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Trying Patience & A Not-So-Perfect Past
A MISTAKE... OR A SETUP?
New York City was the last place nature writer Patience Madrid wanted to be. She preferred the quiet and solitude of her Adirondacks cabin to the noise and bustle of the city. But her sister, Tilly, is being mysterious, and begs Patience to come and stay at her apartment while she and her husband, Terrence, are out of town. Except, when Patience gets to the apartment, she finds it isn't empty….
Jake Farr was only looking for a place to crash and to help out his friend Terrence. Instead he gets bowled over by Tilly's oddball sister. Jake has no idea what to do with Patience Madrid. They are complete opposites... Jake is city, Patience is country; Jake is used to fine, expensive living, Patience likes to rough it; Jake isn't fond of dogs, Patience has a huge mutt that she adores. And yet, as they try to get to the bottom of Terrence and Tilly's odd behavior, Jake and Patience find there might just be something to that old adage "opposites attract".
- GenresRomanceContemporary
448 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 30, 2014
21 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
Carla Neggers
143 books1,608 followersCarla Neggers is the New York Times bestselling author of the Sharpe & Donovan series featuring Boston-based FBI agents Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan, and the popular Swift River Valley series set in the small, fictional New England town of Knights Bridge. With many bestsellers to her credit, Carla loves to write now as much as she did when she climbed a tree at age eleven with a pad and pen and spun stories perched on her favorite branch.
A native New Englander, Carla and her husband divide their time between their hilltop home in Vermont, a sofa bed at their kids' places in Boston and various inns, hotels and hideaways on their travels, frequently to Ireland.
Find out more and sign up for Carla's newsletter at CarlaNeggers.com.
A native New Englander, Carla and her husband divide their time between their hilltop home in Vermont, a sofa bed at their kids' places in Boston and various inns, hotels and hideaways on their travels, frequently to Ireland.
Find out more and sign up for Carla's newsletter at CarlaNeggers.com.
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September 4, 2018Trying Patience: Matilda Madrid Terwilliger, Tilly for short, was recently to married to Terrence. She called her sister, Patience Madrid, and told her that her marriage was in trouble and she and her husband were taking separate vacations. She asked Patience, who was an author that lived in the Adirondacks, to come to NY City to take care of her cats. Patience had a large, ugly dog that she had named Jake. Tilly told her to leave Jake at home. Patience reluctantly agreed to come but she took her dog with her to Tilly and Terrance's apartment.
Terrance's best friend, Jake Farr, like go on mountain climbing expeditions. His apartment was being renovated and his latest trip fell through. He needed a place to stay and Terrence volunteered the use of his apartment while he and Tilly were on vacation.
Jake arrived at the apartment building around the same time as Patience. The dog and the human Jake met when the dog followed him onto the elevator and jumped on him. Jake didn't really like animals. He didn't much care for being that close to the dog. Terrance had also told Jake that Tilly's cats weren't going to be at the apartment.
Patience yelled at Jake, the dog, and Jake, the human, thought that she was yelling at him. They met in the apartment when Patience had moved his things out of the spare bedroom. She was thinking that maybe Tilly was having an affair.
They got along okay but Patience was afraid that they were being set up. She mentioned that to Jake but he was convinced it was just a coincidence. Patience spoke with Tilly and Jake spoke with Terrence. Terrance convinced Jake that Patience was depressed and asked him to show her around town. Jake did and they became attracted to each other. Patience was a bit afraid of her feelings for him and she wasn't sure he felt the same about her. She went home and Terrence convinced Jake to go check on her, which he did because he was worried. She had left after kissing Jake and he wasn't sure yet how he felt about her.
He came to Patience's cabin where she told him that she was depressed and that she was convinced that they were being set up. They decided to go back to NY together and find out. Jake spoke with the travel agent who arranged the Terwilliger's vacation and found out that they were together and they had never left NY. Jake's mountain climbing trip had fallen with Tilly's help.
Tilly went and checked in to the hotel where Tilly and Terrance were staying and Jake came to tell her which room they were in. He had spoken to Terrance. They made love at the hotel that night. Patience knew she had fallen for Jake.
Tilly confessed to setting them up. She did it to get back at Patience for setting her up with Terrence when she found his name in the Wall Street Journal. Patience had arranged to be at the place where his company had catered a party to celebrate their promotions. Tilly and Terrance went off on a real vacation once he found out what she had done. Tilly and Terrance stayed at the NY apt and got to know each other better. Patience then went home and Jake went back to his apartment. He came to see Patience a few weeks later and told her that he wanted to continue their relationship forever. He wanted her to make his NY apartment hers too. They would stay part-time at each place. He was fine spending time with her and Jake, who he found out was named after Terrance's best friend. They changed Jake's name to Zeke.
A Not-so-Perfect Past: Nina Carlson had two young children and her husband had divorced her after taking up with another woman. Nina had told anyone that the divorce did nothing but hurt her pride. She hadn't told anyone that he had hit her more than once. She had turned into someone who didn't stand up for herself but folded when challenged. She was trying to make a new start but found it easier to continue to let others make decisions for her.
She let her ex convince her that the tenant of the bakery she had purchased needed to go. He had killed his stepfather to protect his sister from getting raped and had spent time in prison for hit. He had moved into an upstairs apartment and was still living there when Nina purchased the building. It was stipulated that he remain when she purchased the bakery. She let Trey convince her that Dillon Ward shouldn't be around her children so she asked him to leave.
Dillon told Nina that he would leave after his sister got married. His sister had been rebellious and hadn't thanked him for protecting her when he did. She had finally grown up and was marrying the town's sheriff. She was going to be stepmother to Emma. His wife first wife had died. She had asked Dillon to walk her down the aisle but he had refused. He wasn't well accepted in town. It didn't help that he carried a chip on his shoulder.
After Nina asked him to leave, a foster child new to town stole his parents car and ended up running into Nina's bakery late that night. Dillon helped get Kyle out of the car and into the ambulance. Kyle had hurt his wrist. Dillon offered to help repair the bakery but her father showed up and told Nina that he had contacted a contractor. Dillon was convinced that he would leave town soon. He saw Nina the next day and she asked him for help because she had found out that it would be weeks before the other contractor could begin work on the bakery. She got into an argument with her father when he showed up to help but she stuck with her decision. The disagreement came after Dillon got upset with her when she didn't really stand up for him to her father.
She had to defend her decision of hiring Dillon to Trey too. Another decision that Dillon forced Nina in to agreeing to was to let Kyle help out with the repairs. She wasn't sure she wanted him around and he was pretty rebellious when he was working. He couldn't let go of his distrust of his foster parents. He wanted to trust that they would keep him but he didn't want to open himself up to get hurt once again. Kyle learned to trust Dillon and eventually put forth more effort in his work.
Dillon and Nina talked about his past and hers. She told him about Trey's treatment of her and he told her that he was certain the behavior would be carried over to her children. Dillon's mother hadn't stood up for her kids and it was left to Dillon to protect his sister. It didn't come up in the trial why he had done what he did. That was all revealed later which was why he was eventually released.
Dillon went to his sister's wedding and ended up walking her down the aisle. He realized that she was scared and he wanted to be their for her to give her strength one last time. Nina asked Dillon to take her home that night and they made love. He got upset again when she didn't stand up to her brother about him being there when her brother dropped Haley off because she had gotten sick.
Nina was drawn to Dillon and he kissed her because he wanted to and partially to scare her off. He liked it though. They became friends and he got to know her kids too. Her son helped a bit with some of the repair work, mostly carrying things out to the trash. Marcus asked Dillon questions about bullying and Dillon was happy to share his opinion.
Dillon and Kyle were invited to Nina's children's Christmas program. Kyle didn't show up but Dillion did. Haley was glad to see him and Marcus told Dillon ahead of time that he was going to pretend he didn't know him to make things easier for his mother. He knew that his father would make things difficult for Nina. Dillon was leaving when Trey approached them and made comments about Nina being a whore and he almost hit Trey. Nina asked him to ignore Trey and he did until Trey said something else about Nina and Dillon punched him in the nose make it bleed.
Nina was angry and left with her kids. She went to her sister's and Nina was told that she shouldn't worry about what other people thought but she needed to find Dillon and see if he was alright. Nina found Dillon and Kyle was with him. Kyle had gotten drunk and gone to Dillon's place. Kyle was surprised when Dillon told him to call his foster parents and have them pick him up but he did it.
Nina explained to Dillon that she wasn't upset at him for losing his temper but rather because she told him to not react and Dillon didn't listen to her. She didn't like being ignored. They talked more about their differences due to the things life had thrown at them and Dillon decided they were too different. He told Nina that he was leaving town and he left. She didn't know where he went but he wasn't in town.
Nina cried herself to sleep for a few nights and Marcus and Haley went to see their father. He had threatened to take her back to court to get full custody of the kids because she was seeing Dillon who was a known convict. The kids came back after the weekend and Haley was upset. She told her mother that their father had hit Marcus for defending her. Nina stood up to him and he attempted to hit her. Kyle and her had been talking and Nina asked him to come work for her. Kyle had agreed. Kyle had taken the kids into another room while they talked and stepped back in to prevent Kyle from hitting her. Nina hit him with a cookie sheet in the shoulder when he grabbed Kyle's sprained wrist. Nina told Trey he wouldn't be seeing the kids again. She would be filing charges against him for abuse. He was furious and left.
She knew it was time to tell others what he had done to her. Nina finally told her family about the way she was treated by Trey. She needed for them to stop defending him. They were surprised and agreed to be more supportive towards her. She also told them that she had feelings for Dillon and didn't really care what they thought of it. She was old enough to make some decisions for herself. She didn't know if she'd see him again but she had decided that she was going to try and find him.
Dillon went to see a friend in town and was persuaded to go see Nina and give himself a chance at happiness. He knew she would be having Christmas dinner with her parents. He told Nina and her family that he was frightened of his feelings for her but was willing to take a chance with her if she would allow it. Her father shook his hand. He told Nina that he was in love with her and she told him that she was still in love with him too.
Terrance's best friend, Jake Farr, like go on mountain climbing expeditions. His apartment was being renovated and his latest trip fell through. He needed a place to stay and Terrence volunteered the use of his apartment while he and Tilly were on vacation.
Jake arrived at the apartment building around the same time as Patience. The dog and the human Jake met when the dog followed him onto the elevator and jumped on him. Jake didn't really like animals. He didn't much care for being that close to the dog. Terrance had also told Jake that Tilly's cats weren't going to be at the apartment.
Patience yelled at Jake, the dog, and Jake, the human, thought that she was yelling at him. They met in the apartment when Patience had moved his things out of the spare bedroom. She was thinking that maybe Tilly was having an affair.
They got along okay but Patience was afraid that they were being set up. She mentioned that to Jake but he was convinced it was just a coincidence. Patience spoke with Tilly and Jake spoke with Terrence. Terrance convinced Jake that Patience was depressed and asked him to show her around town. Jake did and they became attracted to each other. Patience was a bit afraid of her feelings for him and she wasn't sure he felt the same about her. She went home and Terrence convinced Jake to go check on her, which he did because he was worried. She had left after kissing Jake and he wasn't sure yet how he felt about her.
He came to Patience's cabin where she told him that she was depressed and that she was convinced that they were being set up. They decided to go back to NY together and find out. Jake spoke with the travel agent who arranged the Terwilliger's vacation and found out that they were together and they had never left NY. Jake's mountain climbing trip had fallen with Tilly's help.
Tilly went and checked in to the hotel where Tilly and Terrance were staying and Jake came to tell her which room they were in. He had spoken to Terrance. They made love at the hotel that night. Patience knew she had fallen for Jake.
Tilly confessed to setting them up. She did it to get back at Patience for setting her up with Terrence when she found his name in the Wall Street Journal. Patience had arranged to be at the place where his company had catered a party to celebrate their promotions. Tilly and Terrance went off on a real vacation once he found out what she had done. Tilly and Terrance stayed at the NY apt and got to know each other better. Patience then went home and Jake went back to his apartment. He came to see Patience a few weeks later and told her that he wanted to continue their relationship forever. He wanted her to make his NY apartment hers too. They would stay part-time at each place. He was fine spending time with her and Jake, who he found out was named after Terrance's best friend. They changed Jake's name to Zeke.
A Not-so-Perfect Past: Nina Carlson had two young children and her husband had divorced her after taking up with another woman. Nina had told anyone that the divorce did nothing but hurt her pride. She hadn't told anyone that he had hit her more than once. She had turned into someone who didn't stand up for herself but folded when challenged. She was trying to make a new start but found it easier to continue to let others make decisions for her.
She let her ex convince her that the tenant of the bakery she had purchased needed to go. He had killed his stepfather to protect his sister from getting raped and had spent time in prison for hit. He had moved into an upstairs apartment and was still living there when Nina purchased the building. It was stipulated that he remain when she purchased the bakery. She let Trey convince her that Dillon Ward shouldn't be around her children so she asked him to leave.
Dillon told Nina that he would leave after his sister got married. His sister had been rebellious and hadn't thanked him for protecting her when he did. She had finally grown up and was marrying the town's sheriff. She was going to be stepmother to Emma. His wife first wife had died. She had asked Dillon to walk her down the aisle but he had refused. He wasn't well accepted in town. It didn't help that he carried a chip on his shoulder.
After Nina asked him to leave, a foster child new to town stole his parents car and ended up running into Nina's bakery late that night. Dillon helped get Kyle out of the car and into the ambulance. Kyle had hurt his wrist. Dillon offered to help repair the bakery but her father showed up and told Nina that he had contacted a contractor. Dillon was convinced that he would leave town soon. He saw Nina the next day and she asked him for help because she had found out that it would be weeks before the other contractor could begin work on the bakery. She got into an argument with her father when he showed up to help but she stuck with her decision. The disagreement came after Dillon got upset with her when she didn't really stand up for him to her father.
She had to defend her decision of hiring Dillon to Trey too. Another decision that Dillon forced Nina in to agreeing to was to let Kyle help out with the repairs. She wasn't sure she wanted him around and he was pretty rebellious when he was working. He couldn't let go of his distrust of his foster parents. He wanted to trust that they would keep him but he didn't want to open himself up to get hurt once again. Kyle learned to trust Dillon and eventually put forth more effort in his work.
Dillon and Nina talked about his past and hers. She told him about Trey's treatment of her and he told her that he was certain the behavior would be carried over to her children. Dillon's mother hadn't stood up for her kids and it was left to Dillon to protect his sister. It didn't come up in the trial why he had done what he did. That was all revealed later which was why he was eventually released.
Dillon went to his sister's wedding and ended up walking her down the aisle. He realized that she was scared and he wanted to be their for her to give her strength one last time. Nina asked Dillon to take her home that night and they made love. He got upset again when she didn't stand up to her brother about him being there when her brother dropped Haley off because she had gotten sick.
Nina was drawn to Dillon and he kissed her because he wanted to and partially to scare her off. He liked it though. They became friends and he got to know her kids too. Her son helped a bit with some of the repair work, mostly carrying things out to the trash. Marcus asked Dillon questions about bullying and Dillon was happy to share his opinion.
Dillon and Kyle were invited to Nina's children's Christmas program. Kyle didn't show up but Dillion did. Haley was glad to see him and Marcus told Dillon ahead of time that he was going to pretend he didn't know him to make things easier for his mother. He knew that his father would make things difficult for Nina. Dillon was leaving when Trey approached them and made comments about Nina being a whore and he almost hit Trey. Nina asked him to ignore Trey and he did until Trey said something else about Nina and Dillon punched him in the nose make it bleed.
Nina was angry and left with her kids. She went to her sister's and Nina was told that she shouldn't worry about what other people thought but she needed to find Dillon and see if he was alright. Nina found Dillon and Kyle was with him. Kyle had gotten drunk and gone to Dillon's place. Kyle was surprised when Dillon told him to call his foster parents and have them pick him up but he did it.
Nina explained to Dillon that she wasn't upset at him for losing his temper but rather because she told him to not react and Dillon didn't listen to her. She didn't like being ignored. They talked more about their differences due to the things life had thrown at them and Dillon decided they were too different. He told Nina that he was leaving town and he left. She didn't know where he went but he wasn't in town.
Nina cried herself to sleep for a few nights and Marcus and Haley went to see their father. He had threatened to take her back to court to get full custody of the kids because she was seeing Dillon who was a known convict. The kids came back after the weekend and Haley was upset. She told her mother that their father had hit Marcus for defending her. Nina stood up to him and he attempted to hit her. Kyle and her had been talking and Nina asked him to come work for her. Kyle had agreed. Kyle had taken the kids into another room while they talked and stepped back in to prevent Kyle from hitting her. Nina hit him with a cookie sheet in the shoulder when he grabbed Kyle's sprained wrist. Nina told Trey he wouldn't be seeing the kids again. She would be filing charges against him for abuse. He was furious and left.
She knew it was time to tell others what he had done to her. Nina finally told her family about the way she was treated by Trey. She needed for them to stop defending him. They were surprised and agreed to be more supportive towards her. She also told them that she had feelings for Dillon and didn't really care what they thought of it. She was old enough to make some decisions for herself. She didn't know if she'd see him again but she had decided that she was going to try and find him.
Dillon went to see a friend in town and was persuaded to go see Nina and give himself a chance at happiness. He knew she would be having Christmas dinner with her parents. He told Nina and her family that he was frightened of his feelings for her but was willing to take a chance with her if she would allow it. Her father shook his hand. He told Nina that he was in love with her and she told him that she was still in love with him too.
December 26, 2014
Trying Patience--book 1
This was not a great book. I only finished it because I have to finish books. The characters were very stereotypical. The plot totally fell apart.
The copywrite date is 1993, yet Jake, the man, used his cellphone to look up a map
to find Patience address. Other out of place things made me think that the story was updated for this reprint. I can cope with old books.
The whole Jake the dog and Jake the hero got old quick.
The plot centers around Patience trying to resolve her sister's marital issues. Those problems were a jumbled mess and weren't convincingly traumatic.
I just got tired of it all and will never bother to buy a Carla Neggers' book again.
Another pet peeve is that Neggers is the banner name, yet the second book is actually longer than this one. As best I can tell, they didn't think it could stand on it's own?
Book 2
Not so Perfect Past
Beth Andrews
Well, I have a new author to try. I really enjoyed this book. Nina and Dillon are very real people. They struggle with family, their pasts and their connection to each other.
This was a great read. It kept me engaged in the struggles of 2 very well drawn characters. The plot spun out the complications not just between the 2 main characters, but also those of the children, the young man helping Nina and the community. The ending was satisfying and drawn from the events in the story. I had to keep this vague to protect the plot. Just grab it and spend an enjoyable day reading it. 5 stars
This was not a great book. I only finished it because I have to finish books. The characters were very stereotypical. The plot totally fell apart.
The copywrite date is 1993, yet Jake, the man, used his cellphone to look up a map
to find Patience address. Other out of place things made me think that the story was updated for this reprint. I can cope with old books.
The whole Jake the dog and Jake the hero got old quick.
The plot centers around Patience trying to resolve her sister's marital issues. Those problems were a jumbled mess and weren't convincingly traumatic.
I just got tired of it all and will never bother to buy a Carla Neggers' book again.
Another pet peeve is that Neggers is the banner name, yet the second book is actually longer than this one. As best I can tell, they didn't think it could stand on it's own?
Book 2
Not so Perfect Past
Beth Andrews
Well, I have a new author to try. I really enjoyed this book. Nina and Dillon are very real people. They struggle with family, their pasts and their connection to each other.
This was a great read. It kept me engaged in the struggles of 2 very well drawn characters. The plot spun out the complications not just between the 2 main characters, but also those of the children, the young man helping Nina and the community. The ending was satisfying and drawn from the events in the story. I had to keep this vague to protect the plot. Just grab it and spend an enjoyable day reading it. 5 stars
November 19, 2014
Patience is a mountain woman. Or at least an early 90s version of a mountain woman. Living in the mountains myself, this doesn't seem all that unusual. Anyway, she's in the big city to sit for her sister's cats. At least, that's what her sister says. But somehow, her sister's husband's best friend is also at the apartment. And only one guest bedroom is made up...
For his part, Jake Farr doesn't think it's a setup, but there is something about this woman that is making him look twice.
An okay book made better by the fact that it's a quick read.
For his part, Jake Farr doesn't think it's a setup, but there is something about this woman that is making him look twice.
An okay book made better by the fact that it's a quick read.
September 14, 2016
Cheesy? Yes. Were the characters a little flat? Yes. But I enjoyed it anyway. A fun, quick read. I checked it out from the library because there were canoes on the cover (really!) and it did feature a canoe in the plot, so I can't complain.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 3, 2018
Delightful
Laying it on thick, Matilda did what Patience knew she would do. She gave in to her sister's wishes to go to New York. But she would be danged if she left her dog behind. Therein the adventure lies! Read Trying Patience by Carla Neggers to find out what happens.
Laying it on thick, Matilda did what Patience knew she would do. She gave in to her sister's wishes to go to New York. But she would be danged if she left her dog behind. Therein the adventure lies! Read Trying Patience by Carla Neggers to find out what happens.
August 11, 2015
Loved, loved, loved this book! So fun, great story!
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November 29, 2016Used - Like New
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