Customer Reviews

Love on a Dime (Ladies of Summerhill)

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(57)
3 star:		(38)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you're looking for swelling bosoms and ripping bodices, then this is not the book for you. But if you're looking for a good period-piece romance with characters challenging themselves to submit all areas of their lives to God's leading, even their romantic feelings, you can't go wrong with this book. Fannie Cole is the author of "dime novels", loved by the common person but often shunned as inferior literature by the more elite class. Yet Lilly, the real writer behind the Fannie Cole stories and a member of that elite class, works hard to pen stories with strong Christian morals. True to her Christian nature she donates all of the proceeds to a charity she supports. When her old beau Jack reappears after a long absence her romantic feelings are rekindled; but what about her fiancé'? The author creates interesting characters who waltz slowly through the story, and an underscore of various subplots keeps the reader spinning until the last dance. The final chapters pick up momentum and lead to a satisfying ending along with a few surprises. Christian romances aren't my normal genre but I found the writing to be smooth and solid. I would recommend more books from this author if you are interested in Christian romance novels. I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their [...] book review bloggers program. I am under no compulsion to write a positive or negative review of this book. The opinions expressed are exclusively my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Summary: Lilly and Jack were in love or so she thought until he left her with no indication of returning. Now it's 1899 and six years later and she is secretly a successful author of dime novels at the publishing company the newly wealthy Jack hopes to acquire. She's also on the verge of being engaged and moving on with her life until he brings back old feelings. Can he win her love again?

I'm going to break my thoughts in to three sections based on the main genres I saw here:

Historical-I was somewhat disappointed in the historical aspects of this book. I was really interested to know more about the Gilded Age and the lifestyle of the very rich but I didn't feel that atmosphere here. There were references to the new telephone and the strict code of the Newport ladies was maintained (ie well-brought up young ladies do not earn their own money; instead they rely on their father or husband). But this area definitely lacked.

Romance-Jack left and then he comes back with the intention of winning Lilly but without telling her so, expecting her either to realize what he's thinking or to never have gotten over him and thus jump at the chance to reunite. This is not one of my favorite romantic tropes, because both characters (or at least the guy) end up acting really stupid and annoying. While I knew that Jack had good intentions and I believed that he did not want to hurt Lilly, he still did hurt her and frustrated me to no end. Additionally his communication skills were so poor and he often jumped to conclusions.

Religion-I would say this was the aspect that was most pleasing to me. Both main characters have a relationship with God, even if it might be a bit strained and they pray to Him quite frequently. Lilly is even able to tie her God-given talent of writing to her charitable works, which I quite liked.

Random-There was Lilly's work with a charity that was important in the first part but less so in the second; there was a thread around her brother George; there was her parents' relationship and especially her mother's relationship with her which left me with a lot of plot but not a lot of engagement with it. Consequently the end was a bit rushed.

Overall: I'm not a fan of the romantic trope used here and I thought the author tried to stuff too much in. I am still interested in the planned sequel, Love on Assignment, due out January 2011

Rating: 3.5/5

Cover: Pretty girl wearing historically accurate clothing I believe and holding one of her books in front of the Newport area. I'm a big fan of this cover!

I can say two positive things about "Love on a Dime." The cover is fantastic. It makes you want to pick up the book. The other is that it's a Christian romance novel. Unfortunately the story doesn't live up to the promise of the cover. It is a formula romance, and not a particularly good one.

I hate to be critical, but the characters are wooden; their speech, stilted. I assume the author thinks this is the way people talked in that era. Having read some excellent romance novels from the same time period, I doubt it.

Probably the most disappointing part was the way setting was handled. Newport in the summer should have been a delightful backdrop for a romance. However, the author fails to use detail to bring the area to life. By this, I don't mean pages of description, rather the telling details that make a scene memorable.

The novel does bring out Christian values. The characters learn to put their faith in God and that, ultimately, allows them to fulfill their heart's desire. This is a positive aspect to the book when so many romance novels concentrate on erotica and adulterous sex.

Unless you're looking for a Christian novel, or love formula romances; give this book a miss.

I review the book as part of the Thomas Nelson Book Sneeze Program.

I downloaded this book because it was free on Kindle. The book had been reviewed many times and the overall rating was good. I was disappointed to find that the characters were flat, the plot wasn't compelling, the chemistry between the romantic leads was lacking, and the behavior and choices of the characters weren't believable. The book is a harmless enough way to spend a couple of hours if you're looking for a bit of fluff; otherwise, I suggest you keep looking.

I'm going to agree with the majority, the cover makes you WANT to read the book. I always judge a book by it's cover. It was disappointing to say the least. I am a avid christian romance reader, if for no other reason, because sex in a book is awkward to me. The characters seemed to have the same conversations repeatedly and there was no real 'romance.' The story had a lot of potential, but the characters didn't make me want to keep reading.

I really liked the plot of this book. I wanted to get to the end from the moment it started. The down side is the writing itself. While it is obvious the writer did research the era, I found myself reading the same terms over and over. Why must a reticule ALWAYS be a reticule? Why can't it sometimes be a bag (and I'd like to ad it could only fit a very small letter)? I do not always "drop" into a chair. Sometimes I come to a sit gracefully. Every man in this story likes to stroke his goatee when stressed out. Some paragraphs are repeated multiple times. As for the overall story, I found it suspenseful enough. I kept wanting to shout.

I got this book as a free Kindle offering; I see it's now almost $10 - NO WAY it is worth that much.

It was pleasant enough reading for the time between getting into my usual fare of mysteries and thrillers, but sure not anything wonderful. Very predictable, almost to the point of boring, though I was able to get all the way through.

I'm not sorry I read it, but would be really sorry if I'd paid anything for it.

There is nothing wrong or wonderful about this book. It is 99.99% predictable and 99.99% of the plot is summarized on the back. The .01% of the book that is "surprising" can be found on the last page and a half.

I found it somewhat tedious that the entire book rehashed the same conflict again and again and again. Should Lilly reveal her writing to her family? Is Lilly really Fannie Cole? (from Jack's pov) I find it somewhat amusing that the girl's so dead-bent against scandalizing her family, she'll live a lie to bless her adoring masses with Christian romance novels that are safe for innocent eyes. In the end, she does exactly what one would expect her to do.

The dialogue's ok. The story's ok. The conflict's ok. So, overall, I'd say the book earns a big, fat OK.

Anonymous authoress, blackmail, love triangle, sordid pasts, and Newport high society social circles are all combined in Cara Lynn James' debut novel Love on a Dime set in the late 1800's. Lilly Westbrook is none other than the famed dime novelist under the pen name of Fannie Cole. She hides her writing from her high society family so as not to disgrace them, but to be independent and support her favored charity. Just as Lilly is about to be engaged to a man of good social standing, her former first love, Jackson Grail arrives in town as the new owner for the company that publishes Lilly's novels. Lilly secretly still loves Jackson, but will not reveal her writing to him, yet she knows her family would disapprove of her career and expect her to marry a well to do man. Lilly is caught between her two men and her love for writing. How does Lilly survive as she is being threatened by blackmail and trying to make important decisions of the heart?

I really liked the plot of this book, but I felt that many parts of the book got sluggish and conversations between Lilly and Jackson were much the same. Lilly was definitely a woman trying to live in a rich society where she felt that she did not fit. I identified with her love for writing, reading and being independent. I wished that she had taken Jackson's offer of help so many times but of course, then there wouldn't be good conflict if she had. I was very surprised at the ending and was glad all the mysterious pieces finally came together.

I love historical romances with a little bit of Christianity thrown in. I loved the start of this book. The first 50% was good, but it started to get tedious as the main character kept refusing to own up to being the infamous lady author. To me it didn't seem like that big of a deal if she had come out...it just seemed hard for me to understand what she was so afraid of. Did she not think her family would love her no matter what? As for society...her books were popular I don't see how with time they wouldn't come to accept it; why doesnt she see that?

Over all the first 90% of the book was good if not wonderful, but the last 10% was very rushed and seemed very poorly written. After all this time the main character finally decides to stop holding out and come out about her writing all because her brother stands up to the gossip writer as does her love interest. Yeah...lots of womanly power here.

I have to add that the chemistry between the main character and her love interest was also...kinda flat. He was so in love with her, but you never get to see what they have in common or why they love each other. Its also hard to see how the main character morphs to decide that her love interest is someone she still loves. It just kind of happens nothing he does really makes it believable that she should fall back in love with him.

Over all, I loved the idea of the book, but it fell short of my expectations.