Customer Reviews

Word Gets Around

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Word Gets Around by Lisa Wingate is the follow up to Talk of the Town about the small Texas town of Daily. Nate Heath has been working as a screenwriter on his friend Justin Shay's movies for years. But The Shay's career has been bottoming out due to addictions and his restless nature, and Nate is about ready to call it quits when Justin asks him to rewrite a screenplay that has been bouncing around in Hollywood limbo for years about a cowboy who works with an abused horse and autistic boy bringing healing to both. Lauren Eldridge hasn't returned home to Daily, Texas in the two years since the tragic death of her husband. But when her father calls her and asks that she train a former racehorse for a movie, she can't turn him down. Both Nate and Lauren are afraid of getting too close to anyone, but the denizens of Daily don't allow anyone to keep their distance. Soon the whole town is involved in the production of a movie and the restoration of hearts. Wingate has a unique talent for grasping character's personalities and being able to translate that to print so surely that it's hard to believe they are fictional. I've been reading so many books lately that have let me down, but Wingate describes scenes and people in a way that draws the reader in. Lauren and Nate narrate in alternating chapters, and Wingate writes each with a specific voice. Nate writes cinematically, everything is a possible scene in a movie, and he has an almost sweet cynicism. Lauren, on the other hand, is very down to earth and direct. She doesn't smack readers over the head with faith and preaching, but the lessons she imparts about how God draws people to him are beautiful. I'm ready to pack my bags and move to Daily, Texas myself!

WORD GETS AROUND by Lisa Windgate is an enjoyable read with all the right elements. A movie star bad boy, a handsome screen writer, a reluctant horse trainer, and a risky movie that if not made, a small town stands to lose everything.
Lauren Eldridge never intended to go back to Daily, Texas. But when her father pleads with her to come home and teach a self-destructive movie star how to "whisper" to horses, she puts her discomfort and bad memories aside to help her dad out.
Nate Heath is a talented screenwriter, but he's just about had it with Justin Shay and his self-centered, egotistical ways. When asked to work on a movie script that is sure to be a bomb, he goes against his instincts and tries to help Justin out just one more time. Nate's intentions are not all altruistic. He's intrigued by Lauren and finds himself wanting to stay in Daily to learn more about this woman who talks to horses.
WORD GETS AROUND was a really enjoyable read. Though the list of characters at times gets a bit daunting, the heart of the story and the main characters is what moves the story along. A great story for those who enjoy the great outdoors as a scenic backdrop to romance.

Another fine book by Lisa Wingate. I like the characters she has in her all her books. You can connect with them. There is always a bit of wisdom...a lesson in each of her books.

Lisa Wingate's "Word Gets Around " is the latest of this author's incredibly great books! We're taken back to Daily Texas and another chance to visit the Beulah Suite and Elvis's room. We're reunited with Amber Anderson, Justin Shay, Donetta and others from an earlier book"Talk of the Town".

Lauren Eldridge, a young college teacher is called back to her Dad's ranch to help train a hurt horse, Lucky Strike and a troubled movie star, Justin Shay to make a movie. Events in the past color Lauren's expectations for the future. She fights her fears and leaves them in the creek where those fears began.

This book is a wonderful story about Justin, Lauren, and Nate and others rising from the ashes of disappointments to work a common project.

Lisa Wingate is an extraordinary motivational writer. One very moving moment "who would have predicted that the little girl from the trailer house down the road would win a TV talent contest, make big money friends and come back to reclaim the homestead that had been left for dead".

"Word Gets Around" is an outstanding book! I enjoyed reading it so much!

Ed

I really liked this one, much better than "Talk of the Town." Maybe because I liked Lauren better than Mandalay.

I did feel that the faith journeys were more real, and I loved the view of God as the Good Horseman. That analogy was amazing and true and so applicable.

I think having read the first book is helpful in reading this second in the series, but not absolutely necessary.

This was a decent book, but not great. I read a little bit of everything but especially enjoy romance and historical romance. I greatly respect authors who try to write in the Christian fiction and Christian romance genre. It's nice that the Christian element is there without being preachy. This book held my interest, but didn't compel me to keep coming back to it. I have read many books over the years and I'm sorry I can't quite put my finger on why this book was just "so so" for me. I wonder if other Lisa Wingate books would be better?

I started with "Talk of the Town", the first book based in Daily Texas. This book, "Word gets around", is the second one, and is sort of a continuation, but it is not a sequel. The main characters are new, but the side characters reappear. I thought this book was far better than "Talk of the Town", which I already thought was really fun and good. "Word gets around" has a much more believable romance than TTOT, the characters are even funnier, with a bit of sad stuff thrown in that made me tear up. I really enjoyed it. I was looking on amazon for some fluffy "Christian Romance" books, and my expectations were not very high, so I was really pleasantly surprised to find that Lisa Wingate can actually write! Her characters are well developed and just really funny.

OK, the plot was a little thin, and although it's billed as a "Christian Romance", it's not really a "Christian" book. Some of the characters are Christian, and others think about God a bit, but the Christian part seems incidental. I suppose it falls in the Christian section because it's a "G-rated" book. In spite of all that, it was an enjoyable read and I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a quick, light, read without sacrificing writing quality.

I enjoyed this book very much. Very well written. Lisa Wingate is a new author for me and I will definitely be buying more of her books.

As always, Lisa Wingate has you wrapped up in her good stories. I liked her writing the minute I read her first book. All her stories vary and are interesting, more, they keep your interest. Love it.

The thing that first drew me to this book was the cover. Ironically its not the cover pictured here. The two are very similar though and the girl is the same. To me she seems very approachable and down to earth, not the usual cover heroine who is too beautiful for words. But enough about the cover and on to the actual story.

Word Gets Around follows two main characters of Nate and Lauren. Lauren is a girl originally from Daily, TX who because of a terrible accident in her past, finds it hard to return to her home town. This is actually quite the shame as she is a natural "horseman" or as others know it, a horse whisperer. Her father finally convinces her to come back and train a horse for a movie the town is resting their hopes on. But she meets Nate, and starts to fall for him, but can't decide if she can get over her past.

Nate is a script writer who because of a hard past is a friend to Justin Shay, all powerful conceited movie star. While he tries to help Shay out, this may be his last attempt to work with him. Shay wants him to develop a screen adaptation of "The Horseman" and also help with a home being built for foster kids. Nate views the project as hopeless since Shay has drug addictions and is known to be flaky. However, after meeting the people of Daily he becomes determined to do the best for the script and project. Especially since he's very interested in impressing Lauren.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It wasn't mindless but it wasn't a deeply complicated book either. It was a nice relaxing book. Wingate tells the story easily and from the point of views of both Nate and Lauren. My only complaint about her writing would be the way she writes accents. I absolutely detest the way she chose to do this. The way she words her accents make her characters sound idiotic or stoned. Luckily the accents don't come up too often.

To note, even though I didn't find it advertised as such, this book has Christian overtones. They're not in your face type of mentions but they are a key element in the novel. Some of the mentions are used to help the characters grow and while the novel only spans a little over a week the growing is not awkward or rushed.

Its a good novel for seeing character development, small town fun, and an easy playful romance. I wish there was a sequel but I didn't see one listed. I definitely would like to see more of the story and these characters.

Word Gets Around
Copyright 2009
363 pages
It also includes a few pages of discussion questions.