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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.
sarakatherine's review against another edition
4.0
I love all of Heather Wardell's books. She is one of those really fun authors that does that awesome thing of having characters from different books show up in her other books! I think there are 13 books in her “Toronto Series” right now. It’s so fun to see the crossovers.
Heather describes her books as “women’s fiction with depth, humor, and heart.” I agree completely. She writes great female characters that have unique stories, but are very relatable. Heather’s books are my favorite relaxing books. They’re great for the beach, waiting in the doctor’s office, or a quick chapter before bed!
I recommend starting with this one. If you have a nook, this book is free on Barnes and Nobel. My favorite thing about this book (and all of her books) is they have such a hopeful message (once you get pass all the feels).
Heather describes her books as “women’s fiction with depth, humor, and heart.” I agree completely. She writes great female characters that have unique stories, but are very relatable. Heather’s books are my favorite relaxing books. They’re great for the beach, waiting in the doctor’s office, or a quick chapter before bed!
I recommend starting with this one. If you have a nook, this book is free on Barnes and Nobel. My favorite thing about this book (and all of her books) is they have such a hopeful message (once you get pass all the feels).
mztaraln76's review against another edition
4.0
I've had this book on my Nook for quite awhile and am finally getting around to reading it. It was free through Barnes and Noble and I downloaded exactly for that reason -- FREE! So far, I'm enjoying it a lot more than I initially thought I would. Currently on page 474 of 636 and I find that I'm actually interested in what the characters are going to do next. We'll see how it goes once I finish.
Update: Well, I finished this book and was pleasantly surprised by it. I enjoyed the ending and was glad the book ended the way it did.
Update: Well, I finished this book and was pleasantly surprised by it. I enjoyed the ending and was glad the book ended the way it did.
the_resa_p's review against another edition
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.
leia_lynn's review against another edition
2.0
This book is not worth your time. Some parts of it are moving and well done, yes, but not enough to make up for the rest of it. The characters fall flat and do things that don't make sense. A large part of the book is spent on the protagonist either at the gym or crying, neither of which is interesting enough to merit as much time as they get. The writing is often stilted, with characters saying things like "...I don't let people do things against me." ???
**spoilers below**
In addition, Kegan, the "other man," is supposed to be this alluring old flame. Mostly, he's just an overgrown manchild. He throws fits when he doesn't get his way, continues to call the main character by a nickname that she explicitly asks him not to and apparently thinks that that is cute and okay, decides after several years that he will pursue a woman he broke up with, and then doesn't apologize for the horrible things he said until he's halfway through re-wooing her. He pressures her into things she knows better than to do, until her self-discipline wears down. The protagonist herself seems incapable of functioning in the world--spending much time crying in public and getting beat up by the equipment during gym sequences. These characters are frustrating and annoying to read, their flaws going so far past relatable that they are almost unreadable.
**spoilers below**
In addition, Kegan, the "other man," is supposed to be this alluring old flame. Mostly, he's just an overgrown manchild. He throws fits when he doesn't get his way, continues to call the main character by a nickname that she explicitly asks him not to and apparently thinks that that is cute and okay, decides after several years that he will pursue a woman he broke up with, and then doesn't apologize for the horrible things he said until he's halfway through re-wooing her. He pressures her into things she knows better than to do, until her self-discipline wears down. The protagonist herself seems incapable of functioning in the world--spending much time crying in public and getting beat up by the equipment during gym sequences. These characters are frustrating and annoying to read, their flaws going so far past relatable that they are almost unreadable.
amdame1's review
3.0
After Candice's husband's parents die in a car accident, things between them have plummeted down a slippery slope of marital unhappiness. Ian leaves for a month to use his carpentry skills to rebuild lives in a third world country. Candice decides to use the time to decide if she wants to salvage what had been a love and joy filled relationship. However, things take a turn for the complicated when her new client at work turns out to be her first love - and one that broke her heart. Now flames seem to be re-kindling, but she hasn't really resolved anything regarding her marriage.
In some ways a totally realistic setting and decisions that must be made. Often, I felt like slapping Candice because of things she did or was about to do. An interesting read, and definitely more than just the bodice ripper I thought it was going to be. There are definitely some life insights to be gained, but they feel a bit preachy rather than just insightful.
In some ways a totally realistic setting and decisions that must be made. Often, I felt like slapping Candice because of things she did or was about to do. An interesting read, and definitely more than just the bodice ripper I thought it was going to be. There are definitely some life insights to be gained, but they feel a bit preachy rather than just insightful.
stayathomereader's review
4.0
This was free from bn.com so I figured I'd give it a shot even though it isn't really my genre of preference. Usually not into chick-lit AT ALL.
Well I enjoyed this very much and really felt bad for the predicament Candice found herself in. The state of her marriage leaving her in such a fragile state of mind...just the fact that she was aware of how wrong it was to feel so strongly for someone other than her husband had me really sorry for her in this romantic limbo.
Parts got pretty passionate and steamy and my own heart started racing as I read and wondered where things would go.
A good, quick read.
Well I enjoyed this very much and really felt bad for the predicament Candice found herself in. The state of her marriage leaving her in such a fragile state of mind...just the fact that she was aware of how wrong it was to feel so strongly for someone other than her husband had me really sorry for her in this romantic limbo.
Parts got pretty passionate and steamy and my own heart started racing as I read and wondered where things would go.
A good, quick read.
suzrobinson1's review
4.0
Life, Love, and a Polar Bear Tattoo is a sweet story of a woman in chaos. Candace's husband Ian has left to volunteer in another country for a month. Their lives/marriage weren't that strong before he left so she was planning on using that time to evaluate their future. What she didn't know was that Kegan, her former boyfriend, would play a large part in that decision. Should she stay with Ian or go with Kegan? Candace is a lovable character that is as flawed as we all are. This was a great story that kept me wanting more.
donnah's review against another edition
4.0
I like that Heather Wardell writes about flawed people. Her Characters are easy to accept when reading because of their flaws. Though not everyone will like this book because of some of the things her characters do, these things can & do happen in life. ( don't want to have spoilers for those who haven't read the book.)
You can be sure I will continue to read Heather Wardell's novels.
When Candice's in-laws died in a car accident eight months ago, she lost her husband Ian too. After only two years of marriage their guilt and pain have left them living together but apart. During Ian's month-long trip overseas, Candice plans to decide if her marriage can be saved, but when the first man she ever loved is the new client at work, she wonders what she truly wants from life and love.
You can be sure I will continue to read Heather Wardell's novels.
When Candice's in-laws died in a car accident eight months ago, she lost her husband Ian too. After only two years of marriage their guilt and pain have left them living together but apart. During Ian's month-long trip overseas, Candice plans to decide if her marriage can be saved, but when the first man she ever loved is the new client at work, she wonders what she truly wants from life and love.