Cafenova

Clairmont #1

by S. Jane Scheyder

cafenova [kaf-i-NOH-vuh] n. one who charms women with coffee. see also: romance.

Leaving her broken heart behind in Seattle, Maddy Jacobs starts a new life on the coast of Maine. Although running a Bed and Breakfast has always been her dream, restoring the sprawling Victorian inn is a massive undertaking. Her contractor, competent, handsome, and built like a Greek god, could be the answer to her prayers. If she can keep her wits about her, she might just survive the summer.

John Fordham has his plate full, raising two young sons and running his renovation business. Restoring the waterfront property for its intriguing new owner will take all of his energy, and, if he’s not careful, it might just take his heart.

Genres: Romance, Christian Fiction, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Christian, Fiction, Christian Romance

318 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 17, 2010

About the author

S. Jane (Susie) Scheyder was born in Royal Oak, Michigan, and grew up in the Midwest. She graduated from Valparaiso University with a B.A. in Music Merchandising, though writing has always been her favorite artistic outlet. Her first book, "The Other Side of the Pulpit" was published in 2006. "Cafenova," her first novel, and the first of her Clairmont series, was released in 2010. She and her son Jacob collaborated on "One More Thing," a children's bedtime story, released in the summer of 2013. Susie returned to Clairmont in the novella, "You Smiled," (January 2014) and Becky's story, "Done with Men Forever," the second full novel in the Clairmont series, was released on November 1, 2014. She and her husband and five children live in southeastern Connecticut.

Reviews

[Cathey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sweet book but loses all its points for hiding the fact that it's a Christian romance novel. Many of the books that deal with rough sex or topics possibly objectionable put that right in the description because authors, publishers and booksellers realize that many people don't read beyond the description. While Christianity isn't in the same category, lack of respect for the reader lumps this book with the others that aren't forthcoming about the subject matter. Since marketing adds "suggested books" below the description, it would be nice if they lumped like books with like books.

Aside from that, the book is slow. At 52% I was ready for the book to end. I know with this type of book there is a 80% rule -- at about 80% the trouble that has been looming on the horizon suddenly appears. I don't know if it was problems with John's kids, problems with John and Maddy's exs, problems in the relationship, or problems with deadline getting the inn finished. I didn't care enough to bother sneaking a peek at the final chapter to find out.

[Jan Farmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first started this I was a little distracted with a couple of books I wanted to read all at once (we've all been there) so I got a slow start but then boom I couldn't stop. I Most reviewers recap the whole story but I figure if you are reading this you've read the story summary. The story wasn't so different but the way she told it and wrote the characters I felt right there in the kitchen every morning when the crew started their day. Becky wasn't the typically annoying sister but a sister you hoped to see Maddy get closer to. (I am hoping that the second book in the series will be about her) I loved the Christian view of this story and I couldn't stop reading till I saw what Maddy & John were going to do next. The Maddy in the beginning of this story and the end were different and the time in between made a great read. Can't wait for the next book.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really, really loved this book. It took me a few chapters to get into the story (at first, it felt very rushed & unrealistic) but once I was drawn in, I stayed up most of the night to finish. I loved the relationship between the characters & the dialogue between them, and I loved the attention to detail in the author's style of writing. The characters were very real & I felt like I really did know the two main characters.

I tend to stay away from "religious" books, but even though there were a lot of references to church, and it was obviously a "religious fiction novel, it addressed certain situations realistically and it was not preachy at all. I really enjoyed reading & look forward to more from this author! Thanks for a great love story!

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a day when most romance novels are based on the premise of "sex sells", this story alludes to sexual tension, without including illicit sex--and it isn't needed to make the story real and believable. The characters in this story are endearing and cover an eclectic array of personalities. The love story is refreshingly focused on a budding romance between two people who are facing the challenges of single parenting, sibling rivalry,letting go of old hurts and opening their hearts to new love. Interwoven throughout the story we watch the heroine "renovate" her spiritual relationship as she renovates her home and business. By books end, the author has reminded us how God orchestrates and uses the people and relationships in our lives to encourage, support, and guide us.

[Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story started a little slowly for me, I actually thought about putting it down for a different book. But I kept reading and the pace and story picked up as soon as the sister dropped by for a visit. Then, naturally the old flame shows up and sparks really flew. A clean read even though there was definite chemistry between the main characters, that chemistry showed a little more towards the mid storyline. Glad I finished it.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute Christian read. A little preachy is spots. A little too detailed on the house renovations. I actually skimmed a few pages that had too much information on the house. There was some fun banter between the H & H. Too little romantic moments, but they were good when they appeared. Could have been 75 pages shorter and been better.

Moral Note: Drinking, clean language, clean romance. A few mild inneundos. Mild talk of waiting for marriage.

[Sarah Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written! I love that this is a book about Christian people who are PEOPLE and they have realistic struggles (like appropriately making out, or skipping church because they don't feel up to it). The characters are fully developed and all different, even the elderly neighbor and the children have different personalities and struggles.) Excellent chick lit!

[Maria (a) · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book started off quite well. I liked the characters, and while it was a definite case of insta-love, I didn't quite mind it.

The longer I kept reading, however, the more annoying it got. Not only was the book filled with forced drama, twists that came out of nowhere and only existed to rise irrationally high conflict between the two characters, and a lot of arguing for arguing's sake, the gender normativeness was OFF THE CHARTS.

A couple of examples:

"I don't know if you have sheets and bedding for a single bed. I didn't get that far when I set things up in here," [John] grinned.

"Good thing. You'd probably pick out a bedspread with pictures of fish hooks and other... man things," [Maddy] said, wrinkling her nose.

"What's a spa?" Parker asked.
"A boring place for girls."

Add to that the slutshaming (Maddy *really* doesn't like her sister because she... likes dating or something?) and victimblaming (when they go out on a date and Maddy dressed up - urged on by the beforementioned sister - John says "You'd better behave. If anyone messes with you, I'll probably end up in jail") and I was almost ready to chuck this out the window.

I get that this is a Christian romance and I suppose that *kinda* explains the slutshaming, but there's really no excuse for the other things. It's too bad as well, because I really enjoyed this one in the beginning!

[KayLynn Zollinger · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love New England. I'm totally enamored by the idea of a bed and breakfast on the beach.
I really enjoyed the characters. Maddy is quirky and, John is sweet, and the kids are adorable.
This book had all the makings of a great read.
But the writing fell short. It wasn't bad, per se, but it was very wordy with long winded and pointless word dumps. I'm usually not one to complain about the verbose, but it was rough to get through even for me. Also, the author constantly switched between character point of view. Sometimes from paragraph to paragraph even, and it was a little difficult to track who was feeling and saying what. Very distracting. I shouldn't need to reread things just to place who's voice it's in from paragraph to paragraph.
Great idea for a book but thr execution needs some help.

[Trisha Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet story that is a bit predictable, but is well written and thought through. Enjoyed the characters and was glad there wasn't a lot of repetition.

[Leah · Rating 2 out of 5]

soooo boring. like a very slow episode of HGTV

[Janet Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much. I liked the characters and the story was good. The setting sounds gorgeous. Highly recommended.

[Cid Rhinehart · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful love story. I feel in love with the characters and the setting and the restoration of the B&B. A great read!

[Njkinny (Njkinny's Blog) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maddy Jacobs has left her past, her broken heart and her dreams of a family with the love of her life behind in Seattle. Determined to start over, Maddy buys an old, dilapidated Victorian house on the coast of Maine with the intention of renovating it and starting her own Bed and Breakfast. With the huge and difficult task of bringing the Victorian inn back to its former glory in front of her, Maddy is happy to get the help of John Fordham who, apart from being a splendid contractor is also easy on the eyes. :)

Although sparks fly right at first glance, Maddy and John both have enough on their plates to think about love. John has the responsibility of two sons and Maddy is determined to settle in her new home and start a business.

What follows is a light love story between two people brought together by God! :)


This is my first book by S. Jane Scheyder and I cant say that I didn't enjoy her book. Cafenova caught my eye firstly because it was free on amazon at that time and also because the blurb intrigued me. I love small town love stories and if the setting is as beautiful as the Maine coast then that's an added bonus!

Although the blurb is very intriguing and promises a delicious romance, I was a bit let down by several things in this book. Firstly, the length of the story. I seriously felt that the whole story could have been wrapped up in some 150 odd pages. Secondly, the pace of the story is too slow. Things move so slowly that several times I felt like skipping pages to move ahead. Thirdly, the romance is almost zero. Maddy and John take almost half the book to get to know the starting intro about each other. In so many scenes the author left things unsaid which she took up after some 20-30 pages later. All these things could have been said and the story progressed at one place. Forthy, the message is quite strong and story preaches certain points which are noteworthy but due to the lack of synchronization in the romance, story progression and the message delivery, the book at some places feels too preachy.

At two points in the story I felt like their was a twist coming and was quite happy that now there would be some spice to this otherwise all too saccharine love story but alas at both places nothing happens! I would not give away those points but feel certain that you will know them when you read the book. The story is sweet, the characterization is good but could have been better. Maddy and John have almost no romance between them. A brief look here and there sums up their romance in the first part and brief peck on the cheek in the second part. I felt the reason for this unsatisfactory handling of romance was because the author didn't want to delve in the physical aspect of romance but she could have handled the story just as beautifully by adding more emotional response between them and introducing the reader with some scenarios depicting them.
The only characters that I felt were sketched to their true potential are John's two sons who are both sweet, charming and totally adorable. I read the story just because I didn't want to lose even one scene with these two in it. :)

All in all, a quite lengthy and very slow romantic story which you can read for the beautiful locations, the spiritual message of caring and giving and for Parker and Blake, John's adorable sons. :)
I give Cafenova a 3 out of 5. The author has the flair of writing but she needs to work on her emotional handling, length and the pacing of the book.

This review is also available on my blog Njkinny's World of Books

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

The reason why romance novels are bestsellers can be summed up in two words: sex sells. This story revolves around a single father, John, and his client, Maddy, who is starting a bed and breakfast in Maine. The story alludes to sexual tension, which John and Maddy do have, but illicit sex isn’t needed to make the characters more realistic or believable.

However, it is a bit unrealistic that Maddy, having been dumped by her fiancé, Phil, would then leave Seattle and move across the country to Maine to open a B&B. At one point, Maddy clearly indicates that she doesn’t plan on cooking for her guests, which is part of the point of owning a B&B. Did she not realize that? Maddy is dealing with a broken heart and some sibling rivalry (her sister, Becky, is a bit more worldly than she is). John is dealing with his wife’s abandonment of their two children, Parker and Blake, who are adorable.

While the story doesn’t require sex to be a good story, there is a scene that surprised me. Maddy and John, having recently started attending church again, decide on a series of “bans”: behavior that they find unacceptable when they’re dating. Then, one day, Maddy is taking a bath and John comes to her home to ask her something. John literally walks in on Maddy in the bath, and then stays there. He turns his back, as a gentleman would, but real Christians and real gentlemen would have left the bathroom altogether, while apologizing for the intrusion. Seriously? They’re talking about how they want to wait until they’re married, while one of them is naked in a bathtub?

The book also suffers from a lack of pacing. Chapters involving the renovation of Maddy’s home into the B&B drag on and on. There’s little drama until the end, when Maddy’s ex-fiance shows up, wanting to reconcile. That she actually agrees to go out with him infuriated me. She’s got a good man in John. She doesn’t need closure with Phil. It’s not Diana Palmer-level bad, but I’ve definitely read better romances.

[Gaele · Rating 2 out of 5]

In another installment of the Clean out your eReader challenge, I bring you Cafenova, by S. Jayne Schneider. With a unique, if not wholly believable premise Maddy has moved from Seattle after a bad breakup to coastal Maine to follow her dream of renovating and opening a B&B.

The contractor that she hires to help achieve her dream, John is a single father, and the attraction between the two is almost instantaneous. But there are issues: Maddy is nursing a broken heart and is somehow in competition with her sister in a half-explained complication. John’s wife left him and his children: his anger is understandable, as is his reluctance to take another chance.

