Customer Reviews

Go Small or Go Home

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I was in my early twenties I spent the majority of my time with my head shoved into a romance novel. Roberts and Steele were my constant companions. I devoured everything they ever wrote, and then spent months waiting (not so patiently) for their next novel, but then one day my need for romance dropped off, and my constant need for action and mystery kicked into gear. It was not until I finished "Go Small or Go Home" that I realized I missed the complexities of broken hearts and the journeys people encounter to repair them.

Tess is a therapeutic masseuse, or at least she used to be until the clinic she worked for perished. On the hunt for a paycheck she decides to apply for a position with the Toronto Hogs hockey team, but what she doesn't know is that her professional fate lays less in the hands of the owner that's about to interview her, and more in the hands of the mysterious man she just gave an impromptu massage to in the waiting room. Forrest is hurt. Being a freshly traded hockey star and signing a multi-million dollar contract this poses a little bit of a problem, but not as much as his deflated self confidence will. Hoping to reign in all of her dreams and keep her clients healthy at the same time Tess does what anyone else would do...she starts to breakdown. Can Tess juggle her busy schedule and keep her sanity? Will Forrest ever be able able to pull himself out of his rut and play again? And will either or them ever understand that sometimes the only way to heal yourself is to admit they need to be healed?

"Heather Wardell" did such a magnificent job crafting her story that it made it almost impossible to put down. The 2 main characters (though painfully damaged) were so like-able I found myself wanting to reach through the pages and give them hugs. The plot is the smoothest I have read in quite some time (I know you have noticed all of the 4 ratings lately) and in the end was so surprisingly sweet that I could feel my heart getting heavy with pure joy. The interaction between Tess and Forrest was raw and honest, and the push/pull was artfully crafted leaving the reader guessing around every corner. I have made it known that I generally dislike epilogues (I feel that more often than not they drag down the end of a novel) but in this instance it only added to the novel and made the enjoyment I felt in reading it even more adamant.

Simply put...

Do I think you should read it? Yes...

Do I think you will enjoy it? Yes...

Why? Because it's just plain good.

Happy reading my fellow hockey fans and remember: beauty is in the eye of the art holder.

Tess is a struggling artist, working as a therapeutic massage therapist to keep the bills paid. When the massage clinic she works at suddenly closes and she is nowhere near getting paid for her art pieces, Tess goes on an interview for the Toronto Hogs- the professional hockey team. She didn't know that she would only be working for one of the players instead of the entire team, and quickly runs into a mess of problems with Forrest. Forrest, once a star hockey player who has a multi-million dollar contract with the Hogs after being traded, suffered through a devastating car accident earlier and a groin injury on top of that, and his hockey game isn't up to par. Tess didn't realize when she signed on that she would not only being massaging Forrest, but also helping him overcome his inner demons that keep him distracted from hockey. Or that she would fall in love with him. But can Forrest move on from his past so he and Tess can attempt a future together?

Go Small or Go Home by Heather Wardell kept me tearing through the pages, marveling at the love story being played out. There are some deep circumstances surrounding Forrest and Tess, and the emotions are quite intense and heavy throughout. Both characters are highly damaged, but instead of that quality dragging them down, it made it that much better reading about how they could make each other better. Not only is Go Small or Go Home a fantastic love story, but there is another layer about self-discovery. When Tess finally gets her dream career of being an artist to come true, she realizes that maybe working for a gallery owner isn't all she thought it would be. She is forced to examine her career and future goals to figure out what path she really needs to take to be satisfied in both her personal and professional life. Another gem from Heather Wardell!

Wonderful, fantastic, amazing, funny, inspiring, witty, and perfect Chick Lit book. I am now a HUGE fan of Heather Wardell

Plenty of other people have summarized the plot, so I won't rehash that.
I've never read this author before. She does a good job of making you feel like you know the characters. They are complex and make for pretty enjoyable reading.

The main character, Tess, was.... different. I had a hard time picturing her. She was an artist, a massage therapist, and a competitive swimmer? A hippie athlete? She was sometimes really really annoying. Just because a character is annoying doesn't mean it's a bad book, in fact probably the opposite could be argued. But because of some of Tess' annoying thoughts or choices I lost interest in the book at times.

And the way the author described the lead male, Forrest, I couldn't shake that she was making him an emotional weenie. I feel like what she wanted us to see what a real and hurt man going through a very rough time, but sometimes she over did it and he came across..... feminine. If you have grown tired of authors portraying men as having no feelings and just being pigs, then you will love this book!

There were other characters though that peaked my interested. I hope the author wrote a book about Magnus.

I would give this book 3 1/2 stars. The reason it wouldn't get more is because the dialog wasn't exactly witty. And in fact lots of the interaction between the two main characters was childlike and awkward.

I look forwarded to reading something else by her and see if maybe other characters bring something different to the table. Wardell is definitely a better writer out there than many around her, but she's not exactly top of my list. I did appreciate though that her story had heart and wasn't just fluffy crap. I mean this is definitely an easy read, nothing too deep- but for the chick-lit category it has more heart than some plotless pieces of junk out there.

This book has been on my tbr list for so long I guess I was a little afraid to read it in case it didn't live up to my hopes. I was a little hesitant because I had read another book, but wasn't very impressed. But this book was awesome! I can't believe I waited months to read this!

Tess is a massage therapist and is trying to get her career as an artist going. Forrest is a hockey player who is recuperating from a devastating accident. Both have scars and are fighting inner demons. Forrest's career is on the line and Tess wants to help heal him physically and emotionally.

This book captured my attention early and held it. All of the characters were well developed. I loved how there was this mystery of who was trying to hurt Forrest and how even though there were the obvious suspects there was still a hint of mystery. All in all, it was great overall, and I will not hesitate to read any of Heather Wardell's titles.

I got my first Heather Wardell book about a month ago while on vaccation and haven't stoped reading her books since.Can't wait for her new book to be released in September :) I am facinated by the style she writes, love the characters and enjoy reading the books again and again. I enjoyed her "Canada Series" as she calls them, the most. I enjoyed to see character coming back even if they were in other books.I can only recommend Heather Wardell's books specially if you are looking for romance, humor and a good dose of tears once in a while as well. Also what I loved is that I got the "Canada Series" not in the order they might have been attempt to be read but it didnt make a difference. No matter which book you start with they all tie together somewhere along the line. I can not wait for more books to come out by this wonderful Author. Thank you Heater Wardell :)

It is rare that the heroine in a novel is not so stupid as to have me wanting to scream at a book because she can't see what is obvious... what *I* would see if I were in her shoes.

This is my third Heather Wardell book. In non of them so I feel the heroine is a stupid/silly/flighty woman. I have found them to be smart and intellectual. It's nice!

Also, I have no interest in hockey what-so-ever... but this book had me glued to the team! Just like her book 'Seven exes is Eight to Many"... I dislike all reality TV and Despise Survivor but in her book about a game show called 'stranded' I was glued to the words on the page. All 3 of her books I have finished in less than 48 hours because while I am reading one, I have no desire to DO anything else!

Heather Wardell is my favorite new author. She takes the emotion of Anita Shreve, the relationship development of Jodi Piccoult, and the romance of Nicholas Sparks, and puts them all together to create books that are impossible to put down. I really enjoyed Wardell's Planning to Live so I was looking forward to Go Small or Go Home.

I liked Go Small or Go Home even better than Planning to Live! I made the mistake of starting this book in the middle of the week and I dropped everything to finish it. Wardell drew me in right from the start and I simply could not put this book down. I don't think I talked to my husband hardly at all for the two days I spent reading this book. I did manage to go to work, but all I could think about was, "When can I sit down and read more?"

Wardell writes about women trying to balance a career, their personal dreams, and finding love. Her female leads are strong women who are in the process of self-discovery. Go Small or Go Home features a driven woman who has a hidden passion and who finds love unexpectedly. Tess is a massage therapist who takes a job working for a hockey team. She knows nothing about hockey and is unimpressed by the celebrity of the team's injured star player. Tess dreams of having an art career and starts having trouble balancing her responsibilities to the team with her art.

What made this book for me was the emotion. It was a powerful read without being schmaltzy or preachy. I felt for Tess and rooted for her the entire book. I would recommend this book to anyone. It is adult fiction, but it is not full of bedroom scenes like so many other adult books. This book was outstanding, and I will definitely be reading more from Heather Wardell.

Just One Gripe:
I would have liked more physical descriptions. I found myself wanting to go back and remind myself of what the characters looked like.

The Best Thing About This Book:
The emotion and the way Wardell develops her relationships. Not only is the relationship between the two main characters well-developed, the minor relationships are important too, and Wardell weaves them all together seamlessly as part of the bigger story.

I confess I am a chick lit addict. I was so happy to stumble across this novel. I hadn't read anything of Heather Wardell's prior to reading this and I enjoyed every page. I won't rehash the plot. I will just say that if you love the genre and prefer to keep it light, this is a book for you. I should also add that I am a 43 year old college professor who teaches in the biomedical sciences. So you don't have to be a 20 year old to enjoy mindless romance novels :)

Excellent read. Fun, entertaining and I would totally recommend. I have now read most of Heather's Books and have not been disappointed in any of them. I even joined her facebook page and she replied back to my posts. I felt really appreciated as a customer, especially getting a personal reply. Love her.