BLUEPRINTS by Barbara Delinsky

Samples & prizing were provided by St. Martin’s Press

BLUEPRINTS by Barbara DelinskySome women are born with an instinct for knowing how things work—and what to do when they break.

Caroline MacAfee is a skilled carpenter, 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.

Review

I probably spend WAY too much time watching home improvement shows on TV. After watching a marathon evening of these shows, I kind of feel like the renovators are my personal bff’s and I imagine a fictionalized life where they would actually come to MY home and do all that neat stuff. Alas, I’m sure it’s not to be, but I did get yet another dose of the same kind of feeling when reading “Blueprints.”

Much like how I feel about many of the hosts of the shows I watch, the characters in “Blueprints” were entirely relatable to me. From Caroline’s feeling of being ‘aged’ out of her job, to Jamie’s sudden life change, I feel like in my own life I’ve ‘been there, done that’ or ‘am currently going through it.’

Between multiple story lines emerging into one, the book is not hard to follow, but gives one plenty to chew on both introspectively and relationally. All in all I thought it was worth the time I had spent reading it, and I’m actually hoping that Barbara puts a sequel out to it so we can know the future of Jamie and Caroline’s lives.

About the Author

BARBARA DELINSKY is the author of twenty-one New York Times bestselling books. She has been published in twenty-eight languages worldwide. A lifelong New Englander, Delinsky earned a B.A. in psychology at Tufts University and an M.A. in sociology at Boston College. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, more books than she’ll ever be able to read, two tennis racquets, and enough electronic devices to keep in close touch with her children and their families.

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Learn more at BarbaraDelinsky.com
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Get comfy on the couch, whether binge-watching HGTV or diving into a new read!
One (1) winner receives:
• A copy of Blueprints
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51 thoughts on “BLUEPRINTS by Barbara Delinsky”

The guest room with an afghan in the colder months. Outdoors in the summer

On the sofa with my cats.

In my office/spare bedroom I have a recliner. It is my favorite place to read. In fact I read every night.

In the living room!

My spot is the end of the couch by the window,the coziest spot in the house.

I have the perfect rocking chair to cuddle up on. Its perfect!

I have an old hand-me-down chair my sister gave me that is just the perfect size for actually curling up with a book. My dog chewed up one arm and it looks like hell, but I just keep buying slipcovers because I can. not. get rid of it!

I like curling up on my recliner

During the summer I like to read on my covered front porch.

porch swing in the backyard

I like to curl up on the sofa in my family room.

I love to curl up on the couch or on my bed! I gotta have a blanket on me to stay cozy.

On the couch with my dog!

It sounds corny, but in front of the fireplace on a winter evening with the warm fire glowing.

I’ll often just lie on the floor and read.

I like to curl up on my couch and read. Thanks.
partymix25(at)hotmail(dot)com

I like to curl up on the couch and read

i like to curl up in the early morning, drink my coffee and read. Its my mommy time.

My favorite spot to curl up with a book is the couch corner in the living room.

I like to cuddle in the bed underneath an open window with a breeze coming through.

In my bed, with fan on low.

I like to read in my bed with the fan in and my cat in my lap.

My favorite spot to curl up with a good book is on my patio lounge chairs under the umbrella!!

I love the papasan chair. It feels like a nest.

My favorite spot to read a book is a chair in my bedroom.

Both a favorite chair with perfect lighting an a window to daydream and bed are my favorite places.

My favorite spot is on the couch near the fireplace.

I love to curl up in my overstuffed chair in the living room to read a good book!

I love to sit in the sunroom and read on the couch

I have always loved to read in bed before i go to sleep. It is my favorite way to get in a little reading time

My favorite place to read is in the front porch swing. Doesn’t matter the season or weather.

I love to sit on my deck and read year round (sometimes with a blanket). If the weather is bad, I sit on my front porch that is covered and has cozy chairs! Thanks for the great giveaway!