Ex's and Oh's

At the funeral for the grandfather who raised her since she was a child, driven attorney Caroline Moore takes his boyfriend aside to reveal that she is pregnant. Instead, she's shocked to learn that he had been cheating on her with his own wife. While cleaning the attic, she discovers a love letter from the grandmother she never met to her biological grandfather. With no family left, she takes a leave of absence from work to travel to Harbor Woods on Lake Michigan to meet Karl Peterson. After meeting Karl's closest friend Shane Grady, who really is her only link to discovering the past since Karl is in advanced stages of Alzheimer's. Shane is dealing with the break up of his marriage and the somberness of his son who is in pain from losing his best friend in a boating accident. As Caroline becomes more comfortable in Harbor Woods, and meets a couple ladies who ask her to join their group, she feels a deep connection to the town, and a deep attraction to Shane, who she fears still has feelings for his ex-wife. Can she give up her potential partnership in Chicago for the small town life and a chance at love? You will laugh and cry with Steffan's chick lit for the 40-something crowd, an in-depth character study featuring likable and well developed characters. It's a grown up romance.

At the funeral for the grandfather who raised her since she was a child, driven attorney Caroline takes her boyfriend aside to reveal that she's pregnant. Instead, she's shocked to learn that he had been cheating on her with his own wife. While cleaning the attic, she discovers a love letter from the grandmother she never met to her biological grandfather. With no family left, she takes a leave of absence from work to travel to Harbor Woods on Lake Michigan to meet Karl Peterson. After meeting Karl's closest friend Shane Grady, who really is her only link to discovering the past since Karl is in advanced stages of Alzheimer's. Shane is dealing with the break up of his marriage and the somberness of his son who is in pain from losing his best friend in a boating accident. As Caroline becomes more comfortable in Harbor Woods, and meets a couple ladies who ask her to join their group, she feels a deep connection to the town, and a deep attraction to Shane, who she fears still has feelings for his ex-wife. Can she give up her potential partnership in Chicago for the small town life and a chance at love? You will laugh and cry with Steffan's chick lit for the 40-something crowd, an in-depth character study featuring likable and well developed characters. It's a grown up romance.

EX'S AND OHS' by Sandra Steffen April 12 2006 EX'S AND OH'S was my first experience with Harlequin's line NEXT, which features for the most part women over 40 who are going through life changes of one sort or another. In this novel, Caroline Moore is going through a big transition in her life. The man who raised her, her grandfather Henry O'Shaughnessy, who was her mother's father, has just passed away. Caroline was just dumped by her client and boyfriend Steven (he's going back to his ex-wife) and she has now discovered that Henry wasn't really her biological grandfather. Her real grandfather is still living in Michigan. Karl Peterson was a man that she would never have known existed except for Henry's death. To complicate her life even more, Caroline also knows she's pregnant with Steven's child, but she doesn't tell him because of his preoccupation with his ex-wife and family. So, Caroline takes a leave of absence and travels to Henry's childhood home to make some discoveries into her own family background. In Harbor Woods, Caroline meets a man that leads her to Karl. Shane Grady acts very standoffish at first, but the more she gets to know him and her grandfather Karl, who is now living in an assisted living home, she finds she really likes Shane. Shane has a connection with Karl, which helps bond Shane and Caroline together, in more ways than one. At the same time, she makes new friends, one that happens to be also linked to Shane, but Caroline doesn't discover this until it's much too late to end her relationship with Shane. EX'S AND OH'S is a women's lit story with a number of layers. Caroline is trying to find herself, and learning that maybe she doesn't need to be so wrapped up in her career that she doesn't have room for friends as well as a man. Her evenings with the group of women she befriends is filled with a lot of sharing and bonding, and it's an experience that is very new to her. She also is on the road to discovery about her family, learning things she didn't know until she found letters and journals written by her grandparents. On another level, there is the story of Shane and his son, a boy that has the weight of the world on his shoulders because of a tragedy that happened only two years ago. I really enjoyed this complex story of family and friends and look forward to reading more by Sandra Steffen, as well as more in the NEXT series of Harlequin novels. EX'S AND OH'S was an excellent example of how well done and enjoyable a book can be. -- Courtesy of Love Romances.

This is the second Sandra Steffen book I've read(the first was 'Life Happens') and both have been really great reads. Sandra writes great stories with really enjoyable characters. And its so nice to read a story about a woman over 40.Sandra Steffen is my new favorite writer and I can't wait for her next book.I also reccommend most of the books in the 'Next' series, they are not the typical Harlequin Fare and I've enjoyed all that I've read so far.

On the day she buried her beloved grandfather Henry O'Shaughnessy, who raised her since her parents died when she was eight, divorce attorney Caroline Moore learns her boyfriend litigation lawyer Steven Phillips is cheating with his own ex-wife Brenda. Stunned by his betrayal when she needs support, she fails to inform the louse that she is two and a half months pregnant. Instead of returning to work, Caroline needs time to find herself. She decides to stay at her grandfather's cottage overlooking Lake Michigan and begins taking barefoot walks like she did as a child. Carline begins making friends especially with neighbor Tori and the hunk next door. That is until she learns the guy next door is Tori's ex and oh she refuses to become involved with an ex after Steven though she admits to herself she is attracted and he is nice. EX'S AND OH'S is an incredibly intense look at a forty-three year old woman who faces a mid life crisis between a pregnancy, the death of a beloved relative, and her deep feelings of being alone. The story line is totally character driven as the audience gets inside the innermost elements of what makes Caroline more or less what she is through her thoughts and self-deprecating asides. Fans of profound character studies with limited action will ooh and ah over Sandra Steffen's reflective work. Harriet Klausner