Blueprints

A Novel

De: Barbara Delinsky

Narrado por: Amy Rubinate

Some women are born with an instinct for knowing how things work
-and what to do when they break.

Blueprints, the New York Times bestselling novel from Barbara Delinsky, is the story of two strong women, Caroline MacAfee, a skilled carpenter, and her daughter Jamie, a talented architect. Together they are the faces of Gut It!, a home renovation series on local public television. Caroline takes pride in her work, and in the way she connects with the show's audience. But when she is told the network wants her daughter to replace her as host-the day after Caroline's fifty-sixth birthday-she is devastated. The fallout couldn't come at a worse time.

For Jamie, life changes overnight when, soon after learning of the host shift, her father and his new wife die in a car accident that orphans their two-year-old son. Accustomed to organization and planning, she is now grappling with a toddler who misses his parents, a fiancé who doesn't want the child, a staggering new attraction, and a work challenge that, if botched, could undermine the future of both MacAfee Homes and Gut It!

For Caroline, hosting Gut It! is part of her identity. Facing its loss, she feels betrayed by her daughter and old in the eyes of the world. Her ex-husband's death thrusts her into the role of caregiver to his aging father. And then there's Dean, a long-time friend, whose efforts to seduce her awaken desires that have been dormant for so long that she feels foreign to herself.

Who am I? Both women ask, as the blueprints they've built their lives around suddenly need revising. While loyalties shift, decisions hover, and new relationships tempt, their challenge comes not only in remaking themselves, but in rebuilding their relationship with each other.

The narration was rough to listen to

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would definitely recommend the book, but I'm less sure about the audiobook. The voice of the narrator was really tough for me to listen to.

What did you like best about this story?

The mother/daughter relationship, with all of its ups and downs, was compelling. The men in their lives were absolutely perfect for both women.

What didn’t you like about Amy Rubinate’s performance?

It was too "valley girl" for me...particularly when doing Jamie.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

NA.........

Entertaining

I enjoyed the characters. Good ending and characters. Narrator was good but a little too much accent.

Loved it!!

Another hit for Ms. Delinsky. One of the things the storyline reaffirms is that age is just a number and that you're never too old to find your happy ever after.

Loved the story, hated the audio

Would you try another book from Barbara Delinsky and/or Amy Rubinate?

Barbara yes Amy NO

Any additional comments?

I really liked this story but had a huge issue with the narrator. I listened to this book on audible and had it not been for the fact that I really wanted to hear the story out, and that I had paid for it, I would have quit after the first 5 minutes of the audio book. The narrator sounded like an automated computer voice that droned on and on. It was a total turn off. I had to remind myself of how much I like the author to just get myself through the awful audio. Aside from that, the story was amazing. It struck home several times as I am very close to my daughter and saw how I could have done some of the same things that happened. I would recommend this book very highly, but would adamantly suggest not to listen on audible. It's so not an experience I would want anyone else to have to endure.

Very choppy but entertaining

This was basically a really good story. It was really hard to follow on audible, maybe the actual book would have been better. The story lines jumped around a lot and scenes weren't finished. I had to rewind quite a bit to make sure i didn't miss something. All I could think of when reading this was the HGTV show, Good Bones. The show with the mother and daughter. LOL.

Did not care for the narration but I hate the hurt the feelings of actual people who do this for a living. It seems such a trite observation.

Glad I bought it, it was great escapism.