Sleepless Nights [Hardcover]

Sarah Bilston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 11, 2009

After the pregnancy from hell, motherhood has to be plain sailing, right? Quinn "Q" Boothroyd is in for a shock.

And baby Samuel isn't the only thing on Q's mind—she and her husband, Tom, have some difficult decisions to make in a sinking economy. Do they still want to be big-firm lawyers, or is it time to scrap their former careers and try something new? When a chance opportunity introduces them to an eccentric small-town lawyer, the couple's integrity—and marriage—is tested to the limit.

Meanwhile, Jeanie, Q's younger sister, is having problems of her own. Boyfriend Dave seems dangerously close to popping the question, but is she ready to settle down?

There are sleepless nights all around this summer: one woman will wake up to motherhood, the other to becoming an adult. Both must dare to make their beds—and lie in them.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bilston's sequel to Bed Rest describes new parenthood with emotion and humor, despite some flimsy plot contrivances and undeveloped characters. Five weeks after giving birth, Quinn "Q" Boothroyd wonders if she'll be able to balance motherhood and corporate law. The tension builds when Q's husband, Tom, hears rumors of downsizing at his own law firm. A vacation seems to be the cure, and, luckily, Tom's former colleague, Paul Dupont, offers up his Connecticut summer home. Together with Q's sister, Jeanie, the family settles in for a few weeks of rest, but the vacation is far from perfect: baby Samuel won't stop screaming and Jeanie and Paul are constantly at each other's throats. When Paul suggests that Q and Tom take over a local law practice, they think he's crazy, until a custody case has them rethinking small-town law. Bilston's plucky heroines are sympathetic, and she pulls no punches when describing the difficulties of parenting a newborn. The supporting characters, however, are bland, and a romantic subplot slows the story to a crawl. Fans of Bilston's first novel may enjoy the follow-up, but it won't attract many new readers.
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Review

A warm, amusing and believable tale Now Great stuff Closer --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harper; 1 edition (August 11, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060889942
• ISBN-13: 978-0060889944
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,906,237 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars It's all over but the crying, September 21, 2009

By 

Julia H. "book lover" (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sleepless Nights (Hardcover)

A nice return to Q's life after her story in Bed Rest. (and a little less Rear Window-ish too!) Sleepless Nights actually bounces between both Q and her sister Jeanie, who has come to the States for a long visit, presumably to help care for the baby. However, baby Samuel is a handful, colic and all leaving Q. to wonder at the next step in her career. Both she and her hubby Tom have some decisions to make about the community in which they'd like to live. Bilston does a great job making the novel timely, both of their high powered NY attorney firms are facing struggles and layoffs in the fact of the present economy.

4.0 out of 5 stars their Wall St. kingdom for a good night's sleep, August 14, 2009

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sleepless Nights (Hardcover)

Tom and British expatriate Quinn are ecstatic over her pregnancy and the birth of their first child Samuel. The Wall St. legal duo feels their life is perfect. Then Samuel comes home. The baby does not sleep at night howling louder than a banshee; which means his parents also do not sleep at night. They are learning first-hand how a colicky infant leads to cranky parents as their lives are being nuked while they cannot afford much time away from Wall St. at a time when recession requires more work from those still employed.

Their friend Paul allows Tom and Q to use his Connecticut getaway home while Q's younger sister, Jeanie baby sits, giving her a temporary place to sleep as she remains unemployed. Tom and Q consider buying the small-town law practice of Kent, who is on a 24/7 drinking binge. The married couple takes over advising Kent's client, financially strapped Emmie who is in a custody battle with her former husband Ryan; infamously known for domestic abuse, but connected with the cops and the medical community on his side. He possesses insider information on the death of her other child Angela (from another father). The married legal eagles learn Angela's doctor prescribed aspirin for the child; a medicine linked to Reyes syndrome, but collusion hinders their efforts to make their case.

The fun in this thriller is the baby nuking the well being of his parents with his colicky non-sleep. The legal and secondary romantic subplots go as expected, but Samuel refreshes the story line as it hard to defend a client against an influential adversary on no sleep; tired, irritable, and anxious are just a few adjectives. The sequel to BED REST is an engaging tale as QT stands for quality time defined as giving up their Wall St. kingdom for a good night's sleep.

Harriet Klausner

4.0 out of 5 stars their Wall St. kingdom for a good night's sleep, August 14, 2009

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Sleepless Nights (Hardcover)

Tom and British expatriate Quinn are ecstatic over her pregnancy and the birth of their first child Samuel. The Wall St. legal duo feels their life is perfect. Then Samuel comes home. The baby does not sleep at night howling louder than a banshee; which means his parents also do not sleep at night. They are learning first-hand how a colicky infant leads to cranky parents as their lives are being nuked while they cannot afford much time away from Wall St. at a time when recession requires more work from those still employed.

Their friend Paul allows Tom and Q to use his Connecticut getaway home while Q's younger sister, Jeanie baby sits, giving her a temporary place to sleep as she remains unemployed. Tom and Q consider buying the small-town law practice of Kent, who is on a 24/7 drinking binge. The married couple takes over advising Kent's client, financially strapped Emmie who is in a custody battle with her former husband Ryan; infamously known for domestic abuse, but connected with the cops and the medical community on his side. He possesses insider information on the death of her other child Angela (from another father). The married legal eagles learn Angela's doctor prescribed aspirin for the child; a medicine linked to Reyes syndrome, but collusion hinders their efforts to make their case.

The fun in this thriller is the baby nuking the well being of his parents with his colicky non-sleep. The legal and secondary romantic subplots go as expected, but Samuel refreshes the story line as it hard to defend a client against an influential adversary on no sleep; tired, irritable, and anxious are just a few adjectives. The sequel to BED REST is an engaging tale as QT stands for quality time defined as giving up their Wall St. kingdom for a good night's sleep.

Harriet Klausner