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3rd out of 5 books
—
2 voters
Queen of Broken Hearts
The national bestselling author of The Same Sweet Girls and The Sunday Wife returns with another compulsively readable novelIt's not easy being the Queen of Broken Hearts. Just ask Clare, who has willingly assumed the mantle while her career as a divorce coach thrives. Now she's preparing to open a permanent home for the retreats she leads, on a slice of breathtaking prope...more
Hardcover, 432 pages
Published
March 6th 2007
by Hyperion
(first published 2007)
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This book seemed above all to be about middle-aged lady wish fulfillment. The protagonist’s life is perfect. Her counseling business is expanding and she’s got at least 2 suitors, but you know immediately which one she’ll end up with. The idyllic little Southern town where she lives is complete with “characters” and folksy, semi-mystical traditions. It all just seemed bland and happy. The only people in the book with real problems were her daughter and best friend, whose marriages were in big tr...more
This is the third Cassandra King book I have read and it is the LAST one of her books I will ever read! She is not a particularly good writer, but she is a real man hater. In every book almost all of the male characters are real sh#ts! None of them are physically abusive to their wives, but they are verbally abusive and put their wives down in a nasty way every chance they get. Since she is married to Pat Conroy, my all-time favorite author, I can't figure out where why she has this hatred of me...more
"Queen of Broken Hearts" by Cassandra King is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It is poignant, uplifting, tear-jerking and insightful.
When I opened the book to the first page, my heart plummeted. First person point of view – not my favorite. And I'd just finished another review book in first person that I most definitely did not like. Not only was this one in first person, but present tense – a double whammy. To say I started reading with a negative attitude in place would be a t...more
About 3 pages into this book, I had to make sure that it wasn't the second book in a series. After i determined it was not, I picked it up again. A few pages later, I had to check again just to make sure. Finally, I realized that the past events the author is alluding to have not been discussed yet. The entire book was this way - references to past events or feelings which is finally revealed in detail about 10 pages. It was quite frustrating.
One of my other frustrations with this book was the...more
This book is a rarity: one with characters over 40 who actually lead vibrant, interesting lives. Another plus: it's set in the South, but is not populated with drunk, manipulative escapees from a Tennessee Williams' play (OK, Maybe one - but he's dead). A strange coincidence: it's set in Fairhope, Alabama, a town that was featured in an article in Smithsonian magazine I just read. Anyway, it's the story of a woman who is a therapist and runs retreats for women going through divorces. The m...mor...more
This is a sweet and charming story about Clare, a woman who's endured her own heartbreak but makes a living as a "divorce coach" in a small southern town.
Clare's mission is to help newly single women deal with their grief, anger, and loneliness. What her clients don't know is that Clare is dealing with grief and loneliness too. After the traic loss of her husband, Mack, Clare throws herself into her work and shuts herself off from any romantic entanglements. When two very different but very inte...more
Clare's mission is to help newly single women deal with their grief, anger, and loneliness. What her clients don't know is that Clare is dealing with grief and loneliness too. After the traic loss of her husband, Mack, Clare throws herself into her work and shuts herself off from any romantic entanglements. When two very different but very inte...more
A PhD psychotherapist targets people at risk after divorce (which ends up being mainly women) whilst she herself has strange relationships ...
I do very much like the setting, which is beautiful Mobile Bay, one of the unsung unknown completely mind numbingly gorgeous areas of the US. The storyline seems interesting enough, and definitely in my field. So what could be wrong here?
I think this author tries too hard with her characterizations ... her cast ends up as caricatures, only flesh deep, pred...more
I do very much like the setting, which is beautiful Mobile Bay, one of the unsung unknown completely mind numbingly gorgeous areas of the US. The storyline seems interesting enough, and definitely in my field. So what could be wrong here?
I think this author tries too hard with her characterizations ... her cast ends up as caricatures, only flesh deep, pred...more
I am reading this book right after reading The House at Riverton by Kate Morton. I think that that sequence puts the Queen of Broken Hearts book at a disadvantage. This book has a completely different writing style and feel. After reading The House at Riverton, this book seems jarring and the author seems to be using a gimmicky writing style. I thought about abandoning it, but am trying to give it a chance.
One of the things I dislike is that Cassandra King springs characters on the reader. She d...more
One of the things I dislike is that Cassandra King springs characters on the reader. She d...more
I wrote the following review back a year or so about this book and gave it a 2 star rating. The problem is, I pricked it up again and it was a totally unfamiliar story. I'm reading it now, as if for the first time. Wonder what's up?
I had really hoped to be enchanted with this, as I am enchanted with this author whenever I hear her speak. But the book didn't quite grab me and I found myself passing it by for other works, rather than picking it up again. Maybe someday, I'll find another copy and...more
I had really hoped to be enchanted with this, as I am enchanted with this author whenever I hear her speak. But the book didn't quite grab me and I found myself passing it by for other works, rather than picking it up again. Maybe someday, I'll find another copy and...more
Picked this one up because one of those what-to-read-next algorithms recommended King's The Same Sweet Girls to me and that one's always out at the library; I didn't know beforehand that King was married to Pat Conroy, who has his flaws as a writer but who I will also defend to the death, because I believe that he can turn a phrase like nobody's business. The first two lines of Prince of Tides still give me goosebumps after all these years.
But this is not about Pat Conroy, this is about Cassandr...more
But this is not about Pat Conroy, this is about Cassandr...more
I don't know if I would have enjoyed this book as much if I had read it.
