First let me say that I have not met the author and it is not located near me but I loved this book. The character was easy to relate to even when things got tough. You cheered her on when she was making decisions and wanted to cry for her many times. The husband was also a great character, full of real flaws but loveable none the less. This book is not something I would normally read but decided to give it a try and I am so glad that I did. Even though I have never been through anything the main character went through, I was able to relate and was engaged through the entire story. While I do not ee this as a romance book, there are definitely romantic/love story components. It makes me happy to have my husband and to make sure that we never drift apart because the course to getting it back once it's gone, can be a real b*tch.

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I've been wanting to read a really good romance novel and I have read it now.
I've added this book as one of my top three favorite books of all time.
Skipping a Beat is about true love, forgiveness, loss, and finding your way back to your true love.

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This book was okay for me. I liked the story but wasn't sure I wanted to like the main character at first. I did end up rooting for her by the finish. The ending left me really wishing for a different outcome, though. I guess I'm a "happy ending" person. I like to see everyone get what they want in the end, after they go through all of that misery, even if it's not realistic.

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I honestly don't know how anyone can like this book. The main character, Julie/Julia is a complete b*tch. I only made it to page 50 of this book before I said, "enough!" and nearly set fire to it for wasting an hour of my time.

To recap, Julie lives in a small town but dreams of being rich & important. She puts down her hometown upbringing as country/hick and brags about now living in D.C., being a big time party planner, having a rich husband who made 70 million for his flavored water, owning a multi-million dollar home, driving a Jaguar that she parks out by the fountain in their driveway, admiring the 5 dozen roses the maid put out, blah blah blah. I got so sick of her bragging about having money then boo-hooing over her husband spending more time at his job than with her. To make matters worse, her husband collapses in the office one evening and is declared dead for over 4 minutes before he's brought back to life from a defibrillator. During those precious minutes, he sees the err of his ways and now wants to get back to the basics, including on working on their marriage. Julia is annoyed by this as "they're even atheists for Gods sake!" (taken directly out of the book).

After that, I'd had enough. I couldn't stand the materialistic main character and couldn't bear to read anymore of her woe is me whining. Skipping A Beat = skipping this book.

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After meeting the author and discussing the book at book club at One More Page bookstore, I can now say I love this author and this book even more. A story set near my home with two characters that throughout the book, I both loved and hated. Julia, a woman who grew up in a volatile household and was always trying to ensure that her future was better than her past. Michael, a hardworking guy who as time has passed spends more time at his office than at his home. Their communication was basically absent and their relationship was more like roommates than lovers.

I adored this story and I will absolutely refrain from spoiling such a good ending so this may be short and sweet. At this time in my life this was a perfect read as I have recently grown accustomed to the boy being away and I have learned to fill the time with more of the hobbies that I enjoy. When our journey ends which is soon, I will have to relearn how our lives mesh and we will be able to reestablish our relationship. As Julia has done, I have learned to lean on a close friend for companionship during the week (and the pup of course). I understood Julias struggle to try to understand how to be back in a relationship and learn to trust her feelings with him.

I cant say more because I loved this book and I want everyone to go find it and read away. The writing was easy for a day at the pool or curled up indoors. It was definitely one where you sit down to read and then hours just easily pass by. A great reflection on the relationship we have and the value we must hold in building and nurturing each relationship from friends to husbands to family.

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I've been reading books that are making me bawl my eyes out lately, and this one did the job exceedingly well. Sarah Pekkanen fleshed out real people in an effortlessly convincing way, and has a fierce heart-tugging story line to go along with them.

Skipping a Beat is told from Julia's perspective with the occasional flashback to help round out the story line, and I found her to be compelling and relatable. Now, mind you, she lives in a $9 million home and has hundreds of thousands of dollars in jewelry, but it didn't matter to me. Julia is very much the girl from her days before money, but she certainly has gotten used to the extravagant luxuries. Because of this, she's realistically conflicted, and the ease of which it's written made it simple to place myself in her shoes. She could be me, or one of my friends.

I loved, loved this book. With characters I couldn't get enough of, from Julia's best friend Isabelle to the brilliant and quirky kid named Noah, this book was a treat from start to finish. And with it all, Julia's love of opera kept me even more entranced. I had forgotten how much those soaring tragedies can pierce right into you - it's because they so easily represent real life.

And that is how I fell in love with it all. The book, the characters, the vision Michael had to draft a new marriage with Julia. I found myself clutching the book, hunkering down in my couch, turning the pages. My husband asked me if I was going to bed, and I could only weakly wave my hand to him over the back of the couch, as I prayed that he wouldn't walk around to see why I wasn't talking. Yep. I was a blubbering mess.

Sarah Pekkanen has created a new lifelong fan in me. I'll be eagerly awaiting her next book and will get The Opposite of Me to tide me over. And also downloading opera to my computer like there is no tomorrow.

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