So, here we are again - at that crossroads of exhaustion and almost there. Having worked the weekend, I am about done with this week (and I had yesterday off!) Saw an amazing show at the Kennedy Center last night after having had a great lunch with friends, did a little shopping....and this weekend we celebrate my soul sister's birthday! Great friends, good wine, a day spent her way - our old tradition! Oooh speaking of her way, it's that time when I get my way, and share with you some tasty eye candy! Mmmmmm (cause I'm a giver like that!)
NOTHING TO LOSE, Consuelo Saah Baehr, September 2010
NOTHING TO LOSE, Consuelo Saah Baehr, September 2010In a world where thin is “in” and food equals love, how can a woman expect to escape life unscathed? Author Consuelo Saah Baehr gifts the reader with a beautifully crafted story of one woman’s relationships: with food, family, first love and finally herself. Nothing to Lose takes the reader on a warts and all journey spanning the life and times of April Taylor.
Not your typical romance, Nothing to Lose builds the main character, April Taylor, layer by layer. Here is a child of truly selfish, immature parents who replace emotion with food. She is judged by friends and neighbors by physical appearance. Truly naïve, she enters into her first romantic relationship, trying to conform to the mixed messages given to her by society. When her marriage fails, she returns to the only comfort she understands: food. Watching her step outside her comfort zone to exact change in her life is raw, painful and yet beautiful to watch. Through her own perseverance and relying heavily upon the strength of her friends, this ordinary woman finds the ability to recreate herself.
In some ways, the romance between April and Luis O'Neill feels secondary. And yet a significant part of this story focuses on the creation of this emotionally unavailable, over-achiever. Like many great New York City stories, the chance encounters that go nowhere between April and Luis serve to tease the reader and hope somehow that these two flawed individuals might connect and provide that missing piece each lacks. Knowing their issues, seeing firsthand their individual histories unfold only serves to feed that hope.
This novel has serious subtle charms. Seemingly slow at points, the little vignettes created by the author to paint her characters often feel inconsequential and yet in retrospect the reader is left with an overall impression of very fully realized characters whose life events shape their decisions. The details of daily life, the self deprecating humor, the full range of emotions displayed by April, Luis, their friends and colleagues ensure that this work is worth recommending. On the whole, this sweet romance reminds the reader that, in taking chances with life and in making positive changes, one has nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Not your typical romance, Nothing to Lose builds the main character, April Taylor, layer by layer. Here is a child of truly selfish, immature parents who replace emotion with food. She is judged by friends and neighbors by physical appearance. Truly naïve, she enters into her first romantic relationship, trying to conform to the mixed messages given to her by society. When her marriage fails, she returns to the only comfort she understands: food. Watching her step outside her comfort zone to exact change in her life is raw, painful and yet beautiful to watch. Through her own perseverance and relying heavily upon the strength of her friends, this ordinary woman finds the ability to recreate herself.
In some ways, the romance between April and Luis O'Neill feels secondary. And yet a significant part of this story focuses on the creation of this emotionally unavailable, over-achiever. Like many great New York City stories, the chance encounters that go nowhere between April and Luis serve to tease the reader and hope somehow that these two flawed individuals might connect and provide that missing piece each lacks. Knowing their issues, seeing firsthand their individual histories unfold only serves to feed that hope.
This novel has serious subtle charms. Seemingly slow at points, the little vignettes created by the author to paint her characters often feel inconsequential and yet in retrospect the reader is left with an overall impression of very fully realized characters whose life events shape their decisions. The details of daily life, the self deprecating humor, the full range of emotions displayed by April, Luis, their friends and colleagues ensure that this work is worth recommending. On the whole, this sweet romance reminds the reader that, in taking chances with life and in making positive changes, one has nothing to lose and everything to gain.
I give Nothing to Lose a tasty five chocolate dipped strawberries (but will restrain myself and not eat them all....)
This review was originally posted on The Romance Reviews website.
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