Customer Reviews

DIFFERENT ROADS (Large Print)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The two main characters, Jaycee and Bud, are from different worlds. But when their worlds come together, what a treat for the reader. They are sexy, funny and full of great lines. I love Bud and of course Jaycee is an amazing strong woman who hides behind her pain.

This book takes you on a journey of growth and love that makes you know that when you love someone you can climb mountains. I know this book is going to be made into a movie. It needs to be. It shows that no matter what kind of pain we had in our childhood that we can climb over mountains, and not just survive but thrive. I love Jaycee's spunk and her spirit. She is one funny woman with a huge heart that would give you the last dollar in her pocket if you needed help. Don't let her rough attitude fool you. She has a heart of gold.

You won't be able to put this book down. I was so sad when it ended and wished that it could be made into a series. That is how much fun it was you will want to follow their lives into the future.

Thank you Joyce for this wonderful amazing story. I'm waiting for the movie.

This book, by Joyce Sterling Scarbrough, is a winner. I admit it is not in my usual genre, but I found myself turning pages long after my allotted reading time each night.
Joyce writes with an energy and passion that shines through in all her characters.
Jaycee, the main character, the product of a dysfunctional family background, is a load to handle and she makes me want to pull my hair out sometimes. Her growth toward maturity is not easy, but is evident.
Joyce has crafted a realistic adventure of two young people on the way to adulthood along a rocky road. There are both smiles and frowns along the way.
I strongly recommend this book as a "must read." It's well worth the time.

Jaycee Stevens is a girl who has outrageous behavior down to a fine art. At age six she lost her mother. From that point on she fended for herself, growing to adulthood with a brutal, alcoholic father. By the time she's off to college, Jaycee has learned to lock her childhood fears and subsequent nightmares behind a tough, outspoken façade. She leaves her father and old boyfriend behind, marches to her own drummer, focuses on her goal of becoming an investigative journalist, and God help anyone who gets in her way.

Enter the sexiest set of male legs on the planet, topped by a phenomenal physique and smile that would melt granite. When Bud Stanton, privileged playboy extraordinaire, and Jaycee collide, everything you can imagine and then some hits the fan. She resents Bud's wealth, his gorgeous maleness, and his lack of interest in education. Bud ignores her angry barbs and goes after the one female who could transform monogamy into a positive experience. He adores the feisty girl he nicknames Firecracker. When Jaycee finally stops fighting her sexual attraction to Bud, the results are explosive, funny, and poignant. The tough young woman who's afraid of the dark feels safe with Bud because he has childhood specters of his own to deal with. Their battles are as heated as their lovemaking. Both have found their match. But will Bud's wealthy family accept a poor girl from the wrong side of the tracks? Will
loving Bud ruin Jaycee's future goals and plans? And will Bud ever settle down and become anything but a spoiled rich kid with a killer smile? Believe me, the outcome of this book is worth the read.

Jaycee and Bud are strong, charismatic characters. Characters forced to circulate in their wake are interesting and well developed. I particularly liked Mack Stanton, Bud's father, and Jaycee's raunchy co-worker, Francie, but all characters enhance the story in various ways. The plot is sexy, funny, exciting, and touching. Recommended for mature readers due to strong language and sexual content.

The two main characters, Jaycee and Bud, share similar emotional challenges, but were raised in very different environments. Both are extreme narcissists, egocentric, self-indulgent magpies with no likeable qualities. Both lost their mothers when they were very young, and both complain of fathers who do not love them.

Jaycee was born and raised in a small Alabama town. She grew up poor and quickly learned to fend for herself; her father was to busy with booze to take care of or even notice her.

Bud grew up in a very affluent environment in Florida. But Bud felt neglected; his brothers all took after their father, playing football, and running the family business. However, Bud was more interested in Baseball and college. These two unpleasant misfits meet in college and quickly realize they were made for each other. The story follows Jaycee and Bud as they make a life together and each learns to love and act selflessly.

The book is well written; however, there are several places (primarily at the beginning) where the author's voice breaks into the narrative, to fill gaps. For example, in the first chapter, Jaycee's character and brief history are delivered point by point in a couple of paragraphs. This reader would prefer to learn about the characters, from the characters, let the history unfold as needed.

Also, the book suffers from `bad blurbs'. When I first read the back cover, I was very turned off of the book; however, the story is edgy, fast-paced and colorful.

The ending is a bit of a let down, a little too fairly-tale perfect. The story overall has a hard-hitting edge and the smell of reality, but late in the story, Jaycee has several `near death experiences' that push the story into the realm of fantasy. So if you are turned off by Christian mythos or spirituality then skip those parts, they don't add to the story or characterizations anyway.

Overall, Different Roads is an entertaining book. I will recommend it and plan to look for more by Joyce Sterling Scarbrough.

