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turophile's review against another edition
2.0
Easy read. Another one that makes me wish there was a separate category of ratings for chick books - this one would go slightly higher.
Writing not that bad. Story not overly predictable.
I found the heroine "too likeable" - author tried a bit to hard to paint her as perfect.
Writing not that bad. Story not overly predictable.
I found the heroine "too likeable" - author tried a bit to hard to paint her as perfect.
hikereadbeer's review against another edition
3.0
This was "just okay". It was funny and heartbreaking all at the same time, but it's not something I would read again.
jofrombk's review against another edition
3.0
This is not your average romance novel. It kind of starts with the demise of a relationship. It has funny moments but gets very serious. It explores various relationships within a family and what family really means. I found it painful to read about the inner turmoil one goes through when they see what they cherish most, their loved ones, start to fall apart. I was glad at how the story ended... with a lot of self evaluation and truth. But it wasn't pleasant to read it...
I am not sure I would suggest this to a friend b/c I picked it hoping for a lighthearted book with more laughs than tears... and there were typos.
I am not sure I would suggest this to a friend b/c I picked it hoping for a lighthearted book with more laughs than tears... and there were typos.
still_the_moon's review against another edition
1.0
Cover
Ein ziemlich nichtssagendes und auch nicht besonders schönes Cover. Das ist bestimmt kein Grund dieses Buch zu kaufen. Es passt auch nicht unbedingt zur Geschichte ...
Meine Meinung
Brett Forster will sich von Layla scheiden lassen. So weit so gut, doch eigentlich gibt es dafür keinen Grund, außer das er der Meinung ist, sie würde ihm zu wenig Aufmerksamkeit widmen und wäre mehr seine Schwester, als seine Ehefrau. Letzteres kann ich ja sogar noch irgendwie nachvollziehen. Jetzt ist es allerdings so, dass Layla keine Familie hat. Ihre Mutter ist gestorben und ihr Vater verschwunden, deshalb hat sie Bretts Familie praktisch adoptiert.
Nachdem das mit der Scheidung raus ist, beginnt ein Kleinkrieg darum, wer jetzt die Familie bekommt und bei aller Liebe zu lustigen Frauenromanen, aber das ist der größte Schwachsinn, den ich in letzter Zeit gelesen habe. Layla will tatsächlich gerichtlich bestimmen, das Bretts Familie ihr "gehört". Die Beiden kämpfen darum, als wäre es ein Kind. Das fand ich so dermaßen unpassend und schwachsinnig. Es hat ja niemand von ihr verlangt, das sie nie wieder etwas mit der Familie unternimmt, aber etwas weniger würde ihr wirklich nicht schaden.
Statt ein Machtwort zu sprechen, spielt die Familie das ganze einfach nur mit. Diesen Umstand habe ich bis jetzt noch nicht wirklich verdaut. Das alles ist so unsäglich unrealistisch. Ich hätte das Buch einfach weglegen sollen, aber ich fand den Klapptext gelungen und der war es auch, der ich dazu gebracht hat, dieses Buch zu kaufen. Mittlerweile bereue ich es nur noch, da ich mich in keine der Figuren hinein versetzten konnte. Sie waren mir beinahe alle furchtbar unsympathisch und auch der Schreibstil der Autorin hat mir überhaupt nicht zugesagt. Die Idee, immer wieder die Sichtweise zu wechseln fand ich klasse, aber leider sehr schlecht umgesetzt.
Alles in allem war dieses Buch für mich ein totaler Reinfall und ich bin wirklich enttäuscht, das es mir so gar nicht gefallen hat. Daher vergebe ich ein Monster von insgesamt fünf möglichen.
www.valaraucos-buchstabenmeer.com
Ein ziemlich nichtssagendes und auch nicht besonders schönes Cover. Das ist bestimmt kein Grund dieses Buch zu kaufen. Es passt auch nicht unbedingt zur Geschichte ...
Meine Meinung
Brett Forster will sich von Layla scheiden lassen. So weit so gut, doch eigentlich gibt es dafür keinen Grund, außer das er der Meinung ist, sie würde ihm zu wenig Aufmerksamkeit widmen und wäre mehr seine Schwester, als seine Ehefrau. Letzteres kann ich ja sogar noch irgendwie nachvollziehen. Jetzt ist es allerdings so, dass Layla keine Familie hat. Ihre Mutter ist gestorben und ihr Vater verschwunden, deshalb hat sie Bretts Familie praktisch adoptiert.
Nachdem das mit der Scheidung raus ist, beginnt ein Kleinkrieg darum, wer jetzt die Familie bekommt und bei aller Liebe zu lustigen Frauenromanen, aber das ist der größte Schwachsinn, den ich in letzter Zeit gelesen habe. Layla will tatsächlich gerichtlich bestimmen, das Bretts Familie ihr "gehört". Die Beiden kämpfen darum, als wäre es ein Kind. Das fand ich so dermaßen unpassend und schwachsinnig. Es hat ja niemand von ihr verlangt, das sie nie wieder etwas mit der Familie unternimmt, aber etwas weniger würde ihr wirklich nicht schaden.
Statt ein Machtwort zu sprechen, spielt die Familie das ganze einfach nur mit. Diesen Umstand habe ich bis jetzt noch nicht wirklich verdaut. Das alles ist so unsäglich unrealistisch. Ich hätte das Buch einfach weglegen sollen, aber ich fand den Klapptext gelungen und der war es auch, der ich dazu gebracht hat, dieses Buch zu kaufen. Mittlerweile bereue ich es nur noch, da ich mich in keine der Figuren hinein versetzten konnte. Sie waren mir beinahe alle furchtbar unsympathisch und auch der Schreibstil der Autorin hat mir überhaupt nicht zugesagt. Die Idee, immer wieder die Sichtweise zu wechseln fand ich klasse, aber leider sehr schlecht umgesetzt.
Alles in allem war dieses Buch für mich ein totaler Reinfall und ich bin wirklich enttäuscht, das es mir so gar nicht gefallen hat. Daher vergebe ich ein Monster von insgesamt fünf möglichen.
www.valaraucos-buchstabenmeer.com
jg1876's review against another edition
2.0
I was lucky enough to win a copy of Caprice Crane’s new book, Family Affair: A Novel from a Goodreads contest. After reading the promising description and the endorsements from Booklist, Jen Lancaster, and Publisher’s Weekly, among others, I was really looking forward to reading this book.
The premise of Family Affair: A Novel involves Brett and Layla Foster, who met when they were in high school and married about five minutes after graduating from college, in Brett’s words. As they grew up together, Layla adopted his family and they adopted her, as she has no family of her own. The story stems from there, asking what happens when a couple who have been together since high school begin to grow up – can they grow up together or will they grow apart? When Brett asks for a divorce, Layla files for custody – of his family.
As much as I wanted to like this book, I was ultimately disappointed. It had no direction – often times, it seemed actions were performed by Brett and Layla simply for the shock value – i.e. Brett bringing a date to a Layla-begun tradition just to irk Layla, Layla chasing Brett and his family down and filing kidnapping charges to the police officers standing nearby, and so on. Toward the end, something happens to a major family character (though there are hints of it earlier on in the book) and it becomes predictable what will bring Layla and Brett back together. Even the custody argument begins to lose luster halfway through the book and is given a sort of last kiss of life toward the end when it has become redundant.
I often felt that the humor in the book could have been more developed. All the gags and shock moments were a bit quick to the punch line, leaving little time for the characters really to flesh themselves out as opposed to just being good stand-ins for a joke. For me, the more ridiculous moments felt better suited to a visual stage than a literal, almost as though it would have been easier to watch these interactions and laugh rather than read them. I actually spent more time tearing up for the characters than I did laughing at them, though admittedly, there was one incident involving a Mudball and a supermarket run that made me giggle.
I would have liked to see the humor become a little more focused, as well as the plot line, rather than “Well…how can I make these characters even more ridiculous and over the top than they already are?” On a similar note, while Crane’s effort to differentiate the character’s voices is admirable, they didn’t always feel authentic to me. I didn’t feel Brett was all that masculine in voice; I felt more like he was a depiction of what women want men to do when a break up is involved, as he constantly kept thinking about Layla and how wonderful she was. I can understand that Crane would want to create a sense of regret to lead to the inevitable conclusion, but it felt heavy-handed to me.
There are several side lines that are humorous without having any relation to Layla and Brett’s relationship: Layla’s pet photography business encounters a number of ridiculous moments, but again, the humor wasn’t as well developed as I would have liked. I was hoping for more surprises outside of the silly arguments and exchanges, but they never came.
Perhaps the most compelling moment comes when the entire family, biological and not, come together when it is uncovered that a family member is ill. It was in those moments that you begin to see Layla and Brett for who they really are, and not the disgruntled spouses trying to one-up one another as they do throughout the book. Brett begins to sound more like the Brett he’s been described as, and not what the author wants him to embody. I almost wonder if having the family crisis come earlier would have made a difference in my disappointment with the book.
All in all, Family Affair: A Novel was a quick and easy read, but it’s not one that I’ll be picking up again any time soon.
The premise of Family Affair: A Novel involves Brett and Layla Foster, who met when they were in high school and married about five minutes after graduating from college, in Brett’s words. As they grew up together, Layla adopted his family and they adopted her, as she has no family of her own. The story stems from there, asking what happens when a couple who have been together since high school begin to grow up – can they grow up together or will they grow apart? When Brett asks for a divorce, Layla files for custody – of his family.
As much as I wanted to like this book, I was ultimately disappointed. It had no direction – often times, it seemed actions were performed by Brett and Layla simply for the shock value – i.e. Brett bringing a date to a Layla-begun tradition just to irk Layla, Layla chasing Brett and his family down and filing kidnapping charges to the police officers standing nearby, and so on. Toward the end, something happens to a major family character (though there are hints of it earlier on in the book) and it becomes predictable what will bring Layla and Brett back together. Even the custody argument begins to lose luster halfway through the book and is given a sort of last kiss of life toward the end when it has become redundant.
I often felt that the humor in the book could have been more developed. All the gags and shock moments were a bit quick to the punch line, leaving little time for the characters really to flesh themselves out as opposed to just being good stand-ins for a joke. For me, the more ridiculous moments felt better suited to a visual stage than a literal, almost as though it would have been easier to watch these interactions and laugh rather than read them. I actually spent more time tearing up for the characters than I did laughing at them, though admittedly, there was one incident involving a Mudball and a supermarket run that made me giggle.
I would have liked to see the humor become a little more focused, as well as the plot line, rather than “Well…how can I make these characters even more ridiculous and over the top than they already are?” On a similar note, while Crane’s effort to differentiate the character’s voices is admirable, they didn’t always feel authentic to me. I didn’t feel Brett was all that masculine in voice; I felt more like he was a depiction of what women want men to do when a break up is involved, as he constantly kept thinking about Layla and how wonderful she was. I can understand that Crane would want to create a sense of regret to lead to the inevitable conclusion, but it felt heavy-handed to me.
There are several side lines that are humorous without having any relation to Layla and Brett’s relationship: Layla’s pet photography business encounters a number of ridiculous moments, but again, the humor wasn’t as well developed as I would have liked. I was hoping for more surprises outside of the silly arguments and exchanges, but they never came.
Perhaps the most compelling moment comes when the entire family, biological and not, come together when it is uncovered that a family member is ill. It was in those moments that you begin to see Layla and Brett for who they really are, and not the disgruntled spouses trying to one-up one another as they do throughout the book. Brett begins to sound more like the Brett he’s been described as, and not what the author wants him to embody. I almost wonder if having the family crisis come earlier would have made a difference in my disappointment with the book.
All in all, Family Affair: A Novel was a quick and easy read, but it’s not one that I’ll be picking up again any time soon.
robinhigdon's review against another edition
4.0
A light romantic comedy which at first seems a bit sophmoric. I stuck with it though and was pleased to end up with a funny heart warming book about family and love. I laughed out loud several times during my read, which is for me is a sure sign of a good read. This was an advance copy of the book and may not be on the shleves until late sept, early oct. Great if you are looking for an easy, uplifting read.
tara3117's review against another edition
4.0
What a great book! Caprice Crane has such realistic characters and dialogue. The situations in her book are totally ones I could picture myself being in, crazy though they are. It's refreshing to read a book that doesn't have the same tired story lines.
Caprice Crane ranks as one of my favorite authors. This book doesn't disappoint.
Caprice Crane ranks as one of my favorite authors. This book doesn't disappoint.
valarauco's review against another edition
1.0
Cover
Ein ziemlich nichtssagendes und auch nicht besonders schönes Cover. Das ist bestimmt kein Grund dieses Buch zu kaufen. Es passt auch nicht unbedingt zur Geschichte ...
Meine Meinung
Brett Forster will sich von Layla scheiden lassen. So weit so gut, doch eigentlich gibt es dafür keinen Grund, außer das er der Meinung ist, sie würde ihm zu wenig Aufmerksamkeit widmen und wäre mehr seine Schwester, als seine Ehefrau. Letzteres kann ich ja sogar noch irgendwie nachvollziehen. Jetzt ist es allerdings so, dass Layla keine Familie hat. Ihre Mutter ist gestorben und ihr Vater verschwunden, deshalb hat sie Bretts Familie praktisch adoptiert.
Nachdem das mit der Scheidung raus ist, beginnt ein Kleinkrieg darum, wer jetzt die Familie bekommt und bei aller Liebe zu lustigen Frauenromanen, aber das ist der größte Schwachsinn, den ich in letzter Zeit gelesen habe. Layla will tatsächlich gerichtlich bestimmen, das Bretts Familie ihr "gehört". Die Beiden kämpfen darum, als wäre es ein Kind. Das fand ich so dermaßen unpassend und schwachsinnig. Es hat ja niemand von ihr verlangt, das sie nie wieder etwas mit der Familie unternimmt, aber etwas weniger würde ihr wirklich nicht schaden.
Statt ein Machtwort zu sprechen, spielt die Familie das ganze einfach nur mit. Diesen Umstand habe ich bis jetzt noch nicht wirklich verdaut. Das alles ist so unsäglich unrealistisch. Ich hätte das Buch einfach weglegen sollen, aber ich fand den Klapptext gelungen und der war es auch, der ich dazu gebracht hat, dieses Buch zu kaufen. Mittlerweile bereue ich es nur noch, da ich mich in keine der Figuren hinein versetzten konnte. Sie waren mir beinahe alle furchtbar unsympathisch und auch der Schreibstil der Autorin hat mir überhaupt nicht zugesagt. Die Idee, immer wieder die Sichtweise zu wechseln fand ich klasse, aber leider sehr schlecht umgesetzt.
Alles in allem war dieses Buch für mich ein totaler Reinfall und ich bin wirklich enttäuscht, das es mir so gar nicht gefallen hat. Daher vergebe ich ein Monster von insgesamt fünf möglichen.
www.valaraucos-buchstabenmeer.com
Ein ziemlich nichtssagendes und auch nicht besonders schönes Cover. Das ist bestimmt kein Grund dieses Buch zu kaufen. Es passt auch nicht unbedingt zur Geschichte ...
Meine Meinung
Brett Forster will sich von Layla scheiden lassen. So weit so gut, doch eigentlich gibt es dafür keinen Grund, außer das er der Meinung ist, sie würde ihm zu wenig Aufmerksamkeit widmen und wäre mehr seine Schwester, als seine Ehefrau. Letzteres kann ich ja sogar noch irgendwie nachvollziehen. Jetzt ist es allerdings so, dass Layla keine Familie hat. Ihre Mutter ist gestorben und ihr Vater verschwunden, deshalb hat sie Bretts Familie praktisch adoptiert.
Nachdem das mit der Scheidung raus ist, beginnt ein Kleinkrieg darum, wer jetzt die Familie bekommt und bei aller Liebe zu lustigen Frauenromanen, aber das ist der größte Schwachsinn, den ich in letzter Zeit gelesen habe. Layla will tatsächlich gerichtlich bestimmen, das Bretts Familie ihr "gehört". Die Beiden kämpfen darum, als wäre es ein Kind. Das fand ich so dermaßen unpassend und schwachsinnig. Es hat ja niemand von ihr verlangt, das sie nie wieder etwas mit der Familie unternimmt, aber etwas weniger würde ihr wirklich nicht schaden.
Statt ein Machtwort zu sprechen, spielt die Familie das ganze einfach nur mit. Diesen Umstand habe ich bis jetzt noch nicht wirklich verdaut. Das alles ist so unsäglich unrealistisch. Ich hätte das Buch einfach weglegen sollen, aber ich fand den Klapptext gelungen und der war es auch, der ich dazu gebracht hat, dieses Buch zu kaufen. Mittlerweile bereue ich es nur noch, da ich mich in keine der Figuren hinein versetzten konnte. Sie waren mir beinahe alle furchtbar unsympathisch und auch der Schreibstil der Autorin hat mir überhaupt nicht zugesagt. Die Idee, immer wieder die Sichtweise zu wechseln fand ich klasse, aber leider sehr schlecht umgesetzt.
Alles in allem war dieses Buch für mich ein totaler Reinfall und ich bin wirklich enttäuscht, das es mir so gar nicