Customer Reviews

Embraced by Love

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I loved, loved the hero, Cooper. Suzanne Brockmann reversed the personalities, interests, and the decisions made usually by a husband and wife, but she does it without making the husband a wimp who you are "supposed" to like, but really don't. It is the husband, in this novel, who loves to dance, who sacrifices his career (although not really--Cooper is a famous architect who can work from home) to revolve around his wife's. It's the husband who definitely wants children, and it's the husband who not only really bonds with them, but stays at home to care for them. It is Cooper who wants to talk about their relationship. Josie, his wife, is not as likable--a rigid, inflexible work-a-holic who has developed a bleeding ulcer. Didn't like her (her inflexibility ran on too long), but adored him! Although I wanted them to "work it out," in real life, I would have told Cooper to ditch her--that there are better women out there. In short, although I liked the book, I didn't LOVE the book--as I have for other Brockmann's.

After a few Brockman SEAL stories, this is a welcome change. I liked everything about it, including Cooper and Josie having to get books on childcare so they could learn enough to do it. One reviewer thought Josie was too inflexible, but I have been where Josie is and I felt her character was right on target. Yes, she took terrible advantage of Cooper's love for her, to the point where she almost lost him but poverty makes you do that and it is very hard to let go of the fear. If your parents were children during the Depression, you know the feeling because they don't let you forget the fear either. This is a couple, both professionals dedicated to their careers, who are suddenly faced with responsibility for little people and I loved Cooper for not letting these children go to strangers. Do not, do not, pass this one up. I read it and immediately began to read it again. Definitely a keeper and one of Brockmann's best.

This book has just been re-released and it was really a good choice!

Josie and her husband Cooper have their lives pretty well arranged. He is an architect and she runs a thriving computer company. Well, maybe its a little too thriving - she does put in very long hours. But they manage to work out an arrangement to even accomodate that.

Then something they didn't expect happens. Her brother and sister-in-law die in an auto accident and they have been named the legal guardians for their 2 small children (Lucy, 4 years old and Ben, 9 months). Josie can't even bring herself to consider such an arrangement. Her life is the way she wants it. The thought of the children terrifies her.

But Cooper sees the need of the children and manages to convinced Josie to try it. He takes on the main responsibility and really comes into his own. Josie becomes more and more involved in work and it seems as if there is no viable solution.

The main point of the book is love. Love between couples and love of family. With love and cooperation and listening, miracles can happen.

Cooper and Lucy really carry the book. There are times you will find yourself just smiling as their relationship develops.

A great book by Suzanne Brockmann. No Navy Seals but a lot of good characterizations.

I wasn't sure if I would like this book because of all the mixed
reviews and because the couple was already married, but I love Suzanne's writing, and her Seal books, so I thought I'd give it a try. And glad I am that I did. The dialog was witty between Josie and Cooper and their characters were fleshed out to where you could really feel their anxiety. The roles were reversed in this story. Josie was a workaholic running a company she had started on her own. Having come from poverty she was afraid of being without money and took very seriously the lives of her employees and their families. With this in mind she seriously neglected Cooper, who loved her to distraction, and put all her energies into her work. Cooper was the awesome one in all this.
If ever there was a man who stole my heart it was him. An esteemed architect and a self made man in his own right, Cooper
was content to work around Josie's schedule. Always accommodating. Even though he wanted the two of them to spend more time together he always gave in because he loved her so much. It wasn't until Lucy and Ben came into their lives that his patience started to run thin. He was now not only without his wife most of the time because of her long hours at work but he had also taken on the responsibility of taking care of these two children that he'd fallen in love with.
This book was full of emotion. And sweetness. Josie was controlling. Absolutely. I could have thrown the book several times. But she had her reasons. It took almost loosing Cooper for her to get a grip and focus on what was important. Thank goodness she did because Cooper is someone a girl wouldn't want to lose.
If you like a story about a relationship that was founded in love-shown through out by flashbacks-with all it's ups and downs, with a happy ending, then you will like this one.
It shouldn't be missed.

That is both the message I got from the book and what I tell people. Do not give up on the book! Some people say that they can not finish the book because Josie got on their nerves and I have to say I agree with them. Josie is a worrier. She will worry about things that have not happened and it will be the worst thing imaginable. She has a problem and I really can not blame her much. She grew up poor and her mother hammered in the fact that being poor sucks and that she can only depend on herself to make a difference. So now she has a huge fear of being poor. Cooper did not grow up poor. He moved around a lot with his parents. He is all about fun and living life to the fullest. He doesn't take many things too seriously. The one thing he does take seriously is Josie. Cooper loves her so much and the way SB writes when he is hurting or happy are so great! Cooper is rich and well so is Josie because her business is doing so well, and Cooper try's to tell Josie that he will never allow her to be poor. But then she thinks she can only depend on herself. This thinking causes problems even before they get the kids. But they both love each other so much that they work out a compromise. Then while things are going good Josie gets a call that her brother and sister-in-law died and then a few days later finds out that the kids are in foster care waiting for them to pick them up. Josie and Cooper are kinda selfish in my opinion. Cooper did not think he wanted to have kids at all and Josie wasn't really sure but they decided to talk about it in about 4-5 years. So because they had decided this before they found out about Josie's brother they decided they could not keep the kids, Lucy 4yr and Ben 9 months. They would need time and love and Josie and Cooper did not think they could give that to them at this point in their life. Josie doesn't want to stop working and Cooper doesn't want to give up time with Josie. Those are good reasons but it was kinda selfish. Well anyways, Cooper takes one look at Lucy and decides he can not leave them where they are staying because the house is a mess and the woman caring for the kids is mean. Because he can not leave them and he decides he wants to keep them because he loves them, Josie and Cooper's marriage suffers badly. Josie doesn't even try to help with the kids; she stays later and later at work while Cooper took a leave of absence to take care of the kids because Lucy has a problem with being left because she is scared he will not come back like her parents did not come back. The story was a good story. It had its slow moment for like one chapter but in that chapter there were parts that made me laugh so it was not so bad. This was not one of SB best books but it was still very good and deserves the 5 stars. This book will bring out all kinds of emotions, angry, happiness, sadness, frustration, fear...etc. But that is a sign, in my opinion of a very good book. So I say even if you start reading the book and you start getting upset but love SB's books keep reading it and try to keep an open mind. The thing that helped me is at the end of Ch. 2. Cooper new what he was getting into with Josie, because she told him that her work was very important to her. With this said, she did take it to the extreme and he was very understanding or tried to be but in the end she saw what she was doing to her life and makes some tough decisions. It ends very well and it well make you sigh. I would suggest this book to anyone who loves a good story.

