Title: Favorable Conditions
Author: Kathleen Kole
Genre: Women's Fiction/Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Sublime Coyote Media
Number of Pages: E Book
Source: Chick Lit Blog Tours
Can you imagine being forty-five, your last child has moved on to college and the time is ripe for you to blaze a new trail into your future? Pat Keegan can. Well, except for the tiny detail that all her preconceived notions about how that future was going to shape up are completely out the window. Join Pat as she jumps feet first back into the world outside her door, takes on a new business venture, is pursued by a much younger man and has to muddle her way through more emotions that she knew she had - all to finally attain her goal of rediscovering who she is and what she wants from the next phase of her life. (goodreads)
Kathleen Kole is a twitter friend, and I have to admit that as excited as I was to read Favorable Conditions I was also worried. Why was I worried? I was afraid I wouldn't be able to connect at all with Pat, the main character who is 45, divorced and her youngest child has just gone to college. The first chapter was a bit rough, but after that I realized that my fears were unfounded as I grew to really like Pat and all of her friends.
Favorable Conditions showed that it is ok to have a non traditional heroine fall in love and have romance. However, this book is more then a romance. It's about Pat finding out who she is again and that it is ok to do what she wants even if it means taking risks. Her first risk is buying a business. She has been at loose ends, since divorcing her husband a year ago. She buys a used bookstore, much to the shock of her children finds and herself enjoying it more then she thought she would. Another risk comes in the form of Ian, who wants to go out with her. She isn't sure she is ready to get back in the dating game, but her best friend Melanie and two guy friends Gerry & Travis tell her to give it a try. Pat is worried because Ian is nine years younger then she is, but he doesn't care about the age difference. I liked how they took things slow, and gradually built their friendship into a romance.
The romance between Ian and Pat was sweet, but not without it's share of trouble. There is her family, mainly her daughter who hates change of any kind and freaks out about just about anything Pat does and acts like she knows everything. (I asked my mom if I was this way in college and got a long pause, which I took to mean yes, lol.) Trouble also comes in the form of Alexa, the sister of Ian's Sister in Law who is after him for herself, and will stop at nothing to make it seem like they are together. Alexa was so much fun not to like. She was just shameless! I couldn't wait to see how everything would work itself out. I liked how everything was realistic, and made Pat eventually see how that it was Ok to do things for herself.
The point of view switched a lot during the book, and it was nice to see what the other characters thought of what was going on. The switches were seamless and flowed nicely together with the story. My only problem was that the story of Ian and Pat was so sweet that I found myself wanting more of it, forgetting that this was mainly about Pats discovery to who she is rather then a romance. I found myself wanting more them together at the end of the book.
Favorable Conditions is one book that I'm glad I took a risk on and just liked that the heroine wasn't in her twenties. This is the second book I've read by Kathleen Kole and it won't be the last.Come back tomorrow when Kathleen is here with a guest post!
Favorite Quotes:
He was only thirty six, for hell's skae! And, when Pat had said that very thing out loud, then sang a few bars of Mrs. Robinson, Melanie had become very agitated. She'd reiterated over and over, like a bothersome parrot, that it was just a number. Just a handful less then forty five. Not even worth mentioning.
"Cozy back here," Ian said, glancing over her shoulder at the shelves. Oh hell, Pat thought, inwardly cringing. Please don't let him think I'm trying to get him alone in the dark.
"I love, you Pat," he told her. "I'm sorry if that makes you cry, but I can't help it. I love you truly, madly, deeply."
