Sign up for our newsletters to receive our Best of 2024 ezine!

Book Summary and Reviews of Talk of the Town by Lisa Wingate

Talk of the Town by Lisa Wingate

Talk of the Town

by Lisa Wingate

  • Readers' Rating (10):
  • Published:
  • Feb 2008, 320 pages
  • Rate this book

About this book

Book Summary

The show American Megastar is the hottest thing on television but its associate producer, Mandalay Florentino, is worried. She's just arrived in the tiny town of Daily, Texas, to arrange a surprise "reunion concert" for hometown finalist Amber Amberson. Only it turns out everyone in town seems to know the secret. And paparazzi are arriving. Word from Hollywood is that Amber has disappeared with a "bad boy" actor. Can anything go right in this tumbleweed town?

Imagene Doll loves her town of Daily, Texas, but things are lonely without her beloved husband. Life seems dull. At least until that fancy-dressed woman pulls into town, looking terrified and glamorous all at once. Soon life's not the least bit boring as Imagene and the rest of Daily find themselves at the center of a media maelstrom…with a young girl's future on the line.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

"Lisa Wingate’s entrancing story was a delight to read. The adept way she interwove everyday dilemma’s that we face and the choices in life that we make was masterful. Talk of the Town is filled with integrity, love, faith and above all, hope when all seems hopeless. The Wholesome Characters will draw in old and young alike." – RomanceDesigns.com.

"The novel's Christian themes are incorporated quietly, as characters grow in grace without melodramatic conversions or bedside confessions. Fans of Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt's brand of engaging, contemporary chick lit will enjoy this story." - Publishers Weekly.

This information about Talk of the Town was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own reviewwrite your own review

Deb

A tickle your ribs sort of book by an outstanding Christian wordsmith
I loved this book, Talk of the Town, for a number of reasons, but the main ones are that Daily, TX, is a lot like my little town (I don't think it is a roman a clef), I really enjoy Lisa Wingate's writing, and the book was just downright fun to read. Some might consider the way the book jumps back and forth between viewpoints distracting, but I am not one of them:) It is a highly recommended book in this particular genre.

Linda

Talk of the Town Review
I chose this book because I am a transplanted resident of Texas, having come from Nebraska. I thought it was a sweet book and the characters are really fun. There isn't much substance here, just mindless entertainment, good for a night in front of the fireplace with a blanket and a kitty. Unfortunately, I haven't met anyone like the people in the book since I have lived in Houston --:)

Julie

Surprise
When I got this book, I had low expectations. The cover and summary made the book seem like chick-lit, which is not at all my style. I was very ready to not like this book. So imagine my surprise when I found myself enjoying it. I loved how fully the author developed her characters, and I fell in love with all of them. She even made me appreciate small towns. This book was funny and heartwarming.
The story made me think a lot about a life lived without taking chances.

Marta

Small town gossip...big city gossip
I really enjoyed reading Talk of the Town by Lisa Wingate. It was a sweet story and the plot was predictable. What I really liked was the characters. I wanted to actually meet the two main characters and be friends with them. It was a Christian book but wasn't preachy - just fun and full of truths to live by. I liked this book so much that I am going to read more of Ms. Wingate's books.

Madeline

A Nice Story
This is an old-fashioned, wholesome type story with the modern twist of reality TV. It's a light and predictable read, but it's sweet, without being sappy, and its characters are fun and feisty. The scene with Imagene and the roller coaster is a hoot!

Carolyn

Not exactly the talk of the town
This is a pleasant story told with humor. There are some interesting characters, although the reader never really learns very much about one significant man. The two main characters who narrate the book both refer occasionally to their belief in God, and the need to accept God's hand in their lives. I don't think this novel offers much fuel for book club discussion, but is fine for someone who wants to spend a few hours reading a light romance.

...4 more reader reviews

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Author Information

Lisa Wingate Author Biography

Lisa Wingate is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Before We Were Yours, which remained on the bestseller list for fifty-four weeks in hardcover and has sold over 2 million copies. She has penned over thirty novels and coauthored a nonfiction book, Before and After with Judy Christie. Her award-winning works have been selected for state and community One Book reads throughout the country, have been published in over forty languages, and have appeared on bestseller lists worldwide.

The group Americans for More Civility, a kindness watchdog organization, selected Lisa and six others as recipients of the National Civies Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life. Booklist summed up her work by saying, "Lisa Wingate...

... Full Biography
Link to Lisa Wingate's Website

Other books by Lisa Wingate at BookBrowse
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

More Recommendations

Readers Also Browsed . . .

more literary fiction...

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: Daughters of Shandong
    Daughters of Shandong
    by Eve J. Chung
    Daughters of Shandong is the debut novel of Eve J. Chung, a human rights lawyer living in New York. ...
  • Book Jacket: The Women
    The Women
    by Kristin Hannah
    Kristin Hannah's latest historical epic, The Women, is a story of how a war shaped a generation ...
  • Book Jacket: The Wide Wide Sea
    The Wide Wide Sea
    by Hampton Sides
    By 1775, 48-year-old Captain James Cook had completed two highly successful voyages of discovery and...
  • Book Jacket: My Friends
    My Friends
    by Hisham Matar
    The title of Hisham Matar's My Friends takes on affectionate but mournful tones as its story unfolds...

BookBrowse Book Club

Book Jacket
In Our Midst
by Nancy Jensen
In Our Midst follows a German immigrant family’s fight for freedom after their internment post–Pearl Harbor.
Who Said...

Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all.

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Big Holiday Wordplay 2024

Enter Now

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.