The role of step-parent must be a very difficult one, especially early in a new marriage, and particularly for a sensitive person.

Thayer's empathetic novel is about a woman who loves her husband very much and wants to include her new step daughters in that love.

"I think we were all stunned that first week," Thayer writes, "I certainly was. Immediately after we arrived home, Caroline fished a thick sealed envelope out of her suitcase and handed it to me, carefully, so that her fingers did not touch mine.
'This is for you,'she said, not looking me in the eyes. 'It's from my mother.'
'What in the world,' I said, and stared down at the envelope as if it were a toad. What Adelaide might want to send me was frighteningly beyond the reach of my imagination.
'It's a list of foods we like to eat,' Caroline said."

It's not world-shaking fiction, which is probably why Thayer is not a major writer. But it is timely, warm and thoughtful. It is also a good story with characters the reader enjoys. Although step-parents and step-children may gain some insights through this book, it's still entertaining reading for those not involved in a similar situation.

This book is her first and I am just now finishing it. I loved it and would recommend this book to any women who is a mother, step mom or anyone that really is in tune with feelings. I have read everything else written by this author and I have always felt she should be more well known. If you are a women with lots of layers to your life you will love this book.

I love the way Nancy Thayer develops her characters. I got inside all the characters. This is a story of small town America and how each life affects those around them. This is one of her earlier novels and I am always so surprised that she isn't more well known. I would highly suggest this book even though it is out of print.

I am a big fan of Nancy Thayer and have enjoyed almost all of her books. This is an oldie but a goodie. If you have a teenager in your house you will really appreciate the mother/daughter conflict scenes. At different times in my life I have alternated between relating to Cynthia, then Carrie Ann, then Jack, and now to Daphne. Read this book - you won't be disappointed!

I bought this book on a recommendation from a friend and while it wasn't quite what I expected it to be, it was still very good reading. If you like to read books on relationships between mother and daughter and sisters, this is a good book to pick up. There is Margaret, the mother who has discovered new-found freedom at the age of 48 (which is very young!), her two daughters, Daisy and Dale. Daisy, pregnant with her third child, goes through a divorce that literally shakes her world upside down. Dale, in the throes of first true love, makes a tenative step into making a committment ... though she is afraid that her mother and sister's divorces may cause her to go down the same stumbling road later on in life.

It is a wonderfully written book full of insightful thoughts and discoveries. Margaret discovers that she could no longer be like the woman she was in Liberty, Iowa, where she dispensed free advice along with cookies and milk. Now, she's preserving the self she has disovered in the year since her divorce and move to Vancouver, Canada. She really embodies the joy and freedom of being one's own self, not responsible to any one else. It's a grand feeling ... it's something that I've discovered through my own divorce. The only difference is, Margaret feels no need to get married again, whereas I did get married.

Daisy is the one character that has come a long ways since the beginning of the book. Her trials and tribulations as a young and single mother are too vividly descriptive and true. But she comes through it and discovers a whole new personality that she didn't have before. She really gave new meaning to the word "sacrifice." Out of all the characters, she is my favorite.

Dale ~~ she is in the midst of the passionate throes of true love and at the same time, she's afraid to make a committment to her lover, Hank, because she's afraid she's doomed to repeat her mother and sister's mistake. Then she realizes that letting go of her fear and stepping through the changes in life really enhances her love.

This is an unique book ~~ one for mothers and daughters to share. I enjoyed it though it wasn't what I quite expected. However, I read it and wouldn't put it down till the last page was turned. I don't think others will regret reading it too.

2-15-02

This story is about three women, a mother and her two daughters, at crisis points in their lives. There's the mother, aging and divorced, who turns from dumpy duckling into a swan; a daughter, also newly divorced, struggling to raise her children alone; and the second daughter engaged in an all-absorbing love affair.

Thayer's books are always entertaining and at the same time they portray relationships and everyday problems through characters that seem like your next-door neighbors. Here's a slice of typical contemporary lives, full of insight into situations and people.

I finished reading Three Women this morning and felt obliged to write my review right away.
This novel is written for women and many will read it and be able to identify with the trials of marriage, child rearing, broken relationships and the mental suffering and unhappiness we all go through.
Centered around the Wallace family, we are introduced to Margaret, the mother who in her late forties has come to grips with the person she wants to be, and makes herself through lots of courage, into that very person. We meet Daisy the housewife and her older daughter whose life is on the verge of collapse when her career-oriented husband leaves her for a more sophisticated woman as she tries to fend for herself with two young children and a baby on the way. Then we are led into the life of Dale a teacher......Margaret's younger daughter who is unmarried so far but very much in love with a fellow-teacher and so afraid of being burnt as she watches on at her sister's fate.
This is a good book for all women regardless of age, as in each of these three women, there is something we can all take note of, and learn from their experiences. I recommend this as a nice Mother's Day gift.

Nutface
April 5th, 2002

... It is such a fun and entertaining book. It's not a deep, thought-provoking book by any means, but if you're five months pregnant like me ~~ you wouldn't care! It's written with passion and it keeps you turning the pages.

Catherine Elliot comes from a moneyed family; her parents threw her out on the streets when she refused to attend college. Down on her luck, she stumbles into a flowershop and found her destiny there. After several years of working there, she eventually buys the shop and renames it Bloom. And it becomes this huge success in New York City. Much more than she ever dreamed of.

It's not all work for Catherine. She manages to fall in love twice ~~ once with Kit, a Bostonian lawyer whose family would never accept Catherine. He leaves her to marry someone else. Then there's Piet Vanderveld, a dark-eyed Dutch who works with her first along the first flower shop then became her partner in Blooms.

Catherine's family also plays strong roles in this novel as well and it was interesting to see how they all perceive Catherine in the end. It doesn't matter that she has worked hard to provide for them ~~ they still expected more of her.

It was an interesting novel ~~ I finished it in a day. I was amazed when a friend of mine told me that this book was out of print ~~ I think it should be back in print! It's such a good read ~~ fun, saucy, sexy and entertaining! If you can get a hold of a copy of this book, I'd urge you to read it. It's perfect for those long lazy days at the beach or at the poolside.

...

Catherine grew up in a family who seemed to have it all. She was from "old money" and was sent to the best public schools, had the best clothes, a beautiful home and more. Unfortunately, Catherine lacked love and affection from her parents and siblings and when she turned 18 and decided not to go on to college - her parents told her she was on her own. This began a completely different style of life for Catherine. She had to work to support herself and she did so by working in a flower shop. Catherine's love for flowers propelled her to buy her own flower shop and thus a true success story was formed. Catherine seemed to have it all again, but like before she was still alone. The man she truly loved was married to another and the man she shared passion with couldn't give her his heart. Was she destined to live her life alone?

When I picked up Everlasting, I was under the wrong impression that it was a romance novel. Even though Catherine does find love in the end, that isn't what Everlasting is about. It's about growing up and learning to love yourself and find your own selfworth - that it isn't based on how others feel for you. Nancy Thayer did a great job of making Catherine seem real - she had feelings like we all do and not all of them are nice. Everlasting was a great story that I would highly recommend.

Nancy Thayer's book, Everlasting, was inspirational to me, just as her other books have been. Thayer is a wonderful, passionate womanist who subtly embraces feminity and the marvelous, complicated aspects of our yin energy. She writes about strong women who recognize that we find joy and fulfillment in areas other than romance and passionate love affairs. In this novel, she reminds us to be true to our nature: strong, expressive and goal oriented; and by being our true selves (and not the submissive, dansel in distress we appear to be in many romance novels) and honoring every aspect of our Self, by focusing on the other important aspects of our lives, instead of only on our need for male companionship, we can attract true love, a man who truly champions us. REW

These are 3 lovely women coming of age in their world. Jean is the most interesting, I think, as her world was in the 30's and 40's where I was. She had a wonderful relationship with Eric who suddendly left her, only to return to her 50 years later. Dianne is married to a nice man who is trying to find the gene which causes breast cancer and is not as available to her as he should be. She thinks about a relationship with a handsome FBI man toward to end. Julia, I really don't like her, but I probably was a lot like her in my youth. This was my 5th by Thayer and I likd them aLL

This book is a good read; no more, no less. The story is well written, examining the lives and relationships of three generations of women. Jean, the eldest, is newly widowed, and is just beginning to do all the things she never got to do. Diane, her daughter, is approaching middle age with a less-than-satisfactory marriage, while her 16-year-old daughter Julia is experiencing the fierce pangs of first love. This is a great book for lazy summer days when you're looking for a worthwhile way to spend your time.

I like Nancy Thayer's books, and was glad to find one at the library that I'd never read. Unfortunately, this one wasn't worth the effort. I found Kate, Max, Lucy and Chip to be thoroughly unlikable, self-absorbed, immature people. Maybe I'm naive, but I'd like to think that the majority of us married people out there don't have continual fantasies about members of the opposite sex! Lucy and Kate leave their two small children with a babysitter so that they can go bar hopping and dance with grungy strange men. They both get drunk, Kate goes off with the stranger she picks up and sleeps with him, and Lucy drives home drunk and makes the babysitter walk home. What am I missing!!! I don't know anybody who acts this way! It's hard to like a book when you find all of the characters so thoroughly reprehensible. They should find a nice foster home for Jeremy and Margaret.

I'm a long time fan of Nancy Thayer and have read everything that she's ever written. She has a gift for capturing the ins and outs of family life and the conflicting emotions that women go through as they marry and have children. wondering is this all there is or was I meant for greater things?

This novel is no exception. She writes convincingly of what it's like to be a mother of young children. In one chapter, the main character, Lucy, is sitting in her attic, seeking some much needed solitude, and thinking that while she is happy with her life, could she have done more with it. Should she have? She wonders what her beloved aunt, an adventerous free spirit would think of her life today if she were still alive. She also captures perfectly the longing that women feel to find that perfect friend, someone they "click" with instantly and can let loose and be themselves without fear of censor or judgement.

The only flaw in this book is the soapy plot involving the paternity of Lucy's son and using a potentially fatal genetic disease to propel the plot forward. This has been done in countless novels, including Daybreak by Belva Plain, who used it much more effectively.

Aside from that minor quibble, this is a good book to enjoy while lazing in the sun on a warm summer day.

The emotions are exaggerated, the plot a bit contrived, and the characters somewhat stereotypical. Still, this is an inviting book to while the day away with. Nancy Thayer brings her considerable talent to bear in this story of two families that truly love each other. The wives are best friends, the husbands very close, the children devoted to each other. Into this idyllic setting come secrets, death, terminal illness, infidelity, divorce, and all the other elements that make for an interesting read.

Protagonist Lucy West married young and, although she loves her husband Max, she is vulnerable to other men. Her character is tested as she decides to whom she owes more loyalty---her husband or her best friend Kate. Over the course of a ten-year friendship, husbands are swapped and friendship is tested to its limits as Thayer takes the reader back and forth in time in this soap operaesque saga set in Nantucket and surroundings.

What could have been a strong book on the power of friendship falters slightly by forced situations that are wrapped up a bit too neatly for this reader's taste. Still, this is a worthwhile story, though not as intriguing as Thayer's earlier effort, THREE WOMEN AT THE WATER'S EDGE, which I would whole-heartedly recommend.

While I agree witht the other reviewers concerning the characters and ending, my chief complaint was the dialogue. Found it stilted and artificial (does anyone really say "Yes, I am beset with problems") Early scene in cemetary was so artificial, I had to push to proceed, but Tessa was a pleasure. Would try another book by Thayer, but this didn't make may favorites list.

This was a quick and predictable read. Its only saving feature was that it contained a fair amount of interesting information about the judicial system as it applies to Family Court. I think "Judging Amy" does it better, though.

Thayer throws in all the necessities for what men love to call a "woman's book": a mysterious meeting between two people who are incredibly and instantly attracted to each other, the decision of these two people to remain anonymous, an illegitimate birth and an adopted child, a wife/mother with some serious mental problems that she is covering up....the list goes on.

Books like this depend far too much on coincidence and contrivance for my taste. I probably should not have bothered finishing it, but I wanted to see where Thayer would go with the obvious Obsessive Compulsive Disorder which affected Anne Madison. The author ended up not really confronting this issue and this lack was very disappointing to me.

I agree with the other reviewer who said that there was too much foreshadowing. This literary device is so overused and I really dislike it.

If I'd been writing this book, I wouldn't have started with the teaser scene Thayer chose (and it was extremely confusing that the date at the top of the first chapter was an error--it should have read September 2000 rather than August 2000--who did the line edit, anyway?). After reading that first scene, I didn't want to go back a month and read what led up to it. I suspect that's why some readers found the beginning slow going. If Thayer had just started the story earlier and told it chronologically, it would have been a more satisfying read. Frankly, I didn't want to know what she revealed in that first scene. I'd have preferred to find out who the man in the custody case was on my own. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Thayer's strength is characterization, and these characters were three-dimensional and compelling. Ann was particularly fascinating, and Tessa was wonderful. I was a bit disappointed with the end of the book, though. Thayer wrapped things up a little too quickly, I felt. We never did get to see Ann's turnaround. I just couldn't buy into the idea that a woman so driven and obsessed would so quickly acquiesce to the changes wrought by the judge's decision. I also wanted to see more of how Tessa felt afterwards. Still, I would recommend this book and anything else Thayer writes.

Author Nancy Thayer Brings Us A Mystery of Sorts.

By: Sheila Coffin

This is an interview with Nancy Thayer, author of "An Act of Love."

Me: Tell us about "'An Act of Love,' the book not an actual situation that might come to mind."

We laughed.

Nancy: "Well, this is a more serious book than my last few. An Act of Love is about a step-family in crisis."

Me: It's a modern setting, with modern concerns?"

Nancy: "Yes. The novel concerns a step-family, a mother and her daughter, a father and his son. The parents believe they have done a good job raising their children until their daughter ends up in a psychiatric ward."

Me: "It sounds like a bit of an intrigue."

Nancy: "This is a sort of mystery. Neither the characters nor the reader know what has really happened. The children are pitted against each other testing the loyalties of the parents, threatening the foundations of the family. I wanted to write about adolescents and crisis not just because I am a mother and have two children of my own but also because of what I have seen with other parents and their children. If the parent has done a good job, if they have managed to let their child learn to be self-sufficient there is a time when the parent looks at their child and says, 'Who is this person?' because their child is a total stranger to them. This is very traumatic. It is an acute time, an intense time. You realize that this person is not "your" creature, "your" creation. The parent realizes that they have given over the control for the child's life to the child. A parent cannot keep their child safe." I asked, "Do we have the mystery solved, who really did what, by the end of the novel?"

"Yes," Nancy replied. "But I'm not going to tell you. You'll have to read the book."

What Nancy was also not quick to volunteer was that the day after An Act of Love was finished she had five offers for movie options.

I found "An Act of Love," to be everything Nancy had promised, and more. If you are already one of Nancy Thayer's fans, you'll want to hurry and get a copy of "An Act of Love." If you haven't read Nancy Thayer's books you will find that her humor, her vitality, her kindness, and her concern for people is both gripping and calming. You will feel like you have a friend who knows and cares.

An Act of Love by Nancy Thaler is a very intense novel. The four main characters fall from what appeared to be comfortable lives to excessive pain. The author is extremely successful in communicating that pain to the reader. A happy marriage becomes difficult and then impossible to endure when each parent realizes that he/she must put the mental health of his/her child first. The actual act of love is when Owen and Linda take steps to live apart from each other in order to give their respective children the love and support needed to heal. Thayer has produced a book that is difficult to put down. I'm anxious to read more of her work.

Hey, Nancy Thayer is my favorite author, well Robert Anderson also. I haven't read her new book yet, but I bet it is captivating, can't wait. She is very READABLE