Reviews

Het huis op Tara Road by Maeve Binchy

leona28's review against another edition

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4.0

Tara road tells the story of Ria Lynch & Marilyn Vine, two women who have never met. Ria lives in a big house in Tara road, Dublin, with a life filled with family and friends. Whereas Marilyn lines in a college town in Connecticut and is a very private and independent woman. The book sees these two women's lives cross, with a house swap in the middle and lots of family/friend drama throughout.

As per usual with Maeve, the chapters in this are quite long and the book is nearly 500 copies. In typical Maeve fashion there are also lots of characters throughout to give extra drama and other smaller storylines throughout! Also Maeve loves to have male characters that aren't great, Danny, Barney and Jack in particular in this one! But I loved the character development of Ria, Marilyn and Annie in particular in this book! But I did want one secret to come out at the end but was left disappointed but other than that the story is brilliant encompassing drama throughout from affairs, money problems, abuse, teen pregnancy, addiction etc. I would definitely recommend this book!

bowenllano's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

cmboiler's review against another edition

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3.0

It was an easy read, but felt a bit like a bad daytime drama series.

margardenlady's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Binchy delivers a tome with nearly no plot in which the lives of a dozen people are transformed. It’s almost magical. On Tara Road in Dublin, we find Ria and her heartthrob Danny setting up housekeeping. There was a long slow set up as we got to know all the characters but life started happening about halfway through. By the end, I honestly enjoyed the characters and appreciated their transformations, but 654 pp with only 9 chapters made for some slow reading. 

bookwyrm_kate's review against another edition

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2.0

I got bored and frustrated with this book when it didn't even get to the point/premise until more than halfway in. There were a lot of superficial things going on, but you don't really know any of the characters well enough to genuinely sympathize or care until the book is almost over.

kaylamarie's review against another edition

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1.0

This has not aged well at all! It's like watching a bad 80's lifetime movie with every woman being shamed for some sexist reason.

mjlawson73's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

wattestab8's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

dreavg's review against another edition

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3.0

I picked this book up and read it before Oprah put her Book Club seal on it. I enjoyed the book. For a summer, two women switch homes for the summer. Each has something they are trying to escape. Each tries to rebuild a life that was irreconcileable changed before the trip.

petabread5's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0