What I Did For Love - Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Rating: 5 out of 5 horses

Pages: 400

Challenges: Support your Local Library, Publish in 2009, 20 in 2009

Synopsis (and picture from BN.com)
How did this happen? Georgie York, once the costar of America's favorite television sitcom, has been publicly abandoned by her famous husband, her film career has tanked, her father is driving her crazy, and her public image as a spunky heroine is taking a serious beating.

What should a down-on-her-luck actress do? Not go to Vegas . . . not run into her detestable former costar, dreamboat-from-hell Bramwell Shepard . . . and not get caught up in an ugly incident that leads to a calamitous elopement. Before she knows it, Georgie has a fake marriage, a fake husband, and maybe (or not) a fake sex life.

It's a paparazzi free-for-all, and Georgie's nonsupporting cast doesn't help. There's Bram's punk-nightmare housekeeper, Georgie's own pushy parent, a suck-up agent, an icy studio head with a private agenda, and her ex-husband's new wife, who can't get enough of doing good deeds and saving the world—the bitch. As for Georgie's leading man, Bram's giving the performance of his life, but he's never cared about anyone except himself, and it's not exactly clear why.

Two enemies find themselves working without a script in a town where the spotlight shines bright . . . and where the strongest emotions can wear startling disguises.

Review

Loved it! If you enjoy watching ET or reading US to get the scoop on celeberties you will enjoy this book. It is esentially the break up of Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt with Jennifer marrying a bad boy...oh and Jennifer Aniston has a stage father. It's fun to see the the inner workings of celeberties and their relationships. I have rellly enjoyed Susan Elizabeth Phillips books and would recommend this one

This Heart of Mine - Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Rating: 5 Better than a new Derby Hat and the winning horse (¨¨¨¨¨)

Pages: 432

Challenges: A-Z Challenge H: Title

From Barnes & Noble Review (BN.com)
Susan Elizabeth Phillips proves that not only can opposites attract, they can spark great flames of passion. In This Heart of Mine, Phillips pits the heart of a professional football jock against that of a free-spirited writer of children's books. The result is an electrified battle of wits and wiles that is, at turns, both affecting and amusing. These two star-crossed lovebirds couldn't have less in common, and their initial coming together is marked by conflict, rancor, and even tragedy. Yet over the long haul, they discover that love can not only bloom in these seemingly infertile soils, it can thrive.
Molly Somerville has long had a secret crush on the Chicago Stars' key player, quarterback Kevin Tucker. Kevin's career is hard for Molly to escape, given that Molly's older sister, Phoebe, is the owner of the team. Consequently, Molly also knows about Kevin's penchant for dating gorgeous bimbos and his puzzling need to partake of risky, life-endangering hobbies, a trait that drives Phoebe crazy. Molly, however, can relate to this part of Kevin, as she has shown a tendency toward some pretty reckless behavior herself.

When fate places Molly and Kevin alone together for a weekend in Phoebe's isolated cabin, sparks fly and passions flare when both refuse to leave. In the end, Molly makes her most reckless decision yet by climbing into bed while Kevin is sleeping and seducing him before he knows what's happened. When she ends up pregnant, Kevin insists on marrying her for propriety's sake. And when Molly then has a miscarriage, it leaves both of them wounded and wary. Forced to spend their summer at the beleaguered and rundown wilderness resort that Kevin has inherited from a relative, the twosome spruce the place up and get it to turn a profit. In the process they discover the healing power of love, but not before learning some hard truths about themselves, their pasts, and their feelings for each other.

Phillips includes several intriguing subplots in This Heart of Mine and tackles some issues that are emotionally and ethically touchy. Although she wisely avoids offering easy solutions and neatly tied packages, she does provide plenty of resolution. And despite all the pathos, there's plenty of humor to be found. In fact, in the end, shared laughter proves to be every bit as powerful as shared love. -Contributing editor Beth Amos is the author of three novels, including Cold White Fury and Second Sight.

Review

Loved it!! It's a new twist that the guy marries the girl out of obligation and then they fall in love. I have really liked a lot of Susan Elizabeth Phillips' other books also. I love the characters she creates and the situations that are out there but very believable! Her characters aren't perfect and make mistakes. She also is carrying her characters from one book to the next, but as supplementary characters which is great so you know what is happening in their lives. But that is not to say that you can't pick up any of the books at any time and follow them. If you haven't read her and like contemporary romance I highly recommend this author.