What do you think?
Rate this book
The Coxwells #2
Double Trouble
Two sisters. One disaster.
First things first: I’m the bad twin. While my sister, Marcia, has the perfect family in the perfect suburb, I’ve been making my living as an Internet advice columnist and designing Web sites in my downtown loft. I always thought I had the right answer - and hair color - for any occasion. That is, until Marcia ran up loads of debt and ran out on her husband and kids, and I was left helping to pick up the pieces. Her husband, James, is a lawyer who I hate on principle alone.
But for a guy who’s just lost his job, his marriage, and his expensive toys, he’s keeping it together - and making me rethink my feelings toward him. It’s not that he’s traded in his conservative suits for sexy jeans. It’s that he’s not giving up what’s important to him, and oh baby, I’m a sucker for a guy who hangs tough.
That doesn’t mean I’m ready to step into Marcia’s designer shoes now that she’s gone AWOL.
And it doesn’t mean I’m going to fall for James’s easy charm...not again, anyhow. Besides, I’ve had a lifelong policy of not being mistaken for my twin and I’m not backing down on that one now - no matter how convenient it might be for a certain sexy (and persuasive) man...
This edition includes excerpts from ONE MORE TIME and LOVE POTION #9.
First things first: I’m the bad twin. While my sister, Marcia, has the perfect family in the perfect suburb, I’ve been making my living as an Internet advice columnist and designing Web sites in my downtown loft. I always thought I had the right answer - and hair color - for any occasion. That is, until Marcia ran up loads of debt and ran out on her husband and kids, and I was left helping to pick up the pieces. Her husband, James, is a lawyer who I hate on principle alone.
But for a guy who’s just lost his job, his marriage, and his expensive toys, he’s keeping it together - and making me rethink my feelings toward him. It’s not that he’s traded in his conservative suits for sexy jeans. It’s that he’s not giving up what’s important to him, and oh baby, I’m a sucker for a guy who hangs tough.
That doesn’t mean I’m ready to step into Marcia’s designer shoes now that she’s gone AWOL.
And it doesn’t mean I’m going to fall for James’s easy charm...not again, anyhow. Besides, I’ve had a lifelong policy of not being mistaken for my twin and I’m not backing down on that one now - no matter how convenient it might be for a certain sexy (and persuasive) man...
This edition includes excerpts from ONE MORE TIME and LOVE POTION #9.
286 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2001
593 people are currently reading
2102 people want to read
About the author
Claire Cross
23 books54 followersDeborah Cooke also writes under the names Claire Delacroix and Claire Cross.
Deborah makes her home in Canada with her husband. When she isn't writing, she can be found knitting, sewing or hunting for vintage patterns. Deborah Cooke has always been fascinated with dragons, although she has never understood why they have to be the bad guys. She has an honors degree in history, with a focus on medieval studies. She is an avid reader of medieval vernacular literature, fairy tales and fantasy novels, and has written over thirty romance novels under the names Claire Cross and Claire Delacroix.
Deborah makes her home in Canada with her husband. When she isn't writing, she can be found knitting, sewing or hunting for vintage patterns. Deborah Cooke has always been fascinated with dragons, although she has never understood why they have to be the bad guys. She has an honors degree in history, with a focus on medieval studies. She is an avid reader of medieval vernacular literature, fairy tales and fantasy novels, and has written over thirty romance novels under the names Claire Cross and Claire Delacroix.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 237 reviews
December 30, 2013
I enjoyed enough of it to make me glad I read it, but I have many complaints.
It’s first person. I prefer third person to give me more points of view and more about other characters. I wanted more story about Marcia and James’ mother Beverly. I was disappointed that one story was never finished - about James vs Matt in the courtroom. I did not care for the Dear Mary (advice column) questions and answers. They interrupted the story and were not interesting. I also felt the friends group was not interesting and felt like filler. You could take those parts out and not affect the story.
About midway through you discover a significant event happened years earlier. It was hard to believe. I wish the author did more with that, developed it more.
I liked the conflict between the main characters. It was fun to see them change and fall in love. James sure is an ideal guy. I liked his direct approach - he wants a partner, a lover, a friend and a spouse. I enjoyed Marlys ‘ character. She was a computer programmer, living where she worked in a warehouse. There were some good lines making me smile.
There was one sex scene. It felt good and I was so pleased they finally got together. But it was brief and mostly just summarized afterwards. I’m not complaining, just letting you know what to expect. There were two other sex scenes referred to, no details.
DATA:
Narrative mode: 1st person Marlys. Story length: 341 pages. Swearing language: moderate. Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: one. Setting: current day Boston, Massachusetts. Copyright: 2001. Genre: contemporary romance.
It’s first person. I prefer third person to give me more points of view and more about other characters. I wanted more story about Marcia and James’ mother Beverly. I was disappointed that one story was never finished - about James vs Matt in the courtroom. I did not care for the Dear Mary (advice column) questions and answers. They interrupted the story and were not interesting. I also felt the friends group was not interesting and felt like filler. You could take those parts out and not affect the story.
About midway through you discover a significant event happened years earlier. It was hard to believe. I wish the author did more with that, developed it more.
I liked the conflict between the main characters. It was fun to see them change and fall in love. James sure is an ideal guy. I liked his direct approach - he wants a partner, a lover, a friend and a spouse. I enjoyed Marlys ‘ character. She was a computer programmer, living where she worked in a warehouse. There were some good lines making me smile.
There was one sex scene. It felt good and I was so pleased they finally got together. But it was brief and mostly just summarized afterwards. I’m not complaining, just letting you know what to expect. There were two other sex scenes referred to, no details.
DATA:
Narrative mode: 1st person Marlys. Story length: 341 pages. Swearing language: moderate. Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: one. Setting: current day Boston, Massachusetts. Copyright: 2001. Genre: contemporary romance.
August 21, 2012
I debated the rating on this novel for awhile. I was tempted to give it four stars.
The pros: Wonderful characters. Maralys is a sharp-witted, smart-mouthed punk with a heart of gold. James is, the wonder of all wonders, a man who actually takes advice. Both are strong, independent, and determined to make something good of their lives (which were financially wrecked by others.) Obviously, they're made for each other. The story is, for the most part, fast moving with plot twists that you could sort of see from a mile away, but still, were fun to read when the twist actually came.
The cons: The technical jargon wasn't necessary. I'm conversant in technology myself, so while the author didn't actually lose me, I just didn't see the point. Also, I thought the scene where Maralys took her sinning nephew around and showed him the error of his ways was a touch overdone. The readers, at that point, didn't need to be convinced that she had a heart softer than a marshmallow. We already knew that, and liked her for it. No need to pound us over the head with it.
So why the five stars instead of four?
I usually delete novels off my Kindle when I'm done reading. (Removing clutter makes it easier to find the good stuff and keep track of my long TBR list.) The only ones I keep are the ones I'll read again. Most of them are novels by established authors: Nora Roberts, Sherrilyn Kenyon, etc.
I decided to keep Double Trouble on my Kindle. That, in my mind, merits that fifth star.
The pros: Wonderful characters. Maralys is a sharp-witted, smart-mouthed punk with a heart of gold. James is, the wonder of all wonders, a man who actually takes advice. Both are strong, independent, and determined to make something good of their lives (which were financially wrecked by others.) Obviously, they're made for each other. The story is, for the most part, fast moving with plot twists that you could sort of see from a mile away, but still, were fun to read when the twist actually came.
The cons: The technical jargon wasn't necessary. I'm conversant in technology myself, so while the author didn't actually lose me, I just didn't see the point. Also, I thought the scene where Maralys took her sinning nephew around and showed him the error of his ways was a touch overdone. The readers, at that point, didn't need to be convinced that she had a heart softer than a marshmallow. We already knew that, and liked her for it. No need to pound us over the head with it.
So why the five stars instead of four?
I usually delete novels off my Kindle when I'm done reading. (Removing clutter makes it easier to find the good stuff and keep track of my long TBR list.) The only ones I keep are the ones I'll read again. Most of them are novels by established authors: Nora Roberts, Sherrilyn Kenyon, etc.
I decided to keep Double Trouble on my Kindle. That, in my mind, merits that fifth star.
October 15, 2008
This Book drove me NUTS I didn't finish it, probably wont either but I can't promise; I did buy it (thank GOODNESS for amazons .01$ books)
This book deals with twins. Being a twin I feel I can contect with the sisters. However, unless your a twin you will NEVER know what it feels like to be one, (its weird ::shivers::) and Miss Cross proves my point perfectly.
I don't care WHAT my sister does, says or acts like I will NEVER want her husband (Joey your a stud but sorry) want to make her children mine OR feel anything of the feelings our herion feels for her twin. Its unnatural and wrong. Yes sisters have done this before I'm sure but again I say being a twin is different then just being sisters (I know, I'm both)
ON top of all that its just boring, to complex in her job (which is computer SOMETHING and I'm no computer wiz) and she explains herself SO thuroughly you'll know what color of gum is stuck to the back of her high school year book thats packed away in a box in the closet on the third floor. (in the northwest corner next to the old brick wall)
This book deals with twins. Being a twin I feel I can contect with the sisters. However, unless your a twin you will NEVER know what it feels like to be one, (its weird ::shivers::) and Miss Cross proves my point perfectly.
I don't care WHAT my sister does, says or acts like I will NEVER want her husband (Joey your a stud but sorry) want to make her children mine OR feel anything of the feelings our herion feels for her twin. Its unnatural and wrong. Yes sisters have done this before I'm sure but again I say being a twin is different then just being sisters (I know, I'm both)
ON top of all that its just boring, to complex in her job (which is computer SOMETHING and I'm no computer wiz) and she explains herself SO thuroughly you'll know what color of gum is stuck to the back of her high school year book thats packed away in a box in the closet on the third floor. (in the northwest corner next to the old brick wall)
February 24, 2009
I probably shouldn't be reviewing this as this was a DNF for me (did not finish). This came recommended to me because I like Kristan Higgins. But While I love Kristan Higgins' voice, i found that I did not like this authors' voice. I am not a fan of 'Sex and the City' or slick chick lit and this book, and expesiall the first person voice of the heroine, was off putting to me. So I closed the book after several chapters.
January 24, 2013
This was a freebie, so I didn't expect that much from it but I ended up enjoying it. The characters all felt fully fleshed out and logically motivated, and though I was prepared to hate the heroine's twin, when she finally showed up, the author was able to get me to empathize with her. Pretty tough given the build up she had, so kudos for that.
January 12, 2014
To begin with, let me tell you that Double Trouble is categorized as a romance. What it is though, is 276 pages of people simply rattling on with no apparent destination for their thoughts, words, or life in general. The romance is left to a few pages which, for all its build up, is highly disappointing to say the least. I personally found the book lacking any real element of romance, with the focus being more on narcissistic and prolonged drama.
And that's, unfortunately, not the only problem. The first chapter of this book starts off great! It hints at elements of suspense, heat, romance, and lots of scope for the characters to truly find themselves as they discover each other. And then it fails to live up to any of it. What follows after the first chapter is a monologue of how Maralys thinks she's the cat's cream, in spite of her drawbacks, both known and unknown. Put forth in an utterly uninteresting fashion, her character is displayed to the readers through pages and pages of 'I this' and 'I that' with a little bit of 'This is how rigid I am about everything'. The rigidity is not even the worst of the problems. In fact, it is quite the opposite. For a woman who claims to have her head on straight about everything including awareness about the things she's not good at, Maralys goes on to do everything contrary to what she claims to be... and then she justifies her actions in some weird manner which probably makes sense only to her. If that wasn't enough, she has random bursts where she refuses to do things that she, until then, was perfectly happy doing and then cites her basic character to anyone who will listen. All in all, Cooke created a character that was too confused to seem real, and definitely too twisted to associate with or even find yourself about.
Then there were the other characters. The only normal one seemed to be James, but since his role is not really that prominent (he tends to get lost in all that Maralys goes on about herself), the sanity of the book is short lived. Toss in a problematic mother on his end and you get an opportunity to see his kind side - an opportunity which seemed a bit overdone since his real self was evident from the get go really. James' introduction leaves you with the impression of him being a typical, romantic hero - one who has many layers and shades, one who will face what comes his way, and one who tries to make the best of every situation. Thankfully, he remains true to his introduction, but a man who's a bad boy on the outside and a warm, fuzzy sweetheart on the inside wasn't enough to move the rating for this book any higher.
Other characters, who are just as confused as Maralys if not more, include her father. At least his character gives us an insight into why Maralys is so self obsessed with justifying and analyzing every little thing that she does or does not do, even though his role adds only more unnecessary drama and pages of random and pointless conversation. There are also some other characters that come into play, but their role and purpose seemed to be little more than to add length to the book so it could go from novella to novel. Maralys' friends, who come up towards the last third of the book, are each given two page long introductions that nobody cares about and a role that involved telling Maralys exactly what she's been afraid of telling herself, but known all along. My opinion - there were enough secondary characters to begin with, some of who actually had a role to play, and any one of them could have done that. There's also a small role that James' family plays, with the more mundane and unrelated aspects brought into focus and the ones that actually affect the story left to be played out in half a chapter, only to be forgotten or briefly mentioned in awkward conversations later.
Added to that was the fact that the author seemed almost too uninterested in making her own story interesting. I mean, James, Johnny and Jimmy? That's what you're going to name you lead guy and his sons? Really? Getting creative with names is not too difficult. Throw in one girl friend of Maralys' whose every burst of speech, including multiple sentences and topics, spans three paragraphs written as one sentence. What you get is a conversation that is ridiculous to try and follow, not appealing in the least, and the feeling that Cooke didn't care enough about her readers to add some punctuation (commas and full stops don't really take that much time). Then there is Marcia, Maralys' twin who does make a special appearance just so that everyone doesn't hate her, even though that's the opinion Maralys has and enforces on everyone. While the book kept jumping about from one unrelated thing to another, what didn't help the flow was the crazy, abrupt shifts from regular conversation to sex conversation, thoughts, and scenes.
To sum it up, Double Trouble is painstakingly long, never seems to end, goes off onto tangents that don't concern anything or anyone, and involves more confused and sad family drama than any real romance. The so called twist (there obviously had to be one) is not really all that twisted, is kind of predictable, and marks that point from where things actually go further south, even if you didn't think they could. I think the attempt was for Maralys to find her true self through love, but that got lost somewhere in all the 'me this' and 'me that'. My advice - read this book only if you have many days to kill, nothing better to read, and nothing better to do; or if you love reading about women who take pride in the fact that they are too confused in life and can't tell up from down, while claiming to be absolutely self reliant.
And that's, unfortunately, not the only problem. The first chapter of this book starts off great! It hints at elements of suspense, heat, romance, and lots of scope for the characters to truly find themselves as they discover each other. And then it fails to live up to any of it. What follows after the first chapter is a monologue of how Maralys thinks she's the cat's cream, in spite of her drawbacks, both known and unknown. Put forth in an utterly uninteresting fashion, her character is displayed to the readers through pages and pages of 'I this' and 'I that' with a little bit of 'This is how rigid I am about everything'. The rigidity is not even the worst of the problems. In fact, it is quite the opposite. For a woman who claims to have her head on straight about everything including awareness about the things she's not good at, Maralys goes on to do everything contrary to what she claims to be... and then she justifies her actions in some weird manner which probably makes sense only to her. If that wasn't enough, she has random bursts where she refuses to do things that she, until then, was perfectly happy doing and then cites her basic character to anyone who will listen. All in all, Cooke created a character that was too confused to seem real, and definitely too twisted to associate with or even find yourself about.
Then there were the other characters. The only normal one seemed to be James, but since his role is not really that prominent (he tends to get lost in all that Maralys goes on about herself), the sanity of the book is short lived. Toss in a problematic mother on his end and you get an opportunity to see his kind side - an opportunity which seemed a bit overdone since his real self was evident from the get go really. James' introduction leaves you with the impression of him being a typical, romantic hero - one who has many layers and shades, one who will face what comes his way, and one who tries to make the best of every situation. Thankfully, he remains true to his introduction, but a man who's a bad boy on the outside and a warm, fuzzy sweetheart on the inside wasn't enough to move the rating for this book any higher.
Other characters, who are just as confused as Maralys if not more, include her father. At least his character gives us an insight into why Maralys is so self obsessed with justifying and analyzing every little thing that she does or does not do, even though his role adds only more unnecessary drama and pages of random and pointless conversation. There are also some other characters that come into play, but their role and purpose seemed to be little more than to add length to the book so it could go from novella to novel. Maralys' friends, who come up towards the last third of the book, are each given two page long introductions that nobody cares about and a role that involved telling Maralys exactly what she's been afraid of telling herself, but known all along. My opinion - there were enough secondary characters to begin with, some of who actually had a role to play, and any one of them could have done that. There's also a small role that James' family plays, with the more mundane and unrelated aspects brought into focus and the ones that actually affect the story left to be played out in half a chapter, only to be forgotten or briefly mentioned in awkward conversations later.
Added to that was the fact that the author seemed almost too uninterested in making her own story interesting. I mean, James, Johnny and Jimmy? That's what you're going to name you lead guy and his sons? Really? Getting creative with names is not too difficult. Throw in one girl friend of Maralys' whose every burst of speech, including multiple sentences and topics, spans three paragraphs written as one sentence. What you get is a conversation that is ridiculous to try and follow, not appealing in the least, and the feeling that Cooke didn't care enough about her readers to add some punctuation (commas and full stops don't really take that much time). Then there is Marcia, Maralys' twin who does make a special appearance just so that everyone doesn't hate her, even though that's the opinion Maralys has and enforces on everyone. While the book kept jumping about from one unrelated thing to another, what didn't help the flow was the crazy, abrupt shifts from regular conversation to sex conversation, thoughts, and scenes.
To sum it up, Double Trouble is painstakingly long, never seems to end, goes off onto tangents that don't concern anything or anyone, and involves more confused and sad family drama than any real romance. The so called twist (there obviously had to be one) is not really all that twisted, is kind of predictable, and marks that point from where things actually go further south, even if you didn't think they could. I think the attempt was for Maralys to find her true self through love, but that got lost somewhere in all the 'me this' and 'me that'. My advice - read this book only if you have many days to kill, nothing better to read, and nothing better to do; or if you love reading about women who take pride in the fact that they are too confused in life and can't tell up from down, while claiming to be absolutely self reliant.
March 1, 2013
Double Narcissist Times Two
It is hard to realize this is actually a romance novel because there was so much time spent on selfish "me" stuff that there was very little time left for romantic parts. Four of the main characters in this book are super narcissists. And the main character, Maralys is the biggest one I have ever known, in fact its only because this book was written by 2 women that I don't know which one to blame for her characteristics, but I'm at a loss to know why they created her as such a cold-hearted B***h? You know that the writer is the one in charge of things like personalities of characters. It got so bad that I couldn't even stomach her "Aunt Mary" column, I just skipped over it, in fact, I skipped several chapters of her garbage thinking. The funny thing is that I teared up and got very emotional several times, so you know the authors have some redeeming qualities, but I felt like the authors were just playing with my emotions, teasing me with the little bits of romance thrown in. I felt like I was being put through the same washer that Maralys was putting James through. Every time Maralys & James had a romantic moment and I thought we were finally going to get romance going, the authors decided to have something happen to stop it cold and have Maralys turn back into that CHB again! Just so you know, the other narcissists are Maralys twin sister, Marcia and their father and James' father. I only finished the book so I could see how the authors got them to tie the knot, since I knew that would eventually happen. This really had the potential to have been a really great book, but with the personalities of all the narcissists, it just never arrived. So in the end it was double disappointing. I definitely have no interest in reading any more books by these authors. There are too many good romance books that don't put you through an emotional wringer to suffer through more like this one!
It is hard to realize this is actually a romance novel because there was so much time spent on selfish "me" stuff that there was very little time left for romantic parts. Four of the main characters in this book are super narcissists. And the main character, Maralys is the biggest one I have ever known, in fact its only because this book was written by 2 women that I don't know which one to blame for her characteristics, but I'm at a loss to know why they created her as such a cold-hearted B***h? You know that the writer is the one in charge of things like personalities of characters. It got so bad that I couldn't even stomach her "Aunt Mary" column, I just skipped over it, in fact, I skipped several chapters of her garbage thinking. The funny thing is that I teared up and got very emotional several times, so you know the authors have some redeeming qualities, but I felt like the authors were just playing with my emotions, teasing me with the little bits of romance thrown in. I felt like I was being put through the same washer that Maralys was putting James through. Every time Maralys & James had a romantic moment and I thought we were finally going to get romance going, the authors decided to have something happen to stop it cold and have Maralys turn back into that CHB again! Just so you know, the other narcissists are Maralys twin sister, Marcia and their father and James' father. I only finished the book so I could see how the authors got them to tie the knot, since I knew that would eventually happen. This really had the potential to have been a really great book, but with the personalities of all the narcissists, it just never arrived. So in the end it was double disappointing. I definitely have no interest in reading any more books by these authors. There are too many good romance books that don't put you through an emotional wringer to suffer through more like this one!
July 29, 2012
Double Trouble (The Coxwells 2) is number two in The Coxwells Series, which I didn’t know when I read it. I don’t if it hurt or help me when I was reading. The reason I noticed it was the title, then the blurb. One of my friends is a twin and I always find twin stories fascinating.
Marica and Mary Elizabeth, better known as Maryals, are the O’Reilly twins. For the majority of the read you are made to believe that Maryals is the bad twin. Maybe because my dad did the same thing as Marcia, Maryals was always the more sympathetic character. When Marcia’s family started to rely on Maryals I felt it was a natural transition.
Then the revelations come out. I was totally justified. Honestly it wasn’t a surprise that Marcia was the bad twin in my opinion. It was the magnitude of the betrayal, how far she took it, and for how long. These are the things that surprised me.
I can’t say that it made me interested in reading the novel before, Third Time Lucky(The Coxwells) or the novel after, One More Time (The Cowells). I can say that Claire Cross created an okay standalone novel. The subplot of the story with Marcia’s family works to counter point Maryals own life. At thirty-eight she’s more together than she gives herself. It was nice for her to final see that in herself.
Marica and Mary Elizabeth, better known as Maryals, are the O’Reilly twins. For the majority of the read you are made to believe that Maryals is the bad twin. Maybe because my dad did the same thing as Marcia, Maryals was always the more sympathetic character. When Marcia’s family started to rely on Maryals I felt it was a natural transition.
Then the revelations come out. I was totally justified. Honestly it wasn’t a surprise that Marcia was the bad twin in my opinion. It was the magnitude of the betrayal, how far she took it, and for how long. These are the things that surprised me.
I can’t say that it made me interested in reading the novel before, Third Time Lucky(The Coxwells) or the novel after, One More Time (The Cowells). I can say that Claire Cross created an okay standalone novel. The subplot of the story with Marcia’s family works to counter point Maryals own life. At thirty-eight she’s more together than she gives herself. It was nice for her to final see that in herself.
March 4, 2017
Ugh. Not really my favorite here. Our heroine will not shut up...on and on and on with the monologues and not enough time spent on the romance. And let's face it, that's why I'm reading it, not so I can know what the heroine things, in detail about every last thing. I skipped a lot of pages. And then I'm not too comfortable with the idea of this romance...I'm not sure she should be going and having sexy times with her sister's husband even if she decided to throw him out of the house. I don't care what her decision, whether she wants her family or not, you don't just take up with your twin sister's husband. It's weird.
April 20, 2018
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It started out as a fluffy romance narrated by a snarky, likable MC. Then about midway through there was a plot twist and wham! things got serious and (a lot more) complicated. By then, I was thoroughly invested in finding out what would happen not only to the main characters but to several of the supporting cast. Instead of stereotypes, the characters became real, with flaws abounding. It was a satisfying relief to get to the end and find out most of the tangled threads got sorted out. Thanks for an entertaining read!
January 9, 2020
I loved this book and couldn’t put it down!
October 24, 2012
Ok so my title was a little lame, que sera sera! Have you ever read a book that had all the elements well this is one of them and Im the oldest of four sisters, so this was up my alley. When I first started reading it I wasnt really sure the author was sooo detailed abour everything but truthfully it worked! Maralys' dad was hilarious can I tell you when he came onto the scene I pictured conversations with my dad, he was such a character. I could sympathize with her and her sister made me soooo mad I cant tell you how many times I wanted to just punch her. Now James how can you not love a man that stands up for his kids and then for the woman he loves wow, granted I was slightly skeptical given the odd situation in Maralys' words that man could just make you melt. Maralys what can I say about her other than she was quirky a free spirit but deep down just an old-fashion kinda girl and I really liked that about her. She had a hard emotional life and sibling rilvary is no joke, there are things in life that make you who you are but like Maralys you grow and make the best of it and sometimes there comes along something worth taking the big scary leap for! What a journey of growing up when you are already a grownup I can relate to that and made me love it more.
September 26, 2013
A partir do momento que abri a primeira página do livro, eu amei a Maralys, a gêmea louca e "má" da família. Seu modo irreverente de se expressar, de se vestir me conquistou de cara. Uma mulher forte que enfrentou só suas próprias batalhas e dava tudo de si pelas pessoas que gostava. Um personagem cativante que lhe conquista com seu bom humor, com suas lágrimas, com suas atitudes. A forma como Claire Cross apresenta esta conselheira de forma ousada é diferente de todos os livros que li. Maralys é como uma caixa de Pandora, que esconde todos seus segredos lá no fundo e então num descuido de um momento, tudo vem à tona. Quando eu terminei este livro, fiquei triste por que a leitura prazerosa teve um final. É um livro que fica lá em sua memórias durante dias...
E por isso recomendo e lerei quantas vezes for necessário para sorrir e chorar. Sorrir, principalmente.
E por isso recomendo e lerei quantas vezes for necessário para sorrir e chorar. Sorrir, principalmente.
June 7, 2018
I hate to give this book a low review but it just was not for me. It was confusing, rambling, meandering, and left many questions throughout. I had to recheck if reading the first book was required and confused to find it did not. I felt as if I missed something throughout the book. It was a slow read for me and hard to finish really.
August 8, 2013
Maralys is a fun likeable character. I loved her crazy inner dialogue. Anyone that likes contemporary romance will enjoy.
OTOH (ha), I totally could have done without the "Ariadne's" (sic). I did not think any of that storyline was necessary or interesting.
OTOH (ha), I totally could have done without the "Ariadne's" (sic). I did not think any of that storyline was necessary or interesting.
August 14, 2012
I loved this story! It was frustrating and sweet and loving and sad and amazing and I didn't want it to end.
May 4, 2019
The story was good but the descriptions were endless...I end it up skipping through so many pages to be able to get to the point.
July 28, 2023
Maralys is a twin; Marcia is a twin...these identical twins, while they look alike, do not act alike.
Told through Maralys's perspective, she is the "bad" twin, the one who was always in trouble and acted out. When her "perfect" sister disappears, leaving her sons alone and Maralys, the one to pick up the pieces. The problem is Marcia's husband, James. There is history there, and the pain runs deep.
The same thing is true with Maralys's father, who adores Marcia and is always cranky with Maralys.
Self-employed, she writes code, runs an advice column, and more, but can she keep James at bay? Can she handle her father with his needs, as his health fails, making living alone no longer a possibility? Can she help with Marcia's and James' children, Jimmy and Johnny? Is it possible for her to have a happily ever after?
Told through Maralys's perspective, she is the "bad" twin, the one who was always in trouble and acted out. When her "perfect" sister disappears, leaving her sons alone and Maralys, the one to pick up the pieces. The problem is Marcia's husband, James. There is history there, and the pain runs deep.
The same thing is true with Maralys's father, who adores Marcia and is always cranky with Maralys.
Self-employed, she writes code, runs an advice column, and more, but can she keep James at bay? Can she handle her father with his needs, as his health fails, making living alone no longer a possibility? Can she help with Marcia's and James' children, Jimmy and Johnny? Is it possible for her to have a happily ever after?
November 18, 2018
Very good
I’m loved the story and message of this book. There are so many parts that I found to be very profound. I was all but ready to send the book to my mom at one point, but then came a sex scene. It was not overly descriptive but I could have done without any description (no, I’m not a prude, I’d just rather not read someone’s description of sexual intimacies). I was very pleased to find that the story itself was important enough to the author that the focus of the book stayed there. If the other books in this series have as many profound parts as this one I will truly enjoy them.
I’m loved the story and message of this book. There are so many parts that I found to be very profound. I was all but ready to send the book to my mom at one point, but then came a sex scene. It was not overly descriptive but I could have done without any description (no, I’m not a prude, I’d just rather not read someone’s description of sexual intimacies). I was very pleased to find that the story itself was important enough to the author that the focus of the book stayed there. If the other books in this series have as many profound parts as this one I will truly enjoy them.
February 24, 2017
I really enjoyed the story of James and Mary Elizabeth. This was a lively, lighthearted read with plenty of humor. I loved the sarcastic reality view Mary Elizabeth has on life. I identified with Mary Elizabeth struggle taking care of a fractious parent. While it is hard for me to imaging the 'other twin' leaving her family and children I have seen it happen where lest expected. Cooke certainly knows how to move a story, weaving various story lines through out. This was a 'hard to put it down' read for me. I can't wait to read the other three in this collection. Still smiling!
April 22, 2018
Funny and heartwarming
I love the characters who are nicely portrayed and interwoven in this lovely book. One could really start to dislike one party to the story based on the perspective of another, but as we know there’s always two sides of the coin.
This book brings about discovery of all the main characters - Mary Elizabeth, Marcia and James. I enjoy finding out why they do what they did; the choices they made. Nicely written! Now I’m looking forward to reading the other books in the Coxwells series.
I love the characters who are nicely portrayed and interwoven in this lovely book. One could really start to dislike one party to the story based on the perspective of another, but as we know there’s always two sides of the coin.
This book brings about discovery of all the main characters - Mary Elizabeth, Marcia and James. I enjoy finding out why they do what they did; the choices they made. Nicely written! Now I’m looking forward to reading the other books in the Coxwells series.
April 29, 2018
Great story
Okay, call me a skeptic but I tend to shy away from stories that involves sister stealing sisters husband but for some unknown reasons I decided to one-click buy and then actually read this story. I was so pleasantly surprised the main character was so relatable. The author's writing style is simple flawless. We are all Maralys in some ways. Afraid of commitment and afraid to trust again for past hurts and betrayals have a way of affecting our lives even twenty years after the event happened. I would totally recommend this book.
Okay, call me a skeptic but I tend to shy away from stories that involves sister stealing sisters husband but for some unknown reasons I decided to one-click buy and then actually read this story. I was so pleasantly surprised the main character was so relatable. The author's writing style is simple flawless. We are all Maralys in some ways. Afraid of commitment and afraid to trust again for past hurts and betrayals have a way of affecting our lives even twenty years after the event happened. I would totally recommend this book.
August 20, 2023
I loved this book!
I've read this twice now, and still think it's the bees knees!!
I really hated Marcia (for most of the book) for what she did, but by the time the girls had finished having their heart to heart, I did feel some sympathy towards her. No wonder that they both have trust issues.
James went from being very angry all of the time (in the beginning), to being calm, cool and collected by the end!!
This book has it all! Drama, love, anger, history, family and friendship!
Yep, I really loved this book!!
I've read this twice now, and still think it's the bees knees!!
I really hated Marcia (for most of the book) for what she did, but by the time the girls had finished having their heart to heart, I did feel some sympathy towards her. No wonder that they both have trust issues.
James went from being very angry all of the time (in the beginning), to being calm, cool and collected by the end!!
This book has it all! Drama, love, anger, history, family and friendship!
Yep, I really loved this book!!
October 16, 2020
I gave this book two stars for the reasons that I will name in a while, but first, I want to warn you there will be spoilers.
Now on to my review...
While the book was somewhat entertaining, it did not have that romance factor that I was expecting; it had a small comedy factor and the self-growth of the character, but for me, there was not that much romance.
Now on my computer (I bought the online one), there were 247 pages, and I expected the romance to start if not early on, at least in the first 50 pages, but it did not start early on; it began until around 100 pages with only one lustful kiss as a show of romance. Now it was alright at the beginning, the sister of the main lead had just left, and the Male Lead was the husband of her sister, but then it got a little bit tedious as I waited for the romance to start.
While I was reading the book, I asked myself, "when did the lust begin? and when did the romance between them begin?". At first, the Main lead tells you how irritating her brother-in-law is, how she didn't know how to be around him, and how uninteresting he was. To sum it up, she despised him.
Then on the first pages that you meet him, suddenly Bam, she feels lust because they are fighting verbally, and you find out, out of nowhere, that their fighting was a usual occurrence. So you ask yourself, "why is there lust suddenly in the book? And why in the first time we meet the Male lead?"; the answer was that what she needed was for her sister to leave so she can have instantaneous lust.
By this point, I will admit that I didn't like where this was going, but my curiosity got away from me, and I decided to continue.
In the middle of the book, you suddenly find out that they knew each other in the past; in fact, they slept together. The fact they had been together before slapped me out of nowhere; I had thought the ML and Main lead hated each other, that her anger at him grew because she didn't know him. From my point of view, she hated who he was when she started to know him, and when she did know who he was, it would develop into a "enemies to romance" story.
The obvious question was, why is there animosity between the Male lead and the Main Lead? Why the "I don't believe my sister would leave you over nothing, you are trash, you are shit" routine that she had been doing so far? I know what you are thinking, "he IS shit for marrying her sister" however it turns out that you would be wrong.
The sister had lied to him from the beginning; she knew the Main lead had slept with him and that he wanted to find the Main Lead, so she made him think she was the Main Lead and married him under pretenses until after the marriage. After they married and he found out, he was, of course, angry that she lied to him, but then she got mad because he got angry, and she even had the gal to feel a little bit of disappointment at that.
Oh, and the main character knew they were going out, and she knew her sister was doing it to get back at her, but she never said anything, not about the fact that he had the wrong woman or that he was deceived. According to the Main Lead, she let them get married because "her sister looked happy" to marry someone under pretenses. When the Male Lead finds out he doesn't ask for a divorce, he wants to make it work. How does that happen? You make it work with someone who lied to you from the very beginning?
It is perhaps not crucial, but interesting to know that when she leaves her family, she leaves them in financial debt because she liked to spend all of their money on useless things.
If you thought that that was bad enough, wait until you find out she abandons her children in their swimming classes to run away with her lover, she drops them off, and never comes back. They have to call their father so that he can pick them up because they have been waiting there for her. The cherry on the top is that everyone, I mean everyone, excuses her behavior; the husband feels that he failed to be a good husband, and their father was always saying how she was perfect and how he would prefer her over the Main Lead. The father favors the sister throughout the entire book because she is a good girl compared to the Main Lead. Everyone's excuse is that she must have a good reason for what she does, the husband thinks so, the father thinks so, and the Main Lead thinks so. The Main Lead explained her reasoning in a page and a half-long metaphor about opposites to her friends. Friends that took around 8-pages to describe, only not to see them again.
In the end, everything was fine, everyone was forgiven, they even became a happy family. This was weird to me because apart from everything, from early on the Main lead didn't like children, not even her nephews, she didn't like them to the point where in the entire book, she interacts with them a total of 4 times. But, those four times, totaling no more than 20 pages, was enough to convince her to be their mother now.
Now the Male Lead, this guy married the sister knowing that there was no likeness between their characters, he even found it suspicious, but he didn't say anything. Then when he found out that they were twins, he decided that the Main Lead was a whore, even though he did take her virginity.
All in all, this book gave me a lot of headaches. And although I know that not every book is perfect, and that they don't have all the details, this one had too many for me.
Now on to my review...
While the book was somewhat entertaining, it did not have that romance factor that I was expecting; it had a small comedy factor and the self-growth of the character, but for me, there was not that much romance.
Now on my computer (I bought the online one), there were 247 pages, and I expected the romance to start if not early on, at least in the first 50 pages, but it did not start early on; it began until around 100 pages with only one lustful kiss as a show of romance. Now it was alright at the beginning, the sister of the main lead had just left, and the Male Lead was the husband of her sister, but then it got a little bit tedious as I waited for the romance to start.
While I was reading the book, I asked myself, "when did the lust begin? and when did the romance between them begin?". At first, the Main lead tells you how irritating her brother-in-law is, how she didn't know how to be around him, and how uninteresting he was. To sum it up, she despised him.
Then on the first pages that you meet him, suddenly Bam, she feels lust because they are fighting verbally, and you find out, out of nowhere, that their fighting was a usual occurrence. So you ask yourself, "why is there lust suddenly in the book? And why in the first time we meet the Male lead?"; the answer was that what she needed was for her sister to leave so she can have instantaneous lust.
By this point, I will admit that I didn't like where this was going, but my curiosity got away from me, and I decided to continue.
In the middle of the book, you suddenly find out that they knew each other in the past; in fact, they slept together. The fact they had been together before slapped me out of nowhere; I had thought the ML and Main lead hated each other, that her anger at him grew because she didn't know him. From my point of view, she hated who he was when she started to know him, and when she did know who he was, it would develop into a "enemies to romance" story.
The obvious question was, why is there animosity between the Male lead and the Main Lead? Why the "I don't believe my sister would leave you over nothing, you are trash, you are shit" routine that she had been doing so far? I know what you are thinking, "he IS shit for marrying her sister" however it turns out that you would be wrong.
The sister had lied to him from the beginning; she knew the Main lead had slept with him and that he wanted to find the Main Lead, so she made him think she was the Main Lead and married him under pretenses until after the marriage. After they married and he found out, he was, of course, angry that she lied to him, but then she got mad because he got angry, and she even had the gal to feel a little bit of disappointment at that.
Oh, and the main character knew they were going out, and she knew her sister was doing it to get back at her, but she never said anything, not about the fact that he had the wrong woman or that he was deceived. According to the Main Lead, she let them get married because "her sister looked happy" to marry someone under pretenses. When the Male Lead finds out he doesn't ask for a divorce, he wants to make it work. How does that happen? You make it work with someone who lied to you from the very beginning?
It is perhaps not crucial, but interesting to know that when she leaves her family, she leaves them in financial debt because she liked to spend all of their money on useless things.
If you thought that that was bad enough, wait until you find out she abandons her children in their swimming classes to run away with her lover, she drops them off, and never comes back. They have to call their father so that he can pick them up because they have been waiting there for her. The cherry on the top is that everyone, I mean everyone, excuses her behavior; the husband feels that he failed to be a good husband, and their father was always saying how she was perfect and how he would prefer her over the Main Lead. The father favors the sister throughout the entire book because she is a good girl compared to the Main Lead. Everyone's excuse is that she must have a good reason for what she does, the husband thinks so, the father thinks so, and the Main Lead thinks so. The Main Lead explained her reasoning in a page and a half-long metaphor about opposites to her friends. Friends that took around 8-pages to describe, only not to see them again.
In the end, everything was fine, everyone was forgiven, they even became a happy family. This was weird to me because apart from everything, from early on the Main lead didn't like children, not even her nephews, she didn't like them to the point where in the entire book, she interacts with them a total of 4 times. But, those four times, totaling no more than 20 pages, was enough to convince her to be their mother now.
Now the Male Lead, this guy married the sister knowing that there was no likeness between their characters, he even found it suspicious, but he didn't say anything. Then when he found out that they were twins, he decided that the Main Lead was a whore, even though he did take her virginity.
All in all, this book gave me a lot of headaches. And although I know that not every book is perfect, and that they don't have all the details, this one had too many for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 20, 2018
This was a romance for grown-ups. Nothing easy, but that only made me love this book and the snarky heroine even more. The hero was pretty fab, too. I devoured it in one sitting, laughing out loud, snorting at times, crying a tear or two, and rooting for the HEA I had no idea how the author would manage. Somehow she did, though, and I can heartily recommend it!
April 22, 2018
A fun read and the bonus is that I didn't end up in somebody else's bedroom while they are having sex. Always great as books don't come with PG ratings, like videos and sometimes (Okay, most of the times) I really don't want to a share a bed with another couple.
I giggled often and rolled my eyes as often. I really enjoyed the reading.
I giggled often and rolled my eyes as often. I really enjoyed the reading.
May 9, 2018
Not an easy read
Could be because I am not a fan of first person novels, plus I did not relate with the lead character Maralys. The premise is interesting identical twins, not close, one married the other not and the reason becomes apparent. No spoiler here, read it for yourself and all will be revealed. 2.5 Stars
Could be because I am not a fan of first person novels, plus I did not relate with the lead character Maralys. The premise is interesting identical twins, not close, one married the other not and the reason becomes apparent. No spoiler here, read it for yourself and all will be revealed. 2.5 Stars
January 6, 2020
This is my first book from the author and my 2nd book of 2020. I was little miffed with all the jargon language. At times it felt like 'wannabe' thing, but, the story, although predictable, was nice. Though, I did not enjoy 'Aunt Mary's' columns or her advice to netizens.
Maralys and James were good and some of their bantering and bickering was fun to read.
Over all it made a quick, fun, read.
Maralys and James were good and some of their bantering and bickering was fun to read.
Over all it made a quick, fun, read.
February 9, 2018
I really liked this book. I liked how the character talked to the reader to tell the story. Love how edgy and real she was. He’s very romantic in a way that suits her. It was great. I also really enjoyed the humor in this book. Great story, fabulous ending.
December 24, 2018
Unexpected
I thought it was going to be a fluff read but turned out to be an insightful look at who we are, why we do what we and how we can live our lives from a place of authenticity.
I thought it was going to be a fluff read but turned out to be an insightful look at who we are, why we do what we and how we can live our lives from a place of authenticity.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 237 reviews