What do you think?
Rate this book
Spare Change
New Year's resolutions are one of Riley's least favorite things - until this year. Twenty-three and single, Riley thinks resolutions should be fun, not hard. Just before midnight, she vows to make the easiest resolution save her pennies and at the end of the year, buy something nice for herself. Easy! ...Or is it? Working at a cancer treatment center can change one's perspective, and before long Riley decides to donate her extra money to cancer research rather than reward herself. At first her resolution is her own secret, but all too soon the nurses figure out her plan, and then things really begin to get out of hand! As people through the hospital, and then the town, begin to get involved, Riley finds herself at the front of the fund-raising campaign. She also finds herself face-to-face with Paul, the grouchy but cute bank teller. But can she overcome the memory of a failed relationship - and can he do the same? And who is the secret admirer who keeps leaving pennies and notes for her to find? Aside from a million pennies, every flavor of ice cream imaginable, and maybe even love, Riley is about to discover that an ordinary person can be the catalyst for extraordinary events.
202 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2008
5 people are currently reading
493 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 157 reviews
September 30, 2019
Cute story. I don’t relate very well to the main character’s mood swings towards the guys in her life.
August 21, 2012
It leaves you wanting to go do something good.
August 14, 2015
This book had all the funny comedic romance that I expected- and it had some beautiful meaningful learning experiences that I didn't expect, but loved anyway.
March 9, 2020
At first I didn't know if I liked the writing style, but toward the end I was smitten!
November 11, 2021
Okay --- I love Aubrey Mace. Not only is her writing talented, insightful, and sometimes humourous with good and vivid characters, but I also feel like we are kindred spirits. I still have yet to read some of her novels --- and I look forward to doing so! --- but already, what I have read by her I immediately connect to in terms of social awkwardness and introversion but also spunk and quirkiness. I also thought that the romance was fun and cute in this novel! And if I remember correctly, her Latter-day Saint family was super enjoyable, too.
It's been a little while since I read this novel, even, but I remember all of this that I've written here (which means the book was highly worth it!), AND I felt prompted enough, thinking about it again today, that I wanted to help ra-ra well-deserved support for Aubrey. So...check out Spare Change today! It's a really cute, fun, and charitable concept, and like I said, all of the writing and characters are awesome, too.
It's been a little while since I read this novel, even, but I remember all of this that I've written here (which means the book was highly worth it!), AND I felt prompted enough, thinking about it again today, that I wanted to help ra-ra well-deserved support for Aubrey. So...check out Spare Change today! It's a really cute, fun, and charitable concept, and like I said, all of the writing and characters are awesome, too.
December 7, 2018
I enjoyed it, but it was odd in the pacing.
Warning... one of the characters is creepy abusive and manipulative, and while he's dismissed, i thinknthe author missed a prime opportunity to explore that kind of effect on the main character and add depth, but it was just missing. And i really wish there was more depth to the main male character, he felt very flat. I liked the premose, but the execution felt lacking. A good imagination is highly valuable when filling in all the missing details.
Warning... one of the characters is creepy abusive and manipulative, and while he's dismissed, i thinknthe author missed a prime opportunity to explore that kind of effect on the main character and add depth, but it was just missing. And i really wish there was more depth to the main male character, he felt very flat. I liked the premose, but the execution felt lacking. A good imagination is highly valuable when filling in all the missing details.
September 21, 2021
I originally read this book a few years ago and remember really enjoying it. I revisited it this past week and was glad to do so. The story has a really cute plot with a positive message about goal setting and service. The romance is fun and I like that it wasn't predictable.
This is a clean romance.
This is a clean romance.
March 12, 2018
Just ugghhh
May 2, 2018
Ahhh, I really enjoyed this book! It was one of those really quick and easy reads that just seems to melt in your hands and before you know it, the end has come.
April 23, 2020
Clean, funny, and engaging.
Riley's story had me chuckling and laughing.
I would highly recommend. Great story. Believable, flawed characters who actually grow and change.
Riley's story had me chuckling and laughing.
I would highly recommend. Great story. Believable, flawed characters who actually grow and change.
November 2, 2020
Fun story about how little actions can make big changes.
September 21, 2021
Very cute. A sweet, light-hearted bit of fluff — like a vanilla marshmallow or pink cotton candy.
June 6, 2022
I enjoyed this story and it motivated me to be a better member of our community.
The only problem I have with the book is the main character comes off as needy and immature.
Still, the story was enjoyable.
The only problem I have with the book is the main character comes off as needy and immature.
Still, the story was enjoyable.
January 2, 2024
A sweet, simple story.
April 13, 2025
Kind of a cute fun little read, but also very predictable, with rather unrealistic dialogue.
April 29, 2025
It felt so good to read a book that was positive and easy to read. It was a clean cut book.
May 28, 2025
3.75 stars. It started out meh for me, but I have liked the author’s later writing enough to see where it went. Her later stories are definitely better, but this was sweet & fun enough.
August 10, 2010
I needed another cute fast sweet and light read, so I picked this book to read.
I wasn't very impressed by the beginning of the book, seeing the Paul was no where to be found and I started to wonder if the book would have any cute romance, I had to re-read the synopsis from the back cover. Luckily, I continued the book, phew!
I would prefer Paul to appear sooner, but that's fine. Then again, it wouldn't make much sense to let him appear that soon, as before he appears, it was mostly about how she got the idea.
Also, probably because I was impatient and didn't make an effort, I couldn't relate or understand Riley at first, but as I got pulled into the novel, I found myself understanding and know Riley much better. The random scenes from her past gave her more depth and more real, I love getting to know Riley.
I love Riley. She's very likable. She's funny, fun, sweet, and normal-flawed. I could see where she's coming from when she gets angry. Her family is just really fun and interesting. Her best friend and colleagues are awesome. Did I mention I love Paul?
Other than surprising me with how this novel turned out to be really awesome, there were a lot events in the book that really surprised me and I did not see them coming. I really love the surprises thrown in though! At some points, I was extremely careful not to accidentally-on-purpose read the next line/paragraph to spoil. Aubrey Mace balanced Riley's life with work, family and love pretty great in this novel!
I don't know if it sounds like I didn't like this much, but I like this a lot! A loooooooooooot!
I wasn't very impressed by the beginning of the book, seeing the Paul was no where to be found and I started to wonder if the book would have any cute romance, I had to re-read the synopsis from the back cover. Luckily, I continued the book, phew!
I would prefer Paul to appear sooner, but that's fine. Then again, it wouldn't make much sense to let him appear that soon, as before he appears, it was mostly about how she got the idea.
Also, probably because I was impatient and didn't make an effort, I couldn't relate or understand Riley at first, but as I got pulled into the novel, I found myself understanding and know Riley much better. The random scenes from her past gave her more depth and more real, I love getting to know Riley.
I love Riley. She's very likable. She's funny, fun, sweet, and normal-flawed. I could see where she's coming from when she gets angry. Her family is just really fun and interesting. Her best friend and colleagues are awesome. Did I mention I love Paul?
Other than surprising me with how this novel turned out to be really awesome, there were a lot events in the book that really surprised me and I did not see them coming. I really love the surprises thrown in though! At some points, I was extremely careful not to accidentally-on-purpose read the next line/paragraph to spoil. Aubrey Mace balanced Riley's life with work, family and love pretty great in this novel!
I don't know if it sounds like I didn't like this much, but I like this a lot! A loooooooooooot!
September 11, 2010
Friday, September 10, 2010
Book Review: Spare Change
Spare Change is a fun romance book by Aubrey Mace. You may recall that about a year ago I reviewed Mace's book Santa Maybe. Well, I enjoyed Santa Maybe so much I decided to try Spare Change--and Aubrey didn't let me down. She is talented at developing well-rounded characters who are endearing despite very real flaws. And she is not afraid to have multiple bumps for her characters on the road to romance.
From the back of the book:
Twenty-three and single, Riley thinks resolutions should be fun, not hard. Just before midnight, she vows to make the easiest resolution ever: save her pennies and at the end of the year, buy something nice for herself. Easy! ...Or is it? Working at a cancer treatment center can change one's perspective, and before long Riley decides to donate her extra money to cancer research rather than reward herself. At first her resolution is her own secret, but all too soon the nurses figure out her plan, and then things really begin to get out of hand! As people through the hospital, and then the town, begin to get involved, Riley finds herself at the front of the fund-raising campaign. She also finds herself face-to-face with Paul, the grouchy but cute bank teller. But can she overcome the memory of a failed relationship - and can he do the same? And who is the secret admirer who keeps leaving pennies and notes for her to find?
This is a cute read that will leave you smiling for several hours. I look forward to future books from Aubrey, hopefully in the near future.
Book Review: Spare Change
Spare Change is a fun romance book by Aubrey Mace. You may recall that about a year ago I reviewed Mace's book Santa Maybe. Well, I enjoyed Santa Maybe so much I decided to try Spare Change--and Aubrey didn't let me down. She is talented at developing well-rounded characters who are endearing despite very real flaws. And she is not afraid to have multiple bumps for her characters on the road to romance.
From the back of the book:
Twenty-three and single, Riley thinks resolutions should be fun, not hard. Just before midnight, she vows to make the easiest resolution ever: save her pennies and at the end of the year, buy something nice for herself. Easy! ...Or is it? Working at a cancer treatment center can change one's perspective, and before long Riley decides to donate her extra money to cancer research rather than reward herself. At first her resolution is her own secret, but all too soon the nurses figure out her plan, and then things really begin to get out of hand! As people through the hospital, and then the town, begin to get involved, Riley finds herself at the front of the fund-raising campaign. She also finds herself face-to-face with Paul, the grouchy but cute bank teller. But can she overcome the memory of a failed relationship - and can he do the same? And who is the secret admirer who keeps leaving pennies and notes for her to find?
This is a cute read that will leave you smiling for several hours. I look forward to future books from Aubrey, hopefully in the near future.
June 26, 2012
Spare Change is a cute story with a likeable heroine, Riley. The story is told entirely from Riley's point of view, which gets you inside her head to see her thoughts and ideas, many of which are rather amusing. Her "voice" is entertaining and very easy to read.
I liked how most of the story centered around doing something to help others. Collecting pennies may not seem like much, but when lots of people get involved it's surprising how much a few pennies can add up to. Of course Riley's personal life is also a big part of the story, but I just really appreciated the selfless attitude that the entire penny idea conveyed.
For those wondering about content, I'm happy to say that this book is extremely clean. No uncomfortable situations, and the language stays clean as well.
At 200 pages, Spare Change is a fairly quick read. It's light and fun, and while I'm not sure it will stick with me extremely long, I did enjoy the story. This is a book that I feel would make a great Hallmark movie, it has all the right ingredients! Anyway, if you're looking for something fun and light, this would be a good choice!
I liked how most of the story centered around doing something to help others. Collecting pennies may not seem like much, but when lots of people get involved it's surprising how much a few pennies can add up to. Of course Riley's personal life is also a big part of the story, but I just really appreciated the selfless attitude that the entire penny idea conveyed.
For those wondering about content, I'm happy to say that this book is extremely clean. No uncomfortable situations, and the language stays clean as well.
At 200 pages, Spare Change is a fairly quick read. It's light and fun, and while I'm not sure it will stick with me extremely long, I did enjoy the story. This is a book that I feel would make a great Hallmark movie, it has all the right ingredients! Anyway, if you're looking for something fun and light, this would be a good choice!
July 7, 2009
Riley Madsen is a 23 year old, single gal working as a receptionist in a cancer treatment center. On New Years Eve, at her mother's insistence, Riley makes a New Years Resolution to save her pennies for a year and buy herself something rewarding. Riley quickly determines that she isn't going to have enough money to do a lot with at the end of the year. She then decides she will donate her savings to cancer research. Word gets out to her co-workers about what she is doing and they decide to join her in her quest. Her simple resolution morphs into an effort that ultimately involves the entire community. During the course of her money raising activities she meets a grouchy, but handsome bank teller who brings a very unexpected change to her life. This was a fun read. I read it in one day. It is LDS fiction but in this story the only allusion to LDS beliefs has to do with a Word of Wisdom issue. This book could easily fit in a Young Adult or Christian Literature category.
December 16, 2015
Spare Change written by Aubrey Mace is a feel good novel in which the young Riley Madsen is discouraged by the fact that she never fulfills her new years goals. She decides that this year she is going to collect spare change and do something nice fore herself at the end of the year. When she realizes that she won’t earn that much by the end of the year, she shoots to collect and earn spare change so she can donate to the cancer research of the hospital she works at and all along the way, a romance is developing. This novel was positive and inspiring and helped me realize that not all goals need to be so complicated. This book also conveyed the message that great things can happen with the help and generosity from many people. The only setback to this book is that the pace is slow at the beginning of the book and by the end you are left wanting a little bit more. Other than that, I completely recommend this book to all those looking for an inspiring story.
May 3, 2009
great fast read.Riley has a new years resolution to make, but doesn't want to make goals only to feel quilty for not doing them. After her mom tells her to start small she decides to collect all her pennies and at the end of the year spend them on something fun for herself. Then when working as a receptionist at a outpatient cancer treatment office she decides to donate them to cancer research instead. Now how to raise more pennies. She has a mysterious "penny guy" who secretly drops off romantic gifts including pennies and she has Paul the bank teller who gave her a hard time about having to wrap the pennies first before the bank will accept them. she learns the most about doing best with what you have to work with.
September 22, 2009
I don't even remember where I got the idea to pick up this book. It was not on any bookshelf or store. I saw it on Amazon and was interested in the cover quotes.
"Spare Change" has surpassed my expectations. I say this because I feel compelled to write a rave review, even though I'm only halfway through the story! It is so cute, and funny, and sweet- yet totally down to earth!
If I change my mind (Aubrey Mace, don't do me wrong!) I will edit my review. However, as of right now, I absolutely love this book! It is such an inspiring story full of cute moments and very special, likeable, realistic characters.
Great job!
March 15, 2009 UPDATE: I finished it today, and it did not disappoint. Great novel!
"Spare Change" has surpassed my expectations. I say this because I feel compelled to write a rave review, even though I'm only halfway through the story! It is so cute, and funny, and sweet- yet totally down to earth!
If I change my mind (Aubrey Mace, don't do me wrong!) I will edit my review. However, as of right now, I absolutely love this book! It is such an inspiring story full of cute moments and very special, likeable, realistic characters.
Great job!
March 15, 2009 UPDATE: I finished it today, and it did not disappoint. Great novel!
May 1, 2013
Audience: Adult (Clean)
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Length: 201
Rating: ***+
Review: I love the premise of this book and how Riley's resolution really snowballs. There's lots of fun characters, and right off when I met Paul, I knew he'd be someone Riley needed to keep an eye on. I love the way their relationship slowly develops and also the flashbacks that show how much "change" means to Riley. Her ex-fiance seems to pop up out of nowhere and the setup until we meet her true love interest (we're introduced to a guy named James first) seem to lag and can get confusing. Still, Aubrey is an author I will come back to and read more from.
Disclaimer: Nothing.
For more reviews stop by: http://raneesclark.blogspot.com/p/rev...
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Length: 201
Rating: ***+
Review: I love the premise of this book and how Riley's resolution really snowballs. There's lots of fun characters, and right off when I met Paul, I knew he'd be someone Riley needed to keep an eye on. I love the way their relationship slowly develops and also the flashbacks that show how much "change" means to Riley. Her ex-fiance seems to pop up out of nowhere and the setup until we meet her true love interest (we're introduced to a guy named James first) seem to lag and can get confusing. Still, Aubrey is an author I will come back to and read more from.
Disclaimer: Nothing.
For more reviews stop by: http://raneesclark.blogspot.com/p/rev...
August 22, 2014
I really liked the basic premise of this book; the protagonist saves all of her spare change to donate to cancer research, and other people start contributing to her fund throughout the year. That part was great.
The romance part was so-so. This is the second book of Aubrey Mace's that I've read, and I'm not quite sure why the women in her books have to be so crabby with the men. They remind me of flustered middle school girls, who cover their nervousness around their crushes by being rude. Additionally, this was pretty poorly-edited; several words misspelled and the wrong forms of its/it's being used.
Cute concept for the book, kind of a rough execution.
The romance part was so-so. This is the second book of Aubrey Mace's that I've read, and I'm not quite sure why the women in her books have to be so crabby with the men. They remind me of flustered middle school girls, who cover their nervousness around their crushes by being rude. Additionally, this was pretty poorly-edited; several words misspelled and the wrong forms of its/it's being used.
Cute concept for the book, kind of a rough execution.
March 4, 2009
I thought the writing was good and I cared about the characters. I liked the basis--that one person can make a difference. The main character's hyperactive phobias were a little distracting and her binging on junk food was annoying. Do people really eat like that THAT often and still look beautiful--especially with no mention of exercise? Weird. The ex-fiance was too big of a jerk. I had a hard time believing Riley would have fallen in love with a guy like that in the first place. The true romance was believable and interesting.
December 31, 2008
It's one of those books I'm almost not wanting to admit I've read because on the scale of good books it would be rated as "Cheese a la mode". There was enough substance to keep me going, but it was more of a teenager type book than I thought it would be. I'm not attracted to bratty girls in real life and that's how the heroine came across to me. I really did enjoy the quotes at the beginning of each chapter, though. They seemed to say everything necessary in less than 3 sentences--they summarized the point of the chapter very well and I just plain liked the quotes.
August 19, 2009
3.5 stars for this one. Just a lighthearted, fun story with some good, clean romance thrown in. Of all the characters though, Riley (the heroine) was my least favorite, she was just a bit to whiney and binged on way too much ice cream (and I love ice cream). She had some really good lines though, and I loved her little brother Mitch. I liked the plot about how even doing just a little can really count for a lot. It put in mind one of my favorite quotes by Mother Teresa "We can do no great things, only small things with great love."
February 16, 2010
A simple story, simply told. There were a couple of descriptive problems in the text that stopped the flow of reading and I never like it when that happens. The main character is immature and never seems to grow up. I felt like the author was writing LDS fiction while trying not to narrow it down to an LDS audience and it never felt settled because of that - no outright LDS references, but definately a few vague references that would normally have just been stated openly as LDS. I think Mace would have been better off deciding to go one way or the other instead of straddling the fence.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 157 reviews