5 Star
Lending a sympathetic ear and dispensing sage words of advice is all part of the job for psychologist Pilar Alvarez, and she’s everything a good therapist should be: warm, compassionate, supportive. She listens, she cares, and she has all the answers, but how’s the woman everyone turns to in their hour of need supposed to cope when her own life starts to fall apart?
While working hard to make a success of her recently-opened practice in trendy South Beach, Pilar must also find time to cater to the demands of her boisterous Cuban family, which includes younger sister Izzy, an unemployed, navel-pierced wild child who can't stay out of trouble, and their mother, a beauty queen turned drama queen who’s equally obsessed with her fading looks and getting Pilar married before it’s “too late.” Although she’d like to oblige her mother and make a permanent love connection, Pilar’s romantic prospects look grim. Her cheating ex, who swears that he’s reformed, is stalking her. A hunky, but strictly off-limits, patient with bad-boy appeal and intimacy issues is making passes. And the sexy shrink in the suite across the hall has a gold band on his left ring finger.
When a series of personal and professional disasters lead Pilar into the arms of one of her unsuitable suitors, she's left shaken, confused, and full of self-doubt. With time running out, she must make sense of her feelings and learn to trust herself again so that she can save her business, her family, and most importantly, her heart.
Sabrina-Kate - 5 Star
There is just something completely endearing about a psychologist who seems to need one herself. I absolutely loved Pilar and her quirky insecurities, trouble with men and overbearing family. Her entire character was developed into someone whom I felt like I had actually met after I had read the story. The author really was able to bring her to life and in a big way.
The story just flowed easily and was a shocking delight for this avid reader. The descriptions, personalities of the characters, scene setting and delivery of every line and every nuance were done so masterfully that I immediately looked up the author to see if she had written anything else and am pleased to say that she has so I am looking forward to another great read and soon!
I think that a lot of us can identify with Pilar because she is so self-assured in so many ways and helps out so many others yet struggles with the basic social things like dating and love in her own life while giving advice for a living and helping out friends and family. Who isn't able to see things more clearly from a distance or has been able to?
In Need of Therapy's story and every surprising development spoke to me so I would love to hear more about Pilar in further books so I am hoping that Banister will be writing more about her in the future.
Thank you to Tracie Banister for our review copy. All opinions are our own.
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Sabrina-Kate, I am tickled pink that you enjoyed IN NEED OF THERAPY. Thank you so much for the wonderful review. And thanks to Lydia for having INOT on Novel Escapes. So thrilled to see my book here! :)
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