When Skye Sebring, a hospitality greeter inside the pearly gates of Heaven, meets lawyer Ryan Blaine during his brush with death after a motorcycle accident, she falls so deeply in love that she follows him back to Earth, a world with strange customs she knows nothing about -- until she discovers that all of life's lessons can be learned from the lyrics of five Beatles songs.
Earthly Pleasures: A Novel
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Neches presents in her appealingly unorthodox debut a heaven where angels lust, drink and follow terrestrial celebrity gossip. Skye Sebring is a greeter in the Hospitality Department of Heaven who finds herself drawn to the Earthly Pleasures TV channel (reality TV for Heaven dwellers) after she welcomes the handsome, reformed playboy Ryan Bad Boy Blaine to the pearly gates. The lawyer son of a former president, Ryan's stay in heaven is cut short (his death is more of the brush-with-death variety), but he can't forget Skye, who reminds him of someone he knew. The feeling is mutual for Skye, who follows Ryan back to Earth, where it's pretty apparent there's something strange going on with Ryan's wife, Susan, who is planning a huge gala wedding follow-up to their earlier low-key impromptu nuptials. As Skye investigates her connection with Ryan and Ryan looks into what's causing his wife's strange behavior (he also forms a radio call-in show habit), a tangled story of cold ambition and true love unspools. Neches's funny and sweet novel shows that to err is human and angelic as well. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"Karen Neches' Earthly Pleasures is a rare treat. I laughed from the first page and cried in all the right places. Do yourself a favor and curl up with this book. Heaven knows, you won't be sorry!" --Julie Kenner, author of Demons Are Forever
"Equally hilarious and poignant, Earthly Pleasures is a little powerhouse of a novel about love, life...and what comes next." --Melissa Senate, author of See Jane Date and Love You to Death
"Earthly Pleasures is more than just a novel. It's a dream, a calling, a divine trip from which you won't want to come home. I loved it!" -- Valerie Frankel, author of I Take This Man and Hex and the Single Girl
"What a treat! Earthly Pleasures more than lives up to its name. I was glued to the pages of this delightful little gem of a novel and wish it could have been twice as long!" -- Megan Crane, author of Frenemies
"Karen Neches's novel is an intriguing love story with a rare combination of both wit and depth. In Neches's fresh voice she gives us an innovative version of Heaven where the one true thing still remains: love that transcends both time and space." -- Patti Callahan Henry, author of Between the Tides
"Equally hilarious and poignant, Earthly Pleasures is a little powerhouse of a novel about love, life...and what comes next." --Melissa Senate, author of See Jane Date and Love You to Death
"Earthly Pleasures is more than just a novel. It's a dream, a calling, a divine trip from which you won't want to come home. I loved it!" -- Valerie Frankel, author of I Take This Man and Hex and the Single Girl
"What a treat! Earthly Pleasures more than lives up to its name. I was glued to the pages of this delightful little gem of a novel and wish it could have been twice as long!" -- Megan Crane, author of Frenemies
"Karen Neches's novel is an intriguing love story with a rare combination of both wit and depth. In Neches's fresh voice she gives us an innovative version of Heaven where the one true thing still remains: love that transcends both time and space." -- Patti Callahan Henry, author of Between the Tides
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By sandy
Format:Paperback
I stayed up all night finishing this, too! And I haven't been a teenager in years: I remember when the Beatles were cutting edge, saw them on Ed Sullivan as a small child, and played the entire album "Meet the Beatles" incessantly at camp in 3rd grade.
Karen has hit this one out of the park. "Earthly Pleasures" is sweet, funny, witty, surprising, culturally relevant, but most of all, the story is about goodness, which seems to be largely ignored these days. The story delivers, using humor, grace and clever imagination.
I just bought copies to give for Valentine's gifts for my daughters, sisters and mother!
Karen has hit this one out of the park. "Earthly Pleasures" is sweet, funny, witty, surprising, culturally relevant, but most of all, the story is about goodness, which seems to be largely ignored these days. The story delivers, using humor, grace and clever imagination.
I just bought copies to give for Valentine's gifts for my daughters, sisters and mother!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By TeensReadToo
Format:Paperback
"All you need is love, love. Love is all you need." -- Lyrics to a very famous song by The Beatles.
This is the fifth easy lesson of the world's five greatest philosophers. The first four are also Beatles songs. I laughed when I read this but I think that Karen Neches has something there.
The story of EARTHLY PLEASURES is about an angel--or soul--named Skye Sebring, who is a hospitality greeter inside Heaven. She greets and helps orientate the souls of the newly departed. The objective of many of the angels in heaven is to get back down to Earth, but not Skye. She loves being in Heaven and working with the newly departed. I would, too.
The citizens of Heaven have Wishberrys which grant their every wish, can make their own schedules, and they are very peaceful. But in walks Ryan Blaine, the son of a former president of the United States. He comes into Skye's blissful life and now she is obsessed with him. He can't stay in Heaven and returns to his earthly body. Now how is Skye going to be with him while she is in heaven and he is on Earth?
This was a light read but oh so fun. Heaven is a funny place to be yet exactly where many of us would like to one day end up. But the fun thing about this book is that it has so many characters that tie into each other and you don't know it until you are about three-quarters of the way through the story. I also couldn't predict the ending. I had a general idea, but there were so many surprises that I was blown away. I want you to know that I stayed up late (for me) on a school night to finish this book, so that in itself tells you how much I enjoyed it.
Remember that all anyone needs is love!
Reviewed by: Marta Morrison
This is the fifth easy lesson of the world's five greatest philosophers. The first four are also Beatles songs. I laughed when I read this but I think that Karen Neches has something there.
The story of EARTHLY PLEASURES is about an angel--or soul--named Skye Sebring, who is a hospitality greeter inside Heaven. She greets and helps orientate the souls of the newly departed. The objective of many of the angels in heaven is to get back down to Earth, but not Skye. She loves being in Heaven and working with the newly departed. I would, too.
The citizens of Heaven have Wishberrys which grant their every wish, can make their own schedules, and they are very peaceful. But in walks Ryan Blaine, the son of a former president of the United States. He comes into Skye's blissful life and now she is obsessed with him. He can't stay in Heaven and returns to his earthly body. Now how is Skye going to be with him while she is in heaven and he is on Earth?
This was a light read but oh so fun. Heaven is a funny place to be yet exactly where many of us would like to one day end up. But the fun thing about this book is that it has so many characters that tie into each other and you don't know it until you are about three-quarters of the way through the story. I also couldn't predict the ending. I had a general idea, but there were so many surprises that I was blown away. I want you to know that I stayed up late (for me) on a school night to finish this book, so that in itself tells you how much I enjoyed it.
Remember that all anyone needs is love!
Reviewed by: Marta Morrison
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Nancy
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
Multiply storylines in this totally fun chick-lit version of Heaven. Who would have thought that God is a woman who sounds just like Bette Midler. Where all of life's lessons can be found in the lyrics of 5 Beatles songs and where you can watch the lives of earthlings on TV including hot Hollywood actors in the shower.
I didn't know that Heaven could be such a hoot, but with Skye Sebring as a greeter in the Hospitality Department of Heaven you just never know what she and her friends will be up to next. Skye is summoned to her cubicle one day to meet Ryan Blaine, known to his friends and ex-presidential father as Bad Boy Blaine for his handsome playboy ways. When Ryan is whisked back out of Skye's office as quickly as he appeared Skye uses the Early Pleasures TV channel, think Reality TV - Heaven style, to see what is going on with Ryan.
This fun romp takes a couple of twists, mostly involving Ryan's wife Susan who herself had a brush with death, and looks surprisingly like Skye. But with Susan's strange behavior after her accident and Ryan's memories of Skye, things turn on a dime when the Hot Dog Hag makes a startling discovery.
Sounds confusing, but Neches weaves the multiple storylines, some that I haven't even mentioned here, in a delightful way that keeps you turning the pages and laughing way into the night.
I didn't know that Heaven could be such a hoot, but with Skye Sebring as a greeter in the Hospitality Department of Heaven you just never know what she and her friends will be up to next. Skye is summoned to her cubicle one day to meet Ryan Blaine, known to his friends and ex-presidential father as Bad Boy Blaine for his handsome playboy ways. When Ryan is whisked back out of Skye's office as quickly as he appeared Skye uses the Early Pleasures TV channel, think Reality TV - Heaven style, to see what is going on with Ryan.
This fun romp takes a couple of twists, mostly involving Ryan's wife Susan who herself had a brush with death, and looks surprisingly like Skye. But with Susan's strange behavior after her accident and Ryan's memories of Skye, things turn on a dime when the Hot Dog Hag makes a startling discovery.
Sounds confusing, but Neches weaves the multiple storylines, some that I haven't even mentioned here, in a delightful way that keeps you turning the pages and laughing way into the night.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By AK
Format:Paperback
Skye's life is Heavenly, literally so, as she has never lived anywhere other than Heaven itself. She's a greeter, in charge of helping newly deceased souls adjust to being dead. When Ryan Blaine, one of the hottest stars on Earth, has a near death experience and is in Skye's office for only a moment, it's long enough for her to fall in love. Heaven is a bit less perfect for her after this meeting, but this is truly a star crossed romance. Besides, he has a lover back on Earth, even if he's finding her to be less than the angel she once was.
