman's story.
Rating:  Summary: doing good is harder than you think Review: Not having read Morsi before, I was unencumbered by expectations of a pure romance novel. What I discovered was a very readable story about a very likable character struggling to grow into the person she would like to be. Having made a promise to God, under extreme circumstances, to do good for the rest of her life, Jane finds that to be easier said than done. Her idea of doing good doesn't always work. But, persistance pays off and, despite some trite coincidences in the story line, the author gives us an enjoyable yet thought provoking woman's story.
Rating:  Summary: Departure, but a good one Review: Pamela Morsi departs from her usual genre with this story of a woman living on autopilot until a near death experience. While some of the outcomes are telegraphed well in advance of the ending, the characterization is strong, the message important, and the story compelling...better living through clarity, charity and self knowledge. While I'm not personally a brittle society wife, there were many moments that resonated in the heroine's life. If you liked Patricia Gaffney's genre transition, or enjoy mainstream woman's fiction, Doing Good is well worth the time. I'd label this one a must read of the year.
Rating:  Summary: more fiction than romance Review: Pamela Morsi has been tied with Lavyrle Spencer as my favorite author ever since reading, GARTERS. She's excellent at making everyday believable charaters that you can care about. This one proves to be the same way. I enjoyed the book, but prefer more of a romance story, like in her previous books. This story is just what the title states. Jane keeping her promise to God, of "doing good" the rest of her life, if he'd let her live. You get to follow Jane Lofton's growth, in family issues, charity efforts, and new friendships. Jane doesn't actually find romantic love until the last quarter of the book. This isn't a book I'll be reading again, as I've done with her other books. Pamela Morsi does know how to tell an interesting story though. I'd suggest buying a used copy or checking it out from the library if, like me, you prefer more of a romance. I highly recommend buying some of her other books HEAVEN SENT, COURTING MISS HATTIE, GARTERS & THE LOVE CHARM. I've read all of these several times.
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