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Mixed Reality
Book by Canton, Chamein
308 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2010
2 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Chamein Canton
14 books22 followersChamein Canton was born to Mary Ellen and Leonard F. Canton Jr. She was joined by a younger sister Natalie. Chamein attended the Copiague Schools and graduated from Copiague High School in 1984.
Chamein’s brief marriage in 1986 produced twin sons Sean Elliot and Scott Edward Snowden born May 18, 1987. After her divorce in 1988 she worked in the banking industry until she was diagnosed with uterine cancer in 1989.
As a patient and single mother, Chamein had the support of her family during that stressful time. She began attending college at night and received her Associate’s Degree in Paralegal Studies in 1992. With her cancer in remission she began working for a title insurance company/law firm in Garden City, New York. In 1993 Chamein enrolled SUNY Old Westbury’s business program to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Business Management. However her condition worsened in 1994 and she transferred to Empire State College Center for Distance Learning to get her degree online.
After a six year battle Chamein had a hysterectomy in 1995. She went back to work and continued her education even once she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1996. She also began a successful wedding consulting business and specialized in full figured brides. In 1998 Chamein suffered a physical setback when a major episode landed her in a wheelchair for several months. With 11 year old twin sons to support at the time she through herself into physical therapy and got back to a first love of hers, writing. She wrote three books during this time period most notably Down That Aisle In Style A Wedding Guide For Full Figured Women (WindRiver Publishing) , the first of its kind.
In 2002 Chamein received two honors, she finished her degree in Business Management and Marketing and she was given The MS Mother of The Year Award for 2002 as a result of her twins essay about their inspiring mother. In 2005 her twins graduated from Copiague High School and in the fall they attended SUNY Geneseo in Geneseo.
Chamein’s brief marriage in 1986 produced twin sons Sean Elliot and Scott Edward Snowden born May 18, 1987. After her divorce in 1988 she worked in the banking industry until she was diagnosed with uterine cancer in 1989.
As a patient and single mother, Chamein had the support of her family during that stressful time. She began attending college at night and received her Associate’s Degree in Paralegal Studies in 1992. With her cancer in remission she began working for a title insurance company/law firm in Garden City, New York. In 1993 Chamein enrolled SUNY Old Westbury’s business program to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Business Management. However her condition worsened in 1994 and she transferred to Empire State College Center for Distance Learning to get her degree online.
After a six year battle Chamein had a hysterectomy in 1995. She went back to work and continued her education even once she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1996. She also began a successful wedding consulting business and specialized in full figured brides. In 1998 Chamein suffered a physical setback when a major episode landed her in a wheelchair for several months. With 11 year old twin sons to support at the time she through herself into physical therapy and got back to a first love of hers, writing. She wrote three books during this time period most notably Down That Aisle In Style A Wedding Guide For Full Figured Women (WindRiver Publishing) , the first of its kind.
In 2002 Chamein received two honors, she finished her degree in Business Management and Marketing and she was given The MS Mother of The Year Award for 2002 as a result of her twins essay about their inspiring mother. In 2005 her twins graduated from Copiague High School and in the fall they attended SUNY Geneseo in Geneseo.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 8, 2010
Doug and Elle Brennan are the first couple of NYC. He is the mayor and she is his beloved wife of 20 years.
While Doug hails from a wealthy and well connected political family, Elle's background is more yeoman. She was a certified genius who completed her PhD at the age of 19. It was while celebrating her degree that she and Doug first met and fell in love. Nerdy and bookish, Elle at first feels out of her depth living in a fish bowl. But in the past 20 years she has made the transition into a flawless political spouse.
As a reward for her support and selflessness, Doug promises to retire from Politics once his term as Mayor is over. Elle is over the moon and is delighted to be able to spend time with her husband and two teen-aged sons as a family.
But two things happen to scuttle this grand plan. First the newly elected President taps the junior from senator from New York to serve as his Secretary of State. The Governor of NY will need to appoint a replacement and turns his eye on the young, handsome, charismatic Doug. Unable to reign in his ambitions Doug is seriously tempted by the offer. Knowing that he'd never forgive her if she scuttles his chances, Elle gives her blessing to the idea.
But even as the newspapers speculate on Doug being the possible new senator, Doug's younger Rory becomes embroiled in a scandalous domestic drama. Rory's bitter wife files for divorce and publicly names Elle as the reason. Rory and Elle have a great relationship and often meet for lunch etc. Angela's wife had them followed and the PI pictures, while easily explainable could be compromising in certain contexts.
This sets off a nasty chain of events as Doug tries to salvage his political life while Elle tries to salvage their personal life.
The concept of this story and the plot is what first attracted me to this book. I was, however, a tad disappointed in the execution.
There were some very strong elements in the book. The foundation for Angela's bitterness was well laid because it was clear that Rory was in love with Elle and had been for years. I liked how she presented his unrequited love for his sister in law. It wasn't cloying or uncomfortable, but it was there. And luckily Elle was completely oblivious.
I also liked how she handled Doug's political ambition. He clearly wanted to be Senator and he wanted it badly. Bad enough to act like a politician when the scandal hits rather than a husband. I really wish she had delved deeper into that dichotomy of Doug's life because I thought that piece of characterization of him was very intriguing.
But some things didn't wuite work for me. For one thing, I wish she had expanded on how Doug and Elle fell in love. I hate to say it, but I could see how Elle could be immediately fascinated with Doug, but for the life of me I didn't get a sense of what was so fascinating about Elle that Doug fell in love with her so quickly.
I mean, Elle was sheltered, her childhood was very different because she was never in the same age group as her scholastic peers (she was in college at the age of 11). It wasn't until the age of 19 when she first meets Doug that her parents let her off her leash. He was the first guy she really met outside of school. And what a doozy he is, handsome, rich, famous etc. But Elle's appeal to Doug was never fully explored. She was a 19 year old he met on a beach. And suddenly they are getting married. I felt there was an incredible hole int he story that never got filled for me.
But once the author established that Elle and Doug had been happily married for twenty years, I think she did a great job of it. Honestly I think she did too good of a job establishing the very strong, deep and abiding love between Elle and Doug throughout much of the book to later try to introduce doubt in the fabric of their marriage. To have Doug start to possibly doubt the platonic friendship between his brother and wife didn't ring at all true or logical. It felt contrived because there wasn't enough conflict internal to the marriage, all of it was external to that point.
Personally, I thought Doug's response to the scandal could have created enough conflict in the marriage without adding his possible doubt about his wife and brother to the mix.
And then there was the ending. Honestly, I thought the ending was kinda...well...lame. I thought Elle's reaction was a bit over-the top. Instead of acting like the poised wife of a man she's known well for 20 years, she acted more like a ninny half her age who was unsure of her relationship. Again, this could have worked had the foundation been laid for a weak marriage, but that wasn't the case.
So, while this book was not a knock out the park for me, it was a nice little read and the writing was very well executed and polished. I also liked the fact that while this is an IR romance, race is not at all an issue. It is mentioned as a matter of fact -- Elle is Black, Doug is white, their kids are biracial --- but isn't part of any conflict. I will definitely look for more from this author.
While Doug hails from a wealthy and well connected political family, Elle's background is more yeoman. She was a certified genius who completed her PhD at the age of 19. It was while celebrating her degree that she and Doug first met and fell in love. Nerdy and bookish, Elle at first feels out of her depth living in a fish bowl. But in the past 20 years she has made the transition into a flawless political spouse.
As a reward for her support and selflessness, Doug promises to retire from Politics once his term as Mayor is over. Elle is over the moon and is delighted to be able to spend time with her husband and two teen-aged sons as a family.
But two things happen to scuttle this grand plan. First the newly elected President taps the junior from senator from New York to serve as his Secretary of State. The Governor of NY will need to appoint a replacement and turns his eye on the young, handsome, charismatic Doug. Unable to reign in his ambitions Doug is seriously tempted by the offer. Knowing that he'd never forgive her if she scuttles his chances, Elle gives her blessing to the idea.
But even as the newspapers speculate on Doug being the possible new senator, Doug's younger Rory becomes embroiled in a scandalous domestic drama. Rory's bitter wife files for divorce and publicly names Elle as the reason. Rory and Elle have a great relationship and often meet for lunch etc. Angela's wife had them followed and the PI pictures, while easily explainable could be compromising in certain contexts.
This sets off a nasty chain of events as Doug tries to salvage his political life while Elle tries to salvage their personal life.
The concept of this story and the plot is what first attracted me to this book. I was, however, a tad disappointed in the execution.
There were some very strong elements in the book. The foundation for Angela's bitterness was well laid because it was clear that Rory was in love with Elle and had been for years. I liked how she presented his unrequited love for his sister in law. It wasn't cloying or uncomfortable, but it was there. And luckily Elle was completely oblivious.
I also liked how she handled Doug's political ambition. He clearly wanted to be Senator and he wanted it badly. Bad enough to act like a politician when the scandal hits rather than a husband. I really wish she had delved deeper into that dichotomy of Doug's life because I thought that piece of characterization of him was very intriguing.
But some things didn't wuite work for me. For one thing, I wish she had expanded on how Doug and Elle fell in love. I hate to say it, but I could see how Elle could be immediately fascinated with Doug, but for the life of me I didn't get a sense of what was so fascinating about Elle that Doug fell in love with her so quickly.
I mean, Elle was sheltered, her childhood was very different because she was never in the same age group as her scholastic peers (she was in college at the age of 11). It wasn't until the age of 19 when she first meets Doug that her parents let her off her leash. He was the first guy she really met outside of school. And what a doozy he is, handsome, rich, famous etc. But Elle's appeal to Doug was never fully explored. She was a 19 year old he met on a beach. And suddenly they are getting married. I felt there was an incredible hole int he story that never got filled for me.
But once the author established that Elle and Doug had been happily married for twenty years, I think she did a great job of it. Honestly I think she did too good of a job establishing the very strong, deep and abiding love between Elle and Doug throughout much of the book to later try to introduce doubt in the fabric of their marriage. To have Doug start to possibly doubt the platonic friendship between his brother and wife didn't ring at all true or logical. It felt contrived because there wasn't enough conflict internal to the marriage, all of it was external to that point.
Personally, I thought Doug's response to the scandal could have created enough conflict in the marriage without adding his possible doubt about his wife and brother to the mix.
And then there was the ending. Honestly, I thought the ending was kinda...well...lame. I thought Elle's reaction was a bit over-the top. Instead of acting like the poised wife of a man she's known well for 20 years, she acted more like a ninny half her age who was unsure of her relationship. Again, this could have worked had the foundation been laid for a weak marriage, but that wasn't the case.
So, while this book was not a knock out the park for me, it was a nice little read and the writing was very well executed and polished. I also liked the fact that while this is an IR romance, race is not at all an issue. It is mentioned as a matter of fact -- Elle is Black, Doug is white, their kids are biracial --- but isn't part of any conflict. I will definitely look for more from this author.
May 29, 2010
A lovely sweet romance between a guy and his girl that left me wanting more. After 20 years of marriage, Doug is still as head over heels in love with Elle as he was 20 years early. You can feel the chemistry and the passion between the two.
July 15, 2010
I ENJOYED the storyline and the witty dialogue throughout...Elle's BIG IQ and her naivete are CHARMING...as smart as she is quite a few things went right over her head...LOL...I found the full cast of characters ENTERTAINING from their teenage twins to Elle's divorced mom and dad...the passion between Doug and Elle is INTENSE and still very much alive after 20 years of marriage and living in the political limelight...a DELIGHTFUL mix of romance and politics.
November 25, 2013
I am a fan of all of her books. This one was really great in the way that it focused on the romance has always been here and these two people love each other, but how do you keep the flame lit when reality hits and life changes? I thought it was a great love story but a realistic glimpse of love, marriage, parenthood and sibling relationships.
June 10, 2011
I enjoyed this book so much. Not any major huge drama going on, but it was still an awesome read none the less. It was different and not too cliche like some interracial books where they meet and have a hard time cause they are different races. This book they were already a happy family.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews