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3.04 AVERAGE
3.04 AVERAGE
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Everyone in this book needs therapy, and I sincerely hope Richard spends some of the ten million pounds on it.
challenging
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Final rating = 3.75/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Contrary to pretty much every review on this book, I quite enjoyed The Gatecrasher.
I read it as my 1998 popular pick for my challenge of reading a popular or bestselling novel from every year since I was born (starting in ‘97) — Although I haven’t read Kinsella’s Shopaholic series, I love the movie and so, I suppose if you’re expecting that energy I can understand you might be disappointed in this book. However, if you don’t hold Wickham to those preconceived notions, and go in with an open mind, perhaps not.
One thing to know about this book - it’s wholly and completely character-driven over plot, and I actually enjoyed that. It was a nice palette cleanser to read something where you just felt like a fly on the wall to all of these complicated and interesting, often infuriating characters. It felt like being let in on a pool of gossip.
I also have an odd affinity for characters who present as cold and detached and who operate from a place of pure logistics over emotion (maybe it’s the Aquarius in me), and so our FMC Fleur was intriguing to me. What starts as a con takes a series of twists and turns as she gets deeper entrenched into her target’s family than planned for. And when her daughter Zara enters the picture this con quickly goes south from what Fleur had anticipated - yet, through it all she remains cool as a cucumber and somehow always knows just what to say to appease everyone.
While I can agree the ending left a bit to be desired in terms of it cutting off rather abruptly (SPOILER NEXT):but, if you expected Fleur to marry Richard or to get a big emotional reveal of Zara’s dad and see Fleur get all worked up over him, I implore you to remember who our FMC is. A complete 180 to that type of reaction may have made sense if this was a romance novel, but it so clearly wasn’t. To me, it was always obvious this was drama and chick-lit and not a romance so these choices made sense to me. I did however, agree with other reviewers in that it could have been written in a way so as not to end on such an abrupt note.
I honestly enjoyed The Gatecrasher - it had an intriguing premise, an FMC with an air of mystery who can at times be frustrating but that’s also what makes her human, alongside a fully realized set of characters you could empathize and relate to, and it was an easy chick-lit read.
I would recommend it to fans of character-driven chick-lit, and Wickham’s other novels. 💕
Contrary to pretty much every review on this book, I quite enjoyed The Gatecrasher.
I read it as my 1998 popular pick for my challenge of reading a popular or bestselling novel from every year since I was born (starting in ‘97) — Although I haven’t read Kinsella’s Shopaholic series, I love the movie and so, I suppose if you’re expecting that energy I can understand you might be disappointed in this book. However, if you don’t hold Wickham to those preconceived notions, and go in with an open mind, perhaps not.
One thing to know about this book - it’s wholly and completely character-driven over plot, and I actually enjoyed that. It was a nice palette cleanser to read something where you just felt like a fly on the wall to all of these complicated and interesting, often infuriating characters. It felt like being let in on a pool of gossip.
I also have an odd affinity for characters who present as cold and detached and who operate from a place of pure logistics over emotion (maybe it’s the Aquarius in me), and so our FMC Fleur was intriguing to me. What starts as a con takes a series of twists and turns as she gets deeper entrenched into her target’s family than planned for. And when her daughter Zara enters the picture this con quickly goes south from what Fleur had anticipated - yet, through it all she remains cool as a cucumber and somehow always knows just what to say to appease everyone.
While I can agree the ending left a bit to be desired in terms of it cutting off rather abruptly (SPOILER NEXT):
I honestly enjoyed The Gatecrasher - it had an intriguing premise, an FMC with an air of mystery who can at times be frustrating but that’s also what makes her human, alongside a fully realized set of characters you could empathize and relate to, and it was an easy chick-lit read.
I would recommend it to fans of character-driven chick-lit, and Wickham’s other novels. 💕
Eindelijk! Een anderhalve maand later heb ik dit boek uit. Ik dacht bij het aanschaffen van dit boek. "Ik vind de boeken van Sophie Kinsella altijd wel leuk dus als ze onder haar eigen naam schrijft moeten ze toch ook wel leuk zijn" Niets is minder waar. Ik vond dit boek erg tegenvallen. Op de één of andere manier wist het verhaal me niet te pakken. En het einde vond ik ook erg open. Toch sta ik nog open voor een ander boek ook onder haar eigen naam geschreven want ik ben wel van mening dat je pas kunt oordelen als je 2 of meer boeken hebt gelezen van een schrijver. Desalniettemin blijf ik wel fan van de boeken die ze onder haar pseudoniem schrijft.
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
1 word to describe The Gatecrasher, problematic.
I absolutely love Sophie Kinsella books but this book is just not for me. The characters are all insane and not like able. The conclusion wasn't even much of a conclusion. I only finished this book because I wanted to know what happen in the end but it didn't conclude really well. I was insulted as a female because of Lambert. I skim through most of the books because I just couldn't bring myself to actually read it. Normally, I love Siphie Kinsella's crazy characters but this one was too much.
An enjoyable, easy read even if I wasn't overly fond of a couple of the characters!
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Another light read from the author of the "Shopaholic" series. Fleur Daxeny crashes funerals for a living, preying on widowers in quick succession. This time though, she finds herself in a web of colorful family members and has some difficult decisions to make. Definitely on my "beach read" list.