Turn My World Upside Down: Jo's Story

I really liked this book. I thought it was an exellent close to the story of the Marconi Sisters. This is the first Maureen Child series that I've read but it won't be the last. There were so many great things about this book. I love the dialog between the sisters, the way that the characters actually worked the problem out, instead of being back to normal a page later. The only thing that didn't ring true for me was the end. Which I won't spoil for those of you who haven't read this yet :) Overall a good end to a good series!

Ahhh...finally, Jo's story! I loved both And Then Came You: Sam's Story (The Marconi Sisters), Sam Marconi's story, and A Crazy Kind of Love (The Marconi Sisters), Mike's story--and TURN MY WORLD UPSIDE DOWN was a perfect ending to this trilogy! Josephina "Jo" Marconi has had her world turned upside down. She's about to finally finish college, ten years after she first enrolled. She's still struggling to forgive her father, Hank, for his one time of infidelity during her mother's illness. She's attempting to bond with her ten-year-old brother, Jack, the result of that one-time mistake of her father's. And she's trying, without much luck, to avoid Cash Hunter, the Woman Whisperer of Chandler, California. But then things get complicated. Jo finds out who the Money Fairy is, the person who has been leaving money anonymously for needy members of Chandler . She can't understand how her two both really pregnant sisters forgave their father for his sins so easily. And she most definitely cannot understand how to let go of the secret shame she's been harboring for years--that years ago, as a young college student, she was raped by a man she thought she was in love with. TURN MY WORLD UPSIDE down is the perfect ending to the winning trilogy by Maureen Child. Ms. Child is known for her well-developed characters and all-too-human story lines, and this book doesn't dissapoint. As Jo comes to grip with her past, she and Cash must learn that trust and love is about more than taking a chance, about more than being worried about what other people might think, and about more than living in fear that the person you love could possibly wind up causing you pain. I'm sorry to see this series end, but all three books are definitely winners, well worth the time to read!

Eldest daughter Jo is on her own as her two sisters are too pregnant to help her run the family's construction business. Also out of the picture is her father, who's on cruise and has left half-brother Jack in Jo's care. Jo's still hurt that her father had an affair a decade earlier (resulting in Jack's birth) while her mother lay dying, but wants the chance to bond with Jack, whose mother also recently died. Unfortunately, with her sisters on bedrest, she's stuck relying on sexy Cash Hunter, the "Woman Whisperer" of the county to help her out on her construction jobs. Cash has a tendency to have the women running to do good deeds after spending time in his bed, which makes it difficult to have a relationship. But Jo's intrigued enough to prove she has staying power... will it be enough to tame a man used to one-night stands? Together, they provide stability to the young Jack, who has seen his share of heart ache and being left behind. Jo and Cash were first introduced in "And Then Came You," and their combustibility even then was evident. Loaded with chemistry and a sweet little boy, Child's conclusion to the Marconi sisters' series is a gem. The one drawback is Child's need to bring every character from her previous Candellano books into the storyline (with maiden names and all). Their inclusion just seems forced, adding nothing to the story that is otherwise engaging.

Josefina "Jo" Marconi wonders what happened to her world. Her two sisters, Mike (see A CRAZY KIND OF LOVE) and Sam (see AND THEN CAME YOU) are married, pregnant, and boffing or eating all the time. Her father confessed to an affair ten years ago that led to a stepbrother Jack, who now stays with Jo as his mother recently died and their dad is on a cruise. The worst change is hiring woodworker Cash Hunter to repair the Barclay House as he wants to seduce her, but she does not want to make love and then save the world as his previous females apparently have done. Jack struggles with the dramatic shifts in his life while Jo decides to fight fire with fire and go after Cash, expecting to scare him away. He backs off but it is too late as Jo and Cash are in love. As Jo struggles to prove to the two men in her life that they can become a family, the two males are not sure whether to flee towards or away from the female predator who wants to shower them with love. The third Marconi contemporary romance is a fun tale unless you are pregnant. Jo is a wonderful lead character unable to empathize with her siblings while "stuck" with Jack who she does not know or understand, Cash, and the family business. Cash is her ideal counterpart as he feels for her brother-in-laws, provides big brother understanding to Jack, and wants Jo in his bed permanently not globetrotting after a tryst. Maureen Child closes her Marconi siblings with a strong zanier finish. Harriet Klausner