I did not love this book but, it was okay. I have never been okay with the sister, sister, man triangle. I also am not always a fan when the hero ends up with the woman he is not supposed to be with. THe author then spends hours trying to tell us how they never should have fell in love but in the end they do.. NOT MY THING!


I did not like the Heroine at all and I understand why the hero did what he did but I do not believe that a child should make you marry someone you do not love. I also have a HARD time believing that the hero loved Alli as anything more than a mother of his child.

I started this review with 3 stars and I end it with 2 because I just do not like the story.


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This is another of Barbara Freethy's stories that has you rooting for the couple to work out their problems. Rooting for a family to see that they still love each other and need each other.

A baby brought them together — and even though Alli has always loved her strong, sexy husband Sam and the life they've made together, she's now decided to set him free to follow his youthful dreams. For although she worships Sam, it's no longer enough for her to be wife and lover when she knows she holds so little of his heart.

Sam has always dreamed of a life away from the close-knit world of Tucker's Landing, but marriage and fatherhood ended all that. Now Sam is torn between what was and what was meant to be. He must decide if it's time to rekindle the dreams of the past...or accept Alli, and her love, just the way she is. ( )

Just the Way You Are is sixth book of Barbara Freethy’s that I’ve read in the last couple of years.

Read more here: http://from7eight.com/just-the-way-you-are/ ( )

Just The Way You Are by Barbara Freethy
I love that this tale binds them together with pearls. They are my most favorite gem of all.
Tessa and Ali had come to the Oregon coast to live with their grandmother Phoebe when their parents had died. Alli ended up pregnant and Sam married her but he really wanted Tessa.
Around 9 years worth of marriage Alli got up the nerve to ask for a divorce as Sam left to live in his parents house and they retired to Arizona. They shared Megan.
When they learn of Phoebe's hospitalization and that Tessa is also on her way back from Milan Alli feels the time is perfect for Sam to pursue a life with Tessa.
Tessa had left to be a supermodel when Sam told her he was marrying Alli.
Love the detailed descriptions of the locale and the community. Can't get to the west coast often enough myself.
Sam Tucker has been the referee when it comes to Tessa and Alli over the years. They are all to blame for what happened that one Christmas, everybody played a part...
Like how the story moves along from each of the three different points of view.
Attempts are taken to make up on several occasions but Tessa is still around...
What were they thinking when they agreed to find one more wild pearl for the necklace to finish it...
They all go through what happened in the past, that one night it stormed really bad and it made them realize some important facts about themselves...
Amazing what can get accomplished when you work as a team.
Romance and sex only add to this story. Three different excerpts from three other books are included at the end. ( )

I got this book free in the kindle store. I had heard of this author but contemporary women's fiction is not my favorite romance genre. However, I thought I would try this one out and see how it went.
The setup is tense. Alli and Sam were married for nine years. They are now separated. Alli found a box of momentos and photos of her sister, Tessa, in her husband's desk drawer. She felt like she caught him in an affair and decides it is time to move on with her life, without Sam. So, she asked for a divorce. Now why did Alli have such a strong reaction to finding that box?
Sam and Tessa were in love. Tessa was on her way to becoming a famous supermodel, and took a job instead of coming home for Christmas. Sam knew she was slipping away from him. Alli and Sam find themselves at the same party that Christmas and sleep together. Alli gets pregnant and Sam marries her. So, when Alli found that box, she blew up. She had always lived in Tessa's shadow. Sam had never in the nine years of their marriage told her he loved her. She feels like it was time she let him go. She deserves a real love herself. The whole situation wasn't fair to anyone. Then her grandmother has a stroke and Tessa comes back home.
When Tessa finds out Sam and Alli are separated, she decides to see if she and Sam could have a future together after all. She doesn't let grass grow under her feet. She flat out tells Sam she wants a second chance with him. This makes me dislike Tessa. I know she is the one that had the right to be mad, but Alli and Sam were not legally divorced and they had a child to consider. I thought Tessa thought only of herself throught the whole book.
Sam spent nine years pining over Tessa. She was his first love and if things hadn't happened the way they did , he thinks he would have married Tessa and not Alli. But, when Alli asked for a divorce, he is blindsided. He starts to see that his life is wrapped up in her. But, he can't bring himself to tell her what she needs to hear. When Tessa comes home, he has the chance to see if he make a new life with her. In fact, Alli seems to be pushing him toward Tessa. But, the more time he has to consider things, the more he sees that his life couldn't be Tessa's and vice versa. In fact, it never would have worked out no matter what had happened between him and Alli.
Phoebe is the the grandmother that raised the girls. She was the one the stirred up the pot with the box of photos. But, she feels bad when Alli filed for divorce. However, the truth must come out so everyone can move forward, instead of living in limbo.
Phoebe's story is a little sad. She misses her deceased husband. Her friend William wants to marry her, but Phoebe likes her life the way it is.
Of all the people in the book, I liked Tessa's photograher friend the best. He is in love with Tessa, and although he knows she still carries a torch for Sam, he knows it would never work. Tessa is living in the world of "what ifs". He is patient and lets her realize that Sam and Alli are not the same people they were nine years ago.
In the end, Alli finally gets those three little words she waited so long to hear. HEA for everyone. ( )