Thursday, March 9, 2017

Blueprints - #BookBeginnings on Friday and #TheFriday56

    If I'm looking for a book with an engaging plot, believable characters, and an interesting setting, I know I can count on one written by Barbara Delinsky. Blueprints takes readers into the world of home renovation TV shows - just the thing for an HGTV addict like me! There's conflict between mother and daughter as major changes are planned for the show, and there's romance too. At age 56, is mom too old for love? I don't think so!
    Thank you, Sandra, for sending me this book for my birthday.

Genre: Women's Fiction / Romance
Book Length: 405 Pages (Trade Paperback)
Amazon Link: Blueprints
Author Website:  Barbara Delinsky

Book Beginning:
Prologue
     The rain let up just in time. The final day of taping for the spring season of Gut It! was about to begin, and though the sun hadn't yet appeared, Caroline MacAfee's hopes were high. Well behind the stream of work vehicles pulling up on the road, the western sky was giving way to scattered patches of blue, as the June breeze pushed gunmetal clouds east, toward Boston and the sea.

Friday 56 (from Page 56):
     She sat forward and called, "That place is in the middle of nowhere. It has water problems, zoning problems, access problems, and" - she raised her voice when he didn't stop - "It's so infested with carpenter ants that you'd be best burning the thing to the ground. You don't want that place, Dean!...."

Synopsis from the Author's Website:
     Set in suburban Boston in a world of reality tv and home design, Blueprints is the story of two strong women, Caroline and Jamie MacAfee, mother and daughter, best friends. The day after her 56th birthday, Caroline is told that she is too old to be the public face of Gut It!, a family-based home construction show, and that her 29-year-old daughter, Jamie, will replace her as its host. Daughter ousting mother from a job she loves? The resulting rift occurs at a time when each needs the other more than ever.
     For Jamie, an architect, life changes overnight when, soon after learning of the host shift, her father and his young third wife die in a freak accident that orphans their two-year-old son. Accustomed to neatness and planning, she is suddenly grappling with a toddler who misses his parents, a fiancé who doesn’t want the child, a staggering new attraction, and a work challenge that, if botched, could undermine the future of both MacAfee Homes and Gut It!
     For Caroline, a master carpenter, hosting Gut It! was an inadvertent sideline that has become part of her identity. Facing its loss, she feels betrayed by her daughter and old in the eyes of the world. Already raw, when her ex-husband dies, she is thrust into the role of giving emotional support to his aging father, who suddenly has other designs on her time. And then there’s Dean, her long-time friend, who sets out to show her that age is just a number. His efforts to seduce her awaken desires in her that have been dormant for so long that she feels foreign to herself.
     Who am I? Both women ask themselves this as their lives take dramatic twists. Their challenge is not only to find themselves but to find each other again.
           

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Twitter: @SandyNachlinger
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25 comments:

  1. Such a pretty cover. I love the hydrangeas. And I love books with flowers featured in the cover. It looks good. Thanks for the visit.

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    1. I love those hydrangeas, too! I hope mine look that good this summer.

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  3. it's been a while since I have read this author's work. This one sounds good which is to be expected. Love the cover. Here is my post.

    http://totallyaddictedtoreading.blogspot.com/2017/03/friday-memes-book-beginnings-and-friday.html

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  4. Thanks for reminding me of this, Sandy. I read it a couple years ago, really enjoyed it, but never followed up with review. Worse, I failed to add it to my Midlife Fiction list on Facebook! I'll do that today, but if you or your readers are interested, here's the bloody long link: https://www.facebook.com/pg/LynneSpreenAuthor/photos/?tab=album&album_id=767202190051440

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    1. I thought of you, Lynne, when I typed the "OA (Older Adult)" tag. Thanks for adding Blueprints to the Midlife Fiction list on Facebook and for including the link here.

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  5. Such a lovely cover and it sounds good too! :)

    Stormi
    Friday Meme

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    1. I enjoyed the story on many levels -- the mother-daughter relationship and the home renovation aspect, for starters.

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  6. This author had been around such a long time! I'd love for you and your readers to check out mine... http://tinyurl.com/LisaKsBookReviewsCCAAC

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  7. All right! This one check off so many boxes that I just have to add it to my wishlist. I have a cozy this week - Purr M for Murder by T. C. LoTempio. Happy reading!

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  8. Wow, heady stuff! I enjoy watching HGTV, too. Innovative idea to use it as a backdrop to a novel.

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  9. Oh, I loved this book, Sandra! And the author is definitely my go-to person when I want a feel-good read with issues. I love books about renovations, too.

    Thanks for sharing...and reminding me that I must check to see what is on the horizon for this author.

    Thanks for visiting my blog.

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  10. I bet I'd like this one. I watch shows about home improvement and flipping all the time. I watch them and dream. LOL

    My Friday 56 from The Roanoke Girls

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  11. Hi Sandra,

    Love the cover art and those opening lines would certainly keep me reading.

    After finding out who Dean is, I am wondering exactly what it is that he is thinking of buying - it sounds like a dump!

    This is a plot that will keep you on your toes, as I am sure that there will be many twists and turns before the final outcome.

    Thanks for sharing and enjoy your weekend :)

    Yvonne

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    1. Dean is an interesting secondary character. You think he'd listen to advice from an expert about renovating a house that's in such bad shape!

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  12. Delinsky is one of my all-time favorite authors. Haven't read this one yet, but it sounds good.

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  13. Probably not a book for me, but I certainly hope you enjoy it!

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  14. Love the sound of a mother-daughter book. Hope you enjoy your weekend!

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  15. I don't know about the plot but I love the hydrangeas on the cover. Tee-hee. Happy reading.

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  16. Sounds like good, solid reading. Happy weekend!

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