Customer Reviews

Sisters, Ink (Scrapbooker's Series #1)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In Orlando, Florida, thirtyish attorney Tandy Sinclair knows logically that she has come a long way from her homeless childhood, but emotionally remains insecure though she hides her doubts at work. Still she works incredible hours at Meyers, Briggs and Stratton keeping clients out of jail and off her to insure the fat check keeps coming. However, the Hope House embezzlement case places Tandy in a morality strait jacket. Her client Harry Simons admitted his guilt of taking funds that target the homeless.

Tandy takes a leave of absence to return home to Stars Hill, Tennessee where her three adopted sisters Meg, Kendra, and Joy still reside. The trio advises their sibling to reconsider her life goals as defending the guilty is ripping her gut even if it keeps her from sleeping on a beach. They also encourage her to give her former boyfriend Clay Kelner a second chance. Through all this her sisters show her the good times commemorated in scrapbooks; some electronic.

The first SISTER'S INK book (three to follow) is an interesting tale starring an unhappy urbanized sibling finding love and happiness by returning to her rural roots. The story line is at its best when Tandy argues for a pragmatic look at life especially the plight of the homeless; shaving, deodorant, and change of clothing are not easily accessible. The use of scrapbooks is a fascinating way to look back on the past without dwelling to long; however that technique is overdone and eventually feels intrusive. Still this is an entertaining tale with a fascinating concept of diverse adopted sisters, who are also best of friends always there for one another as affirmed by the therapeutic scrapbooks they have maintained.

Harriet Klausner

Sisters, Ink by Rebeca Seitz is the first book about the Sinclair sisters. Tandy is a successful business attorney in Orlando when she's given a leave of absence for insulting a client. She returns home to Stars Hill, Tenn to lick her wounds in the warmth of her family's love. Sister Meg has three children and is a homeschooling maven. Joy is a gourmet chef and newly married. Kendra is single and still trying to find her place in life through her artwork. Their father is a pastor, and they all still ache for the loss of their mother. It's this loss that has fueled Tandy's need to succeed and kept her from returning to the small town life she loves. Her life is further turned upside down by the reappearance of her high school love Clay, who has opened a diner in downtown Stars Hill. Because this is chick lit, the ending is never in doubt, but the route Seitz takes to get there is full of sweet sisterly dialogue, humorous small town characters (without being characters that populate so many novels about small towns), faith, and lessons about love. The Sinclairs adopted all of their girls, so they each come with baggage and heartache. Tandy feels the weight of her mother's expectations. All of the storylines are woven around the sisters' love of scrapbooking. I love to scrapbook, even though I'm all thumbs at it, and this book is inspiration for both your faith and your scrapbook jones.

I'm surprised at the positive reviews for this novel. I'm not even finished with it and I wanted to see what others said about it. I have never left a review about a novel on Amazon before but I was so bored I wanted to save someone else the wasted hours. This book was about as awful as ...insert metaphor. People do not think in metaphor. I wish I could tell Tandy that. The constant cheesy phrases drove me nuts. I found the main character annoying and immature and the love interest too perfect. Plus, who refers to themselves as "the sisters"? I appreciate Christian novels that are fun, real and romantic but this book was none of those things. It seemed as though the author was told to flesh it out by an editor and spent days trying to think of the most inane things to write about. Save yourself the $10 (thank goodness I got it from the library) and buy something by Lori Copeland or Neta Jackson.

The back cover states "The first series written by, for, and about scrapbooks." I have to be honest I first hesitated to read this book steeped in scrapbook knowledge because I'm not addicted to this hobby. On the other hand I do have family members who are, so I reconsidered. I plunged into this story in hopes of learning more about scrapbooking and the people who do this. I'm happy to report I'm glad I did. A few pages into this story I was delighted to find out this book was about so much more than scrapbooking.

This heartwarming story pleasantly surprised me with its humor that got me to smile real big and even laugh out loud several times. Rebeca captures the essence of what goes on between sisters, their love, fun, joy, heart ache and bond. The sisterhood described in this book made me miss the fun and laughter I have with my own sisters.

Tandy Sebatian is single, self-reliant, unattached, successful attorney in a prestigious law firm in Orlando, Florida who is forced to take a leave of absence from her job. Things have heated up on this one case. She is asked get off this case and stay away until things cool off.

Home!! How long has it been? Too long since she was able to be hugged by her sisters and Dad. Home!! Memories of Laughter, good food and scrapbooking. Home!! That sounded so good to her right now. Tandy headed for Stars Hill - which was her childhood home. She hasn't been there in 10 years. She re-discovers emotional baggage she had forgotten, memories she cherished, people she loved, the relationship she missed with her sisters, and dad.

Tandy also starts thinking "God was easier in Orlando, she could keep him at arm's length by standing anonymously among thousands of people in a mega sanctuary." She was used to keeping everyone in her life at arm's length. It was simple that way; less painful; and messy. It makes it easier to run away from an uncomfortable situation; no strings attached.

This book is definitely fun and it pulls on your heart strings. There's a few things to learn too. Grab a copy of this book, get to a comfortable chair and give yourself a real treat.


Finding Hope Through Fiction
[...]

I seem to be on a crafting kick in my reading choices lately. Books about knitting, quilting, crafts in general and now scrap booking. I don't do any of these, nor do I really have any interest in them, but I do like reading about the relationships that form due to close friendships that come from these hobbies. In this series, four adopted sisters bond together because of their love of scrap booking as well as love for each other and their family as a whole. I liked the aspect of the book and the fact that the girls are from different cultures. It's nice to read a Christian fiction book where color is not an issue, Kendra even dates a white guy who doesn't care about her ethnicity.

To be honest though, there were times when I did feel the story to be very cliched. I'm never a fan of the girl who has good job in big town and then gives it all back for family and finds romance back home in small town. Not that there's anything wrong with helping out family but I don't like it when guilt or manipulation is used to turn the character away from dreams they've had all their life. Also I am never a fan of using a guy to get a girl to come back to their roots. I wasn't really moved by Tandy and Clay's relationship. It seemed to me that they were picking up right where they left off and didn't have too much chemistry together for this book. Clay seemed like the type of guy who expected Tandy to do everything for him and didn't think much of what her plans or feelings might be. Also while I was very excited that there was a multi-racial cast, I felt at times that the women were not very realistic. I have sisters and we are close but we don't constantly refer to ourselves as the sisters in third person all the time, in fact it's very rare that we do.

This is the first book so the characters are not very fleshed out but I will assume by the next few books we will get to know everyone a little bit better. I didn't know much about scrap booking before and to be honest this book didn't really help me understand it any more. However those who do enjoy the pastime will like hearing about others who do get a kick out of the hobby. I am looking forward to reading the other books in the series because I do like the concept of the series and am eager to read more about this diverse and unique family.

A good start to what I'm discovering is a great series now that I'm done with book two and a few chapters into three. With this book you can tell the writer is still getting to know her characters with some of the history not as fleshed out as it should be but its a good start with a wholesome feel. It was enjoyable and set the stage for the rest of the series by introducing all the characters to you.

[...]

A runner, that is what Tandy Ann Sinclair's sisters keep calling her, and she does not understand why.
Tandy is running from life, from a life with the man she is in love with, from life in a small town, from the memories of her mother. Running. But she is getting tired of running and this wonderful book, is the story of Tandy.

Sisters Ink, four sisters, all different, all adopted into a family of love. Four sisters who love to scrapbook any chance they can. Two married sisters, two single sisters. This book is a beautiful story of life. Tandy is intent on fulfilling her mother's dreams and her dreams, she think, but soon realizes, she might not have really understood what her mother was wanting for her.

Follow along as Tandy re-connects with her high school love, and learns the importance of her family. Rebecca Seitz, has captured the very essence of Tandy, you will feel like you know her personally by the end of this book. This book is another one of B&H's amazing books from Pure Enjoyment. This is the second book I have reviewed from them, and I just love their books, MOST definitely a 5 star rating book. Family friendly, girlfriend friendly!
[...]

Another cute story from Rebeca Seitz. I'd give it 2.5 stars. It's an easy read, and a "sequel" to Prints Charming, which plays off the "sisters" idea. A story about a multi-cultural family: each of the 4 sisters is adopted. Their mother has died, but all the girls love scrapbooking, just as she did. This book centers on Tandy, the red-head. She has a high-powered law career in Florida, but after a forced visit back to her small hometown, she is torn with what direction her life should take. Her sisters each have their own life, but they are close and they all support one another. Predictably, she meets up with the boy next door. You know, the one who broke her heart in high school, but the one she still loves.

The story is light, full of pop culture references, with plenty of Christian-faith lessons to be learned. I hope the author is getting a kick-back for all her advertising of scrapping products and mention of scrapping celebrities. While I liked it, I wouldn't call it stellar, but it is entertaining. It's a light, easy, chick-lit read, with a predictable, happy ending. And from what I can tell, each sister is most likely going to have her own follow-up story. I may read these follow-ups, I may not.

I'm not a scrapbooker at all. But I heard from a friend that this was a fun read. Once I started reading it I couldn't put this book down. The characters are so real and fun. It is very lighthearted and makes me wish I had sisters growing up. Don't miss out on this fun and interesting book. You won't be disappointed.

This was a great story by author Rebeca Seitz. It caught my interest from the very beginning and held it straight through to the end. The story is a sweet romantic tale, with lovable characters that go through the gamut of emotions. You will laugh, but you will also shed a tear or two. I can't wait to read the next book in the series!