Anne Pfeffer

Thirty-eight-year-old Nicole Adams has given up on finding love. The single mother focuses instead on a few things that she cherishes--her sixteen-year-old son Justin, her friends, and her art.

When she convinces a major museum to show a piece of her work, and she thinks her career has finally turned a corner, her son brings home a girl, Daniela, to spend the night. Daniela's parents have thrown her out of the house: she is pregnant with Justin's child. Shattered, Nicole feels she has no choice but to take the girl in.

She finds herself falling in love with Daniela, but increasingly troubled by the behavior of the girl’s icy, tormented mom and hard-drinking, hard-fisted dad.

Nicole struggles as fear and deceit enter her formerly peaceful life. Forced to deal with people she doesn't trust or like, fearful for the future of both her son and the grandchild they're expecting, Nicole wonders if she can do what she tells Justin to do: always have faith in yourself and do the right thing.

What We Do for Love is a standalone story written by award-winning author Anne Pfeffer.

This was a light and fun read, though I could have done without the little subplot. There was really no need to add more tension and suspense. The characters were well developed and I enjoyed the portrayal of Nicole and Justin's relationship. I would have liked a little more with Nicole and Mike's romance, though. They danced around it for almost the whole book and I wish we could have seen more of the aftermath.… (lisätietoja)

I liked this book. For what starts out as kind of a sad story does end with a happy ending. Nicole is truly the voice of the story. It is her story. I like that she never really complained about being a single mother. She unlike Daniela's parents did not judge Daniela. This is because she could relate to Daniela and her situation as a young mother.

The book alternates from the present to the past. Each time the past revealed more of Nicole's live as a young mother. Yes, this story had a bit of a somber tone but it also had a happy one filled with new chances, friends, relationships, and love.

Speaking of love; Nicole did find someone. I liked Mike. He and Nicole were good together. Also, Nicole and Daniela were good together as well. They bounded off each other. While, I did like this book; there was something that held me back from fully embracing all of the characters. Still this was a enjoyable read.… (lisätietoja)

This review was originally posted on Melissa's Midnight Musings on January 16, 2013.

This was a great story. I got pulled in right away, primarily because the dialogue flows so easily, you're quick to get wrapped up in the story. Right away we meet Alex, a girl with big dreams, to study marine life, but who has a mom that just can't seem to get it together.

I have to admit I felt really sorry for Alex. Here she is, at 17, with big dreams, of going to college to do what she loves, and at the same time she's hesitant to leave because she doesn't think her mom will make it without her. And at first, as the reader, I thought she might not make it either. The more I read though, the angrier at Alex's mom I became. She was so self involved, and so... just plain rude to Alex I found myself thinking at one point "man, her mom is a leech."

She takes Alex for granted, and what's worse, she almost ruins opportunities for Alex by refusing to help her. First it's by refusing to pay for her to attend a summer course to help set up her senior thesis. Then, it's by telling her that she won't give her a ride to attend a wedding that she's been asked to help out at. (The reason why she's been asked to help out is a major plot point so I don't want to spoil it.)

But, the thing about Alex is that she's determined. Her mom won't help? Fine. She'll do it herself. She makes it to that wedding and that sets the course for the rest of the story. Alex is a strong character, which is always a good thing and I would say in this case, necessary, in order for her to be able to deal with her mother.

Alex also stands up for herself and her principles which is nice to see. There's a point in the book where her and her friend Zack become romantially involved, and she feels like she may be ready to have sex with him. (There are a lot of factors to this, including other characters, and again I don't want to ruin it.) But, as time goes on, she realizes she's not ready and she lets him know that. Zack is disappointed, but Alex stands her ground and that's something I really enjoyed.

Alex also grows a lot personally. She turns her dislike for the wedding cake business into a skill that works for her and allows her to live out her dream for her senior year the way she wants it to be. She learns to take more risks and it's nice to see her enjoying the benefits.

Overall this is a great story. It's wonderfully written and you are immediately drawn to the characters. And anyways, any story that has wedding cake in it can't be bad.
… (lisätietoja)