Author Guest Post
How often have you looked to your girlfriends and said, "I need your advice. What do you think?"
More times than you can count, right? And thank goodness you have your best mates there for you, whether it's just to commiserate with over a lousy date (or maybe a disaster at the hairdresser), or to have a serious heart-to-heart. When the road starts to get bumpy, for whatever reason, it's always reassuring to know that if you just look next to you you've got a friend there to help out in the best way she can.
Without her group of girlfriends, the leading lady in When Girlfriends Step Up, Robin Sinclair, would find herself in quite a bind. Robin's not exactly very confident, she hasn't found her Mr. Right (or anyone who remotely comes close), and just when she thinks her love life is as pathetic as it can get, well…she finds out that she's pregnant. Single and pregnant and trying to track down the father…definitely not Robin's idea of a sure-fire way to a happily-ever-after.
With an unexpected bundle on the way, Robin needs her friends now more than ever. Instead of daydreaming about the perfect future wedding, it's making a birthing plan and going to Lamaze class. It’s not fashionable new dresses, it's maternity clothes. And champagne and parties? It's all about midnight feedings and diaper changes now. Life is changing quickly, whether Robin is ready or not. She has to step up to the plate, reach down deep inside and find her confidence, and know that even though there may not be a Prince Charming by her side, she has her best girlfriends who love her and support her all the way.
It's the roughest of times, like discovering you're single and pregnant and clueless as to what to do with your life, that the truest of friendships come to light. Even though Lara, Robin's fellow unlucky-in-love BFF, is a high-powered and busy career woman, she doesn't think twice about having Robin and baby move in with her. Friends Jackie and Emily wouldn't dream of being anywhere else when Robin's baby is born. Gal pal Claire insists on throwing a baby shower for the mom-to-be. And long-time friend Sophie puts aside past indifferences to help out a friend in need. It's true friendship that helps see Robin through this difficult time. And she can find that self-assurance with her friends' encouragement and support, from the "Omigod! I'm going to have a baby!" moment all the way to the, well…you'll just have to find out for yourself. ;)
And, when it comes to that plaguing question, "Will I ever find true love?" When Girlfriends Step Up is a chick lit, after all, and with such a rocking protagonist like Robin, she definitely deserves to find a little love. A traditional love story? This book is all about writing your own happily-ever-after.
Thank you for dropping by this fantastic stop during my Chick Lit Plus Blog Tour. And thank you to Kathleen for inviting me here today! When Girlfriends Step Up is the second installment in my When Girlfriends… collection.
If you want to know if fellow loveless friend, Lara, finds her own Mr. Right, then you just might want to check out When Girlfriends Make Choices, which I'm pleased to share I'll be touring with in April, and will be making another lovely appearance right here at Jersey Girl Book Reviews!
About The Author
Savannah Page is the author of the continuing When Girlfriends ... collection and her travelogue and first book, Bumped to Berlin. When she isn’t writing, Savannah enjoys a good book with a latte and jazz tunes, Pilates, and exploring her home of Berlin as an American expat.
AUTHOR WEBSITE
GOODREADS
When Girlfriends Step Up by Savannah Page ~ Virtual Book Tour Page: Chick Lit Plus Blog Tours
Book Review
When Girlfriends Step Up by Savannah Page
Book 2: When Girlfriends ... collection
Publisher: Pearls and Pages
Publication Date: September 27, 2012
Format: Paperback - 340 pages / Kindle - 462 KB
ISBN: 147931014X
ASIN: B009GH95PE
Genre: Chick Lit / Women's Fiction
BUY THE BOOK: When Girlfriends Step Up
BUY THE COLLECTION: When Girlfriends ...
Book 1: When Girlfriends Break Hearts
Book 2: When Girlfriends Step Up
Book 3: When Girlfriends Make Choices
Book 4: When Girlfriends Chase Dreams
Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Chick Lit Plus Blog Tours.
Book Description:
Robin Sinclair is young, determined, and has a promising career at a small publishing house in Seattle. Even though she considers herself unlucky in love, Robin still dreams of eventually meeting Mr. Right and having a happily-ever-after kind of life. And at twenty-five, the world of opportunity is wide. But it's been a difficult year filled with trials...and it's only just begun.
While long-time friendships are finally on the mend, and things are starting to look up again, Robin is faced with her biggest challenge yet. She's single and pregnant.
Uncertain now of her future and scared of being alone, Robin must re-examine her life and choices, and summon the courage to step up.
With the love and support of her best girlfriends from college, especially her best friend and roommate, Lara, Robin will learn that when the going gets tough, the best of friends become family. And, perhaps, with their encouragement, Robin can mature and gain the confidence needed to become a single mother. And, who knows about being unlucky in love. Things are suddenly getting interesting with Robin's attractive co-worker, Bobby.
This is an endearing story about maturity and perseverance. It's a story about friends coming together as family, about finding the strength within and around, and about writing your own happily-ever-after. About what happens when girlfriends step up.
Book Excerpt:
It was a beautiful spring Sunday in Seattle. The May sun was shining, the sky a vibrant blue, and all of the flowers in full bloom; the grass, trees, and shrubs were a radiant green, and the fragrant aromas of gardenia and honeysuckle hung in the air. Yet while the great outdoors was singing its cheerful spring song, a dark and heavy cloud had settled in my apartment, and bad news and awkward vibes were raining down. Torrentially. Luckily the storm itself hadn’t lasted too long, but the ominous cloud still loomed overhead. Bad news likes to hang around like that.
For the past several hours I’d been both making amends with my long-time friend, Sophie Wharton (the storm that had settled), and explaining my latest conundrum (that ominous cloud of bad news). Sophie had unexpectedly arrived at my doorstep earlier that afternoon in an effort to repair the friendship both of us had been giving quite a beating since my sleeping with her boyfriend, Brandon. (Yes, I know. Horrible. Really horrible stuff.) I was completely taken aback by her visit, because we weren’t supposed to get together to talk about the elephant in the room until later that week. But Sophie didn’t want another lost minute between us, and, at that time, I couldn’t have needed a friend more.
You see, for the past week…week-and-a-half or so…I’d had the dreadfully awful, sneaking suspicion that I was pregnant (now enter the latest conundrum). Going on two months without a period, a girl knows something’s not right. Especially when the nasty little visitor normally arrives as scheduled month in and month out. Two months—no visitor. Serious problem.
And as daunting a situation it might be to find yourself in when you’re not married or in a committed relationship, or when you’re a single girl, or when your boyfriend will most likely high-tail it on out when he hears the news, it doesn’t get much worse than my case. I’m unlucky in love (something that my best friend Lara Kearns and I sadly have in common, which we often lament together), and I’d made a really bad decision one night. So not only was I a single girl who might have been knocked up, but I was a single girl possibly carrying the baby not of an ex-boyfriend, not even of some John Doe I slipped up with from a bar. No. I could very well have been pregnant with the baby of one of my best friend’s ex-boyfriends.
Six pregnancy tests later, each one as positive as jolly Mister Rogers, the guessing game was over. I, Robin Sinclair, was going to be a mother.
“I still can’t believe this,” Sophie said, pacing my cramped living room. “I still cannot believe this.” The shocking news of my pregnancy was still as true now as it had been just two hours ago when I sprang the news on Sophie.
I sat on the sofa, clutching one of the light yellow pillows that one of my best friends, Claire Linley, had made for me as a housewarming present when I moved into this apartment four years ago. God, those were the easy times. All any of us had to worry about back then was passing our mid-terms…or if that guy from the party last night would call us like he said he would…
“Maybe the test gave you a false reading,” Sophie said, stopping abruptly in the center of the living room. “Those things can be faulty, right?” Her face read of hope. Mine, however, had panic and fear written all over it. I know it did because the churning in my gut and the dryness of my mouth told me that I was making the face of a panicked pig going to slaughter. And the worst thing was that in a few months time I probably would actually look like a panicked pig going to slaughter. I let out a groan and pulled the pillow in tighter to my chest.
“Where’s the kit box?” Sophie walked towards the kitchen.
“There are three of them,” I said, no life behind my words.
With all three boxes in hand Sophie started to read over each set of instructions. She looked determined. That was Sophie—always taking (and needing) control. This was one particular thing, however, over which she would have no control. Neither would I.
“Honestly, Robin,” she said, not looking up from the instruction sheets. “These home kit thingies can be faulty. I’ve read many stories about girls who take these tests and get false positives. It happens a lot. Just pick up a copy of Cosmo and those kinds of stories are all over the place. Or tune in to MTV.”
“Oh forget it,” I said, a hint of life coming back into my voice. “I’ve taken six tests, Sophie. Six. Every single one of them is positive. Who am I kidding?” She looked over at me. “I’m pregnant.”
Sophie took a seat next to me. “I took four of those stupid tests before you got here,” I said. “All of them positive. And you saw for yourself those last two. Positive, positive.”
It hadn’t taken long to break the news of my possible pregnancy to Sophie when she arrived that afternoon to make amends. A girl can’t keep that kind of news to herself, even if the woman with whom she was sharing such news played a difficult role in the whole ordeal. Once the initial shock subsided, Sophie did what I least expected she would do in such a desperately pathetic situation. Instead of running out of my apartment, screaming profanities and calling me every whorish name in the book, she embraced me in a tight hug and promised that everything would work out fine. Then she handed me one of her homemade cupcakes she’d brought over. “Comfort food,” she’d said, as I picked at the sweet frosting.
Then, finally, came the sudden moment of shock for Sophie: One of her best friends was pregnant with her ex-boyfriend's baby. Damn. She looked fearful for a while, scratching her head and pacing the floor, as if trying to figure out a solution to a problem that had no solution. Then a calm settled once again, and good ol’ Sophie came around. Before I knew it she was whisking me back to the local drug store to pick up another home pregnancy kit because “there is just no way this is possible, Robin. We need to make sure!”
“I’m pregnant, Sophie,” I said, resting my head on her shoulder, limply holding the two most recently positive test strips. “I know it.” I waved around the strips. “You know it. Now what the hell am I going to do?”
After a brief moment of silence, Sophie said, “We are going to take care of this. We are going to figure this out.” She ran her fingers along my back, giving me some relaxing chills. “Robin? I have to ask something.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you positive it’s Brandon’s baby?”
“As positive as all those damn tests, Sophie.” I sighed heavily, tossing the strips aside. “You know me. Unlucky in love. I’ve been closed for business for a long time. The only misstep was that night with Brandon.” I stopped speaking, not wanting to inflict any more harm on Sophie. Having had a one-night stand with Brandon was enough damage; I didn’t need to draw her a picture of the night’s events.
“Well then, there’s just one thing we have to do for starters,” she said, still running her fingers along my back. “We have to tell him.”
For the past several hours I’d been both making amends with my long-time friend, Sophie Wharton (the storm that had settled), and explaining my latest conundrum (that ominous cloud of bad news). Sophie had unexpectedly arrived at my doorstep earlier that afternoon in an effort to repair the friendship both of us had been giving quite a beating since my sleeping with her boyfriend, Brandon. (Yes, I know. Horrible. Really horrible stuff.) I was completely taken aback by her visit, because we weren’t supposed to get together to talk about the elephant in the room until later that week. But Sophie didn’t want another lost minute between us, and, at that time, I couldn’t have needed a friend more.
You see, for the past week…week-and-a-half or so…I’d had the dreadfully awful, sneaking suspicion that I was pregnant (now enter the latest conundrum). Going on two months without a period, a girl knows something’s not right. Especially when the nasty little visitor normally arrives as scheduled month in and month out. Two months—no visitor. Serious problem.
And as daunting a situation it might be to find yourself in when you’re not married or in a committed relationship, or when you’re a single girl, or when your boyfriend will most likely high-tail it on out when he hears the news, it doesn’t get much worse than my case. I’m unlucky in love (something that my best friend Lara Kearns and I sadly have in common, which we often lament together), and I’d made a really bad decision one night. So not only was I a single girl who might have been knocked up, but I was a single girl possibly carrying the baby not of an ex-boyfriend, not even of some John Doe I slipped up with from a bar. No. I could very well have been pregnant with the baby of one of my best friend’s ex-boyfriends.
Six pregnancy tests later, each one as positive as jolly Mister Rogers, the guessing game was over. I, Robin Sinclair, was going to be a mother.
“I still can’t believe this,” Sophie said, pacing my cramped living room. “I still cannot believe this.” The shocking news of my pregnancy was still as true now as it had been just two hours ago when I sprang the news on Sophie.
I sat on the sofa, clutching one of the light yellow pillows that one of my best friends, Claire Linley, had made for me as a housewarming present when I moved into this apartment four years ago. God, those were the easy times. All any of us had to worry about back then was passing our mid-terms…or if that guy from the party last night would call us like he said he would…
“Maybe the test gave you a false reading,” Sophie said, stopping abruptly in the center of the living room. “Those things can be faulty, right?” Her face read of hope. Mine, however, had panic and fear written all over it. I know it did because the churning in my gut and the dryness of my mouth told me that I was making the face of a panicked pig going to slaughter. And the worst thing was that in a few months time I probably would actually look like a panicked pig going to slaughter. I let out a groan and pulled the pillow in tighter to my chest.
“Where’s the kit box?” Sophie walked towards the kitchen.
“There are three of them,” I said, no life behind my words.
With all three boxes in hand Sophie started to read over each set of instructions. She looked determined. That was Sophie—always taking (and needing) control. This was one particular thing, however, over which she would have no control. Neither would I.
“Honestly, Robin,” she said, not looking up from the instruction sheets. “These home kit thingies can be faulty. I’ve read many stories about girls who take these tests and get false positives. It happens a lot. Just pick up a copy of Cosmo and those kinds of stories are all over the place. Or tune in to MTV.”
