Customer Reviews

Searching for Spice (Linda Revere Series #1)

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a breath of fresh air. Megan DiMaria has a pulse on the Boomer generation. I love that a woman my own age is the main character - not just somebody's mom. Linda's thoughts and feelings so closely mirrored my own; I had to take a break to reflect on some of them. What insight!

Linda becomes frustrated juggling her responsibilities and attempting to knock Jerry, her husband of nearly twenty-five years, out of "comfortable" into sizzling mode. Things are beginning to get spicy. However, constant interruptions from busted appliances, her kids and work are interfering with Linda and Jer's romantic rendezvous.

My favorite part of the book is a remarkable reconciliation between Carol and Linda. I was literally sobbing. I won't spoil it for you; you'll have to read it for yourself.

I am amazed that this is Megan's debut book. She turns a phrase with such a creative flare you would swear she was a multi-published author. Tyndale has a gem in Megan. I can hardly wait to read her next book. Thankfully, I won't have to wait too long; it's released early this fall.

In Searching for Spice, Megan DiMaria has hit a home run. You'll experience a wide range of emotions as you follow Linda and Jerry Revere as they approach their 25th Anniversary. Linda is looking for more romance from her husband and thinks that this is the one thing she needs to make her life complete...until curve balls begin to come her way. You'll find yourself turning the pages of this wonderfully-told story as fast as I did...and along the way you just might feel, as I did, that you've found a "sister" in Linda Revere.

I'm not generally a fan of romance. They all seem the same to me. Plus, I'm older. I'm not in my twenties anymore. I'm not looking for the love of my life, I've "been there, done that". And I find them to be unrealistic.
But this book is a romance unlike any other I've read. It's real. The main characters are not the typical romance pair. They are a couple who have been married twenty-five years. The wife, Linda, realizes that her marriage is lacking something. She decides to spice things up. She's hoping to bring back some of that initial sizzle and passion. But like real life, things don't always go the way she'd hoped. Life throws us all curve balls and that's how it goes in this book. Our husbands don't always "get it". Our kids don't always cooperate. Life happens.

Megan's writing is snappy and doesn't lull for a minute. I found myself carried away by the book. She does an excellent job of keeping you engrossed. Every chapter has one of those endings that begs for you to read just one more.
This story is about love on all levels. Real love. The kind that doesn't always feel the way you think it should.
It is humorous and light. An easy read. But you may shed a tear or two along the way. Because it's about life and life isn't always easy.
I highly recommend that you get a copy right away. I am sure that you will enjoy it, too.

What I loved about this book is that even though I'm not getting ready to celebrate my 25th wedding anniversary -- yet -- I could relate to the desire to add a little sizzle to my marriage. I think we all hit those times where we'd like to make a good thing even better. And who hasn't seen their efforts backfire before watching God take care of it in a way that's far better than anything you could have planned?

And Linda's life is full of challenges just as she gets her plan in action. The struggles are real. And the triumphs are all the sweeter for living through the valleys. With this book I'd laugh, and then ten pages later be convicted that maybe I tended to act like Linda when confronted with troubles. I love it when a book makes me think even as I enjoy and savor it.

While this isn't the normal book I would pick up, I can tell you that I can't wait to read Megan's next book!

I just finished reading this book last night and wanted to hurry up and review it so the rest of you can share in the fun! This is Megan DiMaria's debut novel, but it is such an entertaining and enjoyable read that you will be amazed! I bet you will also join me in hoping that her next book is out soon.

Here's the back cover blurb: "Linda Revere longs to have a sizzling affair...with her husband--a practical, no-nonsense community college science teacher. Unfortunately, life isn't scripted, and nothing goes according to plan. From having a demanding boss and at times a frustrating job to helping her family and friends with their troubles, life seems to be preventing Linda from achieving her goal of an exciting and passionate marriage. Linda hopes God will answer her prayers to jazz up her marriage, but is she ready for what happens next?"

For all those married women (or those who someday want to be in that category) who enjoy a realistic and funny inside look at a Christian marriage, this is the book for you. I must warn you that once you meet Linda and her family, you will get so caught up in their day to day problems that you will stay up late like I did to finish it!

Did I mention, SEARCHING FOR SPICE, by Megan DiMaria is fabulous? I did? Well, let me just say it again. IT'S FABULOUS!!! A real page turner.

I know this sounds cliché, but I just couldn't put it down. I sat and read it in two evenings. And the only reason it took two evenings was because I had to do that little thing called, getting some sleep.

Megan DiMaria's characters are amazing. Linda Revere is sassy, witty, and down to earth. It's so hilarious the lengths that Linda goes through to get her unromantic, no-nonsense husband in the mood for a little romance. It's perfectly normal for her to want to, right? After all, what woman doesn't want her husband to romance her? And those of you that don't, well, that just isn't normal. *smiling* Linda is so desperate to have a sizzling affair with her husband. But does he want one with her? Does she get her wish? Or is their marriage over?

What can I say about Emma? Well, I will tell you that Linda's normally obedient teenage daughter finds herself in serious trouble. But just what kind of trouble does Emma get into?

Poor little Belle... such a tragedy. And just who is this Belle? And what happens to her that's so tragic?

Who is Carol Wrecking Ball? And just how did she earn that nickname? Is she friend or foe?

Linda catches some female sitting on Luke's lap... and it isn't his wife. Who's Luke?

If you want to know the answers to these questions, then buy the book. Trust me...you won't be sorry!

Finally, let me just say that things aren't always as they appear. You'll discover some pretty interesting twists and surprises in, SEARCHING FOR SPICE.

Well done, Megan. Encore! Encore! More! More!

Really, it is always something. You have a little something socked-away and your car's transmission breaks. You finally get a Saturday off and get the flu.

This is Linda Revere's life.

She wants a romantic, passionate, steamy affair with her husband. But Jerry is Mr. Practical/Predictable. Add two kids, a job, a best friend, a loyal dog, and everyday drivel to the mix and what you get is a recipe for excitement not conducive to bodice-ripping.

Through Linda's turmoil, she finds passion more giddy and satisfying than lingerie, champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries.

If you've ever felt your everyday existence could use a boost--this is the novel for you.

All Linda wants from her husband is to show some loving every now and then. It doesn't sound like such a hard task, but considering it's been forever since the two shared romantic moments together it's a tough job. In addition to wooing the love of her life, she also has to face the consequences of her daughter's actions involving an unlikable teacher. Plus her job is driving her nuts with a boss who treats her with disdain and customers who drive her crazy. It's no wonder she wants to come back home to a husband who will lay out rose petals and shower her with affection.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was fun reading about what it takes to make a marriage work and how to spice things up. Linda's attempts to make her husband transform from a boring professor to a love machine are hilarious. I think that a lot of married women will relate to this book because many of them are probably in the same situation. The scenes involving Linda's daughter and her teacher were very intense and added a lot of suspense to the story. It's a realistic situation that has happened before in schools today. Linda is a very patient character and it shows throughout the book. This was evident in scenes involving her job. Wow, I really hated Linda's boss. Being in customer service stinks because you always have to please the customer but I thought the way Luke treated his staff was horrendous. I would have quit myself no matter how much I liked the job. No one should have to be treated that way. Linda has an awful lot of patience that I most certainly don't have and I really admired her for that. The only thing that slightly bothered me was that nothing is ever explained as to why Carole acts the way she does. She acts really cranky and uppity the whole book and then at the very end she and Linda magically become friends. It just seems very unrealistic to have her character do a complete 180 without any explanation. Unless there will be another book involving her character, it seemed like a very untidy ending for me.

Other than this, I had a ball reading this book. I'm not married but this has given lots of ideas and advice to what to expect in a marriage in the future. I'm glad Linda and Jerry have a better understanding of what both needed to maintain a loving and lasting marriage. This was an excellent debut by Megan Dimaria and I'm looking forward to reading more from her in the future.

Life is by all accounts good for Linda Revere. She's got two gorgeous kids who are almost grown up, a wonderful husband of almost twenty-five years, and passel of fantastic friends, and a fulfilling job at Dream Photography. Okay, so her boss is a demanding grouch, her daughter's attitude is getting really annoying, her friends all seem to have it better than her--and would it kill her husband to hold her hand in public once in a while?All around her she sees couples in embraces and little hearts practically floating over their heads. That's when Linda decides to make a plan: she's going to wake up the sizzle in her marriage before it can fizzle out entirely.

Her plan starts out well enough. Taking the initiative, she begins to do some little things to try to awaken Jerry's senses to her. You know--candles, a new outfit, a cute little card. Of course, everything seems to backfire. And stress at work is multiplying. And disaster after disaster keeps getting in the way. Still, she'd call it a success. At least until a tragedy strikes that not only makes her think passion is a silly pursuit by comparison but makes her wonder if she really knows the man she calls her husband.

Searching for Spice is a fantastic read that I couldn't put down. I'm not always interested in books about forty-somethings with grown kids, since my eldest child is all of two, but Linda was a loveable and understandable character who made me root for her from the get-go. The narration is the light and humorous style of the "lit"s, but as the story progresses, the plot becomes more complicated and drew me deeper and deeper into the heart of a woman who suddenly didn't know which way was up.

With a grabbing main character, a cast of friends and family that makes things interesting, a storyline to keep the pages turning, and writing that brought both laughter to my lips and tears to my eyes, Searching for Spice is a novel not to be missed. I'm looking forward to reading more from this new author.

The author has a great voice, and the subject matter is great for us midlife readers who question what marriage "should" look like in those mid-years. Linda, the heroine, is spunky, goofy and just plain fun in her quest to spice up her marriage and make it feel like Taylor Swift's Romeo & Juliet. The author speaks to the heart of those committed to marriage and the ups and downs that come with it!