John McCann, a man who judges life by the tally of an accounts ledger, has a supreme goal in life: To achieve, live, and enjoy the rarified executi...
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Nov 22, 2009
Lily
rated it: 
This is the first book I've read by this author and I hope to read many more.
The story focuses on businessman John McCann, who is taking a year away from his high powered job for health reasons, and David Robinson, a man dealing with mental illness and living on the streets.
This was a beautiful and moving story that dealt with issues not normally seen in "romance" books. While there was plenty of sex between John and David, it was sweet, gentle and very loving. More...
The story focuses on businessman John McCann, who is taking a year away from his high powered job for health reasons, and David Robinson, a man dealing with mental illness and living on the streets.
This was a beautiful and moving story that dealt with issues not normally seen in "romance" books. While there was plenty of sex between John and David, it was sweet, gentle and very loving. More...
6 comments
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(10 people liked it)
Mar 28, 2009
JenMcJ
rated it: 
John McCann is an A type workaholic trying to overcompensate for a deprived childhood. He recognizes, after suffering migraines and a recommendation from his doctor, that he has to make a change if he wants to continue to live a long healthy life.
John expects his effort to slow down to last a year. As we all know, expectations are what we have, not what we always get. John leases a book store that comes with the original owners son, Jaime who is a real charmer and a resident transien More...
John expects his effort to slow down to last a year. As we all know, expectations are what we have, not what we always get. John leases a book store that comes with the original owners son, Jaime who is a real charmer and a resident transien More...
4 comments
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(13 people liked it)
Oct 29, 2011
Vio
rated it:
A Note in the Margin brought tears to my eyes, lots and lots of tears, its so beautifully written the emotional anguish with just trying to cope with everyday life bit by bit, such a struggle for David who suffers from a debilitating illness, the one thing that gives him some sort of stability is the bookshop where he spends his time closeted away, in the second hand section of the store virtually invisible to everyone. John the current owner at first sees David as a dirty homeless man but that
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39 comments
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(5 people liked it)
Nov 29, 2010
Bookwatcher
rated it:
Is certainly hard to say only few words about this book, but I'll restrain myself... telling very quickly why I gave it 5 stars
About the story
John, close to a nervous breakdown, get medical advisement to slow down and take an year of ("mental") rest. As anyone who work like a crazy (that I understand very well about John) he don't go in vacation doing absolutely nothing, but buy a little bookshop. You will get right away that he is doing that just be have an oc More...
About the story
John, close to a nervous breakdown, get medical advisement to slow down and take an year of ("mental") rest. As anyone who work like a crazy (that I understand very well about John) he don't go in vacation doing absolutely nothing, but buy a little bookshop. You will get right away that he is doing that just be have an oc More...
10 comments
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(8 people liked it)
Dec 04, 2011
Deeze
rated it:
WOW I finally got around to reading this and am mad at myself for waiting so long. This was a wonderful if heartbreaking story of how easily life can change, for good and bad.
David is a extremely emotional character that you just want to constantly hug.
John was a typical suit that finally stopped long enough to see his suroundings.
Jamie was a boy any mother would be proud of and I would love to read his own story.
And Adam just broke my heart, he was tryin More...
David is a extremely emotional character that you just want to constantly hug.
John was a typical suit that finally stopped long enough to see his suroundings.
Jamie was a boy any mother would be proud of and I would love to read his own story.
And Adam just broke my heart, he was tryin More...
8 comments
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(5 people liked it)
Jun 22, 2009
Brenda (b)
rated it:
I found this story deeply touching. I had a constant fear that David would leave yet again, but I kept avidly reading because I truly wanted to know how everything worked out for these people. John's problems may not have been as obvious as David's were, but they were just as real. The change in the way he looked at David and himself was heartwarming. Jamie was the perfect supporting character – always there when they needed him most, offering advice and companionship to both John and David.
4 comments
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(6 people liked it)
Oct 08, 2011
Ami
rated it:
This book makes me cry and feeling melancholic, I think I need to find some murder mystery to deal with it *sigh*. Considered one of the "classics", meaning that it is often recommended to people who want to start reading LGBT fiction, I think that perception is well-deserved.
It is heartbreaking, tender, and moving at the same time. And on the core of it, it's about love -- and not judging a person from the first look. John McCann, an executive who takes a year of 'sea chan More...
It is heartbreaking, tender, and moving at the same time. And on the core of it, it's about love -- and not judging a person from the first look. John McCann, an executive who takes a year of 'sea chan More...
4 comments
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(4 people liked it)
Jan 01, 2011
Camilla ~ ♥ Team Qhuay!♥ ~
rated it:
Ok, so the reason I picked up this book earlier today, was actually only because of one thing: I wanted a book to make me forget and make me cry.. Plain and simple.. Why? Well, I'll tell you, but let me also say that this book, while it did exactly what I had hoped (read it in one go, and cried my eyes out) it also made me feel quite a bit better afterwards.. But let me get back to that.
First.. Ok, so the reason I went straight to the "Best gay tear jerker list" and picked More...
First.. Ok, so the reason I went straight to the "Best gay tear jerker list" and picked More...
5 comments
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(4 people liked it)
Apr 12, 2011
Marleen
rated it: 
Don't pay attention to the star rating. This just wasn't the right book at the right time. It's sweet and tender and then my brain started hopping up and down screaming 'Sappy!!!'. I got really tired of all the walking on eggshells around David. I did not get how the MCs fell in lurve without barely having had any conversation (and it's supposed to be love, not lust). I did not believe how quickly John turned from the Australian equivalent of the Wall Street Exec to the aforementioned walking on
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3 comments
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(3 people liked it)
Mar 21, 2009
FloJ
rated it:
"John McCann, a man who judges life by the tally of an accounts ledger, has a supreme goal in life: To achieve, live, and enjoy the rarified executive lifestyle. But he's encountered one problem:
The migraines are going to continue to get worse unless you make some major changes in your lifestyle. What you need is a 'sea change'… Perhaps buy a nice little business in the country, settle down, something easier to occupy your time…
While John knows the doctor is right, More...
The migraines are going to continue to get worse unless you make some major changes in your lifestyle. What you need is a 'sea change'… Perhaps buy a nice little business in the country, settle down, something easier to occupy your time…
While John knows the doctor is right, More...
0 comments
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(1 person liked it)
Jan 22, 2012
Susan65 "Cougar"
rated it:
What an amazing story. I think David will remain forever in my mind and heart as an example of what can happen to any of us when life becomes just too much. Artistic, quietly funny, a husband and father, a man living a normal life that just gets away from him and leaves him lost...and then homeless and alone.
John, a successful executive, takes a break from his high profile, stressful career and leases a bookstore. On his first day he notices a dirty, smelly and obviously homeless man More...
John, a successful executive, takes a break from his high profile, stressful career and leases a bookstore. On his first day he notices a dirty, smelly and obviously homeless man More...
2 comments
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(7 people liked it)
May 04, 2011
Lauraadriana
rated it:
This was a good book...really good actually. It's different kind of romance since it deals with mental illness. I liked how the author approaches the whole thing, especially how hard it is for those who love a person struggling with mental illness, and how every day can be a milestone or a setback.
John is some high executive guy in Melbourne who is advised to take time off since the stress of his job is affecting his health, he takes a sabbatical and leases a small bookstore for a year More...
John is some high executive guy in Melbourne who is advised to take time off since the stress of his job is affecting his health, he takes a sabbatical and leases a small bookstore for a year More...
0 comments
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(2 people liked it)
Feb 23, 2010
Every book that makes you cry even once is a book worthy to be read, and A Note in the Margin made me cry from more or less page 50 till the end of all the more than 250 pages of it. And not that mild moving which warms you and predisposes your body to cuddle under a blanket on the couch, but that strong lump in the throat and big fat tears that you can't help falling from your eyes.
Someone could think that John is a self-centered man; a man wealthy enough not only to go to a doctor More...
Someone could think that John is a self-centered man; a man wealthy enough not only to go to a doctor More...
0 comments
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(3 people liked it)
Jan 18, 2012
Lou
rated it:
Isabelle Rowan’s novel, A Note in the Margin, gets 5 stars, no qualms. (I don't believe this review has spoilers. If you think differently, please let me know.)
A Note in the Margin was published by Dreamspinner Press in 2009, but I picked it up only recently because of a short sequel, Twelve Days, that came out as part of Dreamspinner’s 2011 Christmas offerings. From the very start, A Note in the Margin enticed me, with a cover design by Mara McKennon depicting the inviting, but somewh More...
A Note in the Margin was published by Dreamspinner Press in 2009, but I picked it up only recently because of a short sequel, Twelve Days, that came out as part of Dreamspinner’s 2011 Christmas offerings. From the very start, A Note in the Margin enticed me, with a cover design by Mara McKennon depicting the inviting, but somewh More...
