Review: Whimsical and Fun with a few Heart Tugging Moments! Another  Five Star Effort by Emelle Gamble!!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 8, 2014
Dating Cary Grant by Emelle Gamble is a 2014 Soul Mate publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Netalley in exchange for an honest review.Tracy is a New Yorker through and through. She works at an independent TV station that is currently struggling. But, Tracy's career is very important to her which means she and her husband Mike have had to make some concessions in their marriage. Mike is the Mayor of a small town in Connecticut. He has bigger political aspirations and is working around the clock to perform his civic duty. But, things are not working out in their marriage. Mike and Tracy are seldom together and Tracy isn't sure what she wants anymore. So, she leases an apartment in Manhattan for a six month period to workout her feelings and her career issues. But, a nasty fall caused by an older woman on a bicycle has Tracy experiencing dizziness and headaches. In the meantime Tracy has become acquainted with her movie star handsome neighbor, Phillip.Ah marriage. That's a tough one isn't it? He wants his career and expects his wife to support him and understand what he has to do to move on to bigger and better things. She wants her career too and doesn't understand why her husband can't be home more and more supportive of her hopes and dreams. Why does she have to give up all she ever wanted in order to save her marriage? This is the impasse Mike and Tracy are at in their relationship. MIke's workaholic hours put him in a compromising situation and now Tracy can't seem to move on from it. But, is all really lost? Maybe... or maybe not. It seems there are a couple of people that know Tracy needs some help and they begin trying to help save her marriage. Lovers of old movies will immediately recognize the lady on the bike and the handsome neighbor and you will see parallels between Tracy and Mike and certain movie plotlines that featured these actors.The angst is high and while the story is very whimsical it also pulls at the heart strings. At this moment I don't know if I should be mad at Emelle Gamble or applauding her since once again she made me do the "ugly cry". I loved the story!! The hard facts of life often cause people to give up too soon on a good thing because they want their cake and want to eat it too. Who doesn't? But, real life seldom works out like that . Realizing what is the most important thing in our lives, prioritizing things, talking things out, and sometimes letting go of things we are stubbornly holding on to for no other reason than we just want our way. Often times we find that things we places so much importance on were not all they were cracked up to be and we lost something far more important by putting careers or anything else before our relationships with our spouse, children or friends. Marriage is hard work and often there are no easy answers. Expecting your partner to always be perfect and having other unrealistic expectations can lead to disillusionment. But, sticking together and working through your problems realistically can be more rewarding and satisfying than anything else. There is no reason why you can't have all you ever wanted, but you may have to think of it on different terms, much the same way Tracy's mother explained her own marriage. That was excellent advice. On the lighter side of the story, Tracy has no idea who her two friends are until deeper into the story. I did wonder sometimes if Tracy was really seeing them or if the nasty bump on the head was causing her to hallucinate, but this part was cleverly and wonderfully thought out. The movie themes scattered through out the book are romantic and fun since I love all those movies . Who doesn't love Cary Grant? Yes, it would be hard to resist that charming fellow!! Well, he may have seemed perfect on screen and in our fantasies but in real life the big hearted guys like Mike are about as close to perfect as you are likely to get... still, I get the feeling that somewhere out there Christina and Phillip are clinking martini glasses and exchanging quick witted banter.This is another 5 star effort by Emelle Gamble!!