Customer Reviews

Life Happens (Prima New Beginnings)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Every once in a while an author comes along that writes stories that will not only entertain but also truly touch the heart. Ms. Steffen is one of these authors. "Life Happens" is a story that will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you believe in the power of love.

Mya Donohue is in her late thirties, owns her own business and is engaged to a handsome E.R. doctor. What she doesn't have is peace in her heart. She should love Jeff but she doesn't. She cares for him, but she loved once and she won't do it again. Her friends think she's off her rocker, and her mom doesn't have much to say at all. Then everything changes on a dark rainy night. Her past comes back, and she has no idea that the little baby girl she gave up for adoption nineteen years earlier would ever come knocking on her door, let alone have a baby girl of her own. Mya also has no idea that her life is about to change...but life is like that...it just happens.

See Elle is sick with cancer and she wants to find someone that will take care of her baby when she's gone. What she finds instead is a family she thought she'd never have, strength, acceptance, and she helps bring back together her birth parents. They never stopped loving each other and when Dean Laker is faced with his two ladies, all bets are off. He won't loose either one of them a second time.

This story will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you look at your life. Ms. Steffen truly creates characters that jump right off the page and into your heart. This character driven story will stay with the reader long after the final word is read. This read is heart-warming, heart breaking, and a true celebration of life. Ms. Steffen is an author that I highly recommend...just have a rather large box of Kleenex on hand.

Official Reviewer for Romance Designs

This book was one of the hardest books to put down. As a mother of a child who lost their fight with cancer, I could really put myself in Mya's place. From the time she first found out about her daughter's cancer, through the entire termoil of remission to the last, I relived the same feelings that Sandy put into words. I know this book was written in memory of her brother, but I felt it was also written in memory of my son. I have the priviledge of knowing Sandy personally and not only is she one of the best authors I've ever read, but she is also a good friend. Keep up the good work Sandy.

Wow. I'm still breathless from reading Sandra Steffen's latest novel, Life Happens. Once I started it, I couldn't stop. I had to find out if Elle got her miracle in time. But there was so much more to this story. The setting was amazing. Mya Donahue was so interesting. I just couldn't get enough of her relationships with her mother, her friends, Dean Laker and Elle and Kaylie. And Elle--I love her spunk, and that attitude. This story is so well-layered, the characters like threads in fine fabric. Well written, stellar, and spectacular.

Mya Donahue is engaged to the male centerfold, a kind hearted hunk Dr. Jeffrey Anderson when her teenage daughter Ellie Fletcher arrives out of the blue. Mya gave up her newborn for adoption knowing neither she nor the biological father Dean Laker were old enough to raise a child. Ellie tells Mya that her adopted mom passed away and that she and her stepmother do not get along at all. More shocking to Ellie is to learn she is a grandmother as Ellie has a ten month old child Kaylie.

Always regretting giving up her child though she knew it was the right thing for her, Dean, and the baby, Mya vows to be involved in the lives of Ellie and Kaylie if her hurt daughter allows her. She turns to her pals Suzette and Claire for advice, and finally asks Dean for help instead of her fiancé, who dropped her like she had the plague.

Though the ending of this complex family drama is too smooth, fans will enjoy this deep character study that focuses on the relationships between four generations of women (and Dean). The family drama unfolds from the onset with a bitter desperate Ellie visiting Mya for the first time, but unable to stay or explain her motives while her biological mother tries not to cry. The title philosophy comes across throughout the novel as the key females begin to understand Bueller's philosophy that LIFE HAPPENS for those who try to enjoy what they have. Fans will look forward to the next tale from a fine author.

Harriet Klausner

I've never written a review before , but I just had to after reading this great book. I've read several books in the 'NEXT' series and enjoyed all of them , but this is the best so far. Great characters , great story! A tearjerker,so do not read if you don't want to cry, because you will cry through most of it. Sandra Steffen has become my favorite author and I'm now looking for all of her books.

I related to this book being an adopted person who recently found my bio parents. Great story w/ twists to the story...leaves you wondering until the very end. Great book club book!

This book is one of Sandra's best. As a person who just lost a friend to leukemia, this was a heartwarming story that reminds me good things happen to people even in the midst of sadness.