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nicolewrites's review
4.0
I was very pleasantly surprised by this free nook selection. The title caught my eye and I was curious to find out how I could enjoy a book with a polar bear in the title! The writer held my interest and the flow of the book was very easy to read. I immediately connected with the main character, Candice, and could feel her pain when making one of the biggest decisions of her life. I would highly recommend this book and will definitely read other books by this author.
nonpassionproject's review
4.0
I found this light read to be fairly endearing... just what I was looking for in a quick escape from the technical and textbook literature. Four stars were given for its laugh out loud humor and relatability. I mean, who of us novice gym-goers immediately actually felt at home and not like an alien landing on another planet upon first entering The Gym. I still giggle thinking about her first day there. Along with the humor, it also depicts the relationships Candice holds with those around her. We all know who they are: the significant other, the best long time best friend you never want to lose, the critical mother, and of course, the ex -- whom you'd hope never to see again, and ends up making your life tailspin. I assume many people, men or women, can identify with one of her relationships, if not her situation. The downside to this book was the inconsistent narration and other technical details that distracted me while reading.
just_tosh's review
4.0
This was a free e-book offered by Barnes & Noble. I didn't have expectations for this book. It was free. I was pleasantly surprised. It was a refreshing read. A simple, straightforward plot. No complicated character backstory. It was a needed change after reading A Discovery Of Witches.
Candice and her husband Ian's marriage of two years has been a little rocky since his parent's death in a car accident eight months prior to the story's beginning. Their situation is complicated further when Ian leaves on a four week work assignment and Candice's first love hires her firm to design his new restaurant. In those four weeks, she learns a lot about her life, what she really wants from it and love.
The lack of defined scene transitions made the book difficult to read at times. You find yourself reading on scene and boom, something totally different pops up. I wondered if I missed something. It's nothing a good edit can't fix. I really liked Candice although she acted a bit immature at times. I believed she made the right decision in the end. This is clearly chick-lit so if you're not into this kind of novel, stay away.
Candice and her husband Ian's marriage of two years has been a little rocky since his parent's death in a car accident eight months prior to the story's beginning. Their situation is complicated further when Ian leaves on a four week work assignment and Candice's first love hires her firm to design his new restaurant. In those four weeks, she learns a lot about her life, what she really wants from it and love.
The lack of defined scene transitions made the book difficult to read at times. You find yourself reading on scene and boom, something totally different pops up. I wondered if I missed something. It's nothing a good edit can't fix. I really liked Candice although she acted a bit immature at times. I believed she made the right decision in the end. This is clearly chick-lit so if you're not into this kind of novel, stay away.
bethestage's review
3.0
Interesting characters and a pretty good plot kept me reading despite the extreme lack of scene transitions and chapter breaks which drove me nuts. Sure, I wanted to smack the main character silly a few times, but I generally think of that as a good thing because it means I care about the character. :) I found myself just as torn toward the end as Candiace was and was genuinely happy with the way the book ended. All in all, good for a free book, but it could have used a little help with editing.
resareads's review
4.0
Life, Love, and a Polar Bear Tattoo by Heather Wardell Review
Candice's marriage hasn't been the same since her in-laws died in a car accident coming back from buying her Christmas present. With her marriage on shaky ground and her husband leaving for six weeks to build houses out of the country Candice thinks she'll have plenty of time to decide what she wants to do about her crumbling marriage. Instead she's given a blast from the past, former lover Kegan shows up at the interior design firm Candice works for and she's forced not only to work with the man who broke her heart, but to relive all those feelings that made her fall in love with him in the first place. Candice is forced to decide what she wants out of her life, to come to terms with her in-laws' tragic deaths, and why she hasn't gotten out of life what she expected to. As the newness has worn off her marriage and husband Ian seems farther away than ever before it only makes sense that she be drawn to Kegan: the man she was with in college, the man she was with when she had all the possibilities in the world.
The question is...which man will she chose?
While the plot of "Life, Love, and a Polar Bear Tattoo" seems spongey at best, there's more to this book than just a woman trying to decide between two lovers. Wardell actually takes us deeper into out main character Candice's mind than who she wants to sleep with. What, at first, appears to be a woman trying to decide between two men turns in to a story about a woman trying to find herself. A woman who is becoming disillusioned with who she's become and realizing it's never too late to reinvent yourself. As Candice discovers, just because she might not be a "tattoo person" doesn't mean she doesn't want to be.
Overall I was much more impressed with this book than I thought I'd be. Wardell has an excellent writing style that keeps you turning pages and wondering what will happen next while creating a main character you can really feel for. Unfortunately she doesn't take quite as much time to let you love the rest of the characters. We see Ian mostly through emails he and Candice send back and forth, yet not all of his emails actually appear in the book. While some of them do others, the ones which seem to have the biggest impact on Candice, Wardell hasn't bothered to write. Meaning we see Candice's reaction without Ian's words and are unable to decide what kind of man Ian really is. Kegan too, remains a little undeveloped. Wardell makes a big deal about him listening to Jazz music only in his car while hiding 80s cds in the glove compartment but then she drops the idea and never really ties it together with anything else. Candice's friends fall a bit flat as well and it's hard to tell whether she's a thirty-something careerwoman or a twenty-something reliving the glory days of college with the typical hyper-emotional friend on one hand and the slutty go with the flow friend on the other.
I enjoyed the book and the emotion and honesty Wardell has put into Candice's character made me glad to have picked it up. That being said if Wardell had given a little more attention to the other characters in her book she would have taken it to the next level. As far as short reads go it's worth a try, and as it is available free as an ebook it's worth downloading just in case.
Candice's marriage hasn't been the same since her in-laws died in a car accident coming back from buying her Christmas present. With her marriage on shaky ground and her husband leaving for six weeks to build houses out of the country Candice thinks she'll have plenty of time to decide what she wants to do about her crumbling marriage. Instead she's given a blast from the past, former lover Kegan shows up at the interior design firm Candice works for and she's forced not only to work with the man who broke her heart, but to relive all those feelings that made her fall in love with him in the first place. Candice is forced to decide what she wants out of her life, to come to terms with her in-laws' tragic deaths, and why she hasn't gotten out of life what she expected to. As the newness has worn off her marriage and husband Ian seems farther away than ever before it only makes sense that she be drawn to Kegan: the man she was with in college, the man she was with when she had all the possibilities in the world.
The question is...which man will she chose?
While the plot of "Life, Love, and a Polar Bear Tattoo" seems spongey at best, there's more to this book than just a woman trying to decide between two lovers. Wardell actually takes us deeper into out main character Candice's mind than who she wants to sleep with. What, at first, appears to be a woman trying to decide between two men turns in to a story about a woman trying to find herself. A woman who is becoming disillusioned with who she's become and realizing it's never too late to reinvent yourself. As Candice discovers, just because she might not be a "tattoo person" doesn't mean she doesn't want to be.
Overall I was much more impressed with this book than I thought I'd be. Wardell has an excellent writing style that keeps you turning pages and wondering what will happen next while creating a main character you can really feel for. Unfortunately she doesn't take quite as much time to let you love the rest of the characters. We see Ian mostly through emails he and Candice send back and forth, yet not all of his emails actually appear in the book. While some of them do others, the ones which seem to have the biggest impact on Candice, Wardell hasn't bothered to write. Meaning we see Candice's reaction without Ian's words and are unable to decide what kind of man Ian really is. Kegan too, remains a little undeveloped. Wardell makes a big deal about him listening to Jazz music only in his car while hiding 80s cds in the glove compartment but then she drops the idea and never really ties it together with anything else. Candice's friends fall a bit flat as well and it's hard to tell whether she's a thirty-something careerwoman or a twenty-something reliving the glory days of college with the typical hyper-emotional friend on one hand and the slutty go with the flow friend on the other.
I enjoyed the book and the emotion and honesty Wardell has put into Candice's character made me glad to have picked it up. That being said if Wardell had given a little more attention to the other characters in her book she would have taken it to the next level. As far as short reads go it's worth a try, and as it is available free as an ebook it's worth downloading just in case.
lindsey_reads's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
kaleys23's review
5.0
Originally reviewed at Books Etc.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me present one of my new favourite books...Life, Love, and a Polar Bear Tattoo by Heather Wardell.
When Heather first asked me to review her books a little while ago I poked around her website and found an excerpt from this book. I was hooked. I couldn't stop thinking about the story and the characters and wondering how they got through everything. I had quite a few other books to read but when I finally got around to reading Polar Bear I found that the rest of the novel was just as engaging as the first chapter.
There were so many things that I loved about this novel, so I hope I can remember to touch on all of them. First of all, the characters were fantastic. Each one was well developed and three dimensional. I really felt like I knew them and I wanted to be friends with all of them! And this was a very important thing. I think if I hadn't like the characters, the story would have been harder to take. Sometimes when cheating is at the centre of the plot it can be really hard to read and feel any sympathy or empathy for any of the characters. I felt like I could really understand the reason behind the decisions Candice, Kegan, and Ian were making.
Since I'm sure some of you don't know who Heather Wardell is (and you need to go educate yourselves right now...ok, finish reading this post, and then go check out all her books), I'm going to compare this novel to one by a well known chick lit author - Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin. A quick snippet from the Goodreads synopsis: This is the story for anyone who has ever wondered: How can I truly love the one I'm with when I can't forget the one who got away? I felt the same way about LTOYW as I did about Polar Bear...I could see why the characters were making their choices. I actually could see their reasoning so well that I knew exactly why they were having a hard time making the so called "right" choice. I'm not always ok with the whole infidelity storyline, just in case you think I am. In fact, I had a very hard time reading Heart of the Matter by Giffin. I was just not ok with Tessa's husband cheating on her (I was, however, amused that Tessa is Dex's sister. Yes, Dex from Something Borrowed). Anyway, slightly off topic now. Long story short - LTOYW and Polar Bear were similar but both were unique to the author and were equally delightful.
If you've been reading my previous posts you may have realized that I love reading Canadian authors and seeing whether they play up or ignore the fact that they are from Canada. Sometimes you have no idea if the characters are in Canada and sometimes a Canadian city is named as the location, but that's it. And sometimes, like with Polar Bear, you know the characters are in Canada and the reader actually gets to explore the city through the characters. At one point in this novel, Candice and Kegan head to Canada's Wonderland, the theme park in Toronto (technically it's outside Toronto...but when I'm driving south - I live north of T.O. - Wonderland signals the entrance into the dreaded GTA. I'm such a small town girl!). You're wondering where I'm going with this, aren't you? Well, the reason this part of the novel made an impression on me was because I knew what rides Candice and Kegan were on and Wardell didn't name the rides, only described them. I've been to Wonderland a few times and just thought it was so cool that I had been on the same rides the characters were on. Except Drop Tower. That ride just plain terrifies me. Anyway, this excursion by the characters actually prompted me to text my friend and tell her I wanted to go to Wonderland. Needless to say, she was a little confused as to why I was all of a sudden wanting to go :)
Since I follow Heather on Twitter (and you should too! @HeatherWardell) and we are part of the same Chick Lit Challenge hosted by Samantha at Chick Lit Plus, I know that she is an avid reader. Turns out Candice is too, which the following two quotes show:
I was halfway to the door when a new Marian Keyes novel caught my eye. I picked it up to take a look and decided it needed to come home with me.
Admit it. Many of you have felt exactly the same way at the bookstore.
Larissa stopped dead and gave me a good impression of a woman having a heart attack. "You...not going to Chapters? The world has gone mad!"
Love it. I think I want Candice to be my friend :)
Overall, I loved loved loved this book. Five stars, for sure. I've already told a few friends to read it and plan on making others to read it as well. The characters are amazing, the story flows, and you will not want to put it down. I definitely urge you to check out Heather's books. I am looking forward to reading more of hers!
Ladies and gentlemen, let me present one of my new favourite books...Life, Love, and a Polar Bear Tattoo by Heather Wardell.
When Heather first asked me to review her books a little while ago I poked around her website and found an excerpt from this book. I was hooked. I couldn't stop thinking about the story and the characters and wondering how they got through everything. I had quite a few other books to read but when I finally got around to reading Polar Bear I found that the rest of the novel was just as engaging as the first chapter.
There were so many things that I loved about this novel, so I hope I can remember to touch on all of them. First of all, the characters were fantastic. Each one was well developed and three dimensional. I really felt like I knew them and I wanted to be friends with all of them! And this was a very important thing. I think if I hadn't like the characters, the story would have been harder to take. Sometimes when cheating is at the centre of the plot it can be really hard to read and feel any sympathy or empathy for any of the characters. I felt like I could really understand the reason behind the decisions Candice, Kegan, and Ian were making.
Since I'm sure some of you don't know who Heather Wardell is (and you need to go educate yourselves right now...ok, finish reading this post, and then go check out all her books), I'm going to compare this novel to one by a well known chick lit author - Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin. A quick snippet from the Goodreads synopsis: This is the story for anyone who has ever wondered: How can I truly love the one I'm with when I can't forget the one who got away? I felt the same way about LTOYW as I did about Polar Bear...I could see why the characters were making their choices. I actually could see their reasoning so well that I knew exactly why they were having a hard time making the so called "right" choice. I'm not always ok with the whole infidelity storyline, just in case you think I am. In fact, I had a very hard time reading Heart of the Matter by Giffin. I was just not ok with Tessa's husband cheating on her (I was, however, amused that Tessa is Dex's sister. Yes, Dex from Something Borrowed). Anyway, slightly off topic now. Long story short - LTOYW and Polar Bear were similar but both were unique to the author and were equally delightful.
If you've been reading my previous posts you may have realized that I love reading Canadian authors and seeing whether they play up or ignore the fact that they are from Canada. Sometimes you have no idea if the characters are in Canada and sometimes a Canadian city is named as the location, but that's it. And sometimes, like with Polar Bear, you know the characters are in Canada and the reader actually gets to explore the city through the characters. At one point in this novel, Candice and Kegan head to Canada's Wonderland, the theme park in Toronto (technically it's outside Toronto...but when I'm driving south - I live north of T.O. - Wonderland signals the entrance into the dreaded GTA. I'm such a small town girl!). You're wondering where I'm going with this, aren't you? Well, the reason this part of the novel made an impression on me was because I knew what rides Candice and Kegan were on and Wardell didn't name the rides, only described them. I've been to Wonderland a few times and just thought it was so cool that I had been on the same rides the characters were on. Except Drop Tower. That ride just plain terrifies me. Anyway, this excursion by the characters actually prompted me to text my friend and tell her I wanted to go to Wonderland. Needless to say, she was a little confused as to why I was all of a sudden wanting to go :)
Since I follow Heather on Twitter (and you should too! @HeatherWardell) and we are part of the same Chick Lit Challenge hosted by Samantha at Chick Lit Plus, I know that she is an avid reader. Turns out Candice is too, which the following two quotes show:
I was halfway to the door when a new Marian Keyes novel caught my eye. I picked it up to take a look and decided it needed to come home with me.
Admit it. Many of you have felt exactly the same way at the bookstore.
Larissa stopped dead and gave me a good impression of a woman having a heart attack. "You...not going to Chapters? The world has gone mad!"
Love it. I think I want Candice to be my friend :)
Overall, I loved loved loved this book. Five stars, for sure. I've already told a few friends to read it and plan on making others to read it as well. The characters are amazing, the story flows, and you will not want to put it down. I definitely urge you to check out Heather's books. I am looking forward to reading more of hers!
shareleann's review
5.0
I loved it!!
Candice and Ian are apart for a month and they agree to take that time to think about their marraige. An old flame shows up at Candice's office & she has to work closely with him. She gets a little too close & struggles with what to do about her marriage.
I won't give too much away. It is a great book with some interesting twists & turns.
Candice and Ian are apart for a month and they agree to take that time to think about their marraige. An old flame shows up at Candice's office & she has to work closely with him. She gets a little too close & struggles with what to do about her marriage.
I won't give too much away. It is a great book with some interesting twists & turns.