Different roads, by Joyce Scarbrough, is a coming of age novel that will hold your attention from beginning to end. Her characters are complex and troubled, but they will immediately grab your attention as they seek to conquer their own private demons. The main character, Jaycee Stevens, carries you on an emotional rollercoaster ride as she attempts to hide her loneness and pain through her outrageous behavior. Her problems are logical and believable, emanating from the loss of her mother at an early age and an abusive father who neglects and ignores her. Jaycee's outspoken behavior is sometimes shocking, but nevertheless plausible in the turbulent world Ms. Scarbrough has created. I like a plot that is logical, yet remains unpredictable. This story supplies all of these elements and much more. You will, in fact, find yourself holding your breath at times, wondering if Jaycee can possibly get in any more trouble than she has already encountered.

While there are many strong points to this novel, I especially liked the characters. Despite her personality flaws, Jaycee is adorable in a way that is almost unexplainable. Her brash attitude, her impulsiveness, her lack of social grace is captaining, and makes us wonder if we could have done any better if faced with the same predicament. There is a great temptation for me to delve too deeply into the plot and spoil the surprises of this fascinating story for the prospective reader. There are many twist, turns and surprises along the way, and you will come away from it wondering if this story is real. I'm looking forward to reading Ms. Scarbrough's next novel. I hope there will be many more and each of them will find their way to the special place I have prepared for them on the shelves of my bookcase.

I read Different Roads while traveling cross country and really loved it.

The story propels from the first page through the last and gives the reader a sense that all things are interconnected and happen for a reason. The dialogue is snappy and right on the money.

All the characters were memorable, but Jaycee, the feisty young girl who grows up into a strong, opinionated woman, really shines. The reader can't help but root for her through all her hardships and tough decisions.

I highly recommend this book.

Rarely does a character in a book jump into my heart from the first page. Jaycee, the main character in Different Roads, written by Joyce Sterling Scarbrough, was one of those rare characters. She grabbed me from the first paragraph and hasn't let go since.
Ms. Scarbrough has a writing style that draws the reader in quickly and keeps the interest until the very end. Not one to read many romances, I was a bit skeptical at first. This is no ordinary mushy romance novel, however; the relationship between the two main characters is passionate and fraught with more twists and turns than a Class Five hurricane.
As I followed Jaycee and Bud through their relationship, I laughed loudly and cried hard. At one point I was glad Joyce Scarbrough wasn't near because I wasn't sure if I'd hug her for writing such a powerful book or strangle her for causing such an emotional upheaval within me. The characters are so real, the feelings so true-to-life, you will forget you are reading a book and actually feel you know the people involved.
This book deals with some heavy topics, but does so with skill and finesse. Ms. Scarbrough understand completely the inner workings of her characters and helps the reader understand as well. Her understanding of human nature is exceptional.
If you are looking for a mere quick read, this isn't a book for you. If, however, you want a story that draws you deeply within the story and allows you to feel the emotions fully, this is a must-read. You will not regret for one moment buying and reading Different Roads. I will caution readers--be prepared for an emotion journey unlike any you have experienced.

I really enjoyed reading this book. If you liked "Tru Blue Forever" written by this author then you will like this book. It does have some bad language in it, if you can look past that, I highly recommend the book. I loved it as I did her first book. Can't wait for the next one. Loved it and will probably read it again while waiting on the 3rd book from this author.

Jaycee Stevens breaks the mold. No Yankee can read this book and think Southern Bells populate the South. Her tough persona captivates the reader because her quick firing of insults and threats articulated with such aplomb that people let her do anything she wants. Jaycee says things openly that many of us privately wish we had the courage to come out of our own mouths. Most of us lack her charm and courage. The fact that she's sexy and attractive with big boobs makes men melt. They allow her to do things that would irritate most people, yet she pulls it off with them apologizing to her. They rationalize that she is being playful when, in fact, she directs her deep-seated anger at them.

Jaycee's mother died when she was young and she was raised by an alcoholic father who neglected her or beat her. Mostly he ignored her and she grew up taking care of herself in any manner that she could. She became a fighter with a cutting tongue to hide her fear of abandonment.

She lived on the wrong side of town and lost her first love to parents who felt she wasn't good enough for their son. She's a gifted writer which wins her an opportunity to leave behind all the negatives that comprised her being. While in college, she meets Bud Stanton, a rich boy suffering the same feelings of neglect and abandonment. They are so much alike that they truly do understand each other, but they act out and often Jaycee lashes out at poor Bud. He tends to pout and withdraw.

Bud starves for his father's approval and display jealousy when Mack becomes Jaycee's surrogate father. Bud wonders if more is going on than a father/daughter relationship. He is very possessive of Jaycee. This creates many of their battles. Their pattern is to fight, make up, then make love very passionately. Jaycee, with Mack's help, becomes a published author of children's books. She feels she is finally overcoming her past when she find out the truth about her chance to go to New York and be a journalist while in college. This upsets Jaycee so much that she leaves Bud and heads home to her dying father. There she discovers more truths that nearly destroy her. Only Bud holds the key to Jaycee's acceptance of herself. But will Bud take her back?