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Mother, Please!: What a Girl Wants / The Road Home / Upstairs, Downstairs
Three meddling mothers do some behind-the-scenes matchmaking to help their daughters find love and romance, from a widowed mother who asks her handsome new tenant to keep an eye on her overprotective daughter, to a mother who sends a very special patient to her daughter's veterinary clinic. Original.
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 1, 2004
5 people are currently reading
470 people want to read
About the author
Brenda Novak
238 books6,986 followersIt was a shocking experience that jump-started Brenda Novak’s bestselling author career.
“I caught my day-care provider drugging my children with cough syrup and Tylenol to get them to sleep while I was away,” Brenda says. “It was then that I decided that I needed to do something from home.”
However, writing was the last profession she expected to undertake. In fact, Brenda swears she didn’t have a creative bone in her body. In school, math and science were her best subjects, and when it came time to pick a major in college, she chose business.
Abandoning her academic scholarship to Brigham Young University at the age of 20 in order to get married and start a family, Brenda dabbled in commercial real estate, then became a loan officer.
“When I first got the idea to become a novelist, it took me five years to teach myself the craft and finish my first book,” Brenda admits. “I learned how to write by reading what others have written. The best advice for any would-be author: read, read, read….”
Brenda sold her first book, and the rest is history. Now a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, she continues to publish two or three novels a year, in a variety of genres.
Brenda and her husband, Ted, live in Sacramento and are the proud parents of five children—three girls and two boys. Now that they are empty-nesters, she spends her free time babysitting her two grandchildren.
When she’s not with her family or writing, Brenda is usually raising money for diabetes research. To date, she's raised almost $2.6 million. Her youngest son, Thad, has diabetes, and Brenda is determined to help him and others like him. She also enjoys traveling, watching sporting events and biking--she rides an amazing 20 miles every day!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-...
“I caught my day-care provider drugging my children with cough syrup and Tylenol to get them to sleep while I was away,” Brenda says. “It was then that I decided that I needed to do something from home.”
However, writing was the last profession she expected to undertake. In fact, Brenda swears she didn’t have a creative bone in her body. In school, math and science were her best subjects, and when it came time to pick a major in college, she chose business.
Abandoning her academic scholarship to Brigham Young University at the age of 20 in order to get married and start a family, Brenda dabbled in commercial real estate, then became a loan officer.
“When I first got the idea to become a novelist, it took me five years to teach myself the craft and finish my first book,” Brenda admits. “I learned how to write by reading what others have written. The best advice for any would-be author: read, read, read….”
Brenda sold her first book, and the rest is history. Now a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, she continues to publish two or three novels a year, in a variety of genres.
Brenda and her husband, Ted, live in Sacramento and are the proud parents of five children—three girls and two boys. Now that they are empty-nesters, she spends her free time babysitting her two grandchildren.
When she’s not with her family or writing, Brenda is usually raising money for diabetes research. To date, she's raised almost $2.6 million. Her youngest son, Thad, has diabetes, and Brenda is determined to help him and others like him. She also enjoys traveling, watching sporting events and biking--she rides an amazing 20 miles every day!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-...
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 14, 2013
Reading the first two stories in this anthology, it’s apparent why Ms. Novak and Ms. Shalvis are such popular writers - they can tell a good story. I have read Ms. Shalvis’ books before but not Ms. Novak’s.
THe fact that I really liked “What a Girl Wants” is remarkable considering that the hero is a former NASCAR hero. I typically don’t enjoy books with sports hero, especially car drivers but the story and Novak’s writing sold me. It’s a tale of a plain girl who meets a hot, hot man with a womanizing past. She won’t consider him because of his reputation and he takes one look at her and thinks not my type.
Yet a romance slowly builds when she enlists him in her plot to get her parents back together while avoiding her father’s efforts to match her up with his employee. April didn’t make it easy on Gunner either though, and that’s what made her charming. She wasn’t in awe of his money or fame. The back and forth verbal sparring was humorous and felt real.
The secondary subplot was a fine addition to the story. It didn’t detract from the main romance, instead it allowed the main romance to build. My only issue with it was that every few chapters the POV would shift to one of April’s parents. I found that distracting.
The Road Home - Jill Shalvis
Another straight laced heroine,Melissa, who struggles to let others in after a life spent bouncing back and forth from foster homes. Her mother Rose had placed Melissa in the foster care system because she always hoped to reclaim her but never did. When Rose tried later in life to connect with her, Melissa shut her down. Despite the ambivalence towards her mother, Melissa decides to lease a veterinary practice in the small town where her mother lives.
BEcause Melissa refuses to speak with her, Rose enlists her hot neighbor Jason to help. He begins bringing Rose’s assorted pets into Melissa. Instead of helping to bridge the divide between mother and daughter, Jason and Melissa grow attracted to each other.
Part of me wonders whether this would have worked better as a slightly longer story. I enjoyed how the romantic tension develops between Jason and Melissa but all of a sudden she shows up at his house and seduces him. The romance went from 0 to 100 in no time flat. She said she wanted to break out of her shell and try something different but it felt a little too fast.
That being said, the romantic scenes were well done with an appropriate level of detail. (I’ll confess that I’ve read enough romances that I often just skip over the love scenes if they’re too detailed or long). The interplay between Jason and Melissa was warm and humorous without being trite.
I wasn’t as crazy about the back story between Melissa and Rose - again, it might have played better in a longer story. Melissa doesn’t want to talk to her, won’t talk to her, and boom now she will.
Those complaints are minor though and are ways it could have been better, but I really enjoyed it.
Upstairs Downstairs,
Not often where I engage with an anthology and DNF on the last story, but there’s a first time for everything. The heroine Avery was the cheerleader prom queen. The hero David was the geeky high school mascot secretly in love with her. In high school he rescues her from a brutal attempted rape and proceeds to beat the crap out of the high school bad boy bully. He lands in the hospital and then is suspended from school - an experience that somehow shames him and causes him to leave town.
Fifteen years later, Avery is a baker and living with her widowed mother in their old home. The house has been subdivided into three apartments, mother on first floor, Avery on Second, and oh look David is on the third. The tension between them mounts.
I could not engage with the story. Avery was nearly raped and it sounds like it was brutal. Yet all she frets about was how she “shamed” David. For starters, it doesn’t sound like he was shamed. He gained street cred for taking on the school bully. Second, even though it was interrupted it was a brutal assault. yet she’s been agonizing for fifteen years that she ruined David’s reputation. The whole thing doesn’t feel right. I can’t engage, so it’s DNF.
I enjoyed the first two stories and on their own they’d get somewhere around a 3.5 or 3.75 on my romance scale. I don’t normally rate DNFs because I recognize that many times it’s my personal taste that causes me to DNF. So I’m averaging it all to a 3.
THe fact that I really liked “What a Girl Wants” is remarkable considering that the hero is a former NASCAR hero. I typically don’t enjoy books with sports hero, especially car drivers but the story and Novak’s writing sold me. It’s a tale of a plain girl who meets a hot, hot man with a womanizing past. She won’t consider him because of his reputation and he takes one look at her and thinks not my type.
Yet a romance slowly builds when she enlists him in her plot to get her parents back together while avoiding her father’s efforts to match her up with his employee. April didn’t make it easy on Gunner either though, and that’s what made her charming. She wasn’t in awe of his money or fame. The back and forth verbal sparring was humorous and felt real.
The secondary subplot was a fine addition to the story. It didn’t detract from the main romance, instead it allowed the main romance to build. My only issue with it was that every few chapters the POV would shift to one of April’s parents. I found that distracting.
The Road Home - Jill Shalvis
Another straight laced heroine,Melissa, who struggles to let others in after a life spent bouncing back and forth from foster homes. Her mother Rose had placed Melissa in the foster care system because she always hoped to reclaim her but never did. When Rose tried later in life to connect with her, Melissa shut her down. Despite the ambivalence towards her mother, Melissa decides to lease a veterinary practice in the small town where her mother lives.
BEcause Melissa refuses to speak with her, Rose enlists her hot neighbor Jason to help. He begins bringing Rose’s assorted pets into Melissa. Instead of helping to bridge the divide between mother and daughter, Jason and Melissa grow attracted to each other.
Part of me wonders whether this would have worked better as a slightly longer story. I enjoyed how the romantic tension develops between Jason and Melissa but all of a sudden she shows up at his house and seduces him. The romance went from 0 to 100 in no time flat. She said she wanted to break out of her shell and try something different but it felt a little too fast.
That being said, the romantic scenes were well done with an appropriate level of detail. (I’ll confess that I’ve read enough romances that I often just skip over the love scenes if they’re too detailed or long). The interplay between Jason and Melissa was warm and humorous without being trite.
I wasn’t as crazy about the back story between Melissa and Rose - again, it might have played better in a longer story. Melissa doesn’t want to talk to her, won’t talk to her, and boom now she will.
Those complaints are minor though and are ways it could have been better, but I really enjoyed it.
Upstairs Downstairs,
Not often where I engage with an anthology and DNF on the last story, but there’s a first time for everything. The heroine Avery was the cheerleader prom queen. The hero David was the geeky high school mascot secretly in love with her. In high school he rescues her from a brutal attempted rape and proceeds to beat the crap out of the high school bad boy bully. He lands in the hospital and then is suspended from school - an experience that somehow shames him and causes him to leave town.
Fifteen years later, Avery is a baker and living with her widowed mother in their old home. The house has been subdivided into three apartments, mother on first floor, Avery on Second, and oh look David is on the third. The tension between them mounts.
I could not engage with the story. Avery was nearly raped and it sounds like it was brutal. Yet all she frets about was how she “shamed” David. For starters, it doesn’t sound like he was shamed. He gained street cred for taking on the school bully. Second, even though it was interrupted it was a brutal assault. yet she’s been agonizing for fifteen years that she ruined David’s reputation. The whole thing doesn’t feel right. I can’t engage, so it’s DNF.
I enjoyed the first two stories and on their own they’d get somewhere around a 3.5 or 3.75 on my romance scale. I don’t normally rate DNFs because I recognize that many times it’s my personal taste that causes me to DNF. So I’m averaging it all to a 3.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 21, 2015
First off I want to say I am sorry! I have read other books by Brenda Novak and Jill Shavis this one just did not do it for me. I was ready to be done on the first pages of all three stories. It was not for but who knows maybe you will love it!
July 6, 2014
Cute book, 3 short stories.
Loved the first, liked the second and struggled to finish the third.
Loved the first, liked the second and struggled to finish the third.
September 20, 2019
"What a Girl Wants" by Brenda Novak. April Ashton's parents have separated after 33 years and her dad is talking of selling his auto parts chain to ex-race car driver "Gunner" Quincy Stevens. April's a quantum physicist with few street smarts. Trying to mediate between the parents, she cons Gunner into playing boyfriend in Cabo. They do fall in love but only a mediocre story.
"The Road Home" by Jill Shalvis. Vet Melanie Anders has gone to the same small town as her estranged mother who put her in foster care 20+ years earlier. Mel won't talk to Rose, so Rose sends neighbor/author Jason Lawrence in to soften her up. It works, but only after great sex. Also mediocre.
"Upstairs, Downstairs" by Alison Kent. Avery Rice has settled in her home town - upstairs from widowed mom after a near rape in high school. Ten years later, her rescuer comes back and also moves in upstairs. Eventually mom gets a new man and Avery comes to terms with David Marks. Also so-so.
"The Road Home" by Jill Shalvis. Vet Melanie Anders has gone to the same small town as her estranged mother who put her in foster care 20+ years earlier. Mel won't talk to Rose, so Rose sends neighbor/author Jason Lawrence in to soften her up. It works, but only after great sex. Also mediocre.
"Upstairs, Downstairs" by Alison Kent. Avery Rice has settled in her home town - upstairs from widowed mom after a near rape in high school. Ten years later, her rescuer comes back and also moves in upstairs. Eventually mom gets a new man and Avery comes to terms with David Marks. Also so-so.
September 2, 2017
I hate giving low ratings on a book as I always feel sorry for the authors who have taken the time to write them, however this book was a total disappointment, the first two books were ok, what I would call holiday reads, but not a lot of surprises in them. The third book was the worst, I found myself skipping pages and pages of it as it just wasn't holding my interest and the story was just pointless.
February 10, 2018
I read What A Girl Wants. Brenda has a way with her words that draws you in. April has a plan or two while on their company vacation. She just needs Gunners help. That is until he changes the game on her. Meanwhile Claire's dad Walt is dealing with his own issues. Do her plan actually get her parents Walt/Claire back together.
June 28, 2022
(Jill Shalvis book only): Cute, though rushed. I didn't really have time to warm up to either the hero or the heroine, which - I know - it's a novella, but I should still feel a connection to them. Also some back and forth and COMPLETELY OOC actions had me raising my eyebrows. All in all, it was a cute, short read, though.
December 20, 2024
Listened to Upstairs, Downstairs (aka About Last Night), so I can't speak to the other two stories. But this was ok as a second chance story, but I didn't particularly like how the SA storyline was handled.
August 17, 2018
Probably 3 of the best Novellas I have ever read, especially in one book.
If you are a Daughter or a Mother, a must read - I enjoyed this book thoroughly!
If you are a Daughter or a Mother, a must read - I enjoyed this book thoroughly!
September 8, 2018
I enjoyed this book! I love the authors! Great read!
May 11, 2019
What A Girl Wants by Brenda Novak was a fun sweet romance!
January 5, 2023
Wish I could give 2.5 stars. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't memorable. Also, there were so many "wacky characters" which still are a pet peeve of mine.
April 27, 2024
I loved all three short stories! I thought they were all super cute.
May 16, 2011
Blurb writers should actually read the book they’re writing the blurb for, before doing anything remotely similar to writing a blurb...Because having finished this anthology, the problem isn’t with the mothers (as many would have you believe), but with their daughters.
Each heroine in this book has her own issues with intimacy with the opposite sex and those issues are mostly their own fault. Their mothers just want them to be happy and if that means they have to resort to matchmaking—so be it.
Ms. Novak’s What a Girl Wants was the strongest one of the bunch, and despite her high IQ and rather prim behavior, had the most pleasant heroine as well. Throw in a sexy ex-race-car driver, some lessons in flirting, kissing, and seduction, and you have yourself a funny, witty little story.
Ms. Shalvis’s The Road Home wasn’t bad either, but the heroine was the most annoying of the bunch. There’re always two sides to every story, she just preferred to ignore the side that didn’t agree with her. Lucky for her, she had a hunky novelist vying for her attention, and she did get “smarter” toward the end.
Ms. Kent’s Upstairs, Downstairs was the weakest link in this anthology, IMO. Besides the ridiculous premise of a thirty-something woman still clinging to the past (both distant and nearer) and “refusing” to let her own mother live her life five years after her father’s passing, there was the rather hole-y backstory to contend with. Also, despite the hunkiness that was David, I didn’t feel the attraction or love.
Each heroine in this book has her own issues with intimacy with the opposite sex and those issues are mostly their own fault. Their mothers just want them to be happy and if that means they have to resort to matchmaking—so be it.
Ms. Novak’s What a Girl Wants was the strongest one of the bunch, and despite her high IQ and rather prim behavior, had the most pleasant heroine as well. Throw in a sexy ex-race-car driver, some lessons in flirting, kissing, and seduction, and you have yourself a funny, witty little story.
Ms. Shalvis’s The Road Home wasn’t bad either, but the heroine was the most annoying of the bunch. There’re always two sides to every story, she just preferred to ignore the side that didn’t agree with her. Lucky for her, she had a hunky novelist vying for her attention, and she did get “smarter” toward the end.
Ms. Kent’s Upstairs, Downstairs was the weakest link in this anthology, IMO. Besides the ridiculous premise of a thirty-something woman still clinging to the past (both distant and nearer) and “refusing” to let her own mother live her life five years after her father’s passing, there was the rather hole-y backstory to contend with. Also, despite the hunkiness that was David, I didn’t feel the attraction or love.
December 16, 2016
Three short stories about girls and their mothers. All three endings felt rushed, and the last story was painful to read because of a lack of good editing.
December 27, 2011
(Jill Shalvis book only): Cute, though rushed. I didn't really have time to warm up to either the hero or the heroine, which - I know - it's a novella, but I should still feel a connection to them. Also some back and forth and COMPLETELY OOC actions had me raising my eyebrows. All in all, it was a cute, short read, though.
May 12, 2012
I loved it! For short story, these three stories were certainly entertaining.
I loved the first because they pretended to be a couple. I loved the second because it's kinda cute for Jason to always came up at her clinic with different kind of pets just to see her, even he had an agenda. I loved the last because, well, it's an old crush theme, they had an unfinished business.
I loved the first because they pretended to be a couple. I loved the second because it's kinda cute for Jason to always came up at her clinic with different kind of pets just to see her, even he had an agenda. I loved the last because, well, it's an old crush theme, they had an unfinished business.
October 29, 2012
I really liked all thee. Brenda Novak's about the geeky girl and the racing champers a god fun read. I'd say the same about Jill Shalvis and Allison Kent's stories. But that's what an anthology is for. I don't expect a GREAT READ, BUT THESE WERE REALLY GOOD.
December 1, 2010
Consists of 3 short stories:
1. What A Girl Wants by Brenda Novak -4/5
2. The Road Home by Jill Shalvis -3/5
3. Upstairs, Downstairs by Mica Stone -1/5
1. What A Girl Wants by Brenda Novak -4/5
2. The Road Home by Jill Shalvis -3/5
3. Upstairs, Downstairs by Mica Stone -1/5
August 11, 2012
nt great but still sweet !!!
July 1, 2016
Judging from the title, one would expect the mothers to be a bit more meddlesome. It would have certainly been much more entertaining. Sneaky, witty, matchmaking mothers would have been even better!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews