Customer Reviews

True North

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
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Poor Claire's vacation sounds like some of mine. First she shows up at the mountain resort, luxury suite she had gotten her fiance for his birthday and he's sharing it with another woman! He tells her it was a birtday gift so he figured he could take whoever he wanted. She insists on staying, much to the owner's dismay, even though there are no vacant rooms. She ends up on a cot in a storage room above the garage and has to use the staff bathroom. All her luggage was somehow rerouted to a foreign country and she's forced to use clothes from the lost and found.

This book was hysterical and the story of two complete opposites trying to fight their attraction just adds to the fun!

Poor Claire Brown's vacation starts with a comedy of errors--the biggest error turns out to be her newly exed fiance. It's hard to be engaged to a man who's brought his new girlfriend on your vacation! But Claire's determinded to enjoy the elegant lodge, despite the fact that nothing's going right. Then she meets John McBride. Granted, their initial sparks seem to be more annoyance than anything else. But soon there's more to them. Much more. Add a little light intrigue into the story as Claire tries to figure out who's cooking the books at her firm, and you've got a fun tale that will leave you chuckling!

Insurance workaholic Claire Brown hopes the vacation with her fiancé Bryan Edwards in Aspen helps bring them together and end their drifting apart. That is why she spent the money on first class tickets from Seattle for his birthday, but at the gate Claire learns her travel agency canceled her ticket. After obtaining a last second economy ticket, Claire suffers through a horrendous flight due to the unchaperoned three-year-old aisle mate. However, Claire receives the ultimate kick in the pants when she finds Bryan comfortably snug in their room at the lodge with another woman.

Rather than leave for the coast, an angry, abashed Claire demands a room and lodge owner John McBride reluctantly complies. John loathes the type of career woman Claire is and detests her uncouth actions towards Bryan and his new woman yet he cannot stop his attraction to her. As John and Claire fall in love over her nine days in Colorado, someone wants her dead. Armed with a cell phone and John, Claire hopes to live long enough to enjoy her vacation.

This novel is a humorous contemporary romance starring two wonderful lead characters. The story line is superb when it stays TRUE NORTH as a romantic romp. When the tale veers west into suspense, the plot loses some of its focus. Still Beverly Brandt provides readers with an amusing look at love and the career woman that fans of modern day tales will enjoy.

Harriet Klausner

Claire Brown is a workaholic. Her idea of a getaway is to bring her cell phone and her computer along and take breaks to order room service. But it's her fiancé s birthday and she has found a lovely lodge in Aspen which offers luxurious surroundings and adventure excursions so makes this her gift to him. Her first clue that this wasn't going to be a good day should have been when she arrives at the airport only to discover her reservations have been cancelled and if she wants to go on this trip she will have to sit in coach between a woman who keeps trying to infringe on her space - and a young child who is, shall we say, not a good flyer. Claire does find her fiancé in first class and tries to get an explanation out of him but air turbulence forces her back to her seat in the back of the plane. Then her luggage doesn't arrive and when she goes outside the airport to catch the van that's to take her to Hunter's Lodge, she discovers it has left without her.

To her rescue comes John McBride but neither of them is very friendly to each other. John is actually the lodge owner, but Claire believes him to be simply the handyman and John does nothing to correct her impression. They also infuriate each other to no end but the sexual tension is undeniable.

When Claire arrives at Hunter's Lodge she discovers the luxurious suite she has reserved and paid for, is inhabited by her fiancé and his new girlfriend. Unfortunately, there are no more available rooms but Claire insists on staying and a small room above a garage - no more than a glorified closet really - is readied for her.

Claire is unable to set her workaholic ways behind her. Her idea of a vacation seems to be working with her computer and cell phone with short breaks to order room service. When she discovers she has temporarily been promoted and her workload doubles, she spends much of her vacation working. OF course this does nothing to endear her to John McBride whose mother is a CEO of a large cosmetic firm and whose ex-wife is the COO of the same company. He's had his fill of workaholic women.

Claire does finally take a well-deserved break and joins the group on a river rafting excursion where her inexperience puts the entire group in danger, infuriating John even further. However, eventually John and Claire's attraction to one another cannot be denied. But will John come to her rescue when she discovers a discrepancy in insurance claims and her life is in mortal danger?

As wonderful as John and Claire are, beautifully-drawn secondary characters add even more to this wonderful story. Particularly widower George Isler who is vacationing with his two orphaned teenage granddaughters and Mary Beth McBride, John's widowed mother who eventually enter into a very friendly relationship; womanizer and cad William and his meek wife Peggy; as well as Claire's ex-fiance Bryan and his new girlfriend, Cindy.

Talk about a page-turner!! This book had me up into the wee hours reading it when I thought I'd just read a chapter or two. But I was hooked from the beginning and couldn't put it down. Although there were a few minor problems including a suspected threat to John that really goes nowhere and seems not to have a resolution, the story as a whole is one to savor. I just love discovering new writers! Debut author Beverly Brandt has a wonderful future ahead of her if TRUE NORTH is any indication of her talent. I can hardly wait for her next book.

I didn't have high expectations when I started this book. I thought it would be a light, comical romance that had no real substance. It is a light, comical romance, but I have to say I did like the story and the characters. Beverly Brandt has written an engaging story that will keep her readers entertained.

Claire Brown doesn't have any trouble finding a man, but she sure has trouble keeping them. She sees her fiancé drifting away from her due to her long working hours. Determine to mend the distance between them, she gives him a knock out, romantic vacation for his birthday at an exclusive resort in Colorado. As any workaholic, Claire packs for the vacation with new clothes, her cell phone, and her reliable laptop.

Claire should have recognized things were not going to be perfect when she arrives at the airport, but can't find her fiancé. She attempts to board the plane thinking he is already seated only to find out someone cancelled her first class reservation. She grabs the only available seat in coach and finds herself seated next to the child from hell. After take off she goes to first class and finds her fiancé seated next to a bimbo and in the process manages to disgrace herself by falling into their breakfast. Any other woman might have picked up that something was going on, but not Claire. Even missing luggage and missing the resort van doesn't clue her in that something is amiss. Nothing does until she goes to their room and finds Ms. Bimbo installed in her place. Unable to get her room or her money back, Claire ends up staying in a small room in the employees' section. Chaos erupts as Claire sets out for revenge, her first vacation in years, and tries to stay in touch with her job and its unexpected developments.

John McBride is a former FBI agent who got rid of his workaholic wife and lifestyle. Things are going pretty smooth in his life until Claire Brown shows up and his mother who is exactly the same. Now he finds himself coping with a criminal just released from prison, a guest who is out for revenge and with whom he finds himself attracted to, and a mother who doesn't know what to do with her life.

Put it all together and you have a romantic comedy with likeable characters. I thought this was a fun book with a story line that moved fast. I've never read anything by Ms. Brandt before, but I will keep my eye out for her next book.

This is my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it!

Good story, good characters, good humor...all-in-all, I just loved it! Would definitely recommend to anyone.

Claire Brown has booked a romantic mountain lodge to go on vacation with her fiance. Arriving at the airport, she discovers he has cancelled her ticket. Thinking there's been some mistake, she buys another, gets on the plane, and discovers her fiance in first class - with another woman.

Arriving at the lodge, Claire seethes when she sees her fiance going into their cabin with the bimbo from the plane. Seeking out the lodge owner, John McBride, Claire decides to stay in a tiny, cramped spare room to finish out her vacation - and seek a little revenge on her now ex-fiance and his paramour.

The lodge offers daily outings and activities, which provide Claire with plenty of amusing opportunities for revenge. But lodge owner John McBride, feeling inexplicably drawn to Claire, is providing Claire plenty of distraction himself.

Other lodge guests make up for some interesting, wacky sub-plots and the daily adventures take alot of entertaining twists and turns. Add in the suspense and the humor and this is a sexy story you just got to love!

I was first introduced to this author by the books written as her alter ego, Jacey Ford, and was so impressed that I bought all her Beverly Brandt books. New. I never do that.

True North is a romantic comedy, not unlike Crusie's--that is, it's funny & romantic, but it's got depth. Workaholic Claire Brown's fiance takes another woman on the romantic vacation Claire gave him for his birthday, but Claire's not about to give up.

The hijinks and sparks between Claire and laid-back lodge owner John McBride stop short of slapstick, and there's some real emotional development for both of them, which for me pushes True North from being just a fun read to a truly excellent one.

I would have given this book a 5 star rating if the storyline didn't seem to end abruptly. I felt like a lot of the secondary storylines and even the primary storyline were left hanging. I wish the book had an epilogue at least. This is a great read though and very amusing.

This book had humor, mystery, sexual tension, very fast pace and was an overall great read! I look to read more from this author.