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3.04 AVERAGE
3.04 AVERAGE
Boring. I'm sure there was a plot, and I'm sure it was meant to be interesting, or a comedy of manners or something. But as a Sophie Kinsella novel, it was blegh to a level I couldn't get through.
Didn't like or relate to the main character so I couldn't get invested in what story line there was.
This book was good, just not what I was hoping for. I was so excited initially to learn that Sophie Kinsella had more books under another name (I guess, technically, Madeleine Wickham is the one with books under another name, since this is her real name, and not Kinsella). But, while the writing is still well done, the subject of this book at least was not as fun and frothy as the Kinsella books I know and love. So, I went into this book with a Kinsella, shopaholic-type story in mind, and this did not have the same feel. It was most like the last Kinsella book about the girl with amnesia--a bit heavier, although still not really a heavyweight book. Definitely chick lit, but not laugh out loud funny or anything like that. And I couldn't help but miss that a bit as I read this. Alas, I suppose it would also be disappointing to find a rehashed version of a story I already read instead. This definitely is not that!
So basically, the book has wit, it has good lines, and it has a lot of desperate people playing off each others emotions. It has plenty of ecrets kept and revealed, and it was an interesting, easy read. It just didn't have the same sense of fun I remember from the Shopaholic books and the book Can You Keep a Secret?>
So basically, the book has wit, it has good lines, and it has a lot of desperate people playing off each others emotions. It has plenty of ecrets kept and revealed, and it was an interesting, easy read. It just didn't have the same sense of fun I remember from the Shopaholic books and the book Can You Keep a Secret?>
A light and easy, fun read. Since Madeleine Wickham also writes under the name Sophie Kinsella (who is one of my favorite authors... so fun!!), I expected to love Fleur (the main character) just as instantly and completely as other Kinsella characters. I like Fleur, but the story wasn't around just her. You got more story out of the other characters. So I liked the characters and I liked the story, but it wasn't quite what I expected, I guess. Read it if you have it on hand, but otherwise I'd go with something else.
This was certainly a bit of a different tone to the books Wickham writes under the name Kinsella. It was more serious and dark but still very entertaining. I found that the characters were all so flawed that it was difficult to really like any of them or find a real reason to care about them. This book really reminded me of 'The Casual Vacancy' by J.K Rowling with it's changing perspectives; multiple, complicated and flawed characters; and small town community setting. I enjoyed this book but wasn't blown away or particularly changed by it in any way. I must say that the plot: Fleur picking up rich widowers at their wife's funerals and rinsing them for all they were worth way highly entertaining and interesting.
DNFd this about half way through, which irks me to no end. But I just can't anymore. I have no motivation to even think about picking this up again. What I've read would be about a 1.5, I don't like any of the characters (which would be alright generally) but there is also nothing about the story that is of any interest to me. I thought this would be fun and fluffy, but it's tedious and annoying. Next time I'll try a 'proper' Sophie Kinsella.
Thinking it was going to be light and fluffy, I was mildly surprised to find how well thought-out the story was. The characters had surprising depth, the premise of the book was intriguing, and I found myself simultaneously rooting for and against the protagonist.
Fleur Daxeny is a beautiful woman with an interesting way of earning a living: she charms the pants off of bereaved widowers, weaseling her way into their lives in order to get access to their credit cards and steal all she possibly can before she goes on the run. Is she selfish? Yes, but she does have some noble reasons, including providing for her daughter. Like any mother, she wants to provide her daughter the kind of lifestyle she never had growing up. Of course, she doesn't pause for long enough to think of how hard it is to have a crook for a mother, but money buys happiness, right?
When Fleur meets a widower with a family almost as dysfunctional as hers, she finds herself pulled into the center of things, suddenly becoming a lover to the grieving husband, a best friend to the departed's sister, and a confidant to the lonely daughter. Rumors fly, drama ensues, and Fleur has to weigh the costs of having to put up with this crazy family against the money she could potentially gain if she sticks it out just a little bit longer.
Altogether, this book captured my attention and held it. The voice effortlessly changes frequently throughout the book, from the children to the husband to Fleur herself, which keeps things interesting. The plot is designed really well, showing how many people are involved in pulling off an act as big as Fleur's. Altogether, it was a surprisingly good book that I wasn't expecting from its baby pink cover and rather so-so title. It's definitely a must-read for Sophie Kinsella fans.
Fleur Daxeny is a beautiful woman with an interesting way of earning a living: she charms the pants off of bereaved widowers, weaseling her way into their lives in order to get access to their credit cards and steal all she possibly can before she goes on the run. Is she selfish? Yes, but she does have some noble reasons, including providing for her daughter. Like any mother, she wants to provide her daughter the kind of lifestyle she never had growing up. Of course, she doesn't pause for long enough to think of how hard it is to have a crook for a mother, but money buys happiness, right?
When Fleur meets a widower with a family almost as dysfunctional as hers, she finds herself pulled into the center of things, suddenly becoming a lover to the grieving husband, a best friend to the departed's sister, and a confidant to the lonely daughter. Rumors fly, drama ensues, and Fleur has to weigh the costs of having to put up with this crazy family against the money she could potentially gain if she sticks it out just a little bit longer.
Altogether, this book captured my attention and held it. The voice effortlessly changes frequently throughout the book, from the children to the husband to Fleur herself, which keeps things interesting. The plot is designed really well, showing how many people are involved in pulling off an act as big as Fleur's. Altogether, it was a surprisingly good book that I wasn't expecting from its baby pink cover and rather so-so title. It's definitely a must-read for Sophie Kinsella fans.