Webs of Power by Darlene Quinn

Summary: From the back of the book: "When a hostile takeover of the retail giant Consolidated is announced, the lives of three determined women, each linked to the corporate upheaval, are unexpectedly thrown off course: Paige Toddman's marriage to Consolidated's West Coast Division CEO is threatened when she decides to step out of her fast-paced lifestyle to raise the unwanted child she is carrying, a choice driven by her secret past. The fabric of Ashleigh McDowell's life begins to fray when her fiance, the president of Consolidated's West Coast Division, moves away and her father figure faces a lawsuit that could wipe out his controlling shares of the company's stock. Vain and power hungry, Viviana De Mornay will stop at nothing to become the wife of the man leading the takeover."

My Thoughts: I don't know much about Wall Street or the Stock Market or hostile takeovers, but I get the gist of what they are talking about when stuff comes up in this book. There are certain characters I liked, some I was even more interested in than others. For example, Paige Toddman and her unwanted pregnancy was an interesting story line. There are some characters I wish the author would have shared more about what happened in their past, because sometimes it seemed like there were more interesting things that could have been visited. Like, Ashleigh's past could have had more revealed. So there were some good things and some drama. The book moved at a somewhat fast paced, mostly I think because the chapters were short. There were some characters I had a problems with, though. One in particular was a minor character, but his portrayal still bugged me. His name was Sonny, and he was a very generic, flat-written Irishman with red hair, an Irish accent and green jumpsuit. It kinda annoyed me every time he talked to Paige, and if he said 'Top of the Morning' one more time I think I would have thrown the book. I have been to Ireland. Most Irish don't say that, at least not any where I went ... Or maybe they did in the 80's, which is when this takes place, but it still feels forced. I know it is a minor thing, but sometimes the minor things get to me and can be a distraction. I was more interested in the drama unfolding with the women and not corporate stuff, but I was able to get through it. I think the book lasted too long at the end. I am not saying it was bad, and I am not saying it was great. It was okay. It was about 3 Stars out of 5.

About the Author: Darlene Quinn has written one other novel, titled Sizzling Cold Case, and is a journalist from California. She's currently working on a sequel to Webs of Power.

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