The narrator, Laura Hicks, changed voices for each character and she hit them spot on.
I laughed outloud while driving because what was being said with the voices was beyond funny.
Story is about a therapist whose husband dies and she is stuck between two men who want her.
Her mother in law, Zo Catherine, is called the bird lady and enjoys the company of Cooter Poulet who at one point gets pecked in the butt by a peacock named...more
The narrator, Laura Hicks, changed voices for each character and she hit them spot on.
I laughed outloud while driving because what was being said with the voices was beyond funny.
Story is about a therapist whose husband dies and she is stuck between two men who want her.
Her mother in law, Zo Catherine, is called the bird lady and enjoys the company of Cooter Poulet who at one point gets pecked in the butt by a peacock named...more
This would be 5 stars if not for the ending. Clare ends up having premarital sex near the end of the book, even after resisting up until then. The story is great. It’s all about divorce recovery and relationships. Widowed Clare is a therapist who holds retreats for newly-divorced women. She builds a retreat center to house the retreats. She learns that she hasn’t “walked her talk” because she hasn’t let go of her beloved husband. Great characters. Too bad she weakens…….
I just got this book from my favorite thrift store for books. As I'm reading the reviews, I notice that there are two reviews that are exactly the same; one by someone named Alice, one by someone named Sharon Reyes. I left comments on both. What is up with that? Is this done to bring the star level up? It really makes me wonder about the book and about the author and I'm not sure I'll even read it now.
What do you all think about this???
What do you all think about this???
Several cuts above a good "beach book" in terms of the complexity of the plot and the well-fleshed-out characters. These characters are real and oh-so-human, with fascinating juxtaposition of weak and strong, sweet and sour, saint and curmudgeon, needy and nourishing. The issues and dramas all converge in a satisfying way. I loved the characters -- the author got the southern voices right.
A therappist who specializes in divorce recovery must tend to her own broken heart. Five years ago, Clare Ballenger's husband, Mack, died in tragic hunting accident. The fact that Mack was deeply depressed casts a pall of doubt over whether or not this was truly an accident. Now Clare is launching a retreat center, where her charges can come for divorce recovery seminars, and her adopted daughter is finding herself in need of Clare's services. All the while, two eligible men think Clare has mour...more
Jun 01, 2009
Amy
added it
The book Queen of Broken Hearts is a book that is filled with compassion and it makes you think about what you can do to help your fellow community members. The book will inspire you to do great things for your community, your neighbors, and the people that mean the most to you.I reconmend this book to everybody because it opens your mind in to help the world around you. Also it will boost your condince about having one struggle after another and still trying to do good for the world or other ma...more
You need to read this in the garden with an iced tea or mint julep to sip on. The language is evocotive of Southern society and the environment and it flows with description and dialogue. The pace can feel a bit slow unless you have the time to enjoy it - its not a quick read. There is a huge cast of characters but interestingly it doesn't feel crowded as can often be the case. They are well developed and complex but the relationships between the characters and in general are really the heart of...more
Another Southern novel to while away the summer hours. Divorce therapist, Clare has a lot on her plate. She's building a retreat center, dodging relationships, and counseling her own daughter. All her busyness keeps her from dealing with the death of her own husband and a promising new friendship.
This is a blue book. Yeah, there was a romance but not an exciting one. The daughters story is sad. Why did these women like each other? Why did the Golden boy kill himself over the child or the childhood love? Parts were really good but it left me feeling slightly depressed.
Wow! It took me one month to make it thru my last book and I finished this one in less than 24 hours! This is a fantastic book for anyone that has been through the end of a marriage whether it is from death or divorce. I laughed out loud a few times and I cried. It was really good!
I wanted to like this book. I liked The Sunday Wife and I may read another by this author. This one started out ok, but it really dragged on and on. The last one hundred pages could have been condensed to about thirty in my opinion. Good concept, but I wanted it to be a little less cumbersome. I would give it two and a half stars, but I can't give it three.
Ms. King is wonderful. I felt like I was in Fairhope AL. Her descriptions are well constructed and her characters are complete and believable. It is a great story of friendship and love. I will remember the magic of this "family" of women for a long time.
This teeters between 3 and 3.5 for me; it was pretty good. King overused the word regard and it began to annoy me. I don't know if I noticed it more because it was an audio book or not. I wasn't overly fond of the narrator and my have enjoyed it more if I would have read vs. listened.
I really liked her writing style and the easy laid back flow of the story line. I really like that the main character is a psychologist of course. This is the first King novel I have read and it made me want more!
I read this because it was written by Pat Conroy's wife and I was curious. Sloooowwww beginning with a very predictable ending. Wasn't bad, but not one that I would recommend as a 'must read.'
This book didn't impress me much. I found it boring. It really didn't have a story line. It was all about losing someone. I didn't feel like this book really had any substance to it.
A pretty good story in a great setting, but just so much touchy-feely-new-agey stuff that I kept losing focus. I think it might have been better shorter. . . or something.
Okay, I didn't finish this book, I gave up after about 40 pages. The plot was not moving along and apparently there was another book I should have read first. Since I hadn't read it, I was lost.
I didn't think I'd like this one because I thought it was a romance novel. While there was a lot of talk about love and some mushy stuff, the story was really good. I liked both the male and the female characters.
I love this book! It was something I would not normally have picked up, but I am glad I did! It's kinda a southern comedy/romance. Give it a try :]
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Jul 21, 2011 04:43am