I’ll be entirely honest, the pacing in this story was erratic at best, with ebbs and flows in tension, emotion and even situations that felt relevant and appropriate. And then, the kicker for me: the approach to the Christian themes that started as occasional insets into the story and quickly lost all focus on the romance and became more of a list of banned behaviors as they are dedicating themselves to a Christian life.

Do not mistake this criticism with my disparaging the genre: I have read several sweet romances that managed to insert the religious tones with grace and a feel that was natural, not with a way that feels overbearing or preachy. This book, unfortunately, failed in pacing and in feel for me: the romance was lost in the midst of the message, and the book failed to meet the promise shown in the premise and the early pages.

I purchased a copy of this title for my own library. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually 3.5 stars. I don't often write a review but wanted to explain why I gave a book i liked 3.5 stars instead of 4. I really liked this book, the characters and their interaction, i liked the dialogue and the authors "voice", I like books with house renovations in, etc etc. What I disliked was lack of major conflict, there was a bit there, but I kept waiting for something major to happen; or maybe it was because they got together too easily and so when the conflict came I did buy into it, I don't know!!. I thought the end a little bit anti climatic too, after the end of the last chapter I hoped the epilogue would do things like introduce us to family members, make more of a big deal about grand opening (after the whole book going into so much detail of the restoration it was so very anti climatic for me), and answer questions like, if they get married what on earth is going to happen to the b&b after all that hard work? Loved the proposal though!!!
Having said all that I enjoyed it enough to want to keep reading the series. Sometimes all I want is a much lighter read, and this was a well written and enjoyable little story :-)

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly, I enjoyed this although I do have to agree with others in that the story did revolve a lot around the renovations of the house...I didn't mind it, but it kind of dragged everything out.

I liked the softness of the relationship and the slow build up. I wasn't to crazy about the parts where Phil comes to visit and all of a sudden, they both stop acting like adults who care about each other and instead make really dump decisions.

I don't read a lot of Christian books so can't compare this with others, but I wasn't hung up on the no sex in the book. Although I did wish there were more sparks. All romances have them, even Christian relationships. I didn't realize this was a Christian book at first, but rather enjoyed the passages that were included and some of the teachings included. I can't say that this is the type of book I would pick up often in the future because, well, I do like hot and spicy romances. However, for those who don't, I think you'll enjoy this if you are looking for a slow, easy going read.

Oh, and I did love reading about Maine a little as it is a desire of mine to go there one day.

[Tonileg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maddy Jacobs has started a new life in this contemporary Christian romance set on the Maine coast. Maddy isn't running away from her life in Seattle, but she is looking for a new start after being dumped by her boss/fiance Phil in the worse publicly embarrassing way. But she is tough and resilient with a great idea of opening a B and B in a huge Victorian mansion on the East coast. John is her contractor-renovator who is a divorced dad with two young sons. The usual happens so they fall for each other and go to church, etc. The Christian aspects were only rubbed in the readers face during the discussions with Otis (the very old widower neighbor).
There is no sexy scenes, only a few kisses, but that really gives lots of time to talk and get to know each other as they prepare to make a serious lifelong attachment. Phil the ex-fiance does eventually show up, but it is too late because Maddy is already in love with John. This was an average romance with nothing special but I did like the title a lot, Cafenova as in Casanova with coffee.
316pages and kindle freebie
2 stars

[Kirsty Wenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book and looked forward to picking it up again when I had time to read. The romance was very 'clean,' which was quite refreshing actually. I know that some of the reviews mention that it should have been made clear that this is a Christian romance, but honestly, this didn't bother me at all. It wasn't over the top with religious tones. It just means that the characters actually take the time to fall in love before getting physical (which they don't actually do in this book). Not that there weren't plenty of scenes to build the attraction and tension! There were. I enjoyed following Maddy and John's journey towards love as well as the progress of Maddy's Inn. I loved John's sons and really liked the cast of supporting characters. Everyone seemed very real. My only criticism would be the prologue. I don't think it adds anything. In fact, it seems quite abrupt. I think the information could have been woven into the story instead. Well, I'm going to read book 3 in the series now...about Maddy's sister, Becky.

[Diana Hockley · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first couple of chapters of this book were promising, but after that, unfortunately the plot went flat. I don't mean that nothing happened, but it remained at a surface level, which made me wonder when something would happen!

Maddy and John meet, have a few spats and his kids are cute, but I found Maddy's dog more interesting. The numerous parts where God is discussed went on far too long in my opinion, for a book which was not, to my knowledge, marketed as "religious."

The only change in the tempo came when the ex-fiance, Phil, turned up and - true to tradition - wanted to re-kindle his relationship with Maddy, as though the opening chapter hadn't happened. Then it was back to the level playing field with the expected ending.

I didn't dislike the book, but it did not fulfill the promise of the opening

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is a very hard book to rate for me. i loved the ending, i loved how john n maddy interacted, but i hated that it seemed to drag on forever, consuming just about every line that u read, however loved that it followed how things happen in real life, it wasnt like maddy was "omg im so in love with you i cant live without you" on page one. it was very gradual. I would have liked some more action, like maybe more storm damage, or maybe things with phil didnt end so nicely.
i thought we were going to have some drama with one of the crew memembers as well, but then he just left the company.

all in all a very nice calming read. gave it 3 stars but im still torn over my rating.

i may just have to read the 2nd in the series to see how things play out.

[NOYB · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up primarily due to renovation theme which I thought could be interesting. I didn't realize it had a spiritual element. I'm practically an atheist but surprisingly wasn't all that put off by it. What I found irritating was that adults couldn't bring themselves to say the word "sex" - fine if the author didn't want to go there but to evade it with unfinished mind reading & guessing was ridiculous.

The characters were believable and the author has a very good handle on pacing and dialogue. Unfortunately there wasn't enough drama and conflict which equated a bit to watching paint dry.

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cafenova was a sweet Christian romance, but would have benefited from structural editing. The basic editing was all very good, but the writing needed a little more polish, for example, the constantly changing points of view and excessive detail about the renovation.

It started really well with the prologue, then dragged for quite a while, only picking up toward the end. I'm glad I persevered, because it was a sweet ending, but for a while there I was resisting the urge to quit.

If you like a gentle Christian romance that moves fairly slowly, this may be the ideal read.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book One of the Clairmont Series. This book features Maddy and her attempt to refurbish a beautiful old home on the Maryland coast to create a beautiful Bed and Breakfast. She has traveled across the country looking for a new start and is very happy with the prospects, though daunting. Hiring a local contractor, John, and his crew to help her, the house begins to be recreated into the beautiful home it could be.

There is, of course, romance among the timbers and nails. Good cozy read - looking forward to more books in the series.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet Christian romance book, plain and simple. Bonus, it takes place in a small coastal Maine town, where our lovely heroine has just bought an old inn to restore, and falls in love with her contractor. I'm constantly drawn to books about inns, especially in Maine (think, the Gray Whale Inn series). I believe there is another in this series coming out later in 2013, I hope it's offered for free (since I snagged this one for free), because I'd enjoy reading it :)

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started out with a bang, but then just fell flat for me. Lots of "cute" characters with "cute" interactions, but no real conflict, no real passion, despite the description. The kids are cute, the dog is cute, the hero and heroine are cute together, the neighbors are cute. Even the sister and ex aren't enough of a monkey wrench to shake things up. All just a little *too* neat. Life's messy, but this story isn't.

[Cindy Marchant · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised to realized a few chapters in that this is a Christian fiction book. It was not mentioned anywhere in the description. That said, I didn't find it overly preachy so I decided to keep reading it. It should also be mentioned that this is a very long book, although I'm not sure it needed to be. It was very well written and thoroughly enjoyable.

[Sissy payment · Rating 2 out of 5]

the book was really slow to get into. I was going to stop reading, but continued it anyway. I'm glad it was a free book. I would be disappointed if I had to pay for it. it was a very slow read. I guess I could say it was cute. the last few chapters kept my interest. it wasn't very descriptive on John and maddy s relationship. it was more about the house that was restoring.

[Jennifer Crispin]

The story could have been a gentle, sweet, innocent romance, but instead served as a device for preaching and a list of all the neat things the author knows about Victorian houses. It doesn't bother me as much that the book's agenda was hidden as that the agenda was more important than character-building and storytelling.