Customer Reviews

Everything In Its Place

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After a parent raises her children, she should be able to stroll into the sunset and enjoy her twilight years in peace, and without the headaches of taking care of someone else's child. Unfortunately, this was not to be the case for Bobbi Strickland, the protagonist in Evelyn Palfrey's latest novel, Everything in Its Place. When Bobbi was barely out of her teens, she was a single-parent raising her twin children, Darcy and Darlene. Now in her middle years, she's raising her grandchild and Darlene's daughter, Monee. Monee has been with her grandmother since she was a tot; and now she is a normal, well adjusted but active preteen who keeps Bobbi busy shuffling her from one activity to another. Except for choir rehearsal and Bobbi's career, as the principal of an inner-city elementary school, Bobbi really doesn't have a life outside of taking care of Monee and worrying about Darlene. So when Ray, handsome, retired Armed Force personnel, newly divorced, and very handy around the house, enters Bobbi's life it is unexpected but can it lead to a pleasant surprise...riding into the sunset and living happily ever after?

Once again Palfrey has graced the reader with an entertaining and compelling read about "marvelously mature" adult romance. Bobbi & Ray are characters that we can easily relate to as they deal with the drama of raising adult children and trying to get a little adult romance going on the side. As is her norm, Palfrey doesn't just bring us a relationship saga but she also gives us characters that are three-dimensional and have lives beyond the (bedroom) sheets. And finally, it just wouldn't be a Palfrey novel without mystique, intrigue and suspense...shocking and surprising plot twists and turns.

Palfrey's Everything in Its Place is a solid page turner that held me captive and able to finish in one sitting. On the APOOO scale, its 4.5 stars, and I recommend it to others who like mature reads with realistic drama.

Yasmin
APOOO BookClub

Ray, fresh out of the military attends church at the insistence of his mother. Meaning to make a quick exit, he hears the voice of Barbara, aka, Bobbie stops in his tracks and is immediately smitten by this woman. He makes it his business to get to know her.

Bobbie is a busy grandmother, school principal and is raising her granddaughter. The many distractions in her life makes it difficult for her to even think about establishing a relationship. Romance is the last thing on her mind, but Ray's persistence grows on her.

This book has a little of everything: romance, mystery, child custody, grandparents raising grandchildren, the aftermath of sexual exploitation, and substance abuse. It is another signature novel by Evelyn Palfrey featuring a trip taken in a RV, characters whose appearances are left to your imagination, and always the marvelously mature woman. It has all the components that makes one return to reading her work again and again.

Jeanette
APOOO BookClub

A story about a grandmother ( Bobbie ) who's the principal of an elementary school. Raising her granddaugher , and finally discovering the secret .

Okay You want to know what the secret is right ?

Who 's the father of her daughter's child .? I won't tell

I will say You would not believe who the father is ?

Now 10 years later the statue of limitations up the truth come out
and what a shame ,he gets away with it .

I wanted him to get his.

Bobbie's first love was take away from her by a family member .

She finds out she is pregnant with his twins and he is sleeping with her aunt .
Imagine that .

She was left to raise the twins a lone.

Years later Bobbie meets Ray at church and she has a chance at love again .

I give this one 3.5 * not enough drama and some unfinished business not taken care of . The drama came at the end of the story for me .

Evelyn , Please I want another drama filled story like The Price of Passion !

I'm still soaring high on that one !

In Austin, Texas, school principal Bobbie Strickland is a single mother who raised her twin children and for almost a decade her granddaughter, Monika "Monee" Strickland. Her daughter Darlene gave birth to the child when she was sixteen but never revealed the father's identity. Over the next few years, Darlene went deeper into the abyss, becoming a junkie. Now Darlene wants her daughter back, but Bobbie does not trust her to properly care and nurture Monee.

Retired military officer Ray Caldwell returns to his hometown of Austin. At church, he meets Bobbie and is immediately attracted to her. As Ray tries to court Bobbie, she feels that she has too much on her plate though she genuinely loves the ex soldier. Bobby knows she will face her own child in court, but is unaware that Darlene is trying to regain her life and respect.

EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE is an entertaining African-American contemporary relationship drama that will touch the soul of every reader. The story line grips the audience as it focuses on the aftermath of everyone in the sphere of a baby having a baby. Evelyn Palfrey avoids turning the plot into a simplistic tear jerker by making her key cast seem real by filling each one with compassion yet struggling with distrust and a need to overcome flaws. Fans of modern day issue not tissue tale will relish this strong story.

Harriet Klausner

Evelyn Palfrey's "Everything in Its Place!" This is another sterling novel from the queen of the "marvelously mature" literary ranks. As an author, Ms. Palfrey takes seconds to no one who writes in this middle-age genre. She beautifully captures the nature, concerns and strengths of the new millennium grandparent; savvy due to experience, aware of future challenges and the wisdom to know and blend the differences.

Although life hasn't been a crystal stair for Barbara (Bobbie) Strickland, she is still the epitome of the superwomen in today's society. She's competent professionally and personally, self confident and passionate about her family and friends. While still traveling life's rough roads Bobbie is challenged yet again with her twenty-five-year-old daughter's inability to persevere as an adult and mother; her granddaughter's preteen angst; her dedication to serve her community; and her insecurities about intimacy where men are concerned at her stage in life.

Enter Raymond Caldwell (Lt. Col. Retired) and recently...

Never expect an Evelyn Palfrey novel to fit into any niche. She's too talented to be tame.

I read this book in a matter of hours.

Once you begin it you won't want to put it down.

You are introduced to Bobbie Strickland a devoted mother and grandmother. Bobbie has a daughter named Darlene that is causing havoc in her mother's life. After raising Darlene's daughter Monee, Darlene decides she wants her daughter back with her.

Bobbie then meets a handsome stranger by the name of Raymond Caldwell and they begin to date.

Ms. Caldwell has some of everything in this book. This was an enjoyable book and I would recommend it to others.

I did at first. I was thinking. I KNOW I'm going to enjoy this book. I absolutely LOVE E.Palfrey's books. So I kinda took my time about opening this book. I figured I'd read on the weekends and what not...but NO! I picked it up, opened it and couldn't put it down until finished. I read on the busses, my breaks, etc. It hooked me from the first page. I love the subtle mystery of Ms. Palfrey's style. You get so personally involved with Bobbie and her issues. I found myself sizing up Ray as if he was a real man about to date my best friend.
Darlene's prodical return (not knowing how Bobbie would handle it) touched me and Sonny's behavior towards his father was unexpected.
Everything In Its Place was a perfect title for this 'fit together' story.
I was left mostly satisfied....
Mostly? Yes, I was left with only ONE BURNING question...What did Monee say to Ms. Swink?

Evelyn Palfrey has a way of writing novels so that everything falls into place. This novels addresses a lot of issues: relationship issues between two mature & seasoned adults, grandparent's rights, drug abuse, mystery, senior citizen abuse, parent's relationship with adult children, single parent issues, etc. Evelyn, thanks for giving us a different kind of story.

Bonnie's life was already filled to capacity, as she was the primary caregiver for her grandchild, principal of a school, and the closest thing to a relative for Suzie. She didn't need the extra strain and desire Ray bestowed upon her when he decided he was smitten with her. Nevertheless, Bonnie hadn't dated in...well, she couldn't remember when. But the existing stresses in her life were already too much for her to contend with, so how could she find the energy to reciprocate Ray's lure?

Ray didn't have much to do with women after his wife of 20 years blindsided him two months before he was to retire from the army. That experience left an acrid echo in his mind and heart. But there was something about Bonnie...was it her mellifluous voice? Ray likes to feel needed, so was it the unharmonious mixture of distress and determination that seemed to ooze from her pores? Whatever it was, it drew him to her like a bibliophile to a library. But Bonnie flies solo. She has extraneous things sucking the life out of her, namely her estranged daughter and cantankerous grandchild. Can Ray weather the storms? Will Ray allow Bonnie's tumultuous life and standoffish demeanor to deter him? Will Bonnie let Ray into her carefully woven world?

What I liked most about Everything In Its Place was that Ray & Bonnie's courtship was comforting and relaxing. Sure, they had obstacles and walls to scale; however, they didn't have the melodramatic scenes, actions, and consequences that accompany much younger couples in other stories I've read. Realism rang throughout the story in such an honest, fervent tone...subdued, yet potent. Palfrey's experienced and soothing tone glides you through the story, and before you know it, you are finished or you've stayed up too late trying to finish.

Palfrey laced her mature romance with mystery and intrigue; two very appealing ingredients. Her descriptions and characters are vibrant. She writes with impressive aplomb and knowledge. I really enjoyed Everything In Its Place, and I am sure that you will too. I'm looking forward to Palfrey's next novel.

-Reviewed by Miss Love

I would say that this book was not as spicy as the other two I read, but that's ok, I still liked it. Neither of the two people (Ray and Bobbie) were looking for "love". It kind of just fell on their laps. Along the way they deal with wayward adult children,raising grandkids,custody battles,drugs, and the whole gamut.Buy and enjoy!