0 comments
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(1 person liked it)
Dec 09, 2011
Lidia
rated it:
A notes in the margins is the main story, but as the title does not neglect the notes in the margins. The story takes place in Bradford, a quiet town near Melbourne.Jonh and David are just two men who started from opposite sides found themselves at the same time by following different paths. Jonh has lost his mother, who grew up with his grandparents because his father he left. Tired of being poor, he moved to Australia where it reaches a solid financial position, has a nice house, friends More...
May 30, 2009
Dumbledore11214
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
May 05, 2011
Allie
rated it: 
I liked Jamie and John and the way they cared for David. Actually, I liked Jamie and the way he was so open minded and accepting of others in a way John wasn't (at the beginning of the story). John's character's changes were an improvement and he developed into a caring human being. Originally he'd been a bit of an automaton where people were concerned.
I liked the story but David's character (and we never really find out what happened to make David mentally breakdown and leave to be More...
I liked the story but David's character (and we never really find out what happened to make David mentally breakdown and leave to be More...
Jan 04, 2010
Suuanda
rated it: 
#
After I came across a good review of this book, it picked my interest and I read most of the reviews left by readers on amazon.com, which are for the most part very positive.
So I guess that's why after a few pages into the novel, I was already hugely disappointed. The writing is not, as many readers put it, anything extraordinary, but barely good. It's not awful either, but not once I thought "oh, that was a really clever/pretty/beautiful sentence". And that's coming from More...
After I came across a good review of this book, it picked my interest and I read most of the reviews left by readers on amazon.com, which are for the most part very positive.
So I guess that's why after a few pages into the novel, I was already hugely disappointed. The writing is not, as many readers put it, anything extraordinary, but barely good. It's not awful either, but not once I thought "oh, that was a really clever/pretty/beautiful sentence". And that's coming from More...
3 comments
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(8 people liked it)
Dec 06, 2011
Sammy2006
rated it:
A Note in the Margin...this was a difficult book to read. This book cut me to the core for many reasons and on many levels; so let me begin with a brief overview and then move on to how this book moved me on oh so many different levels.
John is "taking a break" from the corporate rat race. In fact, he must otherwise he will spin apart; perhaps have a nervous breakdown, a heart attack. One is never sure because Ms. Rowan is not specific in the reason; only that the break m More...
John is "taking a break" from the corporate rat race. In fact, he must otherwise he will spin apart; perhaps have a nervous breakdown, a heart attack. One is never sure because Ms. Rowan is not specific in the reason; only that the break m More...
Nov 15, 2011
Cindi
rated it:
Wow. I am at a loss over what to say about this book.
John is a businessman who suffers from migraines. He is encouraged to take a year off from his high powered job and do something else. He purchases a used book store. His first day as the owner, he discovers a dirty, smelly man sitting in one of the chairs in the used book section. The man (David) is obviously homeless. John, thinking only of profit, immediately wants this man gone. He mentions this to Jamie, the former owner's More...
John is a businessman who suffers from migraines. He is encouraged to take a year off from his high powered job and do something else. He purchases a used book store. His first day as the owner, he discovers a dirty, smelly man sitting in one of the chairs in the used book section. The man (David) is obviously homeless. John, thinking only of profit, immediately wants this man gone. He mentions this to Jamie, the former owner's More...
Nov 10, 2011
L-D
rated it:
This was a very good book with a strong plot and even stronger characters. John McCann is taking a year-long sabbatical from the rat race and leases a book store to get away from the city. His plan is to wind down for a year and recharge his batteries and eventually return to his successful, high-paying job. He leases the store from Maggie, whose son, Jamie, is staying on to work at the store and help out. John begins the story as a stuffed suit that who is uptight and values money over relat
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Jan 12, 2012
Jane (PS)
rated it:
The positive: Easy to read and written without utilising plot devices to cause conflict. I was really pleased when some obvious options for conflict were ignored by the author. It was a lovely straight-forward story with my obligatory HEA/HFN.
The neutral: Very English - the author is English; it shows and is explained through the characters' emigration, but it does make it feel less Aussie. ...Australian have showers, not baths. Two of the three characters act/talk English. Jamie More...
The neutral: Very English - the author is English; it shows and is explained through the characters' emigration, but it does make it feel less Aussie. ...Australian have showers, not baths. Two of the three characters act/talk English. Jamie More...
Jun 28, 2010
Jaime
rated it:
So this is one of those books that leaves you thinking. The characters are not fantasticly handsom, strong, uber competant men. They're just a few guys trying to get from one end of the day to the other. They are flawed, they make mistakes, and they pay for those mistakes. And they have big hearts, patience, and are the kind of guy we all want. Isn't it always the way, they get each other.
John has the best grasp of his own emotional state I have ever seen in a man. It's really too More...
John has the best grasp of his own emotional state I have ever seen in a man. It's really too More...
0 comments
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(1 person liked it)
Jan 22, 2012
C.S.
rated it:
A good story spoiled by bad writing. Constant, distracting changes of POV, even within one paragraph. Over-use of proper names, both to identify who's speaking or acting, and in dialogue. People do *not* use the other person's name practically every time they speak to them. Too much use of the passive voice. I believe this was originally a freebie on the net, and the publisher was too damned cheap to edit it. But that's typical of Dreamspinner Press. Editing requires more than attention to punct
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Feb 04, 2010
Tate
rated it:
What can I say about this book?
It was effing great!
The whole concept was different. The character flaws were interesting. The HFN ending was realistic.
Being a former homeless person, I really could identify with one of the characters. Everything this poor man went through, I had my own experiences (at a lesser level.)
This book kept me guessing the whole time - I never was one step ahead of the author. This fact alone was pleasing to me.
More...
It was effing great!
The whole concept was different. The character flaws were interesting. The HFN ending was realistic.
Being a former homeless person, I really could identify with one of the characters. Everything this poor man went through, I had my own experiences (at a lesser level.)
This book kept me guessing the whole time - I never was one step ahead of the author. This fact alone was pleasing to me.
More...
Nov 18, 2010
Krista (One Love) (Critical)
rated it:
This is a sweet book with a lot of great side characters. I love Jamie. If you're in the mood for a good cry, try this one out. You get to experience what it's like to be homeless. Oh, lord.
So, we've got our couple, David and John. I didn't like John at all at first, but he grew on me eventually. At the end, though, he still wasn't on my favorite's list. I love David and just wanted to pull him into an eternal hug and tell him everything would be all right.
The character More...
So, we've got our couple, David and John. I didn't like John at all at first, but he grew on me eventually. At the end, though, he still wasn't on my favorite's list. I love David and just wanted to pull him into an eternal hug and tell him everything would be all right.
The character More...
Sep 30, 2011
Melissa
rated it:
This is an Amazing book!!!
Such a beautifully written story. From the minute I started reading I literally could not put it down. I felt like I was on such an emotional journey as I watched these two men find their way toward each other and ultimately change each other for the better. It broke my heart to see the struggles that David was going through and it warmed my heart to see the love that John had for him. I thought Ms Rowan did a wonderful job of dealing with the issues of me More...
Such a beautifully written story. From the minute I started reading I literally could not put it down. I felt like I was on such an emotional journey as I watched these two men find their way toward each other and ultimately change each other for the better. It broke my heart to see the struggles that David was going through and it warmed my heart to see the love that John had for him. I thought Ms Rowan did a wonderful job of dealing with the issues of me More...
Jan 04, 2012
Janey
rated it:
Powerful! Something very different in the romance genre. It made me cry and smile all at once. Read it!
0 comments
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(1 person liked it)
Aug 25, 2010
Josephine
rated it:
A Note in the Margin is a beautiful story - a moving yet quietly understated account of the love that grows between two very different men. Initially John is not a terribly sympathetic character, more interested in his profit margins than in people, but with the help of charismatic and kind-hearted bookshop assistant Jamie, he grows to accept the homeless man who uses the shop as a refuge. Eventually, David's gentle character win him over, and John offers him not only a place to stay but a place
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Oct 08, 2011
Danni
rated it:
4.5 stars!
I really liked to have read and shared John and David´s story, to go through all their troubles and grow with them.
As I have a hard time getting through books that have to much angst and darkness (I just get to in to the emotions) I liked that the author lets you feel the characters pains and troubles, but also be happy with them in their most happy moments. I think there was a very good balance between those two elements.
I highly recommend this bo More...
I really liked to have read and shared John and David´s story, to go through all their troubles and grow with them.
As I have a hard time getting through books that have to much angst and darkness (I just get to in to the emotions) I liked that the author lets you feel the characters pains and troubles, but also be happy with them in their most happy moments. I think there was a very good balance between those two elements.
I highly recommend this bo More...
