This book didn't succeed in engaging me as well as the last ones I read from MJ Putney. Maybe I wasn't exactly in the right mood and this wasn't the beThis book didn't succeed in engaging me as well as the last ones I read from MJ Putney. Maybe I wasn't exactly in the right mood and this wasn't the best time for this book. Because thinking back about it, I clearly cannot recall any real turn-offs or shortfalls that would justify my lack of enthusiasm. Both characters started as polar opposites, both of them a bit too set on their ways. The hero especially was so set on continuously thwarting his dead grandfather that his behaviour seemed quite close to a extended childish tantrum, which I found difficult to accept. The heroine on the other end seemed really such a good Samaritan that I wondered how I might like her, as I am never a huge fan of perfect Saint. Their encounter and following budding and growing relationship changed them deeply, which I really appreciated. The heroine remained maybe too much of a Saint, outside of her carnal urges that she struggled to control....more
This book was part of a preloved bundle I bought with the "baby sleep book" I really wanted. I read it later on, to see whether anything could be takeThis book was part of a preloved bundle I bought with the "baby sleep book" I really wanted. I read it later on, to see whether anything could be taken from that renown author. I didn't expect much, neither something very practical, considering Ms. Pantley wrote her book to provide tips and tricks to struggling and dead-tired parents. But the whole thing was even more theoretical and an accumulation of statements than what I would have expected. What would almost make it funny is that Dr. Sears wrote: "Let me say at the outset that wherever all three of you (mother, father, and baby) sleep best and whatever leaves all of you feeling right is the best sleeping arrangement for your family". There were a few other similar instances of topics on which he claimed an open-mindedness regards whatever choice a mother or family might make. However systematically after that introductory statement, only one principle / one way / one model will be developed because this is how he and his wife raised their kids and it has the be the best ever. Only on the topic of schedule, does he show a completely open-minded view, which goes against the grain of many other paediatricians, and because this is what they did for their latest kid for which the "usual" schedule conflicted with her siblings' activities. There almost never are any distinctions on what would work according to the child's age, because the one and only solution to get your child to sleep is to put him in your bed and sleep next to him. If you do not sleep 11 or 12 hours at night and if that arrangement does not work for you, that's because you didn't do it right from day 1. There are also quite many pages regards the natural benefits of breastfeeding in terms of child spacing and birth control, which made me roll my eyes endlessly. And it's not because parents won't have sex while sharing their bed with the baby, because one can get answers to how to do that in the book. Frankly what does this have to do with the topic of getting the baby and child to sleep! It should be in a book regards baby feeding and not his sleep. The only section which I found interesting and better developed than usual was that relating to bed-wetting in older children. Put up for sale immediately after reading. Honestly I feel sorry for the poor sleep-deprived mom who'll read this hoping to get a good night sleep. She'll only feel more guilty of not having the right mothering instincts that should allow her to understand better her baby's needs, and of being humane and not the paragon of virtue that is depicted as the perfect mother here. By the way, if you're not exclusively breastfeeding, do not even think you can read one page without blaming yourself for failing your child so thoroughly....more
When I realized our daughter had an increasingly serious sleep problem, I searched for the best book and identified one that seemed valuable "Healthy When I realized our daughter had an increasingly serious sleep problem, I searched for the best book and identified one that seemed valuable "Healthy sleep habits, happy child" by another author. And then I found someone selling that seemingly valuable book second-hand with others, including this one, each for a very low price. I thought why not, that will give me the opportunity to learn more about the "attachment parenting no-cry theory". One good thing for this book is that it's read rather quickly - like in 2 or 3 hours top. So it can be a quick first introduction to sleep training tips. The annoying thing that I was expecting but which irritated me is the guilt trip for parents who do not absolutely believe that a child should never ever shed a tear for any reason whatsoever, however old the child might be. If you do believe in that, maybe you'll get something out of this book. If you do believe that babies cry and that parents have to learn to understand the cries to solve the problems and that not all cries, especially for an older baby, will create a life-threatening trauma, then it might be better not to waste the time to read it. And choose another book that will give good advice on how to handle the few bits of crying that might occur. I am still doubtful whether the author really described her real experience at the beginning of the book. A 11 month old never sleeping for more than 45mn at night and getting breastfed each time. Honestly I can see 2 options: either it's really true and poor Mrs Pantley so lacks any kind of common sense that I cannot really trust her best advice. Or it's nothing but an exaggeration, a plot twisting reality laid out so thick that readers can think "it can be worse for others, I still haven't touched rock bottom, if she found a solution in that context, she must be good". It gave me the impression the readers must not have any ounce of common sense either, if they would buy that. Most of the advice given in this book is common sense or basic advice regards sleep training, like creating a routine and building a sleep log to identify trends and see progressive improvement. It's presently quite simply, so I don't have any qualms about that. Compared to other books, there are no justification about why that timing or that principle is the best, but most of it is very consistent to what can be read elsewhere with the physiological explanations for the curious readers. I was however surprised that one information regarding usual best timing for naps was obviously wrong in the case of babies requiring 3 naps. It said mid-morning, early afternoon and early evening. There is no way it can work with the recommended early bedtime of 630 to 7pm. In that case, the 3 naps should be early morning, late-morning / noon and then early/mid afternoon. Obviously she got it wrong because she started training her 4th kid too late when he was already 11 mo and didn't need the 3 naps any more. In all that book, there was only one information I had not already gotten elsewhere and it came from an analogy with dog-training (praise what the child does well when he does and not when it's not working, otherwise he risks misunderstanding the meaning of the words). I put that book back for sale and would not recommend it to any of my friends, nor to anyone who had a baby with a real sleeping problem....more
A quite basic no-frills book, that can be read quite quickly. Much more quickly than many other parenting bibles that make me tired and sigh just by lA quite basic no-frills book, that can be read quite quickly. Much more quickly than many other parenting bibles that make me tired and sigh just by looking at them. It provides interesting basic guidelines regarding babycare, breastfeeding, weaning, handling a crying baby according to her age. Some advices/tips seemed pretty outdated or even too opiniated - like on the drop-side crib and babycook (no mention of that latter). For a mother intending to bottle feed and only use ready-made babyfood, this book will contribute to increasing her guilt at not doing your best towards your baby. But it also explains clearly why breastfeeding and home-made food is better anyway. Honestly I regretted not having read the 0-3 months section earlier, while we were struggling with endless crying at night. It might have helped. Baby pictures are pretty cute and attractive to my gal already!...more
This book came highly recommended, described as an hilarious fantasy. I did not smile once while reading it and only managed not to grind down my teetThis book came highly recommended, described as an hilarious fantasy. I did not smile once while reading it and only managed not to grind down my teeth, thanks to the other passengers sharing the train wagon with me that day. A few days after reading that awful book, whose only merit lies in its shortness, I finally understood what the humour reminded me of and why I hated it so much. There's a very strong taste in this book of Borat, the supposedly hilariously funny movie about that Uzbek moustache-wearing and cliché-ridden character from the eponymous film. I recognized the same type of racism against anyone different, the same kind of disrespect and contempt for any and all characters, main or secondary, poor writing skills, etc. Needless to say that I hated that movie too and only barely managed to see it through, like I barely managed to finish that book. People who enjoyed it might try giving a chance to that book. People who did not should definitely steer clear of it.
Side note: I read the book in the original French, I can't see how it could have been improved by being translated in any other languages, though the number of puns everywhere probably made that work even more painful....more
A very good start, then the plot lost his intent, as the relationship between Rosalie and Nick develops, while both of them keep pretending nothing unA very good start, then the plot lost his intent, as the relationship between Rosalie and Nick develops, while both of them keep pretending nothing unusual happens. However even then it remained much better than many other light romantic comedy. Characters were really enjoyable, not all of them perfectly likable, but that also helped in making the book a bit more realistic and on the soft side of quirky. I'll most probably read others from this author....more
This is far from a perfect book. A bit anachronistic at times. The plot can be a bit far-fetched at times, with a few events not really believalbe.TheThis is far from a perfect book. A bit anachronistic at times. The plot can be a bit far-fetched at times, with a few events not really believalbe.The timeline was slightly fudged once or twice, with way too many events occurring in the given time slot (view spoiler)[ especially in the 10 days or so before the ball which will mark their reintroduction to good society, the heroine succeeded in refurbishing and renovating completely and consecutively 4 or 5 rooms in her husband's home - that should have taken close to a month in my opinion (hide spoiler)]. However in terms of enjoyment and fun, this book succeeded well in making me smile over and over at both leads antics and their unforeseen repercussions building and building higher every day. ...more
Reread June 2014 I liked the way the different stories and time period mixed along the book, with a first story involving Tom and his childhood neighboReread June 2014 I liked the way the different stories and time period mixed along the book, with a first story involving Tom and his childhood neighbor Kelly, a second with Kelly's father, Tom's uncle during WW2 in France, a third with Tom's niece and a fourth one barely starting with Alyssa and Sam. However it's clear that readers who would be turned off or irritated by flashbacks will dislike the way the story goes. Regarding both lead, I liked that neither of them was perfect, Tom being afraid of loosing his mind as well as hung-up about his receding hair, Kelly not having much in her life outside of her job, especially now that her old dad was dying and that her divorce papers got dry and slightly dusty. I felt some background information regarding Kelly's life was missing, as it really looked like she had no friends even in Boston. However both of them really seemed like real persons who deserved their HEA together and who would help bring out the better in the other. I also really liked the suspense part, which for a long moment may just have been the fantasy of a paranoid mind, until the moment the threat turned real. A very good introduction to the series, which I finally tackle in complete order....more
For this special review (my 500th!), I'm glad this book won the price and not another bad bet. I must however confess that some books are so awfully bFor this special review (my 500th!), I'm glad this book won the price and not another bad bet. I must however confess that some books are so awfully bad that they are remembered very long after their reading up to forever while some good ones with nothing special are rather quickly forgotten, at least by me. Let's stop there for the digression, nobody can really be sure whether those are still allowed and that would be the height of absurdity if this 500th review were the one to be deleted;( From the first page, this book had a different tone from the usual romance. The characters, both male and female, were unusual - the hero extremely stiff, stickler to the law, having totally forgotten to live, and the heroine on the other hand oozing a very deep despair and loss of humanity in favor of achieving her vengeance. I was really puzzled by their first interactions which manage to reflect perfectly their own uncertainties and insecurities when confronted with the other. And it took time to get them settled into the beginning of a relationship, while still pursuing their second maybe-murder investigation. The characters of the remainder of the family were rather well depicted as well, very chilling for most of them. There are many surprises to come regarding both investigations, the first one on which Napier found himself again facing Lisette, and the second on which he had procured her help on his family members. And for once, the surprises were rather good ones, with something very distinctive about them. Last but not least, the writing was extremely high, which I remarked and enjoyed until the last sentence, and it seemed even better than Liz Carlyle's usual or that of her books I had previously read. There are not many writers that can claim such a perfect way of playing with words and making them work....more
More like 3.5 It was much better than the previous recent Balogh I had read (A matter of class), though not up to the level of her best - some SlightlyMore like 3.5 It was much better than the previous recent Balogh I had read (A matter of class), though not up to the level of her best - some Slightly, the first Mistresses and especially the Summer to remember which might be my favorite ever. I really liked the heroine whom I still remembered with pleasure from the Summer. I enjoyed discovering more about her and seeing how she found some new sources of happiness. However her absolute propriety in all circumstances hampered the affection I could have for her and did not allow me to really want her to succeed and get her HEA, as was the case for the more successful novels I mentioned earlier. The hero did not seem as deep in my opinion. The first part of the book looked like a real introduction to the series, a bit too much in my opinion and I'm not sure I'll really feel like going on with it, so that's rather a miss. But the thing that really irritated me, a little at first and more and more over the book, was the abuse of a literary technique aimed at providing both characters point of view of the same scene. Quite a few times, the story went backwards by a few minutes or hours and started telling the same thing over through the other character's eyes. It was done too much and not too successfully moreover, none of the main characters being prone to strong emotions which are a prerequisite to bring something really new and different in the retale. I'll not complain again about the art cover, see my status reading for that, but I have not changed my mind regarding its absolute ugliness. ...more
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