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Choosing Sophie
When life throws you a curve ball... Venus deMarley has just been hit with a wild pitch. At forty she's finally found the perfect fiancé, when Sophie—the daughter she gave up for adoption twenty years ago—suddenly reappears. Venus has another crisis on her hands as her eccentric millionaire dad just died and willed her his pet project—a rag-tag minor league baseball team called the Bronx Cheers— if Venus and Sophie can reconcile and once again become a family. Venus knows diddly about sports, but Sophie's a jock, unlike her glamorous mom. And after two decades apart, these two women know nothing about each other, and rarely agree on anything. But maybe—just maybe—they have more in common than they think...
254 pages, Paperback
First published January 22, 2008
49 people want to read
About the author
Leslie Carroll
31 books164 followersI used to tell people that I was born in Manhattan and raised in the Bronx; but the truth is that apart from the stellar education I received at the Fieldston School in Riverdale, much of who I am was shaped by my two grandmothers, who encouraged me to follow my bliss long before it became the sort of catchphrase you find on tee-shirts and new-age tchotchkes. My East Side grandmother took me to FAO Schwarz, the New York City Ballet, and afternoon tea at the Plaza Hotel, where I dreamed of becoming another Eloise. My West Side grandmother took me to the Central Park carousel and the zoo and treated me to colorful paper parasols and gummy, lukewarm pretzels from the vendors whose wares my East Side grandmother deemed too "dirty" for human consumption.
There are writers on both sides of my family, and although I always loved to write, I never anticipated that it would become my profession. I had wanted to be a ballerina; and though my club feet were corrected at birth (from the stilettos I adore now, you'd never know) and my short Achilles tendons made my toes turn in (corrected at the age of 9), I was never going to end up en pointe.
About a year later, I decided to become an actress when (if?) I grew up, and I never looked back. I majored in Theatre at Cornell University, worked in summer stock, and took classes with a couple of acknowledged masters. I performed a lot of Shakespeare and other classics in New York parks, basements, church choir lofts, and the occasional Off-Broadway theatre; then founded and ran my own nonprofit theatre company for several years. And when things got slow, and I found myself working three survival jobs simultaneously (one of them as a journalist and editor), I decided it was time to pursue an additional creative avenue.
Fast forward a decade. I'm now a multi-published author in three genres, as well as a freelance journalist. And I've also adapted a number of classic texts (Ivanhoe; The Prisoner of Zenda; The Scarlet Pimpernel; Mark Twain's The Diaries of Adam and Eve) for the stage. I began writing women's fiction and historical fiction simultaneously, but my first published novel was the urban romantic comedy Miss Match in 2002. In 2005, as I continued to write about feisty female New Yorkers, my first historical novel was published under the pen name Amanda Elyot. While keeping those literary plates spinning I made my historical nonfiction debut in the spring of 2008.
In what I laughingly refer to as my spare time, I'm still a professional actress, working when the scripts and the roles excite me.
I'm such a native New Yorker that I still don't have a driver's license, "Big Sky Country" means Central Park, and the farthest I've ever been from the Upper West Side for any great length of time was my four-year stint upstate in Ithaca, at Cornell, known for its rigorous academics and its equally harsh permafrost.
My birthday falls on the same day as two of my heroes—F. Scott Fitzgerald and Jim Henson. So I reread The Great Gatsby every year and number Miss Piggy among the great actresses of her generation. My favorite color is deep hydrangea blue, and it just kills me that it doesn't look good with red hair.
I live in Manhattan with my husband Scott—who is my hero and everything I ever dreamed of. For the past couple of years we've been considering an addition to the family in the form of a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
There are writers on both sides of my family, and although I always loved to write, I never anticipated that it would become my profession. I had wanted to be a ballerina; and though my club feet were corrected at birth (from the stilettos I adore now, you'd never know) and my short Achilles tendons made my toes turn in (corrected at the age of 9), I was never going to end up en pointe.
About a year later, I decided to become an actress when (if?) I grew up, and I never looked back. I majored in Theatre at Cornell University, worked in summer stock, and took classes with a couple of acknowledged masters. I performed a lot of Shakespeare and other classics in New York parks, basements, church choir lofts, and the occasional Off-Broadway theatre; then founded and ran my own nonprofit theatre company for several years. And when things got slow, and I found myself working three survival jobs simultaneously (one of them as a journalist and editor), I decided it was time to pursue an additional creative avenue.
Fast forward a decade. I'm now a multi-published author in three genres, as well as a freelance journalist. And I've also adapted a number of classic texts (Ivanhoe; The Prisoner of Zenda; The Scarlet Pimpernel; Mark Twain's The Diaries of Adam and Eve) for the stage. I began writing women's fiction and historical fiction simultaneously, but my first published novel was the urban romantic comedy Miss Match in 2002. In 2005, as I continued to write about feisty female New Yorkers, my first historical novel was published under the pen name Amanda Elyot. While keeping those literary plates spinning I made my historical nonfiction debut in the spring of 2008.
In what I laughingly refer to as my spare time, I'm still a professional actress, working when the scripts and the roles excite me.
