As Good As It Got

by Isabel Sharpe

Ann Redding has taken every lousy thing life has thrown at her and handled it very well, thank you very much. All she wants is to get her life back on track...but that won't happen till she makes her worried family and friends back off by spending two weeks at Camp Kinsonu, a retreat for suddenly single women. Now she's stuck sitting around a campfire, singing "I Am Woman" with a bunch of sandal-clad, makeup-boycotting women. If she doesn't get out of there soon, they'll be sizing her for Birkenstocks. Kinsonu, an idyllic retreat on the coast of Maine, is supposed to be a place for new hope and new beginnings. But Ann doesn't belong in an estrogen Eden, she belongs in a corporate boardroom. Still, the camp has its compensations—she's grudgingly befriended some other "inmates," including Cindy, who honestly believes she's just killing time till her serial-cheating husband comes crawling back. And Martha, shy, overweight, and mysteriously silent about the man she's there to get over. Maybe it was fate that brought them together at Camp Kinsonu, maybe just bad luck. But three strangers are about to bond on an adventure they didn't ask for—and discover that lives they thought were as good as it got could suddenly get a lot better.

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction

301 pages, Paperback

First published June 24, 2008

About the author

Isabel Sharpe began writing in 1994 after leaving her job to raise her son. A former “bored housewife,” she has authored over twenty Harlequin novels and now writes women-focused fiction for Avon/HarperCollins, embracing her unexpected career.

Reviews

[Diane D · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking for a light read and thought this book sounded like a fun story.

About the book:

Ann Redding has taken every lousy thing life has thrown at her and handled it very well, thank you very much. All she wants is to get her life back on track...but that won't happen till she makes her worried family and friends back off by spending two weeks at Camp Kinsonu, a retreat for suddenly single women. Now she's stuck sitting around a campfire, singing "I Am Woman" with a bunch of sandal-clad, makeup-boycotting women. If she doesn't get out of there soon, they'll be sizing her for Birkenstocks.

Kinsonu, an idyllic retreat on the coast of Maine, is supposed to be a place for new hope and new beginnings. But Ann doesn't belong in an estrogen Eden, she belongs in a corporate boardroom. Still, the camp has its compensations—she's grudgingly befriended some other "inmates," including Cindy, who honestly believes she's just killing time till her serial-cheating husband comes crawling back. And Martha, shy, overweight, and mysteriously silent about the man she's there to get over.

Maybe it was fate that brought them together at Camp Kinsonu, maybe just bad luck. But three strangers are about to bond on an adventure they didn't ask for—and discover that lives they thought were as good as it got could suddenly get a lot better.

I liked the setting of the book, a camp in the woods of Maine, and the fact that it was a story about women in their 40's trying to come to terms with a failed relationship. Although the story started out good, for the most part this book fell flat for me, and turned out to be very predictable.

[Marty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cindy had a good life…. even if her husband wandered now and then…. He always came back….. until this time. He now wanted a divorce. Ann thought she had it all: good husband, no financial worries, nice home, good job – until her husband killed himself and she found her money gone, fired from her job, all gone and she was back living with her parents. Martha lived alone in a plain brown apartment. She was overweight, but he didn’t care… Eldon loved her….and had loved her since they were a pair in college over 20 years ago. Now he might become governor, he had the perfect society wife, nice family, good name, and still gave Martha that secret wave when he gave a speech.. She lived knowing someday he would come for her. Now how did these three women (plus a number of other women) wind up in this “Singles Camp” for women who had lost their men. Who put them in this two-week kumbya “upward bound” program… and what happens to them here……… An interesting book.

[Suzanne Hamilton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Three women whose love lives have been shattered by loss meet at a summer retreat in Maine, which caters to women seeking a new beginning. This isn't exactly a 'romance novel', but it does skew that way, complete with the hunky assistant director of the retreat, Patrick. Each of the three women is a type: the devoted housewife whose husband is a serial cheater, the driven professional whose husband killed himself rather than face financial ruin, and the slightly wonky Earth mother whose love affair with a married man turns out to be mostly in her imagination. The story rolls along, but it's all pretty predictable. Not really my type of book. The author does a nice job describing the Maine coast, where the story is set.

[Aimee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up from a Little Library as a quick, easy read. The story was a bit confusing as it switched POV repeatedly. It also started fairly slowly and dragged out repeatedly. The characters were all quite obnoxious and the situations they found themselves in were terribly unbelievable. It was entertaining enough as junk food for the brain, but definitely not a repeat reader.

[Marissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was enjoyable to have something light and funny at times to read. However, I'm not a fan of the ending as it felt rushed and insensitive a bit. Overall, it's good to relax and read.

[Sherrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Typical romance

[April D · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this light, easy read. It’s categorized as “Romance” but it’s more about women, change & becoming strong.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit...#

[Cheri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow, this was bad. Unlikeable characters doing dumb things.

[Mary Mackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read! It gets you thinking too. How many people mold their lives to fit the holes in someone elses? How many people hide who they are so they don't rock the boat?

[Terra · Rating 5 out of 5]

As Good As It Got by Isabel Sharpe is an emotionally physicalogical roller coaster ride through the hellish afterlife of three woman's loss of the men they love the most.

Cindy is the perfect specimen of devoted wife and life long motherhood to the point of complete and total ignorant oblivion. Arriving home to find the house a mess she embarks on her normal clean it up attitude until she happens to find a thong in her bed that needless to say is not hers. Having overlooked her husbands straying before, she is more than willing to do so again just to keep her little life safe and comfy.

Ann is struggling with the suicide death of her husband and the total financial, emotional and physical ruination of her life. Her husband taking the easy way out of a difficult situation that he created leaves Ann all but blaming herself for the ultimately devastating downfall. The results of all this is taking it's toll on her sanity and physical safety.

Martha is a woman content in the roll of a mistress until her boyfriend has a stroke and leaves her feeling completely and utterly deserted. She sits day after day, week after week waiting for word that her lover will regain his health. She hopes with every ounce of her being that he will profess his total love for her, leave his wife and children and a job as senator to come back to her in a way that she has longed for these past twenty years.

Our story takes us to Maine and Camp Kinsonu, a place of quiet, solitude and healing for women bearing tragic dramatic loss. This camp is a two week vacation of self discovery, pain, sorrow management and hope for a new future. Like with anything else the first step in recovery is admitting the loss. Camp counselor's are there to help with every step these women take on their journey to tomorrow.

The author has given us three female characters that are so different in every way possible that it makes the two weeks of camp life resemble a natural disaster with a twist. Also, throw in a male character of sleaze proportions that you just have to hate and you have a story to pull and twist you into an emotional head spin.

[Carla · Rating 1 out of 5]

So depressing to read 2 BAD books in a row. Wow! what an incredibly poorly written book full of drivel about 4 loser women with no personalities whatsoever. A bunch of simpering women who all loooooove assholes and let themselves be hopelessly mistreated for 20 years before the jerks have the decency to die or leave..... How do these things get published?????

Product review:
Ann Redding has taken every lousy thing life has thrown at her and handled it very well, thank you very much. All she wants is to get her life back on track...but that won't happen till she makes her worried family and friends back off by spending two weeks at Camp Kinsonu, a retreat for suddenly single women. Now she's stuck sitting around a campfire, singing "I Am Woman" with a bunch of sandal-clad, makeup-boycotting women. If she doesn't get out of there soon, they'll be sizing her for Birkenstocks.

Kinsonu, an idyllic retreat on the coast of Maine, is supposed to be a place for new hope and new beginnings. But Ann doesn't belong in an estrogen Eden, she belongs in a corporate boardroom. Still, the camp has its compensations—she's grudgingly befriended some other "inmates," including Cindy, who honestly believes she's just killing time till her serial-cheating husband comes crawling back. And Martha, shy, overweight, and mysteriously silent about the man she's there to get over.

Maybe it was fate that brought them together at Camp Kinsonu, maybe just bad luck. But three strangers are about to bond on an adventure they didn't ask for—and discover that lives they thought were as good as it got could suddenly get a lot better.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the idea of this book - a camp for grown women who were "suddenly single", a place to heal, recover and regroup no matter how you were "suddenly single".

There are many good things about this book, in fact, it was a bit reminiscent of Good Grief. The anger, shock, resentment and denial of some of these women were very realistic. My hurt ached for them and I want so badly for them to succeed and be able to move on.

However, there were too many loose ends for me to give it more than 3 stars. I don't need everything all tied up with a nice little bow, but closure for more than one storyline would have been nice. They left a lot of it up to the reader's interpretation and if it wasn't for the author's interview in the back of the book, it would have bothered me even more.

Also, there were two characters that were really quite unnecessary and while the author referred to them as "minor" characters, they were pretty prominent and would suck me out of the story each time the story focused on them.

All in all, a good read and I'd recommend it.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

(I am revisiting...after chatting with a friend, I realize that I do see a bit of me in each of the characters--for better or worse! LOL--)

Kinda funky book on four women, each with a "relationship story" who attend a women's camp in Maine to “find themselves.” I could make some connection. Over all, just a breezy read. And yes, they each found redemption.

On page 95 there was a "reminder" for me..."Not that many of us can throw off the negativity surrounding us....It's safer to be cynical...It's easier to hate, to point to misery in the world and then use that hate and misery as a sign that we can only expect more."

How many people I have met that choose to see life this way. I'm a firm believer in moving away from the negative, and embracing the positive.

This book could be read in a sitting or two.

[Max Reilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the idea of this book- a camp for grown women who are "suddenly single”, need a place to heal, and recover from their own personal stories. I loved how the author, Isabel Sharpe, was able to smoothly switch between the three main character’s perspectives within each chapter. Even though I am much younger and in much different situations than each of the three women, I loved reading about their individual stories and trying to relate to them all. I think that women, who believe to be under similar circumstances, could definitely read and enjoy Ann, Cindy, and Martha's "suddenly single" stories. All three women have very unique and contrasting personalities that are so engaging for the readers, labeling this novel a definite page turner. Five out of five stars.

[Tammie McElligott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Receiving this early copy from Harper Collins, I was excited to be picked to read As Good As It Got.

The story is about 3 women who are in the throws of grief, either by the loss of a spouse, the infidelity of a spouse, or having someone else's husband whom you've having an affair with on his death bed.

Then along comes Betsy the woman who runs Camp Kinosonu in Maine. A camp whose theme song is yes, I am Woman and caters to helping women in move past the grief.

I enjoyed it and thought it was a great women's fiction read. I review it more at blog if your interested!

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wonderful and bittersweet story of women finding out who they are and possibly where they belong after the loss of their significant other. The characters were great and so real!! There were some surprises along the way, which I didn't see coming. The setting of the coast of Maine really worked and made me want to go visit someday. I hope I never have to go through the pain that these characters had to go through but it's a great lesson about not losing your true self no matter who your are with.

[Taryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Desperate for a book to read, I picked this up for 5$ at Walmart. They had a selection of 5$ books, some of which I'd already read, and the rest sounded terrible. This one sounded the least terrible of the ones I could find.

Turns out, it was a pretty entertaining book. Literary masterpiece? No. But it was an interesting storyline, with a few interesting twists, and even laugh-out-loud funny in a spot or two - the character Ann cracked me up.

All in all, a fun, quick, entertaining summer read.

[Kerry - Readkerryread · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the concept of a camp for recently single woman getting together to move on. I liked Ann who was a little snarky and hard edged who kept the other women from being too overly down. What I didn't like though is some of the character development.

One of the camp counselors was a little inappropriate though he gets what is coming to him. There wasn't enough resolution to each character line. Ann had a lot more development than the others and I like where it took her but it was not enough to carry the book.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

What makes a book great? I really enjoyed reading this story of three recently single women who go away
to a camp to learn to cope. One husband is very much alive and has another yet another affair; another
one has committed suicide; a third has a married boyfriend of over 20 yrs who is in ICU. This book will never
win a pulitzer, but the characters were relatable and real. The story was great though I might've hoped for
more closure at the end. I guess that's real life. 3.8

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a guilty pleasure. The ultimate beach read. What made it more fun was sharing it with 2 other women who enjoyed it and then planning the cast of the movie. We roared at the characters and laughed at who we would pick to portray them. Lots of good memories tied into this book. Best part-the woman who served her husband the thong she found in bed (it wasn't hers) in his pea soup.

[Kim D · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was just...sad. A woman whose friends all but force her to attend a feel-good, hippy-dippy getaway camp for dumped or otherwise rejected women. Naturally, a potential fling with the (Is he / isn't he gay?) "counselor" and connection with hot fisherman appear in the plot, as does the usual self-actualizing/self-empowerment moment. Horrible, formulaic, and boring.

[Arnetta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun, and insightful book on single women. Women whose husband had died, left them, having affairs. It shows the journey they take individually and with the help of each other to come out stronger and smarter at the end. A great book on how to improve your life by improving your attitudes and by finding yourself. It was a quick read cause it flowed easily.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an easy read. It's about three women who have "lost" men and find themselves at a camp in Maine for women in the same situation. Three very different women who learn more about themselves in their two weeks at camp.

[Mikie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise was great, and the first few chapters caught my attention. After that, the bottom fell out. The characters became whiny, unbelievable and predictable. I couldn't skim this book fast enough to finish it. Great start, promising, than a belly flop.

[Natasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's good. Different than most of the other books I read, but I like it. It's about women who go to a camp that helps them deal with the lose of certain men in their lives. They learn things about themselves and their relationships, and try to overcome their loss.

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

three women who have loved and lost either by divorce or death. Going to a camp in Maine for women recovering from lost and how they all cope. Funny at times. The characters are so real that you want to hug and shake them all at the same time.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I wasn't sure I was going to like these three women in the book, but it was a fun book even though it was about a serious topic, losing a male partner. But by the end I was cheering these women on.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn't a bad book at all to read. I think they should have camps like that for women that are having a tough time getting over those tough moments in life. I have passed the book on to someone who is trying to get over a relationship.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story about three women and three relationships gone bad. One widowed, one had multiple affairs and another lopsided. Camp seemed like a way to sort through their feelings with some hilarious results. Seems like this might make for a great script for a movie.