Love Regifted

by Stephanie Haddad

Ava Sullivan thought her biggest problems included a cheating boyfriend, a devious step-sister, and a handful of really horrible clients at work. That is until her mother drops a bombshell that turns Ava’s very identity on its head. Feeling betrayed, Ava questions every relationship in her life, turning to an unlikely new acquaintance to find solace and—ahem—distraction.Although Ava never suspects that a random meeting with Jay Matthews could become something serious, he’s interested in becoming much more than just a fling. He also knows a lot about regret and what it can do to a family. Jay wants to help Ava make peace with her past and move forward with her life without that same regret. Getting her to follow his advice, however, might take a little help from her friends.

Genres: Romance, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Ebooks, Fiction, Amazon

194 pages, Paperback

First published February 29, 2012

About the author

Stephanie Haddad’s earliest works featured unicorns and talking pumpkins who overcame adversity, evil, and the threat of being baked into pies. With age, her writing has evolved to more grown-up topics, like love and the complicated relationships between people. As a life-long lover of cheerful fiction, she strives to tackle real-world issues with wit, hope, and lots of humor. Her short stories have spanned many genres, but her full-length novels stay firmly planted in happy endings, via both romance and women’s fiction.

Stephanie joined the Romance Writers of America in 2009 to celebrate her addiction to perfect plot resolutions with other writers just like her. Combining a passion for the human condition with a penchant for the romantic, Stephanie strives to write every story as though it is a conversation shared between friends.

As she balances new motherhood, a freelance writing workload, and an independent publishing career, Stephanie continues her work on a planned three-book women’s fiction series, a collection of romantic urban fantasy short stories, and several single-title romances. She lives, loves, and writes near Boston, MA, the home of all of her novels.

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found it easy to relate to especially to the trivial detail that Justin is the bad guy and Jay is the new wonderful guy. Story of my life exactly! My bad guy's name is Justin and my new Mr wonderful has the name of Jay! So coincidental but awesome!

[Alexis Apodaca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet story, the character development happened too quickly so I didn't feel totally connected to all of the characters.. Could have also been too many main characters... However the story was nice, moving, emotional, sweet. I liked it.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book started out a little slow but by the end I was crying. A very moving book that teaches us that love is truly a gift.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I honestly think this story was good, and the characters are very real, which I particularly like, but what really "turned me off" was the ending. It was too rushed, and I felt like it was a ploy for readers to want to buy the next book in the series. But another thing I enjoyed about this book was that even if you don't read the books in chronological order, it still makes sense.

[Sadie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read. I'd read something else by her again because my one huge issue was about the mother and how she handled things with the step-sister/ex/step-father people (so a book issue, not a writing/storytelling issue). But, it was a huge issue and turned me off to the characters a lot.

[Mary Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining story covering all spectrums of the emotional scale. I could relate to the relationships among friends. This is the first time I have read a book by this author and I look forward to reading more of her works.

[Flavia Sugnu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although a little predictable at times (which cues for cringeworthy moments) it was enjoyable. I rate it 3.5.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I thought at first was just a silly drama about a relationship, turned into a heart wrenching eye crying story. Can't believe it was a free kindle book!!

[Anne Pine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an entertaining story. The two main love interests were likeable as were the secondary characters. There was just enough angst and conflict to create some tension, but the book was still light and an easy read. The main twist was a little predictable, but I don't feel like it needed to be a big surprise to the reader to add to the plot. Overall, just an enjoyable romance.

[Ivy Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

From poor Ava to lucky Ava, this book kept me entertained!

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

another predictable one...spinoff of Love Unlisted so it was cool to be in that same universe. twas cute but nothing too exciting.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Addison · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – Recommended for fans of the genre!

[Kristina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had a difficult time reading this book because of everything about it, really. Ava, the protagonist, narrates the story and is very immature. Ava receives a card every year from "Aunt Audra" but her parents have no siblings, how could anyone not have any idea they were adopted? Also, the book is too coincidental. She kisses a random guy at the train station, who works as a bartender at the bar she goes to, who also owns a catering company that is working an event for her company - OH! And Ava sells Jay her evil step-sisters partial CD collection on Ebay. Come on, really?! I believe in fate, but even this is too much for me. So to make myself feel better, I mentally added a section to the book where Jay read Ava's bio on the event planning website and stalked her to these different locations for a chance meeting because he thought they'd be perfect for each other (or to take it further: he loved her music taste and stalked her from Ebay?) On a side note, as someone who is trying to adopt, I found Ava's point of view on adoption (when she finds out) to be appalling. It does change later on, in the last 10-or-so pages where the book closes on such a rushed note that there are still many unanswered questions.

I really liked the premise and wanted to like the book, but there are too many things out of character or sloppily edited. The amount of typos and grammatical errors are overwhelming. At the end of the book, there is an excerpt of Grace (Ava's assistant) and Mark, Grace's boyfriend. This was much more interesting than the entire Ava/Jay story, really. The only thing is, the writing style doesn't quite change between characters because I thought I was still reading Ava talking about some other guy. I had no idea this was a part of a series - it's the first book I've read by Haddad and it will be the last. I couldn't connect with the immaturity of the characters, the sloppy weaving of characters, poor editing or the writing style of this book.

[Merissa (Archaeolibrarian) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quick, light, coffee break book that doesn't require much thinking on the reader's part. It can be quite choppy in places but is also fun too. There are parts of this story that are not finished though - so if you expect to read about how things are completed with Phoebe and Justin or Rhea and Todd, then prepare to be disappointed.

What was paradoxical about this book for me was, that although it made a nice change for the female NOT to be perfect and to have more stuff thrown at her than she thinks she can deal with, it also became a bit boring. The ending also felt a bit rushed with a weird kind of twist that made me wonder what on earth was happening.

On the whole, an enjoyable chick-lit book, good for a rainy Saturday afternoon.

* Verified Purchase ~ November 2012 *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Oct 5, 2013

[Gigi Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Today was a rainy day, just the kind of lazy day to set back and read a book. I wanted something light and fluffy, because I was in a lazy state of mind. This book more or less fit the bill.

This is the first book I've read by this author, I found it on my Kindle, I think it must have been a freebie, anyway, it helped me pass the time of day today. It was a fast read, but not a favorite book for me. It wasn't even what I call my Cinderella kind of story. The end of the book was a bit rushed, and then BAM....it just ended without warning.

Because it helped me get through a lazy rainy day, I am awarding it 3***

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Barely made it through this one. The ending was good and I'm glad it picked up a bit. I had a HARD time relating to the characters who seemed so old to be acting the way they were. I know I was born pretty mature, lol:) but I found their behavior more young adult/old teenager like and not 30 year olds. So perhaps if I could have related to the character more it would have been better. I LOVED the opening and wish the book had focused more on "the gift" and gotten more in depth, less childish behavior. All in all, it was okay - hence the "okay" rating :)

[Deedee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I liked this book, the characters weren't perfect and the author showed their flaws while still making them likable. I laughed a little and cried a little which is something I enjoy while reading. My only complaint would be that I felt like the book wrapped up a little too quickly and neatly in the end, but even then it was still nice to see lessons learned and the growth in the characters.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked this book but I felt like the story was a little too choppy and dry for my taste. It normally only takes me a day or two to finish a book of this size but it took me over 2 weeks to finish this one because, honestly, I just wasn't THAT interested in the story line. It wasn't humorous or heart wrenching, it was just kind of- there.

[Fez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Get out the tissues... Poor Ava is having a pretty shitty time of it. Her boyfriend surprises her on her 28th birthday with a name chick and a propose threesome and it just gets worse from there... Definitely a bit of a tear jerker at the end though - feel the need to go give my mum a big hug......

[Stevie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book by Stephanie Haddad I've read. The first was Love Unlisted, and I preferred that one. I'm not sure if this was written after that one, or if that's just the order I read it in, but this one did not live up to the other. I remember really liking Ava and Jay in Love Unlisted, but I was disappointed with their story.

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read another book by Stephanie and I really liked this light romantic book. There were some funny things that made me laugh aloud, and a few teary things. I figured out who Aunt Audra was right off the bat but I liked how the story unfolded and the ending was so sweet. I think i have one more book to read from Stephanie- I hope she keeps writing. I like her work.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and the lesson of forgiveness. I liked the characters, flaws and all, just like we all have. They deeply cared about each other and were loyal friends who stood by Ava even when she didn't think she needed them. I am looking forward to reading the next book.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a book by Stephanie Haddad before, so I knew that I wouldn't be disappointed. I'm not go into details, but I will say that the ending will bring you to tears. Stephanie did a great job with making very real characters (as well as making a sweet and wonderful hero :P )

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I thought this was going to be another cheesy romance novel. By the last chapter I was actually teary-eyed and the book was hitting the flood gates. It's a great light read that was heart felt by the end. Recommended!

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was delightfully surprised by this book. I originally read it because the kindle edition was offered for free by amazon, however it kept my attention for its entirety. It was a cute story and a quick read.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. It was a very quick read that held my interest, but not necessarily the best written book. I found at least 3 typos (I'm weird like that), which I rarely find in books. Made me feel as though the author wasn't as good and probably skewed my view.

[Amanda Respeto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

It was a great story with love, heartbreak, suspense, family, and work. I look forward to reading more books by Stephanie Haddad. This was a quick light and refreshing read.

[Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some typical chick lit at times, but I laughed out loud a lot, a feel good story, characters with actual depth. I'll read her again.

[Tina Rappa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute story! It's a story with alot of meaning, very positive . I enjoyed it and even cried a little :)