*** Granted, if you exam theology in this book closely, you'll not be happy, but if you take Earthly Pleasures as a simple, sweet story, you will find it a light, enjoyable read. Skye's interactions with the newly dead girl, Chelsea, are particularly fun. Though not a profound book, it is fun. ***
Amanda Killgore
*** Granted, if you exam theology in this book closely, you'll not be happy, but if you take Earthly Pleasures as a simple, sweet story, you will find it a light, enjoyable read. Skye's interactions with the newly dead girl, Chelsea, are particularly fun. Though not a profound book, it is fun. ***
Amanda Killgore
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Welcome to Heaven. Use your Wishberry to hustle up whatever you want. Have an online chat with God. Visit the attractions such as Retail Rapture, Wrath of God miniature golf and Nocturnal Theater, where nightly dreams are translated to film. You can also see souls being born!
Your greeter might just be Skye Sebring who advises her newly dead clients on what to expect now that they're expired.
Heaven is so different from Earth where chaos reigns. Unfortunately for Skye, she's been chosen to live her first life. She's been ordered to attend Earth 101 classes, which teach all of the world's greatest philosophies through five Beatles songs.
Skye has no interest in Earthly pursuits, until Ryan Blaine briefly becomes her client after a motorcycle accident. Just as they are getting to know each other, he is revived and sent back to Earth.
Skye follows Ryan's life via the TV channel "Earthly Pleasures," but discovers he has a wife as well as a big secret. Why is he calling a show for the lovelorn to talk about the lost love of his life?
Earthly Pleasures is by far one of the most enjoyable books I've had the pleasure of reading in a long time. I laughed so hard all the way through this masterpiece. Neches gives us a wonderful version of life after life that'll keep you entranced all the way to the end. Definitely a keeper for me!
Armchair Interviews says: Karen Neches also writes under the name Karin Gillespie and is a national bestselling author of several other books.
Your greeter might just be Skye Sebring who advises her newly dead clients on what to expect now that they're expired.
Heaven is so different from Earth where chaos reigns. Unfortunately for Skye, she's been chosen to live her first life. She's been ordered to attend Earth 101 classes, which teach all of the world's greatest philosophies through five Beatles songs.
Skye has no interest in Earthly pursuits, until Ryan Blaine briefly becomes her client after a motorcycle accident. Just as they are getting to know each other, he is revived and sent back to Earth.
Skye follows Ryan's life via the TV channel "Earthly Pleasures," but discovers he has a wife as well as a big secret. Why is he calling a show for the lovelorn to talk about the lost love of his life?
Earthly Pleasures is by far one of the most enjoyable books I've had the pleasure of reading in a long time. I laughed so hard all the way through this masterpiece. Neches gives us a wonderful version of life after life that'll keep you entranced all the way to the end. Definitely a keeper for me!
Armchair Interviews says: Karen Neches also writes under the name Karin Gillespie and is a national bestselling author of several other books.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
So Much Potential
The author has created a very clever plot line, full of twists and turns. I applaud her for that. But I believe this would have been a better book if she'd found a coauthor to work... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Dannette
5.0 out of 5 stars
love it...love it....love it
Excellent, fun, touching story. I thoroughly enjoyed it and now will wait patiently for the sequel....? Read more
Published 12 months ago by M. Whitson
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun, fun, fun!
While this is technically a chick-lit book geared for adults, this is one read that young adult girls will love, too. Read more
Published on April 1, 2011 by Erika (YA Lit Crave)
2.0 out of 5 stars
They are in heaven and watching DVD's?
I must be reading a different book. I cannot believe that such an uninspired book could get such high ratings. Heaven has DVD's? Aerosol cans? Read more
Published on February 26, 2010 by Care De.
4.0 out of 5 stars
captivating and unique
Earthy Pleasures is a delightful book unlike anything I've ever read, and it's difficult to describe. Read more
Published on November 10, 2009 by Carrie Dunham-LaGree
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fluffy and funny
So, Skye is a greeter in Heaven; a sort of public servant who eases newcomers into the realization that they have passed on and helps them orient to the hereafter. Read more
Published on June 29, 2009 by kazza
1.0 out of 5 stars
This is NO "The Lovely Bones"
I got this book after it was suggested based on how much I liked Alice Sebold's "The Lovely Bones." This was just a poorly written novel, very amateurish, with no literary talent... Read more
Published on May 27, 2009 by L. Follett
5.0 out of 5 stars
I Loved This Book!!!
I loved this book!!I read it in one sitting!Skye is a hospitality greeter in heaven she greets the new arrivals with handouts and a dvd explaining all the wonderful things heaven... Read more
Published on May 20, 2009 by S. Sharp
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfectly sweet
Skye Sebring, a hospitality greeter in Heaven, is perfectly content with her life. She's got great friends, the best boyfriend--a perfect life. Read more
Published on May 8, 2009 by The Book Muncher
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Chick Lit Version of Heaven
I wanted to like this book, really I did. But parts of it were downright silly, so I had a hard time with that. Read more
Published on March 21, 2009 by Linda A. Slott
