Melissa Ford – The Book Diva's Reads

GRAB(ook) Club Discussion: MEASURE OF LOVE by Melissa Ford

If you’re anything like me, you enjoy reading and participating in book clubs. I belong to two local book groups and have tried to participate in a variety of online book groups of the years. Regrettably the online book group participation has never seemed to work out due to time constraints, etc. Well, author Melissa Ford is offering something a little different. The GRAB(ook) Club has each member post one question related to the book of the month, the June book is Ms. Ford’s Measure of Love, and then club members hop from one blog to another, reading and answering questions.

I’ve read, enjoyed, and reviewed both of Ms. Ford’s books: Life from Scratch and Measure of Love. One of the many things I’ve enjoyed is the complexity of the male-female relationships as well as the female-female relationships. In Life from Scratch, we see Rachel and Adam divorcing and Rachel attempting to move on with her life. She becomes quite dependent on her best friend Arianna as her support system while she searches for balance as a newly single woman. By the end, Rachel is pretty confident in herself and her new found abilities (namely cooking and blogging) and winds up back with her ex. In Measure of Love, we see Rachel and Adam in a new committed relationship and eager to build a new life together. Ms. Ford shows that it isn’t as easy in fiction as in real life. So here’s my question:

Do you have any serious regrets about any of your past breakups? If so and you’re single/divorced/widowed, etc., do you wish that you could start again with that ex? Please post your response by commenting.

After you answer my question, please click over to read the rest of the book club questions for Measure of Love (http://www.stirrup-queens.com/2013/06/grabook-club-discusses-measure-of-love/). You can get your own copy of Measure of Love by Melissa Ford at bookstores including Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Measure-of-Love-ebook/dp/B00C7Y1Y8E/).

Book 111: MEASURE OF LOVE Review

Measure of Love by Melissa Ford
ISBN: 9781611942828 (paperback)
ISBN: 9781611943030 (ebook)
ASIN: B00C7Y1Y8E (Kindle edition)
Publication date: March 28, 2013
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books

Rachel has made a new life from scratch with her ex-husband, but can they survive the wedding plans?

It may be her second time getting married, but Rachel Goldman is definitely navigating a sticky relationship with her former—and soon-to-be-again—mother-in-law. Plus she’s in a tug of war with the editor of her upcoming book on divorce who is begging her to keep her happy new relationship with her ex, Adam, on the down low. How can Rachel do that when her society-obsessed mother-in-law is eager to get a featured story in the wedding section of the New York Times? Throw in a sister-in-law-to-be who’s navigating her own upcoming nuptials as well as a friend who not only doesn’t want to get married, but is possibly having an affair. Rachel finds herself with too many pots simmering on a very familiar stove.

Rachel Goldman should be on top of the world. Her blog is an internet success. She has a book about to published. And she’s in love. Of course, there are a few snags; her book is about being successful at divorce and she’s about to remarry her ex-husband. If that isn’t bad enough, she thinks her best friend, Arianna, is cheating on her live-in boyfriend, Ethan, who just happens to be Rachel’s brother. Almost forgot…her ex-mother in law, Anita, wants to make Rachel and Adam’s second wedding even more of a society event than their first.

Rachel carefully navigated the world of marriage breakup, divorce, and being single in Life From Scratch. Although she was devastated by the breakup and divorce, she found solace in writing about her problems and endeavored to achieve success at cooking. She merged these two into a blog that become a massive hit and evolved into a book contract. Rachel wasn’t looking for love, but she found it – with her ex-husband, Adam. He has left his law firm and embraced his first love, literature, by becoming a teacher. In Measure of Love, Adam and Rachel take their relationship to the next step, marriage (or in this case remarriage). Rachel is happy that Adam wants to commit to her, but before she knows it she’s trying to plan a wedding in less than four months. What follows is a mixture of I Love Lucy and Jane Austen’s Emma (the latter is actually referred to in the story); well-intentioned meddling with disastrous results (minus the comedic happy endings).

I found Measure of Love to be a fast-paced and enjoyable read. I almost felt as if I was meeting up with old friends as I revisited with Rachel, Arianna, Adam and others in their new struggles and dealings. Rachel isn’t as self-assured in Measure of Love, but only when it comes to her love life. Arianna is still somewhat exotic, but not nearly as extreme when compared to Adam’s sister Lisbeth. Lisbeth is an artist and is planning her own wedding to her partner, Emily, a physician (truly an odd couple with disparate personalities, but they fit). I felt sucked in by Rachel’s internal struggle with her remarriage and her well-intended meddling. I waited patiently with Adam as he watched Rachel struggle with these issues. I suffered along with Arianna as she drifted slowly away from her best-friend. And I hoped for that happy-ending for not just Rachel and Adam, but also for Lisbeth and Emily, as well as Rachel and Arianna. The characters are well-developed and the situations not only realistic but relatable. Ms. Ford blends great writing and a tale about romance and love, mixed with relationship/friendship drama and touches of humor; the result is a great read about second chances for love. Measure of Love is the second installment in Ms. Ford’s Life from Scratch series. I am rather anxious to read the next installment featuring Arianna’s story, Apart At the Seams.

Disclaimer: I received a digital copy of this book free for review purposes from the publisher via NetGalley. I was not paid, required or otherwise obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Buy the Book:

Shop Indie Bookstores

Book 169: LIFE FROM SCRATCH Review

When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade, unless you’re Rachel Goldman then you might make lemon custard or use the lemon to roast a chicken. Rachel Goldman is the main character in Life From Scratch by Melissa Ford. Rachel has just gone through a divorce and must decide what she wants to do with her life.

Rachel is a 34-four-year old woman that was married for 12 years and has been divorced for less than a year. She has taken sabbatical from her job as a graphic artist working for the New York Public Library. She didn’t hate her job but she just isn’t quite sure what she wants to do, so she decides to learn how to cook and document it on a blog. Rachel thinks of her blog as a food or cooking blog but after she’s nominated for and wins a Bloscar (an award for various blogs in assorted genres), she realizes that her blog is basically an online diary and the best therapy available. Her other “therapist” and confidante is her best friend Arianna.

Post-divorce Rachel discovers that she enjoys being an aunt since she never had children. She also learns that she has been a lousy friend by ignoring what has been happening (or not happening) in Arianna’s life. It was somewhat amusing to see Rachel fall in lust with Gael, the Spaniard with the gorgeous smile. At first glance they seem to be made for one another with their similar interests, but Gael isn’t the man Rachel thinks he is or exactly what she wants. What she discovers she wants is her ex-husband…pre-law practice. Ultimately Rachel discovers that life goes on after a divorce, it may take awhile to grieve over the relationship but that’s fine. Rachel seems to epitomize the average woman that has gone through a non-acrimonious divorce. You may not be able to go back and change the past but you can start from scratch using the lessons learned from past experiences and mistakes. Life From Scratch is a sometimes humorous but realistic look at life after divorce. A quick and good read for anyone…married or single!

Disclaimer: I received this book free for review purposes from the publisher through NetGalley. I was not paid, required or otherwise obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”