Customer Reviews

Table For Five

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Teacher Lily Robinson is content with her life. Thirty, unwed and unburdened--that's the way she wants her life to be. Suddenly, her best friend meets a tragic end, leaving three orphaned children behind.

Sean Maguire, the childrens' estranged uncle, has now become their guardian. A confirmed bachelor and chronic playboy, Sean is suddenly thrust into the life of a family man. The last thing he needs is a stuffy schoolmarm telling him how to manage things.

Susan Wiggs' novel succeeds in everything it sets out to do. In the beginning, it depresses you. In the middle, it gives a realistic portrayal of children who have lost their parents. And in the end, it warms your heart. Everything wraps up in a perfect bow and leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy inside. I strongly recommend it. 4 1/2 stars.

The only reason why I picked this book up at my hairdresser's is because I wanted to see why readers love Susan Wiggs' books so much. Well, after finishing this book in five hours, I can see why. It's such a wonderful book .... it made me laugh and cry. It made me sigh and it was just wonderful. I couldn't put it down for one minute.

This book focuses on Lily, a school teacher who is content with the way her life is. She is planning to go to Italy for the summer after school's out. Suddenly, her best friend and ex-husband is killed in a car accident, and she finds herself taking care of Crystal's three kids along with Crystal's former brother-in-law, Sean. Sean is a former pro golfer who was kicked out of golf for cheating. Now teaching other people how to golf and bartender at the local golf course, Sean all of a sudden finds himself guardian with three kids, Cameron, a teenager, Charlie, a third-grader and Ashley, the two-year-old. Both Lily and Sean's lives were disrupted by the tragedy and together, they pull the kids through the darkest moments of grief.

It is a wonderful humane story about loss and love, friendship, dreams and hopes. It is a story that takes you to another world where things are still possible ~~ and yes, it is very predictable, but Wiggs make the trip fun anyways. This is a perfect reading for those times when you have a few hours to yourself ~~ and want to relax. She's a good storyteller and one that I plan to keep an eye out for.

9-3-06

one of susans best works! its the kind of story you can't put down but don't want it to end either. the cast of characters are funny and poignant. sean and lily's idea of raising these kids are opposite and present some funny scenes. would love to hear this book on audio just to hear some of the dialogue. a must read for anyone who love complex families and how they blend together.

I always enjoy the novels by Susan Wiggs and this was no exception. It's a sad story about death and the impact that makes on three young children at different stages in their young lives. But it's also a story of recovery and finding love. It kept my interest and I didn't want it to end. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and felt the players were awesome----especially the teen age boy. What fun they all were. I can see a sequel story-----and "they live happily ever after" with the 3 children from Crystal and Derek plus several of their own born to Sean and Lily----truly a love story in the making. But then I'm a hopeless romantic.

Schoolteacher Lily Robinson keeps her heart. Every year, she lets wonderful children into it, and every year, she graduates them out. She won't risk real love, real children of her own--because she can never recover from losing her younger brother. But when her best friend dies, leaving three children, Lily knows that her worst fears have been realized. She can't help loving these children--but their uncle, not Lily, is responsible for their upbringing.

Sean McGuire is a disgraced golfer. Falsely accused of cheating by the Japanese Mafia, Sean has been drummed from the sport he loves. With his brother's death, Sean has plenty to keep him busy--three children are a lot of work--but he knows he needs more. The kids were troubled even before their parents' death, and they're worse now. And giving up his own life for them doesn't seem to offer much help.

After a painfully slow and introspective introduction, author Susan Wiggs picks up the pace with a moving and heartwarming romance. Sean, in particular, is a likable character--he loves children, is drop-dead good looking, golfs like a dream, and always knows just what to say or do. The troubled children, traumatized by their parents' death and by another secret, are realistically drawn--neither too perfect nor horrid but realistically troubled children.

Death of a friend, a brother, and three children's parents is definitely a downer. But Wiggs's heartwarming storytelling and strong writing allows us to see hope and promise for the future coming from this tragic beginning.

This book is probably the best Wiggs' book I've read and I was disappointed to see it come to an end. A story of a cobbled together family, it has wonderful characters, heartbreak, humor and a beautiful love story. The only thing I would have liked to see at the end of the book was an epilogue, maybe a few years down the road. Definitely a must read.

This was the first book I have read of Wiggs' and I thought it was terrific. While it was sad at first (I did shed a tear), it ends on a happy and life-affirming note. I would strongly recommend this book to anybody who believes that a family can be made with love, dedication, and hard work.

Lily Robinson takes great joy in being a school teacher because it allows her to love the children without the fear of getting hurt and losing them. She also lives this way in her private life because she has never allowed herself to fall in love and start her own family. The only person that has gotten close to Lily is her best friend Crystal who is the mother of three children.

Sean McGuire was living life on his own terms, and always felt like he was trying to catch up with his brother Derek.

These two people are the least likely to come together but that is exactly what happens when Derek and his ex-wife Crystal are suddenly killed in a car accident leaving their three children behind.

Sean is willing to become the kids gaurdian but out of love for Crystal, Lily cant walk away from what her heart is telling her about these children.

With a few battles and the agreement of whats best for the kids, Sean and Lily begin to fall in love and together make a new life.

Although Table For Five is a bit sad because these children lose their parents, it is also an uplifting story about allowing your heart to open up and love and moving on in life after a tragedy.

In Comfort, Oregon, Laurelhurst private school third grade teacher Lily Robinson enjoys her job, likes her students, and not having any permanent emotional attachments. She holds a conference with the divorced parents of student Charlie Holloway to discuss why the little girl cannot read and how to remedy this. This teacher-parent conference is tougher than usual because the mother is her best friend Crystal and the kids call her "Aunt". The meeting fails as neither Crystal nor her ex husband PGA star Derek can get past their personal needs.

After the meeting, Derek gives Crystal a ride in bad weather when her car fails to start. They argue over his sibling being banned for cheating on the Asian Tour and his upcoming nuptials to Jane Coombs. As his anger rises, Derek loses control and crashes; both die leaving Charlie, her teenage sister Cameron and her younger sibling Ashley orphaned. Derek's brother Sean becomes the guardian of his nieces, but he feels inadequate and besides he has a chance to regain the promising golf career he blew. Lily helps, but also tries to keep the quartet out of her heart. She fails and Derek finds he needs Lily and his three wards; the youngsters need the love and stability provided by both adults.

TABLE FOR FIVE is an intriguing family drama starring two adults who avoid emotional responsibility and three hurting children who were devastated before the deadly car accident. While Sean and Lily carry baggage that make them both feel inept at caring for the kids, the children have woes as manifested by Charlie's reading problems even before his parents die. Susan Wiggs provides a well written four tissue box tear jerker that showcases people in trouble.

Harriet Klausner

I am not much into modern romances, but this one takes the cake! Every character is wonderfully built and by the end, you will know them all!

This is the story of a family of five. The father, Derek Holloway, is a famous golf pro, the mother, Crystal, a past beauty queen are divorced. The three children, Cameron, Charlie, & Ashley, spend every week with the other parent.

Brought together over the concern for their middle daughter's troubles at school, they meet with her teacher, Lily Robinson, also Crystals life long best friend and godmother to the kids, to discuss her needs. After the meeting, Crystals car won't start and Derek gives her a ride. An unfortunate accident takes the life of both parents. The kids are now at the mercy of Derek's younger brother, the rakish & wild Sean.

Lily's loyalty to the kids and to her best friend, as well as her genuine love for them, throw her and Sean together into a oneness of mind, to bring a normal life to these hurting kids. The result is a journey of discovery and passion. (No explicit sex scenes, as is true with most of her novels, which I appreciate.)

This is an awesome account of how love can heal and how it's OK to move on after losing a loved one. It is refreshing to see how life can change for the better in the aftermath of such devestation. It is so beautiful to watch how love heals and changes EVERY character in this book! Wow! What a great story!

The only problem you will have here is some of the repetition that Susan is known for. Read through! It is a great story! Full of passion, pain, victory, and more!!

I HIGHLY recommend this book!