I realize that this book is out of print, and fairly hard to find, but the extra effort is well worth it! (And no, mine is not for sale. ;-) ) This is one of those books that demand that you finish it in one sitting; it's quite literally too good to put down. Kudos, Suzanne!

I fell in love with Cooper McBride...what a MAN! Don't pass this one up, ladies!

From the back cover:

Josie Taylor and Cooper McBride are the quintessential New York married couple. Attractive and ambitious, they have successful fast-track careers, a satisfying level of intimacy in their private lives, and a love that seems to grow stronger every day.

But now the sudden deaths of Josie's brother and his wife leave Josie and Cooper responsible for their two small children. It is a prospect Josie and Cooper find both exhilarating and daunting...and which challenges their life together in unexpected ways.

It will take a little faith, a lot of hard work, and compromises on both their parts for Josie and Cooper to keep everything from unraveling...and maybe even rekindle the passion that brought them together in the first place.

Too much bickering, and strange priorities - got halfway through before I couldn't take it any more. The heroine was really selfish and annoying - I'm sure it came out great in the end but I couldn't wait that long.

Opposites attract when workaholic software designer Josie and fun loving architect Cooper fall in love and get married. Their relationship is put to the test five years into their marriage when she takes on a lucrative software contract that will keep her working around the clock for over a year. Cooper makes concessions and redesigns the office to accommodate living quarters to allow them to have time to steal away. All seems blissful until tragedy strikes and Josie and Cooper find themselves caring for the orphaned children of her estranged brother.

In a huge role reversal that really works, the relationship is put to the test as Cooper find his calling as a father, but Josie fears that settling down may result in revisiting her humble Tennessee roots. She worries so much about losing everything she has worked for, that she gets a bleeding ulcer that she refuses to care for. And she is furious with Cooper when he puts her health ahead of the success of her company. When they return to the Big Apple, Josie continues to work late hours, despite her promises to the contrary. Then one day, Cooper is fed up and gathers the children to their Connecticut house and finally tells Josie that she needs to make some tough choices.

Author Brockmann proves she does not need SEALS or FBI agents to tell a compelling story. Readers will fall for Cooper - he is sexy, sensitive, a great dancer, artistic, a wonderful dad, and a giving person. How he manages to remain with the inflexible and somewhat selfish Josie is what will drive most readers crazy - but stick with it until the end - you won't be sorry.

It's not often that I want the heroine killed off before I am half way through the book but Josie was disgusting and truly in need of psychiatric help. By the end of the book I was wondering about Cooper's mental health. No sane person would have put up with her antics. I love Ms Brockman's writing but this book was difficult to finish. There was no one to root for except the kids and you had to wonder what would become of them living in that dysfunctional household.

My sister read this book before I did and rated it a 4 and said the only negative is that she did not like Josie. I kept waiting for the book to improve and was sadly disappointed. In hindsight, wish I had put it down after 50 pages.

I did not think Josie and Cooper were a "love" story. Cooper sees Josie in a hallway in a rage and is attracted to her. Then becuase she mentions to her assistant she is going to have lunch in the park, he changes into street clothes so she will not recognize him and stalks the park to find her location. He spots her sitting on a bench and then performs on a skateboard to get her attention. Daily he goes to the park to see her using his skateboard to slowly advance towards her so he does not "scare" her away. In the book, Cooper states that he did not even touch her "not even after they had their first date".."he was afraid".."and he didn't want to frighten her with the intensity of his feelings. He was already in love with her-this woman that he barely knew". To me it seemed as if he fell in love with an image and did not truly see the woman she was.

Josie is a work-a-holic who is driven by her need for money as she fears being poor based on her past. Josie appeared drawn to Cooper because he loved her, because he found her desirable when she herself felt flawed.

Through the e-n-t-i-r-e book they were either bickering or having sex. Just reading this book made my shoulders tense and my gut burn (think I got the ulcer that Josie was suffering from). Neither Josie nor Cooper seemed happy in this marriage of constant struggles and personality differences.

Sorry to say, I have nothing to recommend about this book.