Hanging by a Thread

by Karen Templeton

You can take the girl out of Queens…

Or can you? Because for five years, fashion...what?—assistant?—Ellie Levine was taking a halfhearted stab at it, commuting to Manhattan by day, trying desperately to keep secret her outerborough existence—that accent, that hair…that daughter! Until the day fate landed her back in her Richmond Hill neighborhood, the very place she'd sworn to escape.

Only now she had a business to run there—not the business she had in mind, perhaps, designing wedding dresses for Fran Drescher wanna-bees, but a business nonetheless. And the boy next door, who for years had been the married-man-next-door, was suddenly available. And interested?

So maybe there really is no place like home. So maybe the life she wanted and the life she had were starting to merge. And if she wasn't a success by anyone else's definition? Maybe it was time to throw away the dictionary…

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction

416 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2004

About the author

As the mother of five sons, now grown, Karen loves to write about real people dealing with the drama (and humor) of everyday life. Over the past fifteen years, Karen has written nearly 50 books for Harlequin/Silhouette and Red Dress Ink, and three of her Special Edition titles (A Mother's Wish (2009) Welcome Home, Cowboy (2011) and A Gift for All Seasons (2013) have won the RITA award, the romance industry's top prize for published authors. In addition, her November 2014 title, Santa's Playbook, earned the Romantic Times Gold Seal of Excellence, out of the hundreds of releases reviewed by the magazine for that month.

She is very active on Facebook, as both Karen Templeton and her full name, Karen Templeton Berger, running giveaway contests whenever she has a new release... or just feels like it. Or you can reach her via her website at www.karentempleton.com, which contains recent news as well as excerpts from both current and backlist titles.

Reviews

[Karen Terrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Hanging by a Thread* was smart and sassy and fun! I really enjoyed this story. The situations and characters were complex and genuine, and I loved the way the author didn't leave her characters stuck in a stereotype, but let them develop and evolve. Templeton has a wonderful sense of humor, and a knack for writing analogies that made me laugh out loud. I stumbled upon this book at a time when I needed a diversion with a happy ending - *Hanging by a Thread* was exactly what I needed.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, but much too drawn out in my opinion.

[Krys · Rating 3 out of 5]

you better like sex and the city going into this- most characters are 10x messier than carrie bradshaw 😭

[Karrie Killoway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read! I enjoyed this book had some good twists.

[Silvia Devitofrancesco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ellie lavora come assistente in un atelier di moda ma coltiva da sempre il sogno di diventare stilista. È una mamma single di una bimba di cinque anni e vive in compagnia del bisnonno. La vita della giovane da un giorno all’altro si complica: il bisnonno muore, Ellie non si trova bene all’asilo e ciò la costringe a lasciare momentaneamente il lavoro, la migliore amica è in piena crisi coniugale con il marito, l’uomo che Ellie ama da sempre e per finire sua sorella le piomba letteralmente in casa. Ellie non si arrende, cerca di badare a tutto, senza mai trascurare la sua passione per la moda. Riuscirà a tenere i nervi saldi e a realizzare i suoi obbiettivi?

“Finalmente ho imparato che le uniche bugie veramente imperdonabili sono quelle che diciamo a noi stessi. Meglio tardi che mai.”

Un romanzo dalla trama complessa almeno nella parte iniziale quando il lettore si trova dinanzi mille situazioni e problemi, poi man mano che la trama procede, egli imparerà a conoscere tutti i personaggi e quasi ad affezionarsene.

Ellie è l’icona della donna moderna. Lavora, sogna la carriera ma è anche una madre costretta a crescere da sola la sua bambina, o meglio in questo caso, la sua piccola donna. Ellie indossa alla perfezione la maschera della donna forte e decisa ma in realtà la sua psiche è assai fragile, la sua corazza sempre pronta a lacerarsi da un momento all’altro. Solo con Luke, l’innamorato di sempre, ella riuscirà a buttar via questa maschera e a far cadere tutte le barriere, rivelando se stessa e i suoi timori.

L’autrice riesce a unire la leggerezza del chick lit a temi sociali di grande spessore quali la morte di una persona cara, i segreti di famiglia, le mamme single, tematiche queste che offrono al lettore spunti di riflessione.

Lo stile è semplice, leggero, irriverente quasi, molto dialogato e di grande coinvolgimento emotivo.

Una lettura leggera, spassosa e riflessiva allo stesso tempo.

[Curtiss Matlock · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was sick with a respiratory virus when I began this book. It was a rare book to keep me reading, even with a headache. The voice is true, and the characters ones that many of us might know. I just really enjoyed this read.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, I absolutley loved this book!! It's the only book she has written that is not a cheesy Harlequin. I keep waiting for her to do another "real" book.

[Shawna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The main character's way of laughing at herself cracked me up at times. The writing style was unique and very honest. Stream-of-conscience in a way but not overbearing.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting plot with some twists, but a little see-through. Lots of drama in this woman's life. I enjoyed the wedding dress parts.

[Marisol · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been quite some time since I've finished a book so quickly. Safe to say I've fallen in love with the characters and the story line. I am Starr's number one fan. :)

[Catsalive · Rating 2 out of 5]

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/5...

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this!! The story was paced well and I was anxious to find out the ending.