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taniabotes's review
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up to 4. This was exactly what I needed, escapism with lots of humor, but with just enough deeper issues explored to keep me interested. I listened to the audio version, and Anna Acton (Me Before You) did a brilliant job.
I loved Jess, but sometimes felt her extreme paranoia was a bit too far-fetched. That said, I am really missing her upbeat, zany presence since finishing the book. Another element that I thoroughly enjoyed was that most of the story is set in Cape Town, South Africa. It was lovely reading a book about my country that does not focus on politics, but rather on the beautiful scenery, spectacular wildlife and interesting people.
A great holiday read!
The Story: Jess is a bit of a stress head with a penchant for wild thoughts. So when her boyfriend takes her on a spur of the moment trip to Cape Town, she immediately thinking wedding bells. But that is totally the wrong end of the stick…
I loved Jess, but sometimes felt her extreme paranoia was a bit too far-fetched. That said, I am really missing her upbeat, zany presence since finishing the book. Another element that I thoroughly enjoyed was that most of the story is set in Cape Town, South Africa. It was lovely reading a book about my country that does not focus on politics, but rather on the beautiful scenery, spectacular wildlife and interesting people.
A great holiday read!
The Story: Jess is a bit of a stress head with a penchant for wild thoughts. So when her boyfriend takes her on a spur of the moment trip to Cape Town, she immediately thinking wedding bells. But that is totally the wrong end of the stick…
hayleysnextpage's review
3.0
It took me a while to get into this book, and I felt it did drag at some moments (too much repetition), but overall it was a cute romance novel.
erinnaissance's review
5.0
What made this book so great? This is the first fictional book that I have read that features Cape Town specifically and South Africa in a broader sense. I enjoyed learning about a place that sounds fascinating especially through the funny lens of a shark-phobic, snake- phobic kindred spirit. The South African setting strongly contributed to my enjoyment.
Jess, the heroine, was clever and humorous. The other characters were three dimensional and I fell in love with several of the supporting characters, especially Diego, Lucy and (gasp) even Flora. Jess, rather than her romantic life really takes center stage in this book.
I listened to this as an audiobook which is a different experience than reading an ebook. Sometimes an audiobook improves the experience, and sometimes it ruins it. In this case, I enjoyed the narrator’s storytelling and preferred listening over reading . I kept getting snagged by the British pronunciations of words that differ from my American versions, most noticeably “Zay brah” (vs “Zee Bra.”)
The book felt like it was two parts; not only in the setting between (largely) South Africa in the first part and London in the second part but also in the focus. The first part centers mostly around her love life while her relationship with her family takes center stage in the second.
Readers who want full frontal focus on love story will possibly be disappointed and the sex that occurs is not steamy detailed rather alluded to. I’ve become accustomed to the love story on center stage in recent romance reads, but I adapted here. The author did such a good job of addressing the complicated matters of the heart. I received a valuable reminder to pondering how the way we behave affects who is in our lives.
Although I think I would have appreciated a bit more tightening in editing, (and by that I mean letting go of some sentences that added bulk without enough story enhancement, particularly the descriptions of the people at the bar where Jimmy worked,) I found Catherine Bennetts’s tale to be entertaining, thoughtful, thought-provoking and damn funny!
Last, I have gotten into the bad habit of reading the ending before I’m very far along in a book. Even though I know most books that I read are going to have a “happily ever after” sort of ending, my threshold for tension is eased if I can be assured of HEA early with my own eyes. Based on the title, I thought it was possible that the author might surprise me regarding what happens to Jess. I resisted the urge to skip ahead and I’m really glad I did.
While the plot seemed fairly eccentric, the author resisted going over the top with aspects of Jess’ life. For example, I liked how she wrote the relationship between Jess and her boss. Similarly, I liked the relationships created between Priya and Laurel as well as Ian and Diego. The author seems to have a gift for one on one relationship building.
Jess, the heroine, was clever and humorous. The other characters were three dimensional and I fell in love with several of the supporting characters, especially Diego, Lucy and (gasp) even Flora. Jess, rather than her romantic life really takes center stage in this book.
I listened to this as an audiobook which is a different experience than reading an ebook. Sometimes an audiobook improves the experience, and sometimes it ruins it. In this case, I enjoyed the narrator’s storytelling and preferred listening over reading . I kept getting snagged by the British pronunciations of words that differ from my American versions, most noticeably “Zay brah” (vs “Zee Bra.”)
The book felt like it was two parts; not only in the setting between (largely) South Africa in the first part and London in the second part but also in the focus. The first part centers mostly around her love life while her relationship with her family takes center stage in the second.
Readers who want full frontal focus on love story will possibly be disappointed and the sex that occurs is not steamy detailed rather alluded to. I’ve become accustomed to the love story on center stage in recent romance reads, but I adapted here. The author did such a good job of addressing the complicated matters of the heart. I received a valuable reminder to pondering how the way we behave affects who is in our lives.
Although I think I would have appreciated a bit more tightening in editing, (and by that I mean letting go of some sentences that added bulk without enough story enhancement, particularly the descriptions of the people at the bar where Jimmy worked,) I found Catherine Bennetts’s tale to be entertaining, thoughtful, thought-provoking and damn funny!
Last, I have gotten into the bad habit of reading the ending before I’m very far along in a book. Even though I know most books that I read are going to have a “happily ever after” sort of ending, my threshold for tension is eased if I can be assured of HEA early with my own eyes. Based on the title, I thought it was possible that the author might surprise me regarding what happens to Jess. I resisted the urge to skip ahead and I’m really glad I did.
While the plot seemed fairly eccentric, the author resisted going over the top with aspects of Jess’ life. For example, I liked how she wrote the relationship between Jess and her boss. Similarly, I liked the relationships created between Priya and Laurel as well as Ian and Diego. The author seems to have a gift for one on one relationship building.
alex505's review
3.0
Jess sets off with her boyfriend to Cape Town to attend her best friend's wedding. She has a big plan in her mind, hoping she could be back in London with an engagement ring on her finger and a bright future ahead of her. However, from the moment she sees her dad at the airport, things go out of plans...
This could be an interesting and laugh-out-loud story for me if only the protagonist was a nicer person. She seems to me is just self-centered and pretentious. The way she behaves on the plane and her way of imposing her ideas on others all get on my nerves. Of course, she’s got a reason but there are a lot more ways to deal with the problem. My favorite character is Jimmy. When Jimmy is at the center of the story, things got more pleasurable, he is genuinely a nice person, I quite like the person Jess becomes when she is near him. But talking about Jimmy, I couldn't ignore another thing that gives me goosebumps, the way Jess pretends to talk to Flora, jimmy’s dog, I honestly cringe whenever it pops up into the story, just stop it! I might be a bit harsh but the narrator Jess is really not my cup of tea at all. sorry. ;( but people have their preference, apparently, a lot of people enjoyed reading it, it's not that bad but personally I wouldn't give another go at the author. (Bearing in mind I've tried two and liked neither)
This could be an interesting and laugh-out-loud story for me if only the protagonist was a nicer person. She seems to me is just self-centered and pretentious. The way she behaves on the plane and her way of imposing her ideas on others all get on my nerves. Of course, she’s got a reason but there are a lot more ways to deal with the problem. My favorite character is Jimmy. When Jimmy is at the center of the story, things got more pleasurable, he is genuinely a nice person, I quite like the person Jess becomes when she is near him. But talking about Jimmy, I couldn't ignore another thing that gives me goosebumps, the way Jess pretends to talk to Flora, jimmy’s dog, I honestly cringe whenever it pops up into the story, just stop it! I might be a bit harsh but the narrator Jess is really not my cup of tea at all. sorry. ;( but people have their preference, apparently, a lot of people enjoyed reading it, it's not that bad but personally I wouldn't give another go at the author. (Bearing in mind I've tried two and liked neither)
poppiesandjasmine's review
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This book was cute. It’s not spectacular, it’s not deep, it doesn’t really excel in any category, but it is fun enough to take on vacation with you. Following a girl as she attends a wedding in South Africa, she faces several life changes in one fell swoop – and that’s enough to rock anyone’s balance. To some degree, I found the main character a bit annoying, but it wasn’t so severe that I hated her or anything. Regardless, there’s not all that much character depth – across the board, what you see is what you get – but the book holds up just fine.
thelibraryatpoohcorner's review
4.0
I was surprised at how much I liked this, it has a few plots running through it which was nice. It's kind of predictable but not in a bad way.
samstillreading's review
3.0
I’ve been reading a lot of books that require concentration lately, something that doesn’t always translate well midweek when work and life are busy and you want to escape it all. Make or Break sounded like a fun read, so despite the size (nearly 500 pages), I decided to pick it up. It’s definitely madcap humour in some places, but takes quite a sombre turn towards the end as very difficult decisions are made. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy it, but be prepared for your feelings to go all over the place.
