Customer Reviews

Age before Beauty (Sister-to-Sister, Book 2)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this series, Stuck in the Middle (Sister-to-Sister, Book 1), and have been patiently (ok, not so patiently) awaiting the release of book two, Age Before Beauty. It was definitely worth the wait. It follows the oldest sister in the Sanderson family, Allie Harrod. She's desperate to stay home with her new baby - so desperate, in fact, that she's willing to become a work-at-home mom (WAHM) if that's what it takes.

It's not often I find a great WAHM character, so I was especially excited about Allie. She's smart, spunky and hilarious. She goes through so many of the same feelings I've felt along the way to becoming a work-at-home mom and it was fun to follow along on her journey. She knows it can be done and goes for it with her whole heart. What a fun read!

Jill Hart
RadiantLit.com

In my humble opinion, every woman that is pregnant should read this book. It will prepare you for many of the feelings you will feel after that little one is born. Every woman who has just had a baby should read this book. It will remind you that you're not the only one calling the doctor every other day because you think your baby has some strange disease. All women should really read this book. It will bring back bittersweet memories of those early baby days.

Virginia Smith did an excellent job of weaving fundamental truths about motherhood, marriage, and what it means to be a godly woman and wife into a very entertaining story. This story provided chuckles, tears, and food for thought.

Since this is really the first book I've read of this genre I really can't compare Virginia Smith to another author. I will say that her writing style is easy to read and she moves the story along at a good pace. This is a book two of a series, but I didn't feel lost having not read book one.

Excellent story and I look forward to reading more by Virginia Smith.

Age before Beauty is an entertaining novel that once you start it, you cannot put it down until you've completed the book. The main character, Allie, has just had her first child and realizes how much she would love to be a stay-at-home mom. Finding what she considers to be the perfect home business, she starts her new career only to realize she is in debt and not making the money she had expected.

As growing finances are causing stress, her mother in-law shows up at their door unannounced. Come to find out, her in-laws are having marital problems and the mother in-law decides to stay with Allie and her husband for an undisclosed time.

Allie is faced with many decisions: Should she tell her husband her business is failing? How should she handle the mother in-law she never liked? Why was her husband spending so much time helping another woman repair her home? And most important, what was her relationship with God.
I highly recommend this book as you walk with Allie as she tries to struggle to be the perfect wife, mother, sister, and daughter.

Shortly after I finished the first book in this series I was eager to know what happens next. I was pleased to see that the story continues, but then the focus of the characters changes so that you get a view and perspective on each sister and the intricate lives and challenges that they face. I loved it...couldn't put it down and now that I'm done, onto the next!

I found this book an excellent read. Allie is now a mother and suddenly she is thrown back to the time in her life when her father leaves her and her family to fend for themselves. Will her husband, the love or her life, do the same now that he is a father? Allie wants so much to stay at home with her daughter but she needs be able to support herself just in case, so she starts a home business and her mother-in-law runs away from home and moves in with them. Talk about stress! The characters are believable. I can see exactly how Allie thinks and why she jumps to conclusions and why she believes that she has to do it all herself. Fortunately help comes from her sister Joanie who has developed a strong relationship with God.

5 stars, can't wait for the 3rd book in the series.

This book starts out in Allie's view. It talks about all her troubles with her husband and new baby. At first she is deciding whether or not to go back to work. Then she goes to this party with her sister ,Joan, and there is a lady there from Verie Cose selling stuff. She decides she wants to get in on it so she could stay home with Joanie,her baby. She also gets into a fight with Eric,her husband, over her mother-in-law who left her husband and came to live with them for a short time. When she gets her job started up she gets into a lot of debt. She is also stressed because Eric's coworker is flirting with him and she thinks he is cheating on her even though he says that Allie is the only one for him.
She goes to a sleep over with her sisters Joan and Tori. They talk about religous stuff after she told them about her debt and thinking Eric was cheating on her. She doesn't go to church much because Eric is a Athiest and Joan tells her to just ask God but Tori says she needs to work it out herself. She gets up in the middle of the night and remembers Joan saying if she needed something ask God. When she does she feels all lifted and less stressed. In the morning she goes to church with her mom, grandmom, sisters, and Joanie. He gets mad at her because they agreed that they wouldn't take her till she was old enought to decide for herself. When they get home she tells Eric about her debt problems and why she went to church. She finally belived Eric and they were better and her mother-in-law went home to her husband.She eventually decides to quit her job and work on organizing computer data for other people from Verie Cose.

I finished the first book in this series and wanted to continue on, I really enjoyed Age Before Beauty also.

I thought this was a great topic to talk about-women and insecurities especially after having a child. Also women working vs. staying home. The author did a great job. But this one didn't seem to keep my interest as well as the first and third parts of the series.

I was SO excited to read this book because I thoroughly enjoyed "Stuck in the Middle". In this book, we get the inside look at the oldest and married sister. It's a good read, but I can't say I loved it as much as the first one. Possibly because I related more to Joan. BUT, it is a BEAUTIFUL testimony of God's love and how He can touch and change hearts. I'd say you should read it for sure- it's enjoyable and you have to finish the series right??

This book was amazing. It took me only 3 days to finish the book because my family kept forcing me to put it down. It's a great book for mothers and wives because they can relate to it. This book was great. I first read this book because the book about her sister Joan was great. You should read that book first because you will understand this book more.I enjoy reading books with a strong female role so this book was perfect.I enjoyed the book while you went with Allie through her problems with her husband Eric,her bonding with her mother-in-law Betty,and her separation from her daughter Joanie. My emotions changed through out the story a lot so prepare to be sad,angry,happy,and lots of other emotions.I say this is a must read.