Spinning (The Hearts of Men Book 7)

If ever there was a book that brought you into the characters' lives, Spinning is that book. Baron's descriptions had me feeling as though I was right there with "D" and his friends, Jim, Hank, Billie, and his boss, Mason.****SPOILER ALERT*** DON'T READ UNLESS YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT ***Dylan is a regular young playboy, picking up chicks at bars, never staying with one for any length of time. He drinks with his buddies and plans to wow the business world with his intelligence and he's got what it takes.Early one morning after one of his late night rendezvouses leaves his apartment, showing up on his doorstop is a woman from one of these flings along with a small girl. "D" as his friends know him as - quickly does the math trying to figure out whether he's going to find out he's the girl's dad.The woman, Diane tells D that she sold her belongings, left Chicago and now needs a place to stay for her and her daughter until she finds an apartment. D agrees. She quickly insinuates herself into his life and into his apartment. It doesn't take long for Diane's young daughter Spring to find her way into his heart.Diane lands a job and an apartment and moves out but continues to be a big part in D's life. He finds himself asking divorced Jim how he knew that his ex was "the one," thinking that Diane might be "the one" for him. He then talks to his friend, ex-lover, and co-worker Billie about it but Billie plays around just like D so she's clueless.D is ready to declare his feelings for Diane but he gets a dreaded phone call where he find out that she got killed in an accident. He has no clue who to notify. Diane's parents are long deceased and Spring's father never knew he had a child, according to Diane.He expects that Spring will be out of his life now in no time and things will be back to the way they were pre-Diane and Spring - back to his former playboy life once he finds a relative for her but quickly discovers that the three and half year old is scared and needs something and someone familiar. She's confused and doesn't understand that Mommy isn't coming back.Billie and Jim and other of D's friends rally around him. Mason tells him to take a month from work. D makes a half-hearted attempt to locate a relative for Spring. Billie spends more and more time with them and Spring takes a quick liking to her, even making it difficult when D tried hooking up with Lauren who quickly exits his apartment.He's so grateful for Billie and all she's done for them. Her Christmas gift to him is a weekend on Cape Cod for the three of them. After a great weekend, D discovers that Billie still wants to play the field and he tells her to just go and that he can't have her in their lives like that. He misses her.Child Services shows up at his door and they take Spring away. He's made no attempt for custody..._________________________________________________Dylan finds that he's grown up a lot -- he's changed having Spring in his life. He can't picture life without her.I was touched by the way his bar friends were there for him and for Spring. Who especially touched me was his divorced friend Jim who lived in the same building as D. Of course, Billie touched me as well, in the way she let down her hair with them and became like a child herself. She brought over food and Jim had the beer and pizza. D could go to Jim's door and wake him in the middle of the night, bringing Jim to the door in his boxers looking frazzled, letting D in and talking with him.There were the ducks, the penguins, the zoo and Mr. Jim and hot dogs. (Mr. Jim isn't the same Jim as the neighbor. Mr. Jim sells those hot dogs.) There was the doorman and others whom Spring never failed to charm. There was the mac and cheese, the frozen pizzas, the soy, and tofu. -------------Yes, it's a romance, but more than romance, it's the letting go of the love of oneself and opening up to give and receive love to/from others. It's the learning to let go of self-dependence and depending on others. Letting others in. Really in.

A very poignant story of coming of age (as an adult), finding the true meaning of love and friendship, and how the love of a child fulfills our needs. Beautiful story!

When I was writing my first book ( The Reunion )I was told that the hero must experience conflict, and the conflict should be apparent before the halfway point in the story. In Spinning, there is conflict, but the reader must wait for it to develop.Of course the seeds are planted early. Party animal Dylan Hunter finds himself the de facto guardian of a three-year-old child. Spring's mother died, leaving no information concerning her family or Spring's father. The potential for conflict is already present. will the father appear to claim his child, a child he did not know existed, a child who Dylan has come to love. Conflict?One of Dylan's friends, Billie, comes to visit. Spring loves Billie. Another friend, Lauren, comes to visit. Spring hates Lauren. Conflict?Dylan, Billie, and Lauren have always "played the field." Conflict?A three-year-old has lost her mother and my implode emotionally at any point. Conflict?The seeds of the conflict are present almost from the beginning, but the author takes his time focusing on the major issue. You'll find it to be well-worth the wait! Very good book!

This was truly an above average read. There were some typo type issues but only a real nitpicker would have a major issue with that minor problem.I thought the character development overall was quite good. I may have wished to know a bit more about Dylan's friends, but perhaps those will be saved for another book...! The timeline was fairly believable, the emotion came through in the telling, and the setting was appropriately done. Perhaps a bit more development on Diana's character would have helped the reader to understand her motivation more, but in the end I will proclaim myself satisfied with the little we were told about her. Since she was such a free spirit perhaps knowing more about her would have made her character less.So, to recap: above average story, likable characters, and a definite recommend! I'll look for more from this author.

I like Michael Barron's stories. I like the writing style, the development, and the fact that they are simply about life. I can understand that someone used to a thriller or action would be waiting for more, but I like it.That said, I have to wonder if this was an accidental upload of the unedited edition put up for Kindle. Since I downloaded this in 2011 and only just read it, I looked in my kindle library to see if there is an update available but no. Odd. I cannot imagine the paper version is littered with so many errors... so a note to author and publishers, please take a look at the kindle version. Literally every page has typos, missing punctuation mostly.

This is the 4th book I’ve read by this author and all of them have been spell-binding. However, the punctuation in all of them has been totally frustrating. It’s a shame because this is one author that has great potential.

This was a great read, although there were quite a few typos that disrupted my reading (Kindle version). I thought the story was going to go in a completely different direction, so it kept me interested and engaged. All the characters were very fleshed out and original. I wish the ending was a little longer, but it was still pretty satisfying. Definitely a recommended read. I'd actually love to see this as a movie.