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rebroxannape's review
4.0
**The third paragraph is very very spoilery**Reading a Milly Johnson book gets almost too much sometimes. So far, I have noticed that she really piles on her bad guy characters until you hate them with a passion. You not only can’t understand why they are put up with by their victims (wives or girlfriends) but you actually start to feel contempt for the female protagonists who do so. This is what mars A Summer Fling. Of course, in “Women’s fiction” you almost always have a heroine who is beaten down, or who has some flaws to overcome, but who finally emerges victorious and happy at the end. To a greater or lesser degree, these are the journeys of the 4 unhappy women in this novel. They are office mates whose new boss is a strong wise leader who directly or indirectly transforms their work and private lives.
Two of them, Grace and Dawn, are truly in dire and dangerous straits. Grace is in a bad marriage which has gotten worse and worse now that her beloved stepchildren have left the home. Her turning point comes relatively early on in the book, and it’s all uphill from there. Shortly after Grace turns the corner, we find out what Raychelle’s deep dark secret is (it’s not what we were led to believe, thank God!) and her emotional life takes a turn for the better. Readers of The Yorkshire Pudding Club will be delighted to get some answers to a mystery left unsolved in that novel.
But Dawn’s story is one of unremitting horror until the last chapter. She has gotten herself engaged to a drunken useless lout with a big family because she is an orphan and wants a family of her own. Almost right away we see that not only is her fiance an evil b*st*rd, but his family is even worse, if possible! And she knows it! Every time the story turns to Dawn she suffers another painful shock at the hands of her fiance or his family. She is given sign after sign that she needs to run for her life but she just denies denies denies until the reader is totally frustrated with her. Not only that but she meets and falls in love with a wonderful guy who begs her to marry him and come with him back to Canada. Dawn’s part of the novel just makes no sense at all. In my opinion, it would have been much more effective if Milly had given Callum and family some redeeming qualities that would help us understand her better. I mean, when her beloved Dead parents practically come back from the dead to try to save her from herself…and their message is ignored…Well.
The fourth of the friends, Anna, has a much lighter story. It is a straight up romance with a very unusual man who also helps her gain her self-esteem and move on from her cheating ex-boyfriend. It is delightful.
This 3rd novel I’ve read by Milly Johnson and has the humor, wit, depth, and great characterizations I am coming to expect. She is a wonderfully talented writer who deserves to be ranked with the most popular and respected light(ish) women’s authors. But this book is flawed in that she just goes too far with one of the threads. Still…**almost 4 stars**
Bonus: A favorite funny quote: "she doubted Lynette Bottom’s palate could have appreciated anything fancier than chicken nuggets. She probably thought Asparagus Spears was Britney’s younger sister."
Two of them, Grace and Dawn, are truly in dire and dangerous straits. Grace is in a bad marriage which has gotten worse and worse now that her beloved stepchildren have left the home. Her turning point comes relatively early on in the book, and it’s all uphill from there. Shortly after Grace turns the corner, we find out what Raychelle’s deep dark secret is (it’s not what we were led to believe, thank God!) and her emotional life takes a turn for the better. Readers of The Yorkshire Pudding Club will be delighted to get some answers to a mystery left unsolved in that novel.
But Dawn’s story is one of unremitting horror until the last chapter. She has gotten herself engaged to a drunken useless lout with a big family because she is an orphan and wants a family of her own. Almost right away we see that not only is her fiance an evil b*st*rd, but his family is even worse, if possible! And she knows it! Every time the story turns to Dawn she suffers another painful shock at the hands of her fiance or his family. She is given sign after sign that she needs to run for her life but she just denies denies denies until the reader is totally frustrated with her. Not only that but she meets and falls in love with a wonderful guy who begs her to marry him and come with him back to Canada. Dawn’s part of the novel just makes no sense at all. In my opinion, it would have been much more effective if Milly had given Callum and family some redeeming qualities that would help us understand her better. I mean, when her beloved Dead parents practically come back from the dead to try to save her from herself…and their message is ignored…Well.
The fourth of the friends, Anna, has a much lighter story. It is a straight up romance with a very unusual man who also helps her gain her self-esteem and move on from her cheating ex-boyfriend. It is delightful.
This 3rd novel I’ve read by Milly Johnson and has the humor, wit, depth, and great characterizations I am coming to expect. She is a wonderfully talented writer who deserves to be ranked with the most popular and respected light(ish) women’s authors. But this book is flawed in that she just goes too far with one of the threads. Still…**almost 4 stars**
Bonus: A favorite funny quote: "she doubted Lynette Bottom’s palate could have appreciated anything fancier than chicken nuggets. She probably thought Asparagus Spears was Britney’s younger sister."
laura_devouring_books_crumpets's review
4.0
A star down as it wasnt as Epic a read as other Milly Johnson books i read not to say it still wasnt great.
The cons
What lost a star for me was i felt tye book spread itself among the characters too thinly, i forgot Raychel was one of the group many a time as her storyline felt lacking..
What i loved.
The friendship between the girls and how it grows, the setting and just the whole feel good vibes the book offers!
The cons
What lost a star for me was i felt tye book spread itself among the characters too thinly, i forgot Raychel was one of the group many a time as her storyline felt lacking..
What i loved.
The friendship between the girls and how it grows, the setting and just the whole feel good vibes the book offers!
krex's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I really enjoyed the themes of female friendship, and the exploration of the ways in which women can build each other up. There were also some really interesting back stories and characters.
However, it felt as though some of these stories and characters weren’t explored to their full potential. Raychel in particular felt overlooked, despite having the most unique story, one which I would have loved to have seen fleshed out much more. And, other than being the driving force behind bringing the women together, Christie didn’t have much of a personal story arc. I think perhaps the story suffered from having too many main characters to really get into the nitty gritty of their individual stories.
I also felt that it was quite dated in terms of some of its attitudes towards body image, classism, gender stereotyping. However, I do note that it was written 13 years before I read it, and while that’s not a massive length of time, society has changed a great deal since then. I wonder how this story would be told if it were to be written today; and also, how I would have felt about it had I read it 13 years ago…
However, it felt as though some of these stories and characters weren’t explored to their full potential. Raychel in particular felt overlooked, despite having the most unique story, one which I would have loved to have seen fleshed out much more. And, other than being the driving force behind bringing the women together, Christie didn’t have much of a personal story arc. I think perhaps the story suffered from having too many main characters to really get into the nitty gritty of their individual stories.
I also felt that it was quite dated in terms of some of its attitudes towards body image, classism, gender stereotyping. However, I do note that it was written 13 years before I read it, and while that’s not a massive length of time, society has changed a great deal since then. I wonder how this story would be told if it were to be written today; and also, how I would have felt about it had I read it 13 years ago…
helenephoebe's review
2.0
Review - However, I did really like the ending, and how Dawn finally realised that she didn't want to marry Callum, and Anna got with Vladimir, and Grace managed to leave her husband and could openly see her kids. A very neat ending. I wasn't really very fond of this book at the beginning, as it seemed to drag out with no action. However, from about halfway through, it got interesting and there were so many twists and turns. I think it would have been better to spread the action throughout the book rather than packing it all in at the end.
Genre? - Chic Lit / Romance / Drama
Characters? - Vladimir / Dawn / Callum / Grace / Anna Moray / Christie / Raychel / Ben
Setting? - England
Series? - N/A
Recommend? - Maybe
Rating - 14/20
Genre? - Chic Lit / Romance / Drama
Characters? - Vladimir / Dawn / Callum / Grace / Anna Moray / Christie / Raychel / Ben
Setting? - England
Series? - N/A
Recommend? - Maybe
Rating - 14/20
nelboline's review
5.0
I just love Milly Johnson and all her books. This is my favourite one I've read so far. I loved all the characters and it was a real feel good story!
leighkayne's review
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
musiquedevie's review
5.0
A ride through the lives of five women, this novel definitely didn’t disappoint. Getting to know the characters of Christie, Grace, Anna, Raychel & Dawn was a delight.