Customer Reviews

New Attitude (MIRA)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

When her minister husband deserts her for a floozy, and her adolescent son goes with him, staid Marilee Abernathy is so depressed, she tries to take her own life. Don't let that rather shocking idea dissuade you from reading this wonderful book, though. Marilee clearly is not deadly serious about killing herself, because she uses thin drapery cord slung over a weak, fake-wood ceiling beam in an extremely unsuccessful attempt to hang herself.

When her sexy neighbor, Sam Brewer, rushes over in response to Marilee's screams, she is so humiliated at his witnessing the scene of her failed suicide, it sparks a determination in her to launch back into life. Many funny and touching situations ensue with the advent of Marilee's New Attitude: she finds a job in a funeral parlor in her small town of Chickpea, South Carolina, seeks custody of her son, takes in a pregnant teen, and, best of all, finds love with gorgeous Sam, the bad-boy-next-door she longed for in high school, who has matured into a warm, caring man.

If you love romances set in a small town with a raft of engaging, colorful characters, you will really enjoy this comedy by a truly talented author.

A NEW ATTITUDE is warm-hearted and funny with a bizarre beginning!

Marilee Abernathy's minister husband deserts her for a floozy, and her adolescent son goes with him. Depressed, she plans an unbelievably inept attempt at suicide. When the fake-wood ceiling beam that she's slung her thin drapery cord over crashes to the floor, her gorgeous next-door neighbor comes to her rescue. Marilee quickly recognizes that suicide is not the answer. Instead, she decides to be strong for her son and show the people of Chickpea, South Carolina that she's made of stronger stuff and launches forth with a new attitude.
An attitude that helps her file for divorce, find a job in a funeral parlor in her small town of Chickpea, South Carolina, seek custody of her son, take in a pregnant teen, and find love with the bad-boy-next-door she longed for in high school.

Sam Brewer, who rushed to Marilee's rescue, recognizes her as the girl he had a high school crush on. Sam, a reformed bad boy, has sold his business and moved home to take care of his elderly mother. Although Sam has enough problems of his own - his mischievous, matchmaking mother and a clinging ex-wife, he can't stop himself from being drawn into Marilee's problems.

The romance between Sam and Marilee is there, but A NEW ATTITUDE is more about strong women finding personal empowerment. Charlotte Hughes blends macabre humor with real life issues like divorce, teenage pregnancy, divorce, and child custody to create an entertaining, funny story.

I laughed and laughed and laughed until I was in tears. This book is so funny. I couldn't put it down. I can't remember when I have read something so funny. (It's been a long time and it's not like I haven't been looking) It's just hard to find writers that are really funny.

She makes the people in the book come alive, and each has a personality of it's own.

From the first chapter until the last you will laugh. And when you get to the part about the dead body you will laugh like crazy. Man I almost fell off my chair laughing so hard. Please buy the book. I tell you, you will have so much fun reading this book.

Beware, if you're scared to laugh out loud don't read this book in public.

This is one of your good girl remeets your former bad boy "next door", with a twist. You have the good girl who botched up a suicide attempt,after having her husband,the minister runs off with the town tramp, and her son alienated from her, and meets up with the guy who had a crush on her since high school. This is not your typical romance book. Yet, in this book, you have Marilee stand on her own two feet and get TWO jobs, pay for her own divorce and custody battle, and save the proverbial day by taking in a pregnant teen, and saving the unwed teen home from going on. To me, that is personal empowerment,self-determination, and courage. The romance was there, but this was more than romance. A good read for those who want a little romance but with some feel good themes as well.

can make it seem comical when a woman tries to hang herself, botches it, is discovered by her(gorgeous) neighbor and then trying to recover her dignity is walking around saying "My, I must look a mess. You'll have to excuse my appearance" as she still has the noose around her neck and is dragging a piece of the ceiling beam after her. Just try to picture that.

So Marilee pulls herself together. She gets several interesting (to say the least) jobs and tries to put her life back in order.

But more than that, this is a book about friendships. There are so many wonderful secondary characters but the one who really made me glad I continued reading is Winnie. I just kept reading to see what gems she would come up with next.

So if you want a good read, don't let anything put you off this book. It delivers in fine style.

Marilee Abernathy's husband, the Reverend Grady Abernathy, decides to end their marriage when he moves in with the town's floozy taking with him their teenage son, Josh. Marilee is devastated to lose her marriage, son, and church. She decides to dress in her finest and end her life. What should be a simple matter of committing suicide ends up being more complicated than Marilee bargained for when things don't go as planned each time. Then to make matters worse, the handsome hunk next door hears her screams and rushes to the rescue her after another botched attempt. Marilee is mortified that someone knows what she was attempting. She is especially embarrassed that it is Sam Brewer. Sam was the bad boy during their high school years. He thought she was the prettiest thing, and she was told not to walk on the same side of the road as him if she wanted to keep her reputation. But it seems good old Sam is now something of a reformed bad boy since he sold his business and moved home to take care of his elderly mother. Reformed that is until he gets a good look at Marilee.

Marilee decides to pull herself together. First thing on her agenda is to get custody of her teenage son, Josh. Josh reminds me of a typical teenager. He is taking the divorce hard and hurting the person he loves most. Second thing Marilee attempts is to get a job. It's kind of hard to reenter the workforce when you've been a minister's wife and only done charity work. Marilee finds the only job available with her skills is in a funeral home. Nothing wrong with this, unless you have a phobia of dead people and Marilee has one big time.

To help Marilee readjust to life outside of marriage is a hilarious cast of secondary characters. The two best friends which are totally opposite of each other, the old lady next door (Sam's mom) who is manipulating her grown son to the point he is about to go crazy staying one step ahead of her, and my favorite Winnie. Winnie is a pregnant teenager who has been kicked out of her home and somehow ends up living with Marilee. You will love this character.

I didn't know what to expect when I decided to buy this book. Just the thought of it starting out with someone attempting to commit suicide was almost more than what I wanted to read. But I have to say this book is fun. It's wacky, comical, and touching in some parts. If you want something different, this book should be right up your alley. Just don't expect things to proceed as planned because it won't happen.

Charlotte Hughes and Janet Evanovich have a lot in common when it comes to their writing styles. (They do have a few novels out togehter, so that would make sense!) If you like the Stephanie Plum series, then you would enjoy this book. Hughes has a good way of making interesting (and a bit quirky) characters and bringing them to life. The book has funny parts where you'll want to keep on laughing and real parts, as well. It's a good fun read.

A NEW ATTITUDE
Standing atop a step ladder with a makeshift noose around her neck, Marilee Abernathy realizes that while her Reverend husband and teenage son may have moved in with the town floozy, that's no reason to commit suicide. Marilee needs to be strong for her son, she needs to show the people of Chickpea, South Carolina that she's made of stronger stuff, and she needs a new attitude! Too bad she loses her balance while trying to get off the ladder, and too bad she forgot to take off the noose-but good thing the other end of the noose is tied to a fake beam! <G>

Sam Brewer's got his own problems, a mischievous mother and a clinging ex-wife, but when he hears a woman's scream-he runs to the rescue. Sprinting across the yard, knocking down the front door, disbelieving what he sees, Sam realizes that the woman on the floor is Marilee, the woman he had a high school crush on, and he can't help but get drawn into her problems and he soon hopes, her life.

A NEW ATTITUDE is such a warm-hearted and funny story! While suicide isn't funny, Marilee is so unbelievably inept that you just can't help but laugh. She's so prim and proper, especially after she's "rescued" by Sam. You'll love the book just for the first chapter alone. Don't stop there though, because the secondary characters really add life and body to the rest of the story as we see Marilee start to pick up the pieces of her life.

While I definitely enjoyed A NEW ATTITUDE, I would have liked Marilee to be a little more outspoken-especially at the end of the story. I felt as if she had growth with her "new attitude", becoming more self reliant and capable, but I couldn't figure out why she still couldn't speak up for herself, particularly where her ex was concerned, and get her thoughts and wishes across. If you're ready for a fun, heart-warming and a true "power of friendship" book, then look no further-A NEW ATTITUDE will give you all of those-and more!

In Chickpea, South Carolina, Reverend Grady Abnernathy deserts his Church and leaves his wife Marilee to live in sin with LaFonda Bonaire at the Tall Pines Trailer Park. Due to Marilee's nagging, their teenage son moves in with his dad too. Now Marilee simply plans to commit suicide as she feels her life is over.

However, Marilee's efforts to kill herself fail as she cannot even do that right. Marilee self feelings have gotten much worse and depression seems imminent when she meets builder Sam Brewer, who has just returned home to care for his ailing mother. With the encouragement of her friends and with Sam making her feel good, Marilee begins to start life anew with A NEW ATTITUDE and a confidence that she previously lacked. As Sam and Marilee fall in love, both mistrust permanent relationships as each one has suffered from pa previous marital failure.

Though some readers will find A NEW ATTITUDE as a dark romantic romp similar to the movie The End, many fans will appreciate the amusing tale with a serious undertone. The story line contains humorous situations and characters the audience will like, especially the lead couple though why Marilee chose suicide when she knows Grady has the problems will leave readers perplexed. Still, Charlotte Hughes writes an engaging Southern small town romantic romp.

Harriet Klausner

During the botched suicide attempt in the opening chapter, I thought to myself that this book wasn't for me. I'm glad I continued reading, because it quickly became apparent that Marilee was a surviver and she never really intended to take her own life. As dismal as her circumsances seemed, with the help of her quirky friends, she persevered and created a new and much more satifying life for herself. This book was a great lesson in working one's way out of a depression by keeping busy, doing things for other people and fighting back. Yet it wasn't heavy at all. In fact, some parts of the book whre quite silly, bordering on ridiculous, but that served to keep the tone light and hopeful!

I thought this was a brilliantly written book, with a wonderful message!