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3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book could be 3 times shorted and it would make it 3 times better
Started a bit slow but galloped to an excellent conclusion. Just what I needed a very easy read and lots of laugh out loud moments.
DNF at page 201 of 468.
I picked up this and the last book I read a few months ago but never got around to reading. One of my resolutions is to get through the glossy pile of books I have not read yet on my shelves (there are a lot of them) so I started going through the pile. Frankly I want to kick myself since so far the books I bought are not that great to me.
I wish that I could get engrossed more in Imogen's story. However, from the parts I read, this character just seems to have built her husband up on a pedestal and excuses all of his faults which look to be legion to me at this point. When you find out the history of how Imogen and her husband got together I ended up losing a lot of sympathy for her since she is super naive.
The writing at times flows, and other times gets clunky. I think that since the author chose to slowly reveal things to the reader actually hurt a bit for this story since you go from feeling for Imogen, to thinking how dumb she is when you go back and see what happened in the past. Not going to lie, I totally skipped to the last two chapters to see if I had called where the book was going to end up when I finally decided to stop reading the book. I was correct on all of my assumptions.
I picked up this and the last book I read a few months ago but never got around to reading. One of my resolutions is to get through the glossy pile of books I have not read yet on my shelves (there are a lot of them) so I started going through the pile. Frankly I want to kick myself since so far the books I bought are not that great to me.
I wish that I could get engrossed more in Imogen's story. However, from the parts I read, this character just seems to have built her husband up on a pedestal and excuses all of his faults which look to be legion to me at this point. When you find out the history of how Imogen and her husband got together I ended up losing a lot of sympathy for her since she is super naive.
The writing at times flows, and other times gets clunky. I think that since the author chose to slowly reveal things to the reader actually hurt a bit for this story since you go from feeling for Imogen, to thinking how dumb she is when you go back and see what happened in the past. Not going to lie, I totally skipped to the last two chapters to see if I had called where the book was going to end up when I finally decided to stop reading the book. I was correct on all of my assumptions.
Not quite what I expected. A bit heavier than the cover suggests.
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I've been reading Catherine Alliott for years, well before her books became available in the U.S. She did "chick lit" before it became so popular. Her English heroines always want houses in the country and are typically unhappily married or there are always tons of misunderstandings and unexpected occurrences...but it's all in good fun. She's a very funny writer!
Unusual writing style.
Good story in parts, not always quite for me in others.
By the title there is a suspicion of cheating.
Good story in parts, not always quite for me in others.
By the title there is a suspicion of cheating.
I have to admit that the story started off pretty slowly. In fact, in the first 150 pages I wondered if I'd be able to finish it. I didn't feel very connected to Eleanor, with her strangely muted relationship with her husband. Was this a cultural gap that I'd missed, or was Eleanor's relationship truly of a different sort? Her husband seemed a lot older to me, aloof, and just not engaged in marriage to begin with. He seemed as though he liked everyone else around him, but his wife, except at random "playing house" moments. Odd. Honestly, I wanted her out of that marriage from the get go!
Once we get past the background stories we need to move forward, the story really gets going and the tension in Eleanor's marriage and relationships take on new meaning. Although you start to feel you know where the story is heading, it doesn't all play out exactly as you might think. We can't help but hate the husband's best friend, as she seems way too involved in their marriage. Yes, you realize the marriage is falling apart, and yes, you hope that people get what's coming to them. The surprising bit is how everyone reacts, and how things fit together. In that way, the last 100 pages were pretty difficult for me to put down. (Although, maybe it was the hot, yet slightly grouchy veterinarian that captured my attention?)
On the whole, I really did like this book. It was hard getting the groundwork set, but once I could clearly see the connections between our characters, the story snapped into place and I cared about what would happen. Subtle humor is applied in spots, with crazy misadventures that didn't seem as funny as they might have been (considering the topic), but overall it rang true to me. This book is a great getaway book for a vacation, with plenty of drama and relationships to consider.
Once we get past the background stories we need to move forward, the story really gets going and the tension in Eleanor's marriage and relationships take on new meaning. Although you start to feel you know where the story is heading, it doesn't all play out exactly as you might think. We can't help but hate the husband's best friend, as she seems way too involved in their marriage. Yes, you realize the marriage is falling apart, and yes, you hope that people get what's coming to them. The surprising bit is how everyone reacts, and how things fit together. In that way, the last 100 pages were pretty difficult for me to put down. (Although, maybe it was the hot, yet slightly grouchy veterinarian that captured my attention?)
On the whole, I really did like this book. It was hard getting the groundwork set, but once I could clearly see the connections between our characters, the story snapped into place and I cared about what would happen. Subtle humor is applied in spots, with crazy misadventures that didn't seem as funny as they might have been (considering the topic), but overall it rang true to me. This book is a great getaway book for a vacation, with plenty of drama and relationships to consider.
I loved this book! Why did I ever stop reading Catherine Alliott novels? Wonderful escapism. The premise of this novel is often a typical format for chick-lit novels - happily married mother believes that her husband is having an affair with his ex - but nothing is exactly as it seems. Although the main character wasn't totally likeable to begin with, and could behave rather stupidly (obviously the way to stop some chav from bullying your kid is to invite him home for dinner, according to her!) but she grew and even her mistakes and character flaws were amusing. There were so many laugh-out-loud moments in this novel, and there was a lovely cast of amusing and intriguing secondary characters, such as Sheila, the woman who fostered over half a dozen kids and lived in a trailer, or the main character's father who is determined to annoy his ex-wife by dating younger and younger women. I liked the fact that the plot didn't go down the usual route, and that all of the characters either grew or revealed a secret about themselves. And of course, that this was a lovely, funny, light read. I'll definitely be reading more Catherine Alliott novels in the future! 9/10