Customer Reviews

The Ride

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Ride was not at all what I expected when I bought it, but I'm glad I did. It is one of those rare books that keep you so intensely interested you can't put it down. So much excitement and suspense that it's hard to wait and see what is coming next (in a good way). This book is one of the ones that I hated to finish because I knew I wouldn't find another that I enjoyed as much for a long time. For a first time author Jane is rated right up there with the best in my opinion.

The Ride is a well-written, thoroughly engaging, and downright fun read. You can't help but laugh out loud and cry at Barbie's sometimes heart wrenching, and always entertaining adventures. I highly recommend this book!

I've read this book three times and three times I enjoyed it thoroughly. I laughed, I cried and sometimes laughed so hard I cried. Now I'm buying copies as gifts for friends.

I loved this book. Barbie is a funny, slightly crazy character who takes us on a ride that is anything but dull. The plot and characters are unique and the story is very well-written. Truly a great read!

What's a middle-aged gal to do when she realizes her disappointing marriage is truly over? Well, her best friend just took off on a cruise out of cell phone range and her aunt-actually-mother just passed away so she's kinda on her own to figure it out. Vulnerable, it would seem. This is how Author Jane Kennedy Sutton hands us the tormented Barbie in the contemporary fiction novel The Ride. Whether you've got a strong feminist streak that wants to scream at Barbie each time she takes a risk or you identify a little too well with her worries, Sutton has created a character that forces emotion from you. Mix in an obnoxious husband that too many women in today's society know, an inheritance that we need to hide from said husband, and a seductive stranger who reeks of self-assurance, and Sutton has a recipe for a coming-of-age story for a woman who's already come-of-age once.

I definitely recommend The Ride, not just because the author and editors obviously took time in refining it technically, but also because the story moves at a brisk pace, keeping the reader engrossed in the plot as it takes its twists. I was thoroughly impressed with Sutton's style and enjoyed her first offering in contemporary fiction. Hopefully we won't have to wait long for another adventure!

From Fantasy Author, Sandy Lender
"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

The wild and unexpected can be ever the savior when one is in despair of the mundane. "The Ride" is the story of a housewife who has sunk into a deep depression from her everyday life and her marriage to an egomaniacal husband who seems to forget she exists. But luckily for her, money is on her side, as is her Knight in a shining red convertible. A thrill ride of a romance, "The Ride" is exciting reading, sure to please.

The story begins with an introduction of Barbie Anderson (POV), an oversized housewife with self-esteem issues, a droll sense of humor and a vivid imagination. Depressed by her loveless marriage and her gay daughter's sudden and permanent departure from home, Barbie has accepted unhappiness as a way of life.
An emotional and dramatic eleven-day period that causes havoc to her dull and orderly life begins with a telephone call from an attorney informing her of the death of the relative that raised her, Aunt Pat. During a meeting at the attorney's office, Barbie reads a letter in which her aunt reveals some startling information including the admission that she was actually Barbie's mother. A stunned Barbie leaves the attorney's office with her mother's ashes and a sizeable inheritance.
On her way home, Barbie stops at a local bar for one drink to settle her nerves. Unable to control the turmoil she's feeling, she burst into tears. A handsome stranger, Michael Silver, gallantly offers her a handkerchief and Barbie, still in a state of shock, divulges many of the secrets she's just learned.
When Barbie arrives home, she finds a truck full of steel parked beside the house. Ken, her husband, is an engineer at a firm that designs amusement park rides. He is home earlier than normal and has locked himself in his home-office, refusing to talk to her or to come out. She imagines that he is with the female driver of the truck.

Enter one deeply depressed housewife, add an unexpected windfall, and carefully fold in one very handsome, very clever charmer. Separate and discard one totally self-centered, slightly abusive husband. Place all remaining ingredients into red-hot shiny red convertible cruising on Route 66 and wait to see what happens!!! What a delightful book!! You feel better just reading through it. You laugh,you cry, you totally enjoy the whole Ride!!
A well-written, thoroughly engaging, and fun read

If you are looking for a book that's a page-turner as well as a bit away from the ordinary - I've never read anything like it, then maybe I have a book for you. If you are looking for a book that can evoke enough anger to make you curse, then THE RIDE might be your book. This book did all that for me and more.

Only a few pages in and I knew I didn't like the main character. Normally this is a no-brainer situation. I stop reading. The problem is I didn't want to. To make matters worse, I hated her husband. I didn't like her friend and the one person I did like, I thought was crooked. There's more. Parts of the book weren't believable, at least not to me. So stop reading right? Wrong! All the way through the book, I couldn't stop - didn't want to stop reading. I had to know what was going to happen to the main character.

Barbie was in a failing marriage to Ken. To call him a loser would be an understatement. She inherits enough money to start over, but can she? In the meantime, she meets the man of her dreams. He's handsome and is in love with Barbie, but is he what he appears to be?

I read some of the Amazon reviews and this book was labeled a fun read. I didn't feel that way. My most powerful emotion was anger. Most was directed at Barbie and Ken. And as much as I hate to admit this, I think I can relate Barbie. Even with the negative emotions I felt for the characters, this was a heavy-duty page turner. Sutton is obviously a talented writer, because I couldn't stop reading until the very last page was done.

This book seems to be targeted to 40 something crowd that is suffering
a mid life crisis and knows the grass must be much greener on the other
side. It is an excellent portrayal of a dispirited yet hopeful
person who discovers her inner strengths as she attempts to fufill
life's wild ride.
I enjoyed all the ups and downs that go with the ride and I suspect
there are a great number of people that will find themselves laughing
out loud as well as crying as they relate to Barbi's plight.
A very light hearted book that I found quite enjoyable