Holly Chamberlin

Babyland by Holly Chamberlin felt like a soap opera of emotions!

I'm in this weird adult phase where I feel like an adult and want to think about marriage and babies but also feel like a child still (college does that to you, I hear). Picking this book up was part of my 'I'm an adult who likes babies and marriage and soap operas' phase. I have to say, it didn't disappoint on what I wanted it to deliver.

I nabbed this book as a discount book store and I was stoked. I love getting books from random authors I've never heard of and I love sales. After reading the reviews for this book, I figured I needed to go in expecting a dramatic ride full of babies and girl gossip, and it delivered on that front!

I have to say, I really enjoyed this book! I wanted exactly what it delivered on and I couldn't ask for much more. I want to read more by Holly Chamberlin because she does have her own style, and I dig it.

Anna is married to Ross (think Ross from friends) and they decided they aren't going to have children. Then, TA DA!, she gets pregnant. The drama coming from this event, plus his family being rich, stereotypical jerks and her questioning her life brings out my inner soap opera addict. It's full of silly drama, insane gossip and twists you can probably guess if you've ever watched a soap opera. Will she stay with Ross? Will she want another baby? Duh, duh duhhhhhhh. There's lots of questions and this book doesn't end up answering half of mine, but I still liked it.

My negatives for this book was that it felt a little too long and that I didn't get to see the final happy ending shot of Anna and her man. I really wanted to hear about the happily ever after, but I didn't. Oh well.

Overall, I liked this book. It was a nice change and it was easy to read. I was able to binge this book within a couple hours even though it's so long, but that's because Holly knows how to write a good book that's easy to read.

Three out of five stars.… (mehr)

This was full of bumbles and love. Although it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, I enjoyed it.

When I read the premise, I wasn't expecting Erin to end up spending a lot of the book with a married man. This was hard for me to really get into since it made me feel uncomfortable, and I couldn't buy into the love between them as to really buy into it, I'd have needed his involvement in this book.

Other than that, however, this was a really strong book.

I loved the characterization in particular. From her four best friends to her parents, I really felt like I knew everyone and seeing how her friends especially changed throughout the year was fun. Some of them were homosexual, some of them tried online dating, some had crazy adventures across the world, and all were a lot of fun.

Additionally, the Boston setting was great, though it felt like every month in Boston had some detriment to it. I enjoyed the use of real places and names as these really brought life to the book.

Despite all its merits, however, her dating a married man really just made me very uncomfortable, and though I'd definitely read more by this author and I thought this was well written, I didn't enjoy it as much I might have had the premise been a little different.… (mehr)

Seashell Season/Holly Chamberlin Every year on March 26th, Verity Peterson visits Ogunquit Beach, where she puts a handwritten message into a bottle and launches it into the waves. It's a ritual of remembrance for the daughter she hasn't seen in sixteen years—not since her baby's father, Alan, took two-month-old Gemma and disappeared. Verity keeps searching and hoping, sustained by the thought that someday she might get to be a mother to her own child. And finally, one phone call may change everything…
Verity learns that Alan is now in jail on abduction charges—and Marni Armstrong, born Gemma Peterson-Burns, is coming to live with Verity in Yorktide, Maine. But this isn't the joyful reunion Verity imagined. Gemma has been raised to believe Verity was an unfit mother who left Alan no choice but to take her out of harm's way. Over the course of one summer, Verity tries to reach a tough, wary young woman who's more stranger than daughter. And Gemma must reexamine everything she thought about her parents—and decide whether to trust in a relationship that, though delicate as a seashell on the surface, could prove to be just as beautiful and resilient.
This had a fantastic plot and characters I wanted to love, but unfortunately, I didn't find it very well written.
 
This story could have been told in half the time it took. The major conflict didn't come until halfway through, and even then the subsequent chain of events was relatively predictable. I felt that many other opportunities for more authentic and meaningful conflict were missed.
 
There was a lot of second person that really detracted from the book. In general, the style of writing was kind of annoying, and sometimes contained too many repeated details from both perspectives. There were a couple of times when I just wanted the story to move on and found myself skimming without losing anything of meaning.
 
I struggled to believe Gemma as a character. The way she acted in the epilogue was far too logical and out of character. The whole Gemma/Marni issue was resolved in a way that I didn't buy at all and found myself questioning often. Her interest in drawing felt forced, and her love of the ocean really isn't as rare as the author made it out to be.
 
I did enjoy the location of small town Maine where all of the residents know one's business, and the author did a good job in demonstrating how everyone had really played a role in the tragedy.
 
I wish we'd heard more reasoning behind Alan's decision to take Gemma, because that, too, detracted from the plot. Though he was characterised with a lot of background issues, the move still seemed drastic.
 
I have enjoyed Chamberlin's other books as easy reads, so I was disappointed to find this one lacking.
 
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
 … (mehr)