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A Few Bumps
It's a few days before Christmas. A chance encounter on an airplane during a snowstorm. Turbulence. The pilot calls the experience "a few bumps." Amy Moran of Boston is on her way to her best friend's wedding in Hawaii. Sitting next to her is a charming young man, Brian Emerson. They've been talking all the way from Chicago to Kansas City. He lives in Boston now but was raised in Kansas City in a wealthy family who live in a mansion, compared to what Amy's used to.
They land in Kansas City. The snowstorm has evolved into a blizzard. All flights are canceled. Amy has little extra money and nowhere to stay. Brian suggests that she can stay with his family, since they have extra room; he can't bear the thought of her sleeping in the airport. He calls his mother, who reluctantly agrees to having an unknown guest at the holiday.
As the rest of his family welcomes Amy, Brian's mother is less than happy with her presence. She doesn't know Amy's pedigree, looks down her nose at Amy's lack of sophistication, and is upset that Brian seems to like this girl who came out of nowhere.
Brian runs a not-for-profit agency for people with drug and alcohol addiction in the Boston area. His mother believes he should be working the corporate world, but Brian likes the work he does. Another chance encounter with Jeffrey, a client in need of services from his agency introduces a spiritual element into the story, as Jeffrey's recently deceased mother returns from the dead to encourage Jeffrey's return to sobriety.
Brian and Amy continue to experience bumps along the way as their relationship develops, with obstacles thrown their way by various people and circumstances. Will Brian's mother succeed in keeping them apart? Will the bumps become true turbulence?
They land in Kansas City. The snowstorm has evolved into a blizzard. All flights are canceled. Amy has little extra money and nowhere to stay. Brian suggests that she can stay with his family, since they have extra room; he can't bear the thought of her sleeping in the airport. He calls his mother, who reluctantly agrees to having an unknown guest at the holiday.
As the rest of his family welcomes Amy, Brian's mother is less than happy with her presence. She doesn't know Amy's pedigree, looks down her nose at Amy's lack of sophistication, and is upset that Brian seems to like this girl who came out of nowhere.
Brian runs a not-for-profit agency for people with drug and alcohol addiction in the Boston area. His mother believes he should be working the corporate world, but Brian likes the work he does. Another chance encounter with Jeffrey, a client in need of services from his agency introduces a spiritual element into the story, as Jeffrey's recently deceased mother returns from the dead to encourage Jeffrey's return to sobriety.
Brian and Amy continue to experience bumps along the way as their relationship develops, with obstacles thrown their way by various people and circumstances. Will Brian's mother succeed in keeping them apart? Will the bumps become true turbulence?
320 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 23, 2023
28 people are currently reading
57 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 30, 2023
While flying to Hawaii for her best friend’s wedding, Amy enjoys talking to her seatmate, Brian, who is also from Boston. As they come into Kansas City, they hit a snowstorm and some turbulence, and Amy finds herelf stranded, with her connecting flight cancelled and no other flights available due to the weather. Brian invites her to stay with his family, and upon arriving at the family mansion, a far cry from Amy’s own upbringing, the real adventure begins.
Amy and Brian are both likable characters, and I enjoyed their easy banter and how well they seemed to mesh. His family all welcome Amy, except his mother, who looks down her nose and at times is downright rude. Brian’s father is charming, and his siblings seem like a fun bunch to be around. The contrast between how Brian’s family live and how Amy lives is very well defined, and Amy’s internal monologues give us a good glimpse inside her head as she revels in Brian’s attention while at the same time feeling nervous about a possible relationship with him, and even more so with his mother.
All good things must come to an end, and once the planes start flying again Amy heads home to Boston. And that’s when the cray cray begins. Mrs. Emerson, who didn’t bother to hide her feelings about Amy to her face, begins to harrass her by phone, determined to prevent a real relationship from forming. She was a bit over the top to begin with, but it ramped up and up as the story progressed. Maybe there are people out there like her, but she was almost a caricature at times with some of her threats (seriously, lady, you have no legal grounds to get a restraining order to keep someone away from your adult son). Amy stressed quite a bit about Mrs. Emerson, and at times I wanted to tell her to chill out and just ignore her. To Amy, the thought of ever having Mrs. Emerson as a mother-in-law was horrid, and she actually seemed to consider throwing away the chance of a relationship to avoid the other woman, which horrified me a little.
When the ghost was introduced I was momentarily thrown, having forgotten that part of the synopsis. But it made a nice change of pace, and the sections of the story about Jeffrey, the ghost’s son who begins rehab at the non-profit facility Brian runs, were especially poignant. I would have liked to have seen even more of him.
But back to Amy and Brian. While I liked both of them, their characters could have been fleshed out just a little more. Regardless, I enjoyed watching them navigate the “bumps” in their relationship. I was never quite sure what direction the story would take, which is a good thing.
All in all, this is a sweet, light little romance, occasionally veering a bit deeper, and culminating in a feel good ending.
*received via Reedsy.com for review and voluntarily reviewed*
Amy and Brian are both likable characters, and I enjoyed their easy banter and how well they seemed to mesh. His family all welcome Amy, except his mother, who looks down her nose and at times is downright rude. Brian’s father is charming, and his siblings seem like a fun bunch to be around. The contrast between how Brian’s family live and how Amy lives is very well defined, and Amy’s internal monologues give us a good glimpse inside her head as she revels in Brian’s attention while at the same time feeling nervous about a possible relationship with him, and even more so with his mother.
All good things must come to an end, and once the planes start flying again Amy heads home to Boston. And that’s when the cray cray begins. Mrs. Emerson, who didn’t bother to hide her feelings about Amy to her face, begins to harrass her by phone, determined to prevent a real relationship from forming. She was a bit over the top to begin with, but it ramped up and up as the story progressed. Maybe there are people out there like her, but she was almost a caricature at times with some of her threats (seriously, lady, you have no legal grounds to get a restraining order to keep someone away from your adult son). Amy stressed quite a bit about Mrs. Emerson, and at times I wanted to tell her to chill out and just ignore her. To Amy, the thought of ever having Mrs. Emerson as a mother-in-law was horrid, and she actually seemed to consider throwing away the chance of a relationship to avoid the other woman, which horrified me a little.
When the ghost was introduced I was momentarily thrown, having forgotten that part of the synopsis. But it made a nice change of pace, and the sections of the story about Jeffrey, the ghost’s son who begins rehab at the non-profit facility Brian runs, were especially poignant. I would have liked to have seen even more of him.
But back to Amy and Brian. While I liked both of them, their characters could have been fleshed out just a little more. Regardless, I enjoyed watching them navigate the “bumps” in their relationship. I was never quite sure what direction the story would take, which is a good thing.
All in all, this is a sweet, light little romance, occasionally veering a bit deeper, and culminating in a feel good ending.
*received via Reedsy.com for review and voluntarily reviewed*
April 8, 2024
Choppy Read
This didn't have the polished feel. It felt choppy with the conversations. A lot of details were repeated to the point of being annoying. Not one of my favorite reads.
This didn't have the polished feel. It felt choppy with the conversations. A lot of details were repeated to the point of being annoying. Not one of my favorite reads.
January 20, 2024
I've read all the books by this author and enjoyed them immensely. A FEW BUMPS by Wanda Adams Fischer is not a typical romantic love story. Instead, it is about two people who come together after their flight is grounded in Kansas City by a snowstorm, and together, manage to get over the many 'bumps' encountered during their journey together.
It so happens that Brian comes from a 'well-to-do family' with a big house. He invites Amy to stay with his family until the storm ends. It soon becomes clear that the two of them are falling for one another. This disturbed Brian's mother, as Amy is a commoner without a pedigree, and in her opinion, not suited for her son. It is clear that she dislikes Amy and opines openly about it. 'Mother' had picked a 'fine' lady for Brian, but he rejected her after a horrible first date. Brian's 'daddy' and his siblings love Amy.
I enjoyed reading about their 'bumps' in Kansas City and soon developed a dislike for Brian's mother. She was high-strung and forgot where she came from - growing up poor herself.
When Brian and Amy returned to Boston, the pace of the story seemed to slow down. Amy was rushing to work and was confronted by a homeless man for a handout. With only $30 in her wallet, she opted to give the man a twenty. He was ecstatic as she rushed away and he referred to her as his 'Angel'.
The homeless man takes Amy's gesture as a sign from Heaven and decides to enter rehab. It turns out that this man, Jeffrey, is an MIT graduate who fell apart after his parents were killed in a car accident. He soon meets Brian and works on turning his life around.
It is in this part of the story that a paranormal spirit is introduced into the story, Jeffrey's mother. She is instrumental in helping Brian, Jeffrey, and Amy hurdle the many bumps they encounter. Including a major bump that almost ends their relationship.
I was surprised to see the book end and thought it might have continued. Perhaps, there may be a short story in the future to pick up where this one left off. The book is easy to read and is without error. I highly recommend it for readers of all ages.
It so happens that Brian comes from a 'well-to-do family' with a big house. He invites Amy to stay with his family until the storm ends. It soon becomes clear that the two of them are falling for one another. This disturbed Brian's mother, as Amy is a commoner without a pedigree, and in her opinion, not suited for her son. It is clear that she dislikes Amy and opines openly about it. 'Mother' had picked a 'fine' lady for Brian, but he rejected her after a horrible first date. Brian's 'daddy' and his siblings love Amy.
I enjoyed reading about their 'bumps' in Kansas City and soon developed a dislike for Brian's mother. She was high-strung and forgot where she came from - growing up poor herself.
When Brian and Amy returned to Boston, the pace of the story seemed to slow down. Amy was rushing to work and was confronted by a homeless man for a handout. With only $30 in her wallet, she opted to give the man a twenty. He was ecstatic as she rushed away and he referred to her as his 'Angel'.
The homeless man takes Amy's gesture as a sign from Heaven and decides to enter rehab. It turns out that this man, Jeffrey, is an MIT graduate who fell apart after his parents were killed in a car accident. He soon meets Brian and works on turning his life around.
It is in this part of the story that a paranormal spirit is introduced into the story, Jeffrey's mother. She is instrumental in helping Brian, Jeffrey, and Amy hurdle the many bumps they encounter. Including a major bump that almost ends their relationship.
I was surprised to see the book end and thought it might have continued. Perhaps, there may be a short story in the future to pick up where this one left off. The book is easy to read and is without error. I highly recommend it for readers of all ages.
January 15, 2024
I enjoyed how Amy and Brian met and the bond they created while at his family's house. Each of the character's had their own distinct personalities, and I loved how they interacted with one another. I loved the tension that was built in Kansas City, but the antagonist lost her power when the scene changed to Boston. I loved the parts with Jeffrey, and I think my favorite character was his ghost-mother. I loved Brian's dad's character, and his "Mother" was quite a complex character with so much potential to dig deeper or create more of a turnaround, but it fell short for me.
I just had a hard time investing in the characters. The author wanted to show each character's perspective but did it in such a way that it made it difficult for me to invest in any of them. There were parts where each character shared their inner thoughts and that sometimes pulled me out of the story. I don't mind following different perspectives from one chapter to another, but when they are jumbled into one chapter, it doesn't work for me. It's not that I didn't know whose thoughts they were because I did; I just prefer to stay focused on one character at a time.
The ending also felt ho-hum for me. I was hoping for that grand HEA, that the couple overcame all of their bumps and flourished, but it just felt like something was missing for me. There were parts of the ending that I really loved (like with the ghost-mother and Jeffrey), but I was really hoping for more from Amy and Brian's storyline at the end.
I just had a hard time investing in the characters. The author wanted to show each character's perspective but did it in such a way that it made it difficult for me to invest in any of them. There were parts where each character shared their inner thoughts and that sometimes pulled me out of the story. I don't mind following different perspectives from one chapter to another, but when they are jumbled into one chapter, it doesn't work for me. It's not that I didn't know whose thoughts they were because I did; I just prefer to stay focused on one character at a time.
The ending also felt ho-hum for me. I was hoping for that grand HEA, that the couple overcame all of their bumps and flourished, but it just felt like something was missing for me. There were parts of the ending that I really loved (like with the ghost-mother and Jeffrey), but I was really hoping for more from Amy and Brian's storyline at the end.
July 20, 2023
Book Review:
Cute story with likeable character's....Serendipity or fate or simply a stroke of luck these two people found each other...Like the saying goes..." What's meant to be is meant to be "! ....Sure life had it's bumps but with strength & sometimes heavenly guidance 🙏 you get over the bumps....All in good time...Thanks for an enjoyable read...M.L.🙂
Cute story with likeable character's....Serendipity or fate or simply a stroke of luck these two people found each other...Like the saying goes..." What's meant to be is meant to be "! ....Sure life had it's bumps but with strength & sometimes heavenly guidance 🙏 you get over the bumps....All in good time...Thanks for an enjoyable read...M.L.🙂
August 1, 2024
Sometimes, I'm just not ready for the story to be over. I enjoyed the "bumps" along the way that the characters encountered and felt myself encouraging them!
April 7, 2024
Love and spirits
Improbable love, ghosts, and challenging possible in-laws. What’s not to like? Pacing of this story is even and keeps propelling the reader on to the next page.
Improbable love, ghosts, and challenging possible in-laws. What’s not to like? Pacing of this story is even and keeps propelling the reader on to the next page.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews