(27)Skipping A Beat by Sarah Pekkanen

To some degree all women want security and seek it out in various forms. Whether it be finding a husband to take care of them or becoming career women in their own rights, or maybe both. Security is important to most women. We want to know there will be a roof over our head and money to pay the bills.

From the day her Daddy borrowed money from her as a young teenager, Julie Dunhill has sought financial security. She eloped with her high school sweetheart and ran away to the city. When her husband's flavored water becomes a national hit she has all of the financial security any woman could need. But that security comes at a cost. The husband who was once her world has a new mistress. His career. Julia is so unhappy, but she is gaining the courage to give up that financial security by asking Michael for a divorce when he dies. For four minutes.

The man who wakes up in the hospital is not the husband that Julia has come to know. Michael wants to quit his job, sell his company and donate his fortune to charities. But most of all, he wants his marriage back. The next three weeks are spent trying to rebuild their marriage on the cusp of losing everything. Julia is torn between being angry about losing that financial security and being excited about the rejuvenation of her marriage. Can she balance the two emotions and just be happy?

Skipping A Beat is a unique type of Chick Lit. At the heart of the book is a love story. Julia, the main character, is a very complex character. I had a hard time genuinely liking her because her desire for financial security made her a bit, unsavory at times. I had a hard time relating to her, maybe because I was single and financially independent for the last 15 years. My financial security was solely my responsibility. But her insecurities were very real. Even though she had her own career, the thought of not having her husband's wealth terrified her. As the novel went on though, she became more receptive to financial alternatives and that made her seem a little less intense. As the story went on, I found myself cheering on Michael in his efforts to win her back, he has truly seen the error of his ways and hopes to rectify the situation before it is too late. And then tragedy strikes again...

I did enjoy Sarah Pekkanen's second novel, but admittedly not as much as her first book. I think the inability to really connect with Julia made it hard for me to just fall in love with the book. I did enjoy the book because I enjoyed seeing the character development of both Julia and Michael. With Skipping A Beat, I think Sarah Pekkanen has solidified her place in the world of Woman's Literature.