Material Girl

By Julia London

Book Overview

In the first book of her sizzling new trilogy, Julia London introduces readers to the glamorous Lear family, whose dying patriarch has vowed to teach his spoiled, pampered daughters to appreciate the important things in life-like love... Glamorous jet-setter Robin Lear gets a crash course in Reality 101 when her father demotes her from her cushy job in the family business. And thanks to a sexy contractor, her scrap-metal love life is about to undergo some major renovations.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425191230
• ISBN13: 9780425191231
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: Berkley Books
• Length: 391 Pages
• Weight: 0.43 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.3" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

A home run book

My recommendation: stop reading these reviews and just ORDER THIS BOOK NOW! This was by far one of the very best contemporary romance novels I've read in a long time. It wasn't one of those stories where the hero and heroine fall in love and all of their problems magically work out. These two had to WORK at it. Several reviewers have commented that Robin (the heroine) was a spoiled brat and they didn't like her. I agree that Robin was spoiled and she had a heck of a lot of issues to work through. But I think her character was written in such a way as to give us insight into WHY she had these shortcomings and therefore make us cheer for her to change. We want to see her succeed in her own personal metamorphosis, because she definitely needs one. Thankfully, her hunky hero Jake can see inside her to the real person waiting to get out and he coaxes her along. This story had humor (lots of it!), deep characters, heavy family issues to work through, and well-rounded secondary characters. I can't wait to read another Julia London book...RIGHT NOW!

Didn't Know I Would Love It So Much!!

Three words I loved it!! This is my first book by Julia London, I haven't read her historical books yet, I plan to. When I first bought this book it took me a couple of months before I got to read it, I am so glad that I got to it sooner than later. I loved all the characters in this book except for Robin's father he is dying of cancer, he wants this three daughters not to depend on him and to learn to appreciate what they have and not take things for granted, so he starts with Julia, the material girl, he is really hard on her it only pushes them away from each other, Aaron wants the best for her and he thinks Evan is the best but she is in love with Jake, but to Aaron sees Jake as a handyman. Jake is in love with Robin but he can't offer her the things she is use to, the only think he can offer her is his love, but is that enough for Robin? I did not want this book to end a very enjoyable read.Happy Reading Lisa

The Best that Julia has Done

I just love this contemporary novel, and I can't wait for the next book of the trilogy. The characters Julia has built stand out and you feel that you know them personally. Jake is the epitome of a girl's dream man, so thoughtful and caring, yet still a "man's man". All the people in Robin's family are such individuals that you want to keep on reading about them. I think this book is the very best that Julia has written Shejust keeps getting better and better.

I followed Julia to the 21st century and had a great time!

I have been a fan of Julia London's historical novels for several years and wasn't sure I'd like her dip into contemporary. Boy, was I wrong! Despite the cover and catchy title, this is a serious book about multi-faceted people who have learned to be survivors - at a cost. Her heroine is initially a pain, but there are reasons for her behavior that win us over quickly, and this hero is a keeper! From page one, where we meet her difficult father, to the last page, Ms. London surprised me with the depth of her characterizations. I've now put her contemporaries on my auto-buy list as well as her historicals and am looking forward to seeing what she'll do with the other two sisters' stories.

MATERIAL GIRL

MATERIAL GIRLJulie LondonBerkley SensationISBN 0-425-19278-4August 2003Award winning and bestselling author Julia London bursts upon the contemporary romance scene with the sassy, sexy story of young, gorgeous and sinfully rich Robin Lear. MATERIAL GIRL is the first of a trilogy about the Lear sisters - Robin, Rebecca and Rachel.Aaron Lear has come a long way from his West Texas roots and the cotton farm he grew up on. His vast shipping empire, Lear Transport Industries, or LTI, was built truck by truck, plane by plane until he was shipping freight world wide. Now he is a multi-millionaire at age fifty-five and dying of cancer. Somewhere along the line he lost his wife Bonnie and his three beautiful daughters. Aaron does not want to die alone, and even though he and Bonnie have been estranged for the last fifteen years, when he calls her she wastes no time getting to him. Aaron also wants to see his three beautiful, spoiled and pampered daughters before he passes on. He's not very happy with the way his daughters are managing their life, and wants to prepare them for real life, not the idle rich life they are enjoying now. Robin has been working as middle management for LTI for four years, maintaining a small office and staff in Houston. Robin's social life sometimes eclipses her business responsibilities and her mentor and ex-lover Evan Iverson has to step in to do damage control and make his reports to her father. Evan wants back into Robin's life and has Aaron's blessing, but Robin is a lot more interested in Jake Manning, the contractor that is restoring her house.Jake Manning grew up on the wrong side of the tracks in Houston with a pessimistic mother and a younger brother that died tragically. Jake is juggling his thriving business with night classes in architecture and helping to raise his teen-aged nephew Cole. Although the money he's making on Robin's house pays a lot of bills, the attraction to this scatter brained prima donna can only mean heartbreak and trouble. Robin's self-esteem hits rock bottom when her father "demotes" her and gives her a job on the bottom rung of the corporate ladder; but Jake helps her make lemonade out of this batch of lemons. Can a material girl find true happiness and love with a blue collar "white knight" with a whole lot of baggage? MATERIAL GIRL is full of convincing characters, snappy dialogue, humor and sizzling sensuality. Julia London's writing is smart, clean and a whole lot of fun. Jake has both work boot shod feet planted firmly in reality while Robin's Stuart Weitzman clad feet seem to be running around in circles, but this talented author keeps your interest focused on the protagonists' personal predicaments - their highs and lows; their joys and sorrows. The peripheral characters are as finely drawn and equally entertaining. This fast paced story is first class with "attitude" and will leave you eagerly anticipating Rebecca's story next year.HIGHLY RECOMMENDED