Customer Reviews

Carly (Women of Ivy Manor Series #4)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I loved this book! The ending finishes all the loose ends from the 3 previous books. Wonderful series!

This book is one of four in a series about mothers and daughters. The first book starts in the 1920 era and ending with this book happening during our time. I personally couldn't put these books down! You want to know what happens to the next daughter and the next and so on! The stories cover what is going on during the woman's era and how she endures.

CARLY is a feisty offspring of the 21st Century, who thinks she knows what she wants and doesn't complain when the reality doesn't equal her expectations. CARLY is a high-quality story of chaotic experiences and strong characters. In portraying the youngest woman of Ivy Manor, Lyn Cote has created her most memorable story yet.
Irene Brand

Leigh is a strong individual so her daughter Carly Sinclair feels overwhelmed and subdued by her intimidating but loving mom. By high school, Carly feels like a failure as she always tries to please her demanding mother, but believes she has never succeeded as she fears failure not for her sake but for her mom's.

Leigh wants Carly to attend college, but though timorous, Carly finds backbone as she tells her mom no. Instead she enlists with the army over the objections of Leigh. Military demands prove difficult but Carly faces her fears and meets the requirements. She and her unit mobilize and deploy to Kuwait as part of Desert Shield where she is wounded. Sent home to convalesce the women of Ivy Manor provide their youngest with the healing power of love.

The latest Women of Ivy Manor (see CHLOE, BETTE, and LEIGH) is a fine family drama starring the fourth generation who needs to "escape" from her relatives especially her overbearing mom. The deep look at this reticent young woman seeking her wings to fly from the coop is well written with the wonderful backdrop of Desert Shield, the first war with Hussein. Though the ending feels contrived, fans of the miniseries will enjoy the coming of age of CARLY

Harriet Klausner

When I read the first book in this series, Chloe, I was hopeful that although the book moved quickly and seemed a tad bit shallow, that overall the series would be enjoyable. I was wrong. Chloe was good, Bette was better, but then with Leigh Cote's writing seemed to take a turn for the worse, and Carly only reiterated that sentiment. I was so excited for an impactful, in depth series about four generations of American women, and what I ended up reading was a hastily-written and shallow series filled with unrealistic characters and false-feeling relationships. I understand that this is a novel, and thus by definition it will have some outlandish plot twists and character developments - but I would at least expect such things to be written in a believable way, with some depth to them. This entire book felt so false and cheesy, that I could hardly bear to finish it.
The author is trying to pass this series off as "Christian" novels, and while there are a few (and I stress "few") "Christian" references, they are so shallow, awkwardly tossed in, and completely unexplained, that there is no point in the references even being in the novel at all. Then, in Carly the main character joins the army. This is a sect of society that is fairly well-known for being rough and rugged, and yet the author has soldiers and drill sergeants saying the most unbelievably docile things, that there is NO WAY anyone could take them seriously. I felt like I was reading a book written for a pre-teen child.
I was highly disappointed in this "grand finale" to the Ivy Manor series, and I will not be reading any other books by this author.
*** For some truly good, in-depth, and entertaining reading, try Liz Curtis Higgs, Lyn Austin, Francine Rivers, or Cecelia Ahern ***