Sunday, January 16, 2011

Read This Book: Jane Porter's SHE'S GONE COUNTRY by Megan Crane



I'm just back from a couple of days celebrating the release of Jane Porter's new book, SHE'S GONE COUNTRY.  Jane doesn't do anything halfway.  That's why we all had cocktails on a little terrace overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Laguna Beach, while Jane charmed readers and friends.  It looked like this:




Can you think of anything better than talking books (and Shonda Rhimes television shows, and the over-consumption of delicious nachos) in a place like this?  I certainly can't.  We then made our way to lovely Laguna Beach Books, where Jane read from her new book and had her usual lively question and answer period with the crowd.  

Going to see Jane speak and read is always a delight, because she's so funny and so honest.  But it can also be a life-changing experience.  Jane believes that all women deserve to be happy--to find happiness in their lives and live with hope.  Yes, you.  And me.  And your best friend who's going through such a tough time and doesn't know what to do.  We deserve to write the story of our own lives, and that story deserves a happy ending.  That's a simple message, but also a powerfully moving one.  






So... what about the book, you're asking?  Well.  It's fantastic.  Every Jane Porter book is better than the one before.  Every one of them sucks you in and keeps you completely immersed in the world she creates until the very last page.  I had the pleasure of reading SHE'S GONE COUNTRY long ago, when she'd just finished writing it.  I couldn't stop reading.  I sat at my desk and gulped it all down on my computer screen, absolutely riveted to the screen, frozen in place until I reached the end.  I think you'll find you can't put this book down, and when you do, you'll feel a bit like this:



But don't take my word for it.  Here's a little summary:

Shey Darcy, a 39-year-old former top model for Vogue and Sports Illustrated led a charmed life in New York City with a handsome photographer husband until the day he announced he'd fallen in love with someone else. Left to pick up the pieces of her once happy world, Shey decides to move back home to Texas with her three teenage sons. Life on the family ranch, however, brings with it a whole new host of dramas starting with differences of opinion with her staunch Southern Baptist mother, her rugged but overprotective brothers, and daily battles with her three sons who are also struggling to find themselves. Add to the mix Shey's ex-crush, Dane Kelly, a national bullriding champ and she's got her hands full. It doesn't take long before Shey realizes that in order to reinvent herself, she must let go of an uncertain future and a broken past, to find happiness—and maybe love—in the present.

I loved this book.  LOVED IT.  You can rush right out and buy it here.  I think you should.  

And if you can catch Jane on tour somewhere, (details here) you should probably do that, too.  You'll never regret it, I promise.

~Megan

8 comments:

  1. Megan, what a great book review!!! And I'm more than a little jealous that you got to hang with Jane in Laguna Beach! I met her at a Harlequin party a few years ago and she is just so sweet and lovely. Glad to hear that her new book is even better than her others!

    Now that you mentioned Shonda, what did you think of Off the Map?! I LOVED it!!!

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  2. I LOVED Off the Map! That was pretty much what we were talking about. I was raving about it, since it plays into every fantasy I've ever had about running off and joining the Peace Corps. With smoking hot doctors thrown in for good measure!

    And Jane is one of my very favorite people!

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  3. It was really was a fantastic event! Sounds like it was the springboard to a really great weekend.

    Jane really is very charming, but also very humble, very real and so sweet. Her stories and characters put a magnifying glass to things that every woman can identify with in some way, at some time...

    It is a pleasure to know her and joy to read her books.

    P.S. You're no slouch when it comes to fun times and great reads either!! [:

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  4. Megan, YES! I sooo agree about every fantasy I ever had about the Peace Corps.

    It was also really funnier than I expected! Oh, and yeah, the smoking hot docs. So glad it's in a jungle so that there's a totally plausible reason for said smoking hot docs to constantly take their shirts off!!

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  5. Megan, I love Jane and I love her books! And I love hearing her speak. Her workshop at the RWA conference in NY back in 2003 (I think!) was a standout. I have She's Gone Country but just haven't had a chance to read it yet. Will have to rectify that soon.

    And I agree about Off the Map. I have to admit to watching with a skeptical eye since I'm not a fan of Grey's Anatomy but half way into the show I got sucked in and programmed the season into my DVR:)

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  6. That lead doctor is the kind of man you'd absolutely waste years of your life on. Yum.

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  7. Now that's what I call a ringing endorsement! Jane sounds wonderful and so does SHE'S GONE COUNTRY. If she comes to St. Louis, I'll make a point to go see her...and say that Megan Crane sent me. ;-)

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  8. What a great friend Jane has in you, Megan! Awesome review! I read She's Gone Country when it was first released and it didn't disappoint. As you said, Jane gets better with every book. She had me hooked with Flirting With Forty. I'm a big fan! By the way, I have read all of your books and loved, loved them! Anxiously awaiting the next.

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