But first, here's the synopsis of Finding Lucas:
Can you ever really go back to the past?
On her fifth anniversary with boyfriend Derek, Jamie Ross finds herself in a Montreal hotel room wondering how the carefree guy she met in a Chicago bar has turned into “the quintessential metrosexual.” Weighed down by Derek’s disdain for her second hand wardrobe, unusual family and low-paying job as an associate producer of a daytime talk show, Jamie reaches a breaking point. And when her new boss plans to reunite lost loves on the show, she remembers Lucas— the boy she’d loved and lost ten years earlier. What follows is a quest that is at times hilarious and at others disastrous as Jamie’s life transforms from run of the mill to absolutely crazy. But will finding Lucas give Jamie everything she’s looking for?
Cat Lavoie - Author Guest Review
The only thing better than reading a truly great book is finding out that the author behind the words is as awesome as her novel. When I first ‘met’ Samantha Stroh Bailey through Goodreads, I was happy to connect with a fellow Canadian chick lit author. But—over the course of a few short months—she’s become someone I look up to and admire and, one day I’m sure, we are destined to sit down for coffee and chat away the afternoon. Her brilliant debut novel will surely be one of the topics discussed.
Finding Lucas starts with a bang (literally) and the opening scene clearly shows a couple in crisis. Jamie Ross has been dating her boyfriend, Derek, for five years but the snobby, perfectly-groomed metrosexual she’s dating now isn’t the carefree guy she fell in love with all those years ago. Jamie and Derek are so mismatched, it made me want to scream at my Kindle and tell Jamie that she could do so much better. Derek completely ignores Jamie's needs and—even though they are meant to be celebrating their anniversary—she doesn't get to do any of the activities she wants to do. Everyone around her knows she isn’t happy but she has a hard time admitting it to herself and walking away from the last five years of her life. When she’s had enough (or, rather, when Derek does something so cringeworthy she can’t stand to be near him for one more second) Jamie finally leaves. When the talk show she works for does a feature on past loves, Jamie decides to track down Lucas, her high school ‘friend with benefits,’ because she remembers him as the only man who's ever accepted her for who she is and never tried to change her. They haven’t had any contact in the last ten years but Jamie is convinced that her happiness lies in finding Lucas and picking up where they left off.
I connected with Jamie right from the opening pages and cheered her on in her quest. Samantha Stroh Bailey creates a colorful cast of supporting characters who each bring something special to the story. Jamie’s friends are hilarious and quirky and her nemesis—the quintessential office bitch, Eva—and Derek’s mother are characters I loved to hate. Jamie’s family is anything but typical but their concern for her and her happiness is evident with every crazy antic.
As I was nearing the end of Finding Lucas, I had the feeling that always hits me when I'm reading a book I love: I couldn’t wait to find out what happens to Jamie and Lucas but I was also dreading getting to that last page because I didn't want it to be over. But Samantha Stroh Bailey gives her novel a perfectly satisfying ending and I was just happy to have been on this journey with Jamie.
Finding Lucas is full of humor and heart and I highly recommend it.
Thank you Cat!
Connect with Cat Lavoie:
Website
Connect with Samantha Stroh Bailey:
Website
Cat Lavoie was born in the small town of Jonquière in Québec, Canada. At the age of nineteen, she packed up her things (mostly books) and moved to the big city of Montreal where she currently lives with her tempestuous cat Abbie--who is both adorable and quite possibly evil.
An incurable Anglophile since her university days where she studied
English Literature, she can often be found daydreaming about her next trip to
London. Since she's an expert at the art of procrastination, Cat is easily
distracted by cooking and home improvement shows--even though she's not
particularly good at either.
Cat grew up watching soap operas and legal dramas and--had she not
decided to be a claims analyst by day and write chick lit by night--she would
have probably become a designer suit-wearing lawyer. Or a character on All My
Children (which is what she really wanted to be when she was twelve).
Cat is not sure whether she's a geek or a nerd--and is afraid she might
be both. Breaking the Rules is her first novel. Come say hello at CatLavoie.com
and follow @Catenabi on Twitter.
Check out our review of Cat's novel, Breaking the Rules:
Thank you so much for having me! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Cat, for an amazing review and such kind words. I would love to have coffee with you and discuss your fantastic debut, Breaking The Rules! Thank you, Lydia, for hosting Cat's guest review! This made my day.
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