I'm such a native New Yorker that I still don't have a driver's license, "Big Sky Country" means Central Park, and the farthest I've ever been from the Upper West Side for any great length of time was my four-year stint upstate in Ithaca, at Cornell, known for its rigorous academics and its equally harsh permafrost.
My birthday falls on the same day as two of my heroes—F. Scott Fitzgerald and Jim Henson. So I reread The Great Gatsby every year and number Miss Piggy among the great actresses of her generation. My favorite color is deep hydrangea blue, and it just kills me that it doesn't look good with red hair.
I live in Manhattan with my husband Scott—who is my hero and everything I ever dreamed of. For the past couple of years we've been considering an addition to the family in the form of a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 21, 2015
Entertaining read, and I read it in one sitting, by the pool. While it was a bit predictable and there were some loose ends, I enjoyed it for what I call a "palette cleanser". Chick lit, and nothing to cause great discussion, it's the story of the reuniting of a mom and the daughter she gave up for adoption 20 years prior. The zinger here is that there is a minor league baseball team in the picture, willed to the woman if she can reunite with her daughter. The requisite family-bad-blood is there, but never totally resolved (what happened to Linda's attitude toward Olivia - I refuse to call her "Venus", did Marty ever grow up...that kind of thing).
I was reminded of the movie released in the last few years starring Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams, "Trouble with the Curve", where a daughter is instrumental in turning a baseball team around. It's the same kind of story here, but with a mother and daughter. All-in-all, it was a pleasant read and I will probably read more by this author.
Recommended.
I was reminded of the movie released in the last few years starring Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams, "Trouble with the Curve", where a daughter is instrumental in turning a baseball team around. It's the same kind of story here, but with a mother and daughter. All-in-all, it was a pleasant read and I will probably read more by this author.
Recommended.
January 26, 2012
A light-hearted read about a former exotic dancer who inherits a struggling baseball team from her estranged billionaire father, while at the same time re-uniting with her long-lost daughter, whom she gave up for adoption 20 years ago.
This was an easy-to-read novel, great to read on the bus or train while commuting to work. Short, sweet and to the point. That said, there are a couple of things the author could have done better. The characters needed to be more developed, the plot was pretty thin, and the writing style was plain. Although that makes it seem as though there were no redeeming features, it was actually quite an enjoyable read.
This was an easy-to-read novel, great to read on the bus or train while commuting to work. Short, sweet and to the point. That said, there are a couple of things the author could have done better. The characters needed to be more developed, the plot was pretty thin, and the writing style was plain. Although that makes it seem as though there were no redeeming features, it was actually quite an enjoyable read.
March 4, 2008
Olivia "Venus" DeMarley, former Vegas burlesque dancer, heads home to NYC after her estranged father's death. At the reading of the will, she notices a young woman who looks like family, but is unsure of who she is. Turns out it's the daughter she gave up for adoption twenty years earlier. Her father has made Olivia's ability to close the family circle a condition of her inheritance of a minor league baseball team, the Bronx Cheers. There's quite a bit of baseball in the story and what seems to be a fairly smooth relationship growing with Olivia and her daughter Sophie.
June 12, 2013
I had such a hard time caring about the characters in this book. The writing seemed flat. The foul language seemed to be used to often and in inappropriate places. I just kept reading, but wasn't attached to any feelings for anyone. I thought the premise of the story sounded good when I read it. The story line was very predictable, which in my opinion isn't always bad, but I couldn't even get into this enough to root for the happy ending.
May 14, 2008
I enjoyed this book, since I love baseball, and it had a nice story, although it was fairly predictable and MUCH lighter than I was anticipating and the characters and storylines seemed underdeveloped. I almost thought I was reading the Cliff Notes version. Definitely not great literature, but a quick read.
August 1, 2008
This book started out ok and then went downhill from there. I couldn't even make it my usual 50 pages that I give a book to determine if I want to continue reading it or not.
The storyline was predictable and the characters were elementary...it's almost like a 3rd grader wrote it. Cute storyline idea but just not excecuted well. Don't waste your time with this one.
The storyline was predictable and the characters were elementary...it's almost like a 3rd grader wrote it. Cute storyline idea but just not excecuted well. Don't waste your time with this one.
August 4, 2013
Almost gave this one star. Didn't care for the writing style, didn't find it all that believable, and if it hadn't been so short, I probably wouldn't have finished it. placing it in the garage sale pile!!
December 22, 2013
How could I not choose a book by an author with my last name and a story about baseball? The chapters are titled ‘Top of the first’ through ‘Bottom of the ninth’ and included the Seventh inning stretch and Extra innings. I did find this to be an enjoyable read with a lighthearted presentation.
April 22, 2008
When I read the synopses, I thought it looked like a cute, fun read. But the writing is atrocious!
July 31, 2008
A very fluffy, cute, easy read. Perfect for a day at the beach, or a day at the campground.
December 12, 2010
I just picked this off of a display at the library as one of the staff picks. The writing was so bad that I didn't even read most of it.
April 13, 2011
Easy, enjoyable, and fun. Not really thought-provoking or especially riveting. Good for an afternoon read.
March 3, 2014
pretty short book, finished in less than 12 hours. I really feel like the author dropped the ball a couple times with the writing and story line.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews