Mike Greenberg (1) (1967–)

First off I have to say that I should apologize to Mr. Greenberg. I have seen his ESPN show (Mike and Mike in the Morning) and just thought this would not be a very good book. I have not read that many novels by men that can write female relationships very well.
I have to say I was glad to be wrong.

This novel is about three women who at first glance are not connected to each other at all. However, by the second part of the novel everyone and everything comes together quite beautifully and you wish that the novel never ends.

We have Brooke, who is still happily married to her college sweetheart; Samantha who while on her honeymoon finds out that her new husband is not at all who she thought he was; and Katherine, still single at 40, but with a high powered job and salary that most women and men would kill to have living in New York.

This novel is told in two parts. Part one is setting the stage and allowing readers to become familiar with Brooke, Samantha, and Katherine.

I do want to let any potential readers know that they need to read through part one and continue to part two since everything will make sense.

At first, when I started reading though I liked the novel okay I really could not understand how these women would be connected since they didn't refer to each other at all and figured that maybe they would find out they were all married or dating the same guy or something. I was pleased to be incorrect when I started reading part two.

Out of all of the women, Katherine was hands down my favorite. Her take no prisoner's approach and little asides about things cracked me up. I think Mr. Greenberg did a very good job in nailing down all of the women's personalities and foibles and I was quite happy that I honestly did not anticipate one thing that happened in the novel (which is a good thing) and was satisfied when I completed it.

The main reason why I gave this four and a half stars instead of five was that honestly I really didn't relate to Brooke's character at all throughout part two. I ended up feeling frustrated and ready to shake her by the conclusion of the novel. I honestly found her whole resolve to be quite selfish.

I would definitely recommend!

I received this novel for free via the Amazon Vine Program.… (mehr)

A straight forward story that I think tries very hard to find some meaning in the story but it ultimately didn't work for me. I think it was because the final ending to the story was meant to be uplifting or inspiring but just left me perplexed and shaking my head.

The main character in this book is Jonathan Sweetwater who has everything in his life that he could want. A beautiful smart wife, two adorable children, a high paying job. Except one day he comes home early and everything he thought he knew changes forever.

I really did like the main character a lot. Jonathan begins his tale with describing the three times in his life he was hit by lightning (totally immersed in a woman) and contrasts it perfectly with how he met his now wife Claire. What was being described hit home with me a lot.

When we get to what changes things for Jonathan I thought that his discovery of his father would lead to a greater discovery of himself and what he needed to be happy. However, we just seemed to have him meeting all of his father's wives and ignoring the good advice that his mother was giving him along the way.

At times I thought the author was hinting at an ending that I think would have made this a stronger book for me but in the end there was just a cop out and things were wrapped up too neatly.

The writing really flows and I thought that Jonathan's voice was very distinct. I felt for him as I read this book and hoped things worked out for him in the end. However, things kind of just became some grand re-telling of his father's life and wives and I found it boring after a while. It may have made for a stronger book to have his father still alive and we have Mike talking to him in the end or something happening that acknowledges that though his father was afraid to be alone he was not.

I read his previous novel and really did enjoy it and would recommend that book, "All You Could Ask For".

Please note that I received this book for free via the Amazon Vine Program. This book will become available on January 20, 2015.… (mehr)

This was a random pick from the library's paperback section. I should have left it there. It's really not a great novel. In fact, I nearly quit part way through Part 1, but Part 2 seemed like a bit of an improvement so I kept reading. None of the people in this book are anything like any people I know (or would want to know), and I suppose that's the main reason I didn't find the story at all interesting. On the other hand, if you're rich, smart, self-centred and successful and live in New York this could be just the book for you.… (mehr)

It took me awhile to start this book, mainly because of the topic. It was a very inspiring story. Yes, it was extremely sad overall. I am totally amazed that Mike Greenberg has a unique and authentic woman's voice - not what you would expect from a "Jock". Not only a woman's voice but 3 distinct voices of 3 totally different women who get the diagnose of Breast Cancer. Thank you for writing such a beautiful story so much more than just a diagnose- a story of friendship, support and love from perfect strangers who share a common link to a devastating diagnose.… (mehr)