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poriland's review against another edition
5.0
Amo a Ivan, me encanta Elizabeth...
Terminé llorando tal como la primera vez. Debo decir que es uno de mis favoritos por mucho.
Terminé llorando tal como la primera vez. Debo decir que es uno de mis favoritos por mucho.
sophiewilliams's review against another edition
4.0
Been too long since I last read one of Cecilia Ahern's books. Full of fun and imagination - she puts a different spin on everyday things
missdriade's review against another edition
2.0
Meh.
L'idea di partenza non era male (anzi mi ispirava un sacco!), ma l'esecuzione mi ha lasciato parecchio delusa, peccato. Apprezzato i paesaggi e non molto altro. Vedremo se P.S. I love you mi convincerà di più.
L'idea di partenza non era male (anzi mi ispirava un sacco!), ma l'esecuzione mi ha lasciato parecchio delusa, peccato. Apprezzato i paesaggi e non molto altro. Vedremo se P.S. I love you mi convincerà di più.
yvetteadams's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this but didn't love it. I liked the story but I really didn't like how Ivan was written and really didn't like him narrating. I'm also not a fan of switching between first person narrative and third person, especially in the middle of a chapter. I found it hard to believe that Elizabeth could fall in love with, well, basically a six foot child. He could have been written so much better.
bethpeninger's review against another edition
2.0
Ahern's books have been hit or miss with me. This one was definitely not a hit. The idea of the story holds promise but I felt like she took too long to get to that pivotal moment where the reader understands the main character's conflict.
Elizabeth is a fuddy-duddy 34 year old who has taken ownership of too much...unnecessarily. It has caused her to be friendless, without humor, and a drain to be around. She's a control freak who drinks way too much coffee in her little Irish town that she grew up in. She's adopted Mum to her nephew, Paul and one day Paul introduces his friend Ivan. But Elizabeth can't see Ivan at first, mostly because he isn't of flesh and blood. What happens then is HER friendship with Ivan begins to change her life in all good ways. Healing comes with the friendship of Ivan.
It was a mostly boring read. It had a hard time holding my attention and I almost abandoned it a few times. In the end I stuck it out and feel indifferent about it overall. Oh well, you win some and you lose some. :)
Elizabeth is a fuddy-duddy 34 year old who has taken ownership of too much...unnecessarily. It has caused her to be friendless, without humor, and a drain to be around. She's a control freak who drinks way too much coffee in her little Irish town that she grew up in. She's adopted Mum to her nephew, Paul and one day Paul introduces his friend Ivan. But Elizabeth can't see Ivan at first, mostly because he isn't of flesh and blood. What happens then is HER friendship with Ivan begins to change her life in all good ways. Healing comes with the friendship of Ivan.
It was a mostly boring read. It had a hard time holding my attention and I almost abandoned it a few times. In the end I stuck it out and feel indifferent about it overall. Oh well, you win some and you lose some. :)
julieml2525's review against another edition
4.0
Really sweet, funny, and romantic story about a woman who's nephew has an imaginary friend, Ivan...who ends up changing both their lives.
laurpar's review against another edition
4.0
After enjoying reading (okay, listening to) Cecelia Ahern’s The Book of Tomorrow a few months ago, I decided to pick up another audio book version of one of her novels: If You Could See Me Now. Lighthearted chick lit with a bit of a twist, this book seemed to match her other work. While I enjoyed the book, and especially the audio version of it (I love the Irish accents), I can’t really think of why. The ending was disappointing, questions were left unanswered, and yet… it was still a cute, pleasant story.
Elizabeth is an interior designer living in a small Irish town, taking care of her family as she’s done her whole life. Her mother, an alcoholic drifter, left her family so often in her childhood, Elizabeth learned to pick up the pieces herself, taking care of her heartbroken father and raising her little sister, Saoirse (I seriously just Googled that; how do you think it would be pronounced? In the audiobook, it’s said as “Sure-sha” – who would have thought?). As with many young girls forced to grow up too early, Elizabeth is a serious sort of woman: quiet, terse, and a strict follower of the rules. Saoirse, meanwhile, has depended on Elizabeth to take care of her throughout her whole life, and as a result, does not appreciate her older sister’s kindness and becomes an alcoholic and drifter just like her mother, leaving her young son, Luke, in Elizabeth’s care. Elizabeth, never really having a childhood of her own, does not allow Luke a fun-loving childhood, either, and forces him to adhere to the same strict rules in her household that she has set for herself. When an imaginary friend called “Ivan” enters Luke’s life, Elizabeth thinks that her strict parenting style just needs to be amped up a bit to get rid of him, but little does she know, Ivan is real, and he’ll soon be making an appearance in her life, too.
This book was lighthearted and fun. It is actually told from two perspectives, Ivan’s and Elizabeth’s, which gave an interesting twist to the story. When Ivan becomes visible to Elizabeth after a few days of only being able to communicate with Luke, he makes it his mission to give her the childhood she never had. Over the course of the book, the two grow more and more fond of each other, and even call it love, but how can they stay together with the constraints of the Invisible Friends lifestyle: never aging, never being seen by anyone else, and never having control of who they are sent to help next?
Altogether, it was an interesting conundrum, and I really had hoped to learn more of the inner mechanics of the Invisible Friends business. How do they get started? How do they get from their home base of “Ekam Eveileb” to our world? What other powers do they possess? Where do they get their powers from? These questions were never answered, which disappointed me, as did the kind of ‘eh’ ending. I still felt content after reading the book, but there were some questions that kept nagging me long after the CDs were done.
Elizabeth is an interior designer living in a small Irish town, taking care of her family as she’s done her whole life. Her mother, an alcoholic drifter, left her family so often in her childhood, Elizabeth learned to pick up the pieces herself, taking care of her heartbroken father and raising her little sister, Saoirse (I seriously just Googled that; how do you think it would be pronounced? In the audiobook, it’s said as “Sure-sha” – who would have thought?). As with many young girls forced to grow up too early, Elizabeth is a serious sort of woman: quiet, terse, and a strict follower of the rules. Saoirse, meanwhile, has depended on Elizabeth to take care of her throughout her whole life, and as a result, does not appreciate her older sister’s kindness and becomes an alcoholic and drifter just like her mother, leaving her young son, Luke, in Elizabeth’s care. Elizabeth, never really having a childhood of her own, does not allow Luke a fun-loving childhood, either, and forces him to adhere to the same strict rules in her household that she has set for herself. When an imaginary friend called “Ivan” enters Luke’s life, Elizabeth thinks that her strict parenting style just needs to be amped up a bit to get rid of him, but little does she know, Ivan is real, and he’ll soon be making an appearance in her life, too.
This book was lighthearted and fun. It is actually told from two perspectives, Ivan’s and Elizabeth’s, which gave an interesting twist to the story. When Ivan becomes visible to Elizabeth after a few days of only being able to communicate with Luke, he makes it his mission to give her the childhood she never had. Over the course of the book, the two grow more and more fond of each other, and even call it love, but how can they stay together with the constraints of the Invisible Friends lifestyle: never aging, never being seen by anyone else, and never having control of who they are sent to help next?
Altogether, it was an interesting conundrum, and I really had hoped to learn more of the inner mechanics of the Invisible Friends business. How do they get started? How do they get from their home base of “Ekam Eveileb” to our world? What other powers do they possess? Where do they get their powers from? These questions were never answered, which disappointed me, as did the kind of ‘eh’ ending. I still felt content after reading the book, but there were some questions that kept nagging me long after the CDs were done.
kerriann918's review against another edition
1.0
Hated this - stopped in the first third of the book.
bookish_canuck's review against another edition
5.0
Cecelia Ahern is my all time favourite author, every single book I read by her, leaves me with a book hangover. The story and the characters affect me so much that as I close the book and turn it over I have to just sit there, staring at the cover, thinking of what I just read. This book was no different, I thoroughly enjoyed this entire book and I felt so invested in the story! At the climax, my heart was ripped out and I knew how it was going to end. It definitely wasn't a typical ending for a story like this. As much as I wanted it to go the other way, (so badly!!) I was also pleased that this story didn't follow the a stage fairytale ending.