• 5 Star Reads
  • Audiobooks
  • Books on Screen
  • Children’s Books
  • Christian
  • Fiction
  • Giveaways

5 Minutes For Books

  • Home
  • About
    • Who Are We? Reviewer Bios
    • 5 Star Reads
    • Disclosure
    • Privacy Policy
    • About Us
  • Join In
    • 5 Minutes for Books Bookclub
    • Children’s Classics
    • Kids’ Picks
    • What’s on Your Nightstand
  • Link To Us
  • Contact
    • Advertise

Flirting with Forty

December 3, 2008 by Jennifer

For Jackie’s 40th birthday, her friend Anne arranges for them to leave Seattle’s rainy winter and escape to beautiful Hawaii, but then Anne’s husband gets sick, and Jackie, who is newly divorced, ends up going alone.

While she’s there, she meets a younger man who makes her feel not-so-old. She’s happy in Hawaii — relaxed, which isn’t a word that we mothers often use to describe ourselves. When she returns to Seattle, she tries to figure out how to get that feeling back, while dealing with her ex-husband, her two kids, and her growing design business.

Her friends have supported her through so much, but can the married soccer moms support their single friend’s fling with a younger man on a faraway island?

As a married mom myself (and quickly approaching 40 at that), I related well to these characters. I too have fantastic friends who support me. I can even relate to them having trouble dealing with this big change. In fact, as a happily married woman, I have a hard time just reading about her fling. Why? It’s exciting and marriage is not always.

That said, reading about the heartbreak of divorce is almost as hard. Jackie’s kids suffers, she suffers, and she wonders where she fits in now that her life has experienced this major change.

Flirting with Forty was a good quick escape novel. I could almost feel the warm breezes of a Hawaiian beach as I read it, and hopping a plane in these winter months sure is tempting! I enjoyed Jane Porter’s Mrs. Perfect a bit more more (which I reviewed HERE), but I do know that I’ll definitely be looking for more of Jane Porter’s books in the future.

You can speak live with author Jane Porter on Blog Talk Radio on December 5th at 1PM ET. Call into (646) 378-0039, listen online or sign up for a reminder at Blogtalkradio.com.

Flirting with Forty has also been made into a Lifetime Original Movie starring Heather Locklear. It premieres this weekend. Catch it December 6, 7, and 8 and 9pm ET/PT. I think it will make a cute movie, and if I watch it this weekend, I’ll update this post with my thoughts.

We have a fantastic giveaway this week, open to U.S. and Canadian addresses. One of you will win this cool Lifetime beach tote with a copy of the book, and ten more of you will win the book. Leave a comment, and I’ll post the winners December 10.

The winners of last week’s giveaways are:

The winner of the great gift for booklovers, A Life Well Read, is #37 Deborah Wellenstein.

As a special thank you to all of you who didn’t win, they have offered 10% off. Just enter DDALWR1 on the “Special Offers” page at www.alifeunplugged.com.

The winner of the Poirot Definitive Collection (which is now on sale at amazon for only $50) is #115 Felicia Shapiro.

The winners of the Lobster Tale DVD are #247 Katerina Webb, #145 Joanne, #250 Marc, #190 Sarah Hanson, #17 Carol Dziuba.

5 Minutes for Books managing editor Jennifer Donovan is a contributing editor at 5 Minutes for Mom. She blogs at Snapshot about daily life with her tween daughter and preschool son.

Filed Under: Fiction, Jennifer

« What Is God Like?
Books on Screen: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas »

Comments

  1. Monica Brand | Paper Bridges says

    December 3, 2008 at 8:13 pm

    me! pick me!

  2. Jamie says

    December 3, 2008 at 8:21 pm

    Sounds like a great book. I’d love to win.

  3. Charlotte says

    December 3, 2008 at 10:04 pm

    Sounds like a good book! I have quite a few friends that have just turned 40, so if I won I would pass it along to one of them. 🙂

  4. Trish says

    December 3, 2008 at 10:43 pm

    The beach sure sounds great right about now!

  5. jenna says

    December 3, 2008 at 11:38 pm

    I would love to give this to my mom to read over the holidays. Thanks!

  6. Leslie says

    December 3, 2008 at 11:56 pm

    I’ve been seeing the commercials for the show and would love to read the book.

  7. Renee G says

    December 4, 2008 at 12:10 am

    This sounds great. I’d love to read it.

    [email protected]

  8. Tina L says

    December 4, 2008 at 6:42 am

    This book sounds great. Please enter me in the contest. Thanks

  9. Christy H. says

    December 4, 2008 at 9:19 am

    This is a fantastic givaway! Please enter me.
    hawkes(at)citlink.net

  10. chris says

    December 4, 2008 at 9:50 am

    I would love to read this book….I’m there!

  11. Gail says

    December 4, 2008 at 10:40 am

    That sounds like a fun book!

  12. Monica says

    December 4, 2008 at 3:28 pm

    It sounds like a really good book. Please enter me!

  13. Martha C says

    December 4, 2008 at 9:28 pm

    I would love to get away with a story especially with me hitting forty before you (if only by a few weeks)! Pick me!

  14. Michele says

    December 5, 2008 at 9:59 am

    Thanks for the review!

  15. Tamara B. says

    December 5, 2008 at 1:04 pm

    I have read an excerpt of this book and it sounds fantastic, thank-you for the giveaway.
    tamben7996(at)aol(dot)com

  16. Anita Yancey says

    December 6, 2008 at 12:06 am

    I love Jane Porter’s books, and this one sounds great. Would love to read it.
    ayancey[at]dishmail[dot]net

  17. Marilyn Shoemaker says

    December 6, 2008 at 7:16 am

    Face it, I’m a cheerleader of the book and the authot. Messages are very clear in Jane’s women’s fiction books….Believe in yourself.

    Hollywood Today has an excellent review of movie and book plus Amazon’s over 0 reviews.

  18. Marilyn Shoemaker says

    December 6, 2008 at 7:21 am

    Fab author and book and the message is clear, Belive in yourself.

    Hollywood Today (Pantera) has a great review of book and movie.

  19. Ginny says

    December 6, 2008 at 11:06 pm

    Love that beach tote, my favorite place! The book looks good!

  20. Junglewife says

    December 6, 2008 at 11:16 pm

    Oooh, I’d love to win this book!

  21. Trish says

    December 8, 2008 at 11:12 pm

    This sounds like a fun read!

  22. Donna Wilde says

    December 9, 2008 at 7:17 am

    I would love to win!

  23. Linda Howard says

    December 9, 2008 at 7:41 am

    Please enter me. Thanks!

  24. Corey Robertson says

    December 9, 2008 at 8:05 am

    As someone who has been flirting with forty for 6 years this books sounds perfect! I love it when a character is a woman who is not 20 something is someone close to my age. It is nice not to feel like I am over the hill and down in the ditch!

  25. claudette flanigan says

    December 9, 2008 at 8:12 am

    This sounds wonderful. Good luck to me!

  26. hetal g says

    December 9, 2008 at 8:13 am

    I would love to read.thanks
    [email protected]

  27. Vicky Boackle says

    December 9, 2008 at 8:21 am

    sounds like a fun read.

  28. Kelly L says

    December 9, 2008 at 8:21 am

    I missed the movie on TV, so I would love to read the book. Thanks.

  29. Cheryl Fowler says

    December 9, 2008 at 8:25 am

    I seen the ad for the movie and missed it all three nights. LOL I would love to read the book!

  30. Ruth Bousquet says

    December 9, 2008 at 8:28 am

    Nice prize…sounds like a fun book…did not get to see the movie.

  31. paula says

    December 9, 2008 at 8:32 am

    interesting book!

  32. Elizabeth M. says

    December 9, 2008 at 8:35 am

    I’d love to read it and when you mentioned it was a Lifetime movie, I realized that I watched that last weekend…lol

  33. Nicole C. says

    December 9, 2008 at 8:54 am

    I’d love to read this book!

  34. randi oaklief says

    December 9, 2008 at 8:56 am

    I’m well over 40 & the thought of being with a younger man is frightning, but this sounds like a fun read! Thanks!

  35. Jeannette Byrd says

    December 9, 2008 at 9:08 am

    Messages are very clear in Jane’s women’s fiction books….Believe in yourself.

  36. Micheala Murtagh says

    December 9, 2008 at 9:25 am

    My mom is divorced and has been stuck in a rut for quite a few years. Maybe reading this book will help her get out of it and move on with her life. I hate seeing her like it,it breaks my heart. Please pick me! Merry Christmas!!

  37. Katherine Frazier says

    December 9, 2008 at 9:28 am

    Since I just turned forty this sounds like a great read for me!

  38. Alice C says

    December 9, 2008 at 9:30 am

    sounds good :0)

  39. Shannon says

    December 9, 2008 at 9:31 am

    Pick me. I caught a bit of the movie and would love to read the book.

  40. brandy says

    December 9, 2008 at 9:31 am

    I am getting really close to forty. ahhhh scary!!

  41. James says

    December 9, 2008 at 9:38 am

    I saw the movie and would love to read the book! Thank you! James

  42. Mary A. says

    December 9, 2008 at 9:41 am

    This sounds like a perfect read for my night time bubble bath ritual!!!!! Take me away……

  43. Helen says

    December 9, 2008 at 9:41 am

    I love books. All books! Thanks for offering this prize.

  44. Angie Lamb says

    December 9, 2008 at 9:45 am

    I’ve got to check this one out!

  45. Melissa D says

    December 9, 2008 at 9:45 am

    I can picture myself reading this book on a tropical beach! Or at least *pretending* I’m at the beach…

    thanks for the nice giveaway!

  46. Amy Griffin says

    December 9, 2008 at 9:46 am

    This book sounds really good. I’d love to read it!

  47. Sharon Jones says

    December 9, 2008 at 9:53 am

    sounds like such a great read!
    THANKS for entry 🙂

  48. alyce p says

    December 9, 2008 at 9:55 am

    In times like these we can sure use a good escape book! Hope I win this one!

  49. Kimberly M says

    December 9, 2008 at 10:00 am

    I’m about to turn 40 and this sounds like a great book!

  50. Dan Smith says

    December 9, 2008 at 10:01 am

    Sounds like a great book

Newer Comments »

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Welcome to 5 Minutes for Books. We are a team blog dedicated to sharing reviews and information about children's lit, fiction, memoir, and more. Read More…

Reviews

Disclosure:

Find out about our relationships with publishers and affiliate networks in our full disclosure statement.

Recent Posts

  • The Secret Lives of Murderers’ Wives
  • I, Spy
  • The Place Between our Pains
  • Yesteryear
  • Wired for Magic

Categories

Privacy Policy    |     Disclosure Policy
Terms & Conditions
© 5 Minutes for Mom

Copyright © 2026 · Tasteful theme by Restored 316

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.