Bikini Season

Heart Lake #1

by Sheila Roberts

     Erin Merritt has returned to her scenic hometown of Heart Lake to plan her wedding, but when she repeatedly runs into her childhood crush, she wonders if she’s engaged to the wrong man.  To make matters worse, all the stress is making her eat, and now she can’t fit into her wedding dress.            Erin enlists the help of her cooking club--Angela, Megan and Kizzy--and the Teeny Bikini Diet Club is born.  The women make a pact to get slim enough to wear their bikinis to the lake by summertime, a pact that changes their lives forever.  With a little help from her friends, Angela faces her fear that her marriage is crumbling.  Megan confronts the self-esteem issues that have always held her back.  Kizzy deals with her husband’s efforts to sabotage her diet and keep her overweight.  And Erin learns some important truths about love.      Pull up your favorite beach chair and savor this funny, inspiring story about being true to yourself and following your heart, and the women who enrich our lives.

Genres: Chick Lit, Romance, Fiction, Book Club, Contemporary, Summer Reads, Adult Fiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2008

About the author

With fifty books to her credit, both fiction and non-fiction, Sheila Roberts is a frequent USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller - and a fan favorite. Her books have sold over three million copies and have been turned into movies for the Hallmark, Lifetime and Great American Family channels. Before settling into her writing career, Sheila owned a singing telegram company and played in band. When she's not traveling, Sheila can be found hanging out with friends, playing tennis, and, of course, writing and reading. Sometimes she even remembers to post books she's read!

Reviews

[Princess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw this on the Reader's Choice shelf and decided to give it a try. I enjoyed it. It follows several women through their different lives. They've been in a cooking club together and after a eye-opening doctor's appointment for one of the women, the club morphs into a get healthy support group they title the Bikini Club. It's by no means a literary read, but it is fun and warm and affirming with the requisite happy ending.

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars because I'm still smiling. What a fun story of four friends working to help each other lose weight. Some of the ideas they have a absolutely hilarious.

[chippyvale · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay so I picked up this book from the library with much anticipation because the previous book that I had read from Roberts - Love in Bloom, was excellent so I had the same hopes for this as well.

But, I was really disappointed with this one. So a group of women banded together to lose weight and called themselves the Teeny Bikini Clun. The book also documented each woman's struggles with life issues and of course, weight.

To me, this book is so mindless and so fluffy that I just didn't want to finish the rest of it. But I persevered because I don't have the habit of leaving a book half-read. The plot is shallow and the characters have little depth.

Which is a real pity because Roberts' novel Love in BLoom is really good but this is just a total letdown.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very quick and predictable read about some unhappy, overweight women struggling to lose weight with the help of their girlfriends who were formerly part of their cooking club. One girl struggles with the decision of marrying the controlling fiancee, one worries her husband doesn't love her now that she's gained weight, one has a husband who is overweight too and constantly brings sweets back into the house, and the fourth woman has always been overweight and struggles with both the idea of being obese and being shy. It was a cute little story and I didn't actually mind that I knew everything that was going to happen before it did. Just don't go looking for something to make you think too hard, and you will be okay.

[Stephanie C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun filled book of friendship and an issue close to most women's hearts-weightloss, and the journey of self discovery.I loved Kinzy and her relationship with her husband, but was annoyed Angela's distrustful relationship with hers. This read like I was watching a geat chick flick, and I bet ya it will be on the big screen soon, with the title of "The Teeny-Bikini Club".

[Teresa Grubbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great chick lit! Four friends go from having a cooking club to meeting weekly as a diet support group when one wants to fit into her wedding gown, another gets dire warnings from her doctor, another thinks her husband is having an affair, and the last one is tired of being alone. Wonderful story about friendships between strong women,romances in different stages, and the hardships of dieting.

[Laurie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I grabbed this as I walked by the shelf at the library. I wanted a lite read. It was about a group of women that start dieting together for different reasons. It was okay and entertaining enough that I finished it. But it was a bit to much fluff and it made me feel guilty for some of my food choices.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another feel good, heartwarming story by Roberts. It followed the lives of four women as they each decided they needed to lose weight. Every woman had a different reason for why they wanted to become healthier, but they stood together to do it. This was not just a journey of weight loss, but of trying to learn to love yourself the way you are and making the most out of life.

[Brianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

it is very heart-warming read about these women trying to lose wieght to look sexy and restoring their confinace in themselves. It's something that the reader can relate too. Also, if you have read Love In Bloom, Hope makes an appearnace, Reading about these four women has gotten me in the mood to re-read about Hope's and the other women stories in Love in Blood.

[Dean Frech · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book! If you're working on a weight loss goal, this is definitely a great book for you! If you just want a light spring read, you'll enjoy this book.

[Dorothy Morawsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everybody is somebody no matter what size you are. Its never to late to change!

[Becky Tatar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Erin, Angela, Megan and Kizzy have all formed a cooking club. But one by one, they find they all want to lose weight - Erin to fit into her wedding dress, not realizing that having a groom that fits her is more important, Angela, who feels that her husband may be straying to a younger, thinner coworker, Megan, who wants to be someone that can bring in new clients at her law firm in order to make partner, and Kizzy, who has been told by her doctor that she needs to lose some weight. But in the process of changing the focus of their club, to include healthy eating and exercise, they all find that they are finding out more about themselves.

Great story, especially how dieting is more than just not eating and getting more exercise.

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an easy, light, predictable read, but not one of my favorites. The characters were over-dramatic; one was so ridiculous I struggled to connect with her, and the story at the end was so unrealistic. There were a lot of sexist comments and other inappropriate comments from some male characters that were brushed over, and that made it hard to align with the story being presented as women who trying to be strong and take charge of their lives. The writing was not at its best and the weak descriptive writing made it hard to picture some of the settings. I recognize the story is now 13 years old, and I know she’s written a lot more since, so I’ll try the next book in the series and hope for some improvement!

[Kerry - Readkerryread · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute story of friends who were originally part of a cooking club, yet they all realize they need to lose weight for different reasons. All vow to get into a bikini by the summer.

Erin, to fit into her wedding dress, the stress of planning her wedding making her overeat. Meghan a powerhouse attorney who wants to show she is a valuable asset to her law firm, but feels she needs to be more trim to attract new clients. Angela feels she is losing her husband, to a smaller women. Kizzy who fears her husband is trying to sabotage her diet.

All come together to support each other and find the strength within themselves.

[thaliasexymf · Rating 2 out of 5]

This would be 2.5 stars if I could rate it that. This was my first blind date with a book and I would recommend the experience to anyone. I didn’t strongly dislike like this book for any reason, it was more the lack of interest that made me rate it low. One thing I enjoyed was how easy it was to digest along with the predictability of it. It was a light read which was nice because I have been in a bit of a slump recently. There were some parts that made me cringe or laugh (not in a good way) but I was expecting a little of that from this type of book.

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

Witty, heartwarming story about friendship, relationships and self-acceptance.

Bikini Season was not only fun to read, it was inspiring and offered encouragement to women who struggle with weight and self-esteem. Sheila Roberts does this in a humorous way, showing the value of girlfriends in the lives of women. I enjoyed this story and found myself wanting to be included in their circle of friends. I absolutely recommend this book.

[Ann Boytim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A group of women having fun getting together once s month sharing food and friendship but all need to lose weight so they decide to have a contest and start a weight loss and exercise group. No more yummy chocolate cakes and fattening foods but each tries in her own way to battle the fat and have fun doing it and even though they have their slips they forge ahead try to make their goals.

[Virginia Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Club Meetings

What a delightfully fun book to read . The women's club gathering, served as a time of sharing. Bonding together over dishes of food to eating the right foods took all in this group to back one another up. Sheila Roberts does it again, pulling readers into the book, Bikini Season. For fun or for inspiration , this is a book you won't wish to miss!

[Linda B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love to read a chick lit group and romance all tied up in one book once in a while. Women friends make us stronger, help us keep ourselves together and share good times and bad all while still handling everything else in life. This book is encouraging and believable. I may look for more books by Sheila Roberts.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was just ok for me. Two of the ladies stories I found ridiculous and one was sort of left hanging which was disappointing. Angela was annoying and needs therapy with her extreme self esteem issues. Erin was ridiculous & to not give away any spoilers, I found her ending absurd. I was left wanting more of Megan's story wrapped up - hopefully we get more of her in future books.

[Melissa Howard · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, here's how to get a bikini body:

1) Buy a bikini that fits you.
2) Put it on.
3) Done.

If you want to "go on a diet," the most important thing is to focus on your health and happiness, not guilting or shaming. If you can, work with medical professionals to figure out what healthy looks like for you.

[Just · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a good book. It really spoke to me on a personal level since I have issues with my weight and self esteem. Despite the ending being super corny and absolutely ridiculous, I still really enjoyed the book. Very fast read, too.

[Ida Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book, empathized with these woman and their struggle with weight loss. I would like to know what happened between Megan and Tanner, it was a tease. I wish Ms. Roberto included their story in the last chapter.

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

For me, I couldn't keep the characters straight. Wasn't enough detail of their lives. The main story of Erin was predictable yet very unrealistic. She has two dances with a child hood friend and a couple of conversations and suddenly she is ready to marry him.

[Andrea Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast, yet predictable read. I would have enjoyed more depth of character and imaginative details. By the time I finished the first few chapters, I knew how it was going to end. I did like the idea of the cooking club.

[Jackie Knapton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the book from start to finish. The friendships were priceless.

[Gretchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick read.

[Mildred Rupert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it, another great read.

[Deanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars