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Second Chances
"I will convince my father to unfreeze the amount for the surgery despite the financial checking that is currently going on. In return, you will help with this little problem I have."Talk about a 'little' his father wants him to marry, and Arthur chooses Maya... as a fake girlfriend to avoid walking down the aisle. If only she had another way to save Matthew's life, she would slam her door on the jerk's face with pleasure. Arthur is so... arrogant. Self-righteous. One track-minded. Handsome... Not that his looks matter, anyway. His proposal is simply shocking. A young boy's life is not something to bargain with! Plus, between her work, Christmas preparations and those threats against her charity foundation, Maya has no time for absurd fantasies about Arthur. No time at all. Even if he is awfully nice when he wants to...
Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2011
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20 people want to read
About the author
Claude Dancourt
9 books80 followersFrench-Canadian with a passion for words and applied science.
Housing one plant and a psychotic cat. Addicted to Star Wars, Black Tea and baking cookies.
Still looking to build a time machine.
Go Habs!
Housing one plant and a psychotic cat. Addicted to Star Wars, Black Tea and baking cookies.
Still looking to build a time machine.
Go Habs!
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 15, 2014
This is an agreeable but quite predictable story of a young woman as director of a foundation to help needy children and a rich young man with a demanding father, etc.
The young man smirks a lot but less as the story progresses; the young woman is full of mistrust and reflexively second-guesses the man’s motives--these traits also diminish as the book goes on. The characters and situations are drawn with strong strokes and humor: there is an attractive same-sex couple, a sibling who falls under BAD INFLUENCES, money laundering for nefarious reasons, and two little boys who might perhaps be described as “terminally cute” (my cliché).
Alas, I also found many instances of the writing bothersome. “As a kid[?], his father’s severe attitude had contrasted a lot with the [??] pitiful looks or suffocating coaxes.” This looks like a dangling modifier followed by a lost antecedent. Another sentence asks, “Who defined oneself [himself] with so many negations [negatives]?”
Sometimes I found myself mentally rephrasing what the author had written: “The truth was for Arthur she had no clue.” [The truth was that as far as Arthur was concerned she had no clue.] But every once in a while a phrase such as “an expression that was all but appreciative” completely defeated me.
It occurs to me that the author might be writing in a second language; for what it is worth, Conrad, who did not publish his first novel in English until he was thirty-five, played it safe by choosing to set his work outside typically English settings.
The young man smirks a lot but less as the story progresses; the young woman is full of mistrust and reflexively second-guesses the man’s motives--these traits also diminish as the book goes on. The characters and situations are drawn with strong strokes and humor: there is an attractive same-sex couple, a sibling who falls under BAD INFLUENCES, money laundering for nefarious reasons, and two little boys who might perhaps be described as “terminally cute” (my cliché).
Alas, I also found many instances of the writing bothersome. “As a kid[?], his father’s severe attitude had contrasted a lot with the [??] pitiful looks or suffocating coaxes.” This looks like a dangling modifier followed by a lost antecedent. Another sentence asks, “Who defined oneself [himself] with so many negations [negatives]?”
Sometimes I found myself mentally rephrasing what the author had written: “The truth was for Arthur she had no clue.” [The truth was that as far as Arthur was concerned she had no clue.] But every once in a while a phrase such as “an expression that was all but appreciative” completely defeated me.
It occurs to me that the author might be writing in a second language; for what it is worth, Conrad, who did not publish his first novel in English until he was thirty-five, played it safe by choosing to set his work outside typically English settings.
August 22, 2014
A lot of legal relationships drive this book. It's mentioned that Maya Finnegan, the heroine in this book, is a ward of the boyfriend's father, Robert Pendleton. There is a Foundation, called the Gerald Finnegan Foundation, which mission is to fund fulfillment of wishes of children dying from incurable diseases. There is some kind of firm, what it does is not mentioned, but it appears to be a trusteeship, called Pendleton and Associates.
A problem is that people's reactions to their legal relationships, as they understand them, will drive their human relationships, which in turn make up the conflict and character of the book. And I'm not sure what the roles are.
How could Maya be a ward of Robert Pendleton, legally? She appears to be of sound mind, physically capable, and over eighteen years of age. She clearly has the competence to go to court to prove her ability to make decisions that affect her personally and financially, and in doing so, remove Robert Pendleton as guardian. I would understand it more if Robert Pendleton was named as guardian if Maya's father, Gerard Finnegan, died when Maya was much younger, like nine or ten, and then continued until Maya came of age. The book didn't explain how Gerard Finnegan died of such a young age, and where was Maya and Moira's mother when Gerard died?
It's not explained in the book what kind of services Pendleton and Associates does. Is it a trusteeship? Is it a law firm? An accounting firm? The board of directors of a foundation make the decisions for the foundation. They can easily choose another accounting firm to audit its accounts, or if they do not have accounting staff, to prepare the accounts on a daily basis. Not sure why a foundation would ask a trustee to run affairs for them. Isn't a board of directors the only legal authority for a foundation? A trusteeship usually only runs companies that have been placed under receivership by a court, and then only temporarily until the company is wound down. What country is this book in? Is it London, England?
Therefore, with these legal relationships not clear, I was lost in why the characters were behaving the way they did, and why they intellectually felt that they had these legal constraints that forced them to maintain a relationship. It's not explained what Arthur's (the boyfriend) role is in Pendleton and Associates, and what office he holds, and if he serves as employee at the pleasure of his father, or is appointed by an independent authority such as the board of directors. It's not clear what role Robert Pendleton has, although I can easily imagine he is the President and owner of Pendleton and Associates (is it a partnership?).
There is some potential in the plot. I liked the idea of a man and woman bonding together over an incurably sick boy. There were some tear-jerker moments near the end. Although it can be overdone in the romance market, a reluctant but-can't-help-it relationship "love/hate" is always something that hooks me.
I wasn't sure about making a sister a drug addict, it didn't add to the plot. Would have been better to have the sister perhaps steal money for other purposes. Also the relationship of this sister, Moira, to the other characters wasn't clear. There seemed to be practically no sisterly relationship between Maya and Moira (the names are very similar). Don't they have auditors to audit the books, and if these fraudulent accounts continued for a number of years, wouldn't the independent auditors have found out by now? There are a lot of strict laws for a charity to have its books audited by independent auditors annually and for the board to vote on the financial statements.
In short, this book has a lot of potential. I think more research is needed in charity law, trustee affairs, and legal matters in order to straighten out this book, including why there is a need to make Maya a ward of someone. As well, the writing could be more sharp and focused.
A problem is that people's reactions to their legal relationships, as they understand them, will drive their human relationships, which in turn make up the conflict and character of the book. And I'm not sure what the roles are.
How could Maya be a ward of Robert Pendleton, legally? She appears to be of sound mind, physically capable, and over eighteen years of age. She clearly has the competence to go to court to prove her ability to make decisions that affect her personally and financially, and in doing so, remove Robert Pendleton as guardian. I would understand it more if Robert Pendleton was named as guardian if Maya's father, Gerard Finnegan, died when Maya was much younger, like nine or ten, and then continued until Maya came of age. The book didn't explain how Gerard Finnegan died of such a young age, and where was Maya and Moira's mother when Gerard died?
It's not explained in the book what kind of services Pendleton and Associates does. Is it a trusteeship? Is it a law firm? An accounting firm? The board of directors of a foundation make the decisions for the foundation. They can easily choose another accounting firm to audit its accounts, or if they do not have accounting staff, to prepare the accounts on a daily basis. Not sure why a foundation would ask a trustee to run affairs for them. Isn't a board of directors the only legal authority for a foundation? A trusteeship usually only runs companies that have been placed under receivership by a court, and then only temporarily until the company is wound down. What country is this book in? Is it London, England?
Therefore, with these legal relationships not clear, I was lost in why the characters were behaving the way they did, and why they intellectually felt that they had these legal constraints that forced them to maintain a relationship. It's not explained what Arthur's (the boyfriend) role is in Pendleton and Associates, and what office he holds, and if he serves as employee at the pleasure of his father, or is appointed by an independent authority such as the board of directors. It's not clear what role Robert Pendleton has, although I can easily imagine he is the President and owner of Pendleton and Associates (is it a partnership?).
There is some potential in the plot. I liked the idea of a man and woman bonding together over an incurably sick boy. There were some tear-jerker moments near the end. Although it can be overdone in the romance market, a reluctant but-can't-help-it relationship "love/hate" is always something that hooks me.
I wasn't sure about making a sister a drug addict, it didn't add to the plot. Would have been better to have the sister perhaps steal money for other purposes. Also the relationship of this sister, Moira, to the other characters wasn't clear. There seemed to be practically no sisterly relationship between Maya and Moira (the names are very similar). Don't they have auditors to audit the books, and if these fraudulent accounts continued for a number of years, wouldn't the independent auditors have found out by now? There are a lot of strict laws for a charity to have its books audited by independent auditors annually and for the board to vote on the financial statements.
In short, this book has a lot of potential. I think more research is needed in charity law, trustee affairs, and legal matters in order to straighten out this book, including why there is a need to make Maya a ward of someone. As well, the writing could be more sharp and focused.
July 25, 2012
i received this book from the writer.I love the story form the begging . Here is girl and her sister who run
a non profit group to help the dis who could not afford the care they need and then they come to the hospital and then they get
the treatment they need and no question asked.Maya is trying to do t he best she can, and then with the sister and cousin the company in in trouble who is the bad guy here the god father put a freeze on here money because they think Maya is doing drugs but she just works long hours and does not take care of her self Now the playboy son of the godfather comes in and said he taking care of the money but there is surprise for them a little boy who is a orphan and can not talk because of cancer, and who going to help him
get through the surgery which is going to cost a lot of money. Well you love the book and i disagree with the negative revies
i love the way the boo was wrote and then the author new how to pull the heart string of the readers
a non profit group to help the dis who could not afford the care they need and then they come to the hospital and then they get
the treatment they need and no question asked.Maya is trying to do t he best she can, and then with the sister and cousin the company in in trouble who is the bad guy here the god father put a freeze on here money because they think Maya is doing drugs but she just works long hours and does not take care of her self Now the playboy son of the godfather comes in and said he taking care of the money but there is surprise for them a little boy who is a orphan and can not talk because of cancer, and who going to help him
get through the surgery which is going to cost a lot of money. Well you love the book and i disagree with the negative revies
i love the way the boo was wrote and then the author new how to pull the heart string of the readers
August 26, 2014
The characters in this book are very good and very likable. I cared about their lives and what they were going through. I appreciated that it was not a love at first sight and the protagonists had to discover each other before they found they really cared about each other. The plot is very real with just enough mystery elements to keep it moving. Great book for an easy armchair and tea day.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews