Fireside: The Lakeshore Chronicles (The Lakeshore Chronicles Series) [Abridged, Audiobook, CD] [Audio CD]

Susan Wiggs (Author), Joyce Bean (Reader)

Book Description

Series: The Lakeshore Chronicles Series | Publication Date: January 29, 2009

Baseball hopeful Bo Crutcher is about to get his shot at the majors. That is, until life throws him a curveball. When AJ, the son he’s never met, lands on his doorstep, Bo’s life becomes a whole new ball game. He needs help—fast. Enter Kimberly van Dorn. Hired to smooth Bo’s rough exterior for the media, she expects the kind of shallow pro athlete she’s used to handling. But Bo is willing to sacrifice everything for his vulnerable son. Kim can train him to hit a home run with the press, but over a breathtaking winter on frozen Willow Lake, she realizes he has far more to teach her about the game of life…and putting love first. “Susan Wiggs paints the details of human relationships with the finesse of a master.” – Jodi Picoult “With the ease of a master, Wiggs introduces complicated, flesh-and-blood characters into her idyllic but identifiable small-town setting.” – Publishers Weekly, starred review, on The Winter Lodge (Best Books of 2007 selection)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

For years, hard-living Bo Crutcher has worked diligently toward a New York Yankees pitching spot, but just when it seems likely, he learns that his son AJ needs a home after his mother is detained by the Texas INS as an undocumented alien. Kimberly van Dorn, a hotshot media-relations expert in Los Angeles, is also experiencing a dramatic life change. She has fled her abusive client-boyfriend for the safety of Avalon, New York, and her mother’s ancestral home. Having satisfactorily provided for the adult Bellamy generation in a string of popular novels, including Snowfall at Willow Lake (2008), Wiggs now directs the spotlight onto secondary characters readers have met in previous installments of her small-town contemporary-romance series, the Lakeshore Chronicles, poignantly revealing the catastrophic results of unjust immigration laws, especially on the American-born children of deported parents. --Lynne Welch --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

When Susan Wiggs’s recent novel, Fireside, landed at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, the author responded by jumping fully clothed into her swimming pool. In February. In the Pacific Northwest. After thawing herself out, the author put on her lipstick and vacuumed the living room. Why? Because on the tiny island where she lives, news travels fast. She knew her girlfriends would show up momentarily - which they did - with the customary champagne and bags of Cheetos. She toasted her loyal readers, whose unflagging interest in her books propelled her sales upward. She toasted her friends and family as well, since they have always been the source of her inspiration. From the very start, her writings have illuminated the everyday dramas of ordinary people. At the age of eight, she self-published her first novel, entitled A Book About Some Bad Kids. Today, she is an international best-selling author, with millions of copies of her books in print in numerous countries. Her Lakeshore Chronicles novels celebrate the power of love, the timeless bonds of family and the nuances of human nature that make headlines every day. She lives on an island in the Pacific Northwest and is perpetually working on her next novel.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio on CD; Abridged edition (January 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423391926
• ISBN-13: 978-1423391920
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,646,775 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 3 only because it's a "Lakeshore Chronicle", February 19, 2009

By 

Discerning Mom (Alaska) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Fireside (Lakeshore Chronicles) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is not her greatest book. I really wanted a romance novel. The romance here was on the back burner. Bo Crutcher wasn't a knight in shining armor. He seemed like an illiterate. Definitely, no one I would want to date. Also, his son, A.J. really missed his mother, but he was overly rude to his father. This went on for far too long in my opinion. Her previous books in this series were MUCH better.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fabulous lighthearted romantic romp, February 3, 2009

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Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fireside (Lakeshore Chronicles) (Mass Market Paperback)

Public relations expert Kimberly van Dorn is reeling. Her professional basketball star lover dumped her following a public argument. Soon after that spat, she is fired by her firm. Needing time to recuperate and decide what next, Kim goes home to stay with her widowed mom for a while.

However, mom has converted their house into a boardinghouse; more shocking is she is dating one of her renters. Also residing there is baseball pitcher Bo Crutcher, who is about to reach the majors playing for the Yanks, and his son AJ. The child stays with him since AJ's mom got into serious immigration issues and is probably going to be deported. However, Bo is caught between two conflicting spitballs as he has never met his kid before the dumping while he must attend the Fame School if he wants to play for the Yankees. Bo hires Kim to be his PR guru. Though attracted to one another, he can't get to first base with her as she has vowed to never date professional athletes ever again.

The latest Lakeshore Chronicles (see SNOWFALL AT WILLOW LAKE, DOCKSIDE, THE WINTER LODGE and SUMMER AT WILLOW LAKE) is a fabulous lighthearted romantic romp. Susan Wiggs cleverly combines humor with a strong cast working through a difficult situation as life after striking out Kim has thrown two splitters at Bo just when he is about to join the Yankees.

Harriet Klausner

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Felt really phoned-in..., March 15, 2009

By 

Malfoyfan "Cath" (Santa Clarita, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fireside (Lakeshore Chronicles) (Mass Market Paperback)

I usually love Wiggs' books but this one really fell flat. It seemed extremely phoned-in, like she wasn't really into it, but had a contract to fulfill. The romance took a back seat to a rather boring policially-correct immigration plot, and the male lead character was a waste. The end was abrupt and tacked on. Really, really off this time, Susan. Next time a book comes out in this series I'll wait and check out the Amazon reviews before buying it. This one went to the Mooch-pile pretty quick. Hopefully the lady who mooched it enjoyed it more than I did.