Prosper in Love

by Deborah Michel

A good marriage lasts forever…until it doesn’t.

From the start, Lynn and Jamie Prosper were one of those couples who seem meant to be—so content with each other that they barely notice the rest of the world nodding approvingly at their wedded bliss. But sometimes, even in the very best of marriages, all it takes is a mischievous outsider to bring the perfect couple toppling off the top of the wedding cake…
True, Jamie has been working so hard and traveling so much as a young lawyer that he hardly has enough energy to show his devotion. Not that Lynn, a junior museum curator, has any reason to question it. But when Lynn’s old college friend turns up at a cocktail party, chinks in their marriage’s previously unassailable armor start to show.
Suddenly, without meaning to, Lynn and Jamie have both acquired divorce lawyers. And those benevolent onlookers—meddling in-laws and competitive friends alike—eagerly bear witness to each new misstep. Is love really enough to make a marriage last?

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Romance

326 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2012

Reviews

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story line, but there were many times I wanted to strangle Jamie and Lynn for their communication issues. I was happy to see Lynn go to NY in the end so her and Jamie could finally work out their issues.

I did find that having a character being referred to by his initals, F. X., throughout the entire book to be quite annoying though. I just didn't feel like it flowed well in a lot of the sentences.

*I recieved a uncorrected proof edition of this book through a goodreads contest.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lynn and her husband Jamie are your typical married couple. They have their ups and downs just like everyone else in any type of relationship. Their issues became bigger and blown out of proportion because they never talked to each other.
Lynn is a museum curator who pumped into an old college friend. They started being together more and more because of who his boss was. They were always thrown together because his boss was interested in Lynn’s museum. So the more Lynn and her friend were together the more Jamie thought that things were happening between them. The only issue that Lynn had with Jamie was his mother. Lynn always felt put down by her because her family was not as financially secure as his. The thing was that she never thought to talk to his mother about her feelings. She just complained about it to Jamie.
Jamie is a young lawyer with a background in architecture. The way that Jamie makes his living is by traveling. He is hardly ever home. Lynn always understood that he had to travel and was fine with it. Jamie started noticing things that Lynn thought were so small. He noticed that she was always talking to her old friend, whom he had never met. She was always surrounded by men because of her job. He just never thought to talk to Lynn about it.
Lynn got surprised one day when she received divorce papers in the mail. After she got the papers she started to realize that her marriage to Jamie was really going to end. So she decided to start moving on with her life. She got herself a lawyer and started the process of moving out of their house to sell it. She got an apartment also started tying date after she found out that her soon to be ex was dating his boss’s daughter.
After Lynn found out that Jamie moved, she decided to try and advance in her job position. She got a higher ranking position and the only thing that she had to do was move. It was just a coincidence that she was moving to the same area that Jamie was living in.
By the end of the book, out not so happy couple was happy again. They finally realized that they were unhappy without each other. They decided to sit down and get everything out in the open. They wanted to make their marriage work again because they finally realized that their love for each other can help them get through anything.
I really enjoyed reading PROSPER IN LOVE. I thought it was a great way to describe everyday relationships. It showed that every relationship needs to be worked on constantly and communication is the key. The book showed that if there is no communication and trust, then there should be no relationship at all.
I however thought that the book moved a little slow for me. I understood why it was written the way it was, but some parts, I thought, could have been left out. I did like how the author told the story from the female’s perspective. It made me relate to the book and the characters a little better.


(freshfiction copyright)

[Samantha March · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prosper in Love is the debut novel by Deborah Michel, and I thought it was a sweet romantic gem. The story focuses on Lynn and Jamie Prosper, the perfect couple. They fell in love at first sight and are happily married, creating their new lives together. But cracks start to show when an old college friend of Lynn’s, FX, shows up and begins to stir up trouble. Before Lynn can get a handle on her fight with Jamie, she finds herself calling a divorce lawyer – only to learn Jamie has called first. The story follows the couple through their separation and impending divorce, and asks the question: is love really enough to make a marriage work?

While I thought Prosper in Love was an interesting book that explored a deep topic of marriage, love, family, there were a few flaws for me. The hardest part for me was never really understanding Jamie’s character, and how Lynn loved him so much. He seemed very controlling and it was like Lynn tried to do everything to make him happy, and seemed to forget about herself. That made it hard for me to connect with the book, but I was able to look past it because I found the story itself really fascinating. It made me talk to people about the characters and their situation, and I found myself having impromptu discussions about the book at work, home – even in the gym! That is what I love about a book. It was a little hard to understand why Lynn and Jamie were headed for a divorce without even saying really a word to each other about it, but that is something that I thought was really interesting. They were letting others – family, friends, mere acquaintances, take control of their lives. Overall, I was really intrigued by this novel, and definitely recommend this intelligent debut.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prosper in Love by Deborah Michel was quite impressive. While there were some grammatical errors in the text, the characters were relatively well fleshed-out and(for the most part) easy to relate to. There were some inconsistencies in the development of the characters, which led to some conflicted feelings throughout the plot.

I had a difficult time understanding the motives behind different characters at times, such as the character of FX. FX seemed to be the most inconsistent character in the entire novel. His personality swung quickly between helpful and downright degrading toward the other characters in the book. His snide commentary and insulting way of handling his personal life makes it very difficult to care about him as a character at all throughout the development of the story.

Despite that particular downfall of the book, I still seemed incapable of putting the book down - showing how truly plot-driven the text was. I enjoyed the book. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a book to read in the park or on the beach - somewhere where they can read about the resilience of love and the way that a real marriage can withstand the trials of life.

[Marla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book as a first reads winner. I liked this book yet I didn't like it. Jamie and Lynn are a couple who have been married two years when a misunderstanding makes their marriage spiral out of control and next thing you know they are both acquiring divorce lawyers. I can see this happening as there are couples who don't communicate and treat their relationship as black and white and no gray areas. The author did a good job with descriptions so you get to know the characters. It was easy to know who was who and follow the relationships between everyone. It was a pretty fast read.

A few things that were a little confusing: It was hard to tell how much time had transpired as you went along in the story. There were times you thought you knew yet still you aren't for sure. Then the end of the book suddenly ended and I thought "huh?" It was resolved too quickly and you don't know why the end happened the way it did. I won't go into details so I don't ruin the ending but I was surprised how it wrapped up. Other than that it was enjoyable and I'm glad I read it.

[Kylie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a Goodreads giveaway.

Prosper in Love is a tale about a couple that are 'seemingly meant to be.' Although even from the beginning, the only evidence of Jamie and Lynn's wedded bliss is in the blurb on the back of the book.

The story begins with an old friend of Lynn's coming back on the scene, smooth player F.X. (awful character name btw) with whom Lynn attended college. Insert the usual marital misunderstandings - interfering, disapproving parents, misunderstandings, misinterpreted comments and a compromising position and vòila a divorce in the making.

Those of you who have read this type of book will not be disappointed with the predictable ending; this one being incredibly short and underdeveloped. It was was the same old 'characters go their seperate ways to discover themselves but realise they can't live without each other.' But it didn't even do that well. The reunion lasts all of one page. I didn't like any of the characters, they weren't developed very well either.

To be honest, this storyline has been done before, and much better.

[Georgiann Hennelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lynn and Jamie Prosper seemed to be one of those couples who just seem meant to be together. They just seemed to be so content with each other they barley noticied the rest of the world. That is until FX Enters back into Lynn's life a mischievious outsider. Lynn was a casual friend of his in college. It all started with an innocent lunch. True Jamie has been traveling and working long hours as a young lawyer, Lynn is a Jr museum Curator doesn,t question it. When Fx asks her to a party and gets his boss to donate money to the museum. Jamie gets upset forbids Lynn to talk to FX anymore. Suddendly the cracks begin to show in the perfect marraige and before you know it both have Lawyers and the onlookers and meddling in laws watch each misstep-Is Love really all you need to make a marraige last?

[Kelly Gomez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a First-Reads Book through Good Reads. I had a hard time getting into the book at first. I felt there was too many characters to keep straight. There was one chapter focusing on Thanksgiving dinner and I just skimmed the chapter because there was too many people. I almost stopped reading at 100 pages in but decided to give it a little longer. I am glad I did not give up. I would say at about 150 pages the book picked up. The plot became more captivating, the characters more focused. I liked how everything was wrapped up at the end and am very glad I gave it more of a chance.

I would even consider reading this again, in hopes to have more clarity on the relation of the characters to the two main characters.

[April Forker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book on a blog giveaway and read it pretty quickly. I have to agree with some of the other reviews on a couple of things. One, there were in my opinion way too many characters to keep up with at times. Two, it was hard to understand the motives behind some of the characters and what they brought to the story itself. And lastly as someone else said, the ending kind of left you saying, "Huh?" Without ruining anything, I'll just say that everything seemed to happen really quickly and I expected more drama maybe leading up to the end? I liked this book okay, just not one of my favorites that I have read recently.

[Rayme]

Prosper In Love is about the miscommunication between spouses that leads them to start down the path of divorce. While the cover might lead you to believe this is a "chick lit" book, there is also a great deal of detail about the Los Angeles art scene because the main character works in that field--reading the book ignited my curiosity to go to some LA museums and gallery walks to see more about this world.

I can't say too much about the plot without using spoilers, but the trials and tribulations of Jamie and Lynn Prosper certainly made me think about how the foundations of even the most solid marriage can be shaken under the wrong set of circumstances.

[Becca · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a goodreads first reads win! Tha k you to goodreads!

I didn't love this book. Right from the start, I knew this book was going to grate on my nerves.

Jamie and Lynn were easy characters to like but the lack of communication and misunderstandings were annoying, especially given the seriousness of the situation. If you're married (or in a committed relationship), who truly gives up especially without having the decency and respect to talk it out with your significant other?

Putting that aside, I do think this book will be relatable to a lot of people. It was an easy read.

[Marnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saving thisone for the beach next week......

UPDATE: Not the worst I’ve read but not the best, either. Prosper In Love is a story of miscommunication and misunderstanding between a husband and wife. A story that has been done many times before; a story that is actually quite predictable. Although this was a quick read, it was also very slow getting into the “meat” of the story. I read this at the beach and from my tote full of “beach read” books, this was my least favorite.

This was a Goodreads giveaway proof edition.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you, Goodreads First Reads, for a copy of this book!

This book started very slow for me. I was about 1/3 of the way through it and it wasn't keeping my interest. It did get better but just not what I anticipated.
The ending seemed a little soon. There were good explanations of the characters' thoughts and actions throughout the book, then all of a sudden, the ending came and I thought it was a little quick.

[Sue Latham · Rating 2 out of 5]

The only likable character in book was Dr Darla, she had common sense and told others to.Lynn Prosper could not decide on whether to be a strong, smart woman in a man business or to be the naive little girl who didn't know what she wanted. The rich all had their noses up in the air thrying to make the "little" people feel worse than they already did. The idea of the book is good, character made it bad.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you, Goodreads for my First Reads Copy!

I gave the book a three stars because it kept me interested enough to get to know this couple and see what happens to them. But I felt like there where to many characters and some of the story did not tie in to one another. Over all the book was interesting enough for me to read it all the way through.
Cute idea overall just was lacking something.

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

This book was ridiculous. Too many characters, too much dialogue about stuff that doesn't matter, and people who don't add to the story. The two main characters fight for no reason and don't listen to each other. It was frustrating. The ending was like the author gave up and slapped on a 'yay they just get together in the end' chapter.

[Shelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was a fast, easy read. I loved how well you get to know Lynne in this story. At times you want to kill Jamie, other times you want to yell at Lynne to stop being so naive. The characters were well developed and lovable. Great book.

As per FTC Guidlines, I received this book as a Goodreads Firstreads giveaway.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book through Goodreads giveaway. I think there were way to many characters that seemed all over the place and didn't really tie in together. There should have been an epilogue to really wrap up the outcome of Jamie and Lynn's relationship.

[Jennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this first novel by my classmate Deborah Michel Rosch, Dartmouth Class of '83. Intelligent, layered story of a marriage...couldn´t put it down!, despite some nasty characters. Congratulations, Debbie.

[Michelle Petcu · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was so slow and boring at first but I got really interesting towards the middle. It wasn't that great of a book. I really loved the ending and it was perfect but a lot in the book could of been better written!

[Shellie]

I just couldn't bring myself to finish this book. Just a bunch of self-centered, clueless people on a downward slope. Didn't feel like being dragged down and depressed while reading.

[Aubrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I marked this as "read" but I really only read half of it then gave up. This book was really slow-moving and boring in my opinion.

[Cook Memorial Public Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

--Recommended by Jo

Check our catalog:

http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/...

[Ann Gelder · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nineteenth-century social novel updated for the twenty-first century. Funny, fun, and insightful.

[Nancy]

I no longer rate books by authors I know.