I'll start by saying I read this book in a single day. Its been a long time since a book keept me up long past my bedtime!

I suppose this is chick-lit but it seems to have slightly more going on than most in that genre. I found some of the characters to be irritating because they were such caricatures but the main character was well drawn. She is, sadly, a lot like me!

Decent plot, some sections of nice writing, pleasant romantic hero. Overall, pretty good. ( )

There were small things throughout the story that just seemed implausible and nagged at me throughout. For example, Frannie and Lisa both wait a few days before telling their parents about the shooting. It would seem a school shooting and the victims names would be plastered all over the news and at least one set of parents would have heard about it. Staying 10 days in the hospital for a clear through bullet wound. It was this and other small details that, added all together, just seemed like a story poorly put together. ( )

There is an underlying sadness about this book, which deals with a shooting at a private school of the seemingly perfect principal by her crazed husband. The teachers deal with this tragedy as well as their own love lives. Maybe I like my chick lit more frothy. ( )

I have mixed feelings about this one. The synopsis sounded interesting, and right away the prologue really got my attention immediately. It starts out with a 911 call from a school with a shooting in progress. But then the story starts and it moves pretty slowly.

Frannie is a speech therapist at a prestigious private school. Her best friend, Jill, is also on staff there, as is her ex, the live-in boyfriend who dumped her after two years. There is a new teacher on the staff, Lisa, a confident, out-going woman. There is also a new head mistress, Emma, who seems to have it all. She is beautiful and talented, has a beatiful house and is married to a perfect husband. However, when he meets Frannie, he is cold and condescending. Despite that, Emma and Frannie begin to develop a friendship.

Jill’s husband is a contractor who happens to have the contract for a school project, so he is at the building every day, along with his crew of young, attractive engineers. Frannie, recovering from her broken relationship, has eyes for one of them. Lisa, rapidly becoming a best friend to Frannie and Jill, also shows an interest. So we have some romance developing here.

In addition, we know from the synopsis that Emma is about to die. But we really aren’t sure who makes the call and who else is shot. The book doesn’t spent much time on the actual shooting, but instead tells the story of the events leading up to the shooting, and of the characters efforts to cope after the shooting. Romances are budding at the same time, and Frannie is learning to ‘be herself’, instead of trying to be who she thinks others want her to be. While following Frannie is interesting as she learns who she is, the story is a bit of a disappointment after the build up of the synopsis and the prologue. The suspense I expected just wasn’t there. ( )

I am a big Liza Palmer fan and was excited to read this book. I enjoyed it and love her writing style as usual. However, this is not a "feel good" novel and if you are only into "chick lit", I would give it a pass. Other than that, it was great ( )