Book Review: Seven Year Switch by Claire Cook
July 19th, 2010 by Danielle
Just when Jill Murray’s finally figured out how to manage on her own, her ex-husband proves that he can’t even run away reliably. After seven long years missing in action, he’s back—crashing into the man-free existence Jill and her ten-year-old daughter have built so carefully. And what’s a good mother to do? To a child, even a deadbeat dad is better than no dad at all.
Jill’s life just hasn’t turned out quite the way she planned. By now, she’d hoped to be jetting around the world as a high-end cultural coach. Instead, she’s answering phones for a local travel agency and teaching cooking classes at the community center.
Enter free-spirited entrepreneur Billy, who hires Jill as a consultant for an upcoming business trip. Is their relationship veering off in a new direction? And what about her ex? Jill couldn’t possibly still have feelings for him . . . could she? Suddenly, her no-boys-allowed life is anything but.
They say that every seven years you become a completely new person, but Jill isn’t sure she’s ready for the big change. It takes a Costa Rican getaway to help her make a choice—not so much between the two men in her life, but between the woman she is and the one she wants to be.
Jill’s life has been hard. At least the last seven years have been. From the time she discovered her husband had up and left her with nearly nothing and their three year old daughter to fend for, she’s had nothing but an uphill battle. While juggling a few different jobs Jill has managed to find stability through the chaos her husband left in his wake and now he’s decided to make an appearance. Her struggle to find herself while protecting her daughter is a tale many single and married mothers alike will adore and absolutely relate to.
Jill Murray is so much like many women out there today, married and single alike. They struggle everyday to make ends meet, to support children who are growing away from them and still trying to manage to remain sane. Even with a spouse in the home I think many would argue (especially in this economy) that it’s difficult to juggle all the responsibilities placed on a mother’s shoulders and still find time for yourself. Then add in the complication of a missing parent, things get exponentially worse. But though her relationship with her daughter is a bit strained and the budget tight Jill still manages to balance things pretty well. I loved her take charge attitude and how determined she was to make things work. I honestly don’t know how she wouldn’t have done it otherwise.
One of the fun things about the book was all the traveling bits. It made Seven Year Switch the perfect book for a vacation or beach read. One of Jill’s sources of income is a Girlfriend Getaway company in which she spends almost every free moment on the phone talking to potential clients. All the descriptions and talk of faraway places made me eager to jump on a plane soon! Unfortunately though, this was also the major downfall in the book for me. I loved hearing about all the fun places, but when it got toward the last sixty pages or so and you just wanted to get to where the book was going all the extra details seemed to bog down the story for me. It was strange because the beginning of the book had a great pace and I ticked along without any thought of how many pages I read. But when it came to those last sixty pages or so I just wanted to be done with the faraway places and hear more about how Jill ended up.
Seven Year Switch is definitely the perfect beach read! The main character was so easy to relate to no matter your current situation, married or not even with or without kids, you will find something about her that draws you in. Claire Cook has a knack for writing and despite my problem with the book, I’m still very interested in reading her other books because I loved her style so much. For anyone looking for a quick getaway with wonderful character and a beautiful setting Seven Year Switch is the book.
I’d like to thank Pump Up Your Book Tours for providing me with a copy for review! Thank you!
Posted in 2010 releases, Blog Tour, Book Reviews, Rating: 3/5 | 1 Comment »
I bought a few books by the author that i need to read soon, but i kept passing this book at the bookstore. Thanks for the great review, Danielle. I don’t think this one is right for me.