Claire Cook

While it took me a little bit to get into this book, I found it to be a compelling page turner. I had a love/hate relationship with the main character Deirdre, well hate is not quite right more like "sorry".
Deirdre is the do it all girl/personal assistant for her motivational speaker/musician guru. She is extremely bright girl with very little self esteem.
The book will give you some really good chuckles, and you will be cheering her on in some of her antics! At other times you will be in show more tears for her. I loved how she went about getting herself on DWTS!! Once we start our journey there we find Deirdre starting to bloom.
Don't miss this great summer read, and have a box of tissues handy for your tears from joy and sadness!

I received this book from the Publisher Simon & Schuster, and was not required to give a positive review. show less

Claire Cook never fails to come through. Since my first book review, which was for Claire’s book SUMMER BLOWOUT, she has never let me down when I pick up a new book of hers to read. She has a way of making even the toughest things in life bearable and her talented writing draws readers in through her marvelous stories, clever dialogue, and her captivating characters. In SEVEN YEAR SWITCH, readers meet Jill Murray who is one of those characters I just mentioned who captured my interest show more right off and had me rooting for her all the way. I found Jill to be a witty, bright, compelling and caring mother and an independent woman who didn’t deserve the agony she felt when suddenly her ex-husband pops back into her and her daughter Anastasia’s lives. Although Anastasia is delighted to have her father there, Jill is dubious of his motives and commitment.

The idea from the title that every seven years our body’s skin rejuvenates thus making us into a “new” person, goes right along with the book’s concept of personal change and growth being a positive thing in our lives. Cook surrounds Jill with intriguing characters that move the story along and fit into that principal premise of the book that was based on transformation and progression. With Jill’s neighbor, Cynthia, being almost the opposite of Jill in most ways, she provided a strong character for Jill to play off of. She was entertaining and feisty, and quite a welcome addition in the story.

Of course, there was suddenly these men surrounding Jill, quite a change from the start of the story…a feast or famine situation. Besides her ex, Seth, there is the caring and amusing Billy who is a client of Jill’s and who is hard to resist. How Jill handles all of this is to take off on her own for a gal pal trip to Costa Rica and hope to find what she is looking for there…or at least some peace for her to be able to think and relax.

How Jill deals with everything and everyone is trademark Claire Cook as she takes a serious subject and deals with it gently, with warmth and fun, and creates an answer that educates, amuses, and involves the reader. The story of SEVEN YEAR SWITCH will entertain you while it also will endear itself to you as well. If like me, you start the book early enough, you will at least get a good night’s sleep as I read it in one sitting and was happy I hadn’t started it late in the day because I couldn’t put it down. Another delightful gift, and perfect for the summer read, but wouldn’t be bad by a cozy fire in winter as well, is SEVEN YEAR SWITCH from a favorite author, Claire Cook! show less

Best Staged Plans is Claire Cook's best book yet. Sandra Sullivan stages homes for a living but her own life is badly in need of staging. Her husband is retired but is so busy playing tennis and running that he hasn't had time to help her get their house ready to sell. And her son lives in their basement busy with his new girlfriend. So she gives them an ultimatum "Get it done or I'm gone". Lucky for her an offer comes up that she just can't refuse. Her BFF's current beau has just bought a show more hotel that needs to be staged - in Atlanta, where her daughter lives. So off she flies to Atlanta - along the way finding out the BFF's boyfriend is a player, meets a homeless person, and forced to be friends her new son-in-law - and that maybe it's not her house or her life that needs to be staged but that she needs to see through the staging she's arranged.
This is Cook's best novel to date. I loved the fact that she talks to inanimate objects and has a love-hate relationship with her reading glasses. The Romeo and Juliet scene was funny and the boyfriend's comeuppance is classic. The way she handled the homeless person's story was very well-done and wove into Sandra's story seamlessly. Not just a beach read it's a book anytime you want to get away from your own life for a little while. show less

My personal harbinger of summer landed on my desk recently--Claire Cook's latest book "Wallflower in Bloom". Cook's strength is writing about women who, for one reason or another, are reinventing themselves. Humor is another of her great strengths, so her stories will first make you laugh, and then make you think "I could do something like that". It's no wonder she has legions of friends/fans who think of her like a sister.

This time around, she introduces us to Deirdre, who works as a show more personal assistant for her motivational speaker/musician guru-esque and very charismatic older brother, constantly on the go and with no life of her own--she just makes his life seamless and smooth. The resentment about this has been growing for years, but overflows after an argument with her brother over a friend of his (who just happened to kiss her) and the news from her on again/off again boyfriend of ten years that he's getting married because his current girlfriend is pregnant. So one night she mixes herself up a blender full of Ben&Jerry's and vodka and signs on to her brother's social media sites (which she takes care of for him) and asks all of his fans to support her as a last minute replacement on Dancing With The Stars. And they do.

This book is completely hilarious and pretty much impossible to put down once Deirdre starts her training. In between the slapstick, there are gentle touches on body image, weight, confidence, family and more. Once again, Cook tells it like so many women know it (only with more laughs), and this book will delight her fans, and no doubt earn her some more. show less