The story is told to us by Jess in the first person. Jess is 29 and works in the music video industry. (Unfortunately, there’s very little about the music industry here). Jess reminded me of Becky Bloomwood from the Shopaholic series as someone you’ll either adore or find irritating. Jess is a way better decision maker than Becky, but she does have the tendency to let her thoughts run away to the most extreme situations. That has mixed results, such as thinking she will be eaten by a snake on Table Mountain to being convinced that her boyfriend Pete will propose in South Africa. It also makes it difficult for her to get through some major life events in the book. I kind of liked Jess more in the sadder parts of the book. I know that sounds mean, but her thoughts didn’t seem so wacky to me. But then Jess’ family is not exactly typical either. Her sister Annabelle has a penchant for men that love, impregnate and leave which has caused Jess and their mother to ‘protect’ Annabelle at all costs. Jess’ mother is into natural therapies in an extreme way – think mono mealing (eating only one thing at a time) and silence retreats to remove guilt. Boyfriend Pete is a bit obsessed with his assistant teacher role and flatmate Dave lives for zombies. All these quirks add up to some incredibly funny moments.
The majority of the book is set in Cape Town, which seems like Jess to be the epitome of sun and warmth. Until her world comes crashing down. The new characters that come into her life here are my favourites – Jimmy, Diego and Ian. They are more settled and a good grounding point for Jess. That’s not to say that they don’t have their quirks but I found them much more fascinating. After Jess’ holiday ends, so does the sunshine in this book. The tone becomes much more serious. It wasn’t completely unexpected, as things had been hinted at, but the fun was over as Jess needed to face the music in more ways than one. That’s not to say that Catherine Bennetto doesn’t do it well – she handles a very, very sticky situation with grace and without failing any of the characters. It was just a bit of roller coaster ride with that sinking feeling like the end of a holiday. There are some sparkles of wit here, but one character getting a cheeky comeuppance from a sartorial error.
I did enjoy this book, and it gave me the fun times I wanted plus some serious parts. My copy has a blurb for How Not to Fall in Love, Actually which sounds like a fun read. Catherine Bennetto writes well, getting to the heart of the matter with character growth with some laugh out loud moments.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the copy of this book. My review is honest.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
The story is told to us by Jess in the first person. Jess is 29 and works in the music video industry. (Unfortunately, there’s very little about the music industry here). Jess reminded me of Becky Bloomwood from the Shopaholic series as someone you’ll either adore or find irritating. Jess is a way better decision maker than Becky, but she does have the tendency to let her thoughts run away to the most extreme situations. That has mixed results, such as thinking she will be eaten by a snake on Table Mountain to being convinced that her boyfriend Pete will propose in South Africa. It also makes it difficult for her to get through some major life events in the book. I kind of liked Jess more in the sadder parts of the book. I know that sounds mean, but her thoughts didn’t seem so wacky to me. But then Jess’ family is not exactly typical either. Her sister Annabelle has a penchant for men that love, impregnate and leave which has caused Jess and their mother to ‘protect’ Annabelle at all costs. Jess’ mother is into natural therapies in an extreme way – think mono mealing (eating only one thing at a time) and silence retreats to remove guilt. Boyfriend Pete is a bit obsessed with his assistant teacher role and flatmate Dave lives for zombies. All these quirks add up to some incredibly funny moments.
The majority of the book is set in Cape Town, which seems like Jess to be the epitome of sun and warmth. Until her world comes crashing down. The new characters that come into her life here are my favourites – Jimmy, Diego and Ian. They are more settled and a good grounding point for Jess. That’s not to say that they don’t have their quirks but I found them much more fascinating. After Jess’ holiday ends, so does the sunshine in this book. The tone becomes much more serious. It wasn’t completely unexpected, as things had been hinted at, but the fun was over as Jess needed to face the music in more ways than one. That’s not to say that Catherine Bennetto doesn’t do it well – she handles a very, very sticky situation with grace and without failing any of the characters. It was just a bit of roller coaster ride with that sinking feeling like the end of a holiday. There are some sparkles of wit here, but one character getting a cheeky comeuppance from a sartorial error.
I did enjoy this book, and it gave me the fun times I wanted plus some serious parts. My copy has a blurb for How Not to Fall in Love, Actually which sounds like a fun read. Catherine Bennetto writes well, getting to the heart of the matter with character growth with some laugh out loud moments.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the copy of this book. My review is honest.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com