“Oh forget it,” I said, a hint of life coming back into my voice. “I’ve taken six tests, Sophie. Six. Every single one of them is positive. Who am I kidding?” She looked over at me. “I’m pregnant.”
Sophie took a seat next to me. “I took four of those stupid tests before you got here,” I said. “All of them positive. And you saw for yourself those last two. Positive, positive.”
It hadn’t taken long to break the news of my possible pregnancy to Sophie when she arrived that afternoon to make amends. A girl can’t keep that kind of news to herself, even if the woman with whom she was sharing such news played a difficult role in the whole ordeal. Once the initial shock subsided, Sophie did what I least expected she would do in such a desperately pathetic situation. Instead of running out of my apartment, screaming profanities and calling me every whorish name in the book, she embraced me in a tight hug and promised that everything would work out fine. Then she handed me one of her homemade cupcakes she’d brought over. “Comfort food,” she’d said, as I picked at the sweet frosting.
Then, finally, came the sudden moment of shock for Sophie: One of her best friends was pregnant with her ex-boyfriend's baby. Damn. She looked fearful for a while, scratching her head and pacing the floor, as if trying to figure out a solution to a problem that had no solution. Then a calm settled once again, and good ol’ Sophie came around. Before I knew it she was whisking me back to the local drug store to pick up another home pregnancy kit because “there is just no way this is possible, Robin. We need to make sure!”
“I’m pregnant, Sophie,” I said, resting my head on her shoulder, limply holding the two most recently positive test strips. “I know it.” I waved around the strips. “You know it. Now what the hell am I going to do?”
After a brief moment of silence, Sophie said, “We are going to take care of this. We are going to figure this out.” She ran her fingers along my back, giving me some relaxing chills. “Robin? I have to ask something.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you positive it’s Brandon’s baby?”
“As positive as all those damn tests, Sophie.” I sighed heavily, tossing the strips aside. “You know me. Unlucky in love. I’ve been closed for business for a long time. The only misstep was that night with Brandon.” I stopped speaking, not wanting to inflict any more harm on Sophie. Having had a one-night stand with Brandon was enough damage; I didn’t need to draw her a picture of the night’s events.
“Well then, there’s just one thing we have to do for starters,” she said, still running her fingers along my back. “We have to tell him.”
My Book Review:
"But, I'll be there for you, when the rain starts to pour. I'll be there for you, like I've been there before. I'll be there for you, cause you're there for me too."
- I'll Be There for You by the Rembrandts - Friends Theme
Twenty-five year old Robin Sinclair works at a small publishing house in Seattle. She thinks that she is unlucky at love but believes that Mr. Right is still out there, and she has a great core of girlfriends to lean on ... and boy is she going to need them when she finds out that she is pregnant after a one night stand! Single, pregnant and unsure of what the future will hold, Robin relies on her five girlfriends: Sophie, Claire, Lara, Emily, and Jackie to lend support during her pregnancy. Robin's journey of self-discovery will teach her life lessons, show her how valuable good friends really are, and might even bring Mr. Right in the form of a co-worker her way!
When Girlfriends Step Up is a lighthearted and fun story about friendships that will provide the reader with a warm and fuzzy feeling. In the second installment of the When Girlfriends ... collection, author Savannah Page weaves a wonderful tale about the beauty and dynamics that make up friendships. Written in the first person narrative, the reader follows Robin's journey of being single and pregnant, learning life lessons, and finding out the meaning of true friendship when her five girlfriends rally around her at a time when she needs them the most.
This sweet story provides a message with a gentle reminder that friends may come and go, but a true core group of girlfriends will always be with you through thick and thin, good and bad times, to always give their love and support. This is a truly enjoyable read that is witty, humorous and emotional, it draws you in from the beginning and keeps you enthralled to the end.
I loved how Robin and her five girlfriends dealt with a variety of life issues with a mixture of friendship, love and forgiveness. Friends help each other grow and teach each other the beauty of what it truly means to be friends.
With a lovable cast of characters; quirky dialogue and interactions; and a realistic storyline about friendships that any group of girlfriends can relate to; When Girlfriends Step Up is a wonderful story that shows how priceless the bond of friendships are to everyone, especially girlfriends!
When Girlfriends Step Up is the second book in the When Girlfriends ... collection.
RATING: 4 STARS ****
Loving these books!
ReplyDeleteGreat collection of stories, looking forward to reading the rest of them. Thank you for the opportunity to host the virtual book tour event.
DeleteThank you for the fabulous review and feature, Kathleen. I'm thrilled to have you be a part of the next tour too!! Happy Reading!
ReplyDeleteHi Savannah! I'm excited to host another tour event for you, love the When Girlfriends ... collection! Thank you for the opportunity to host your virtual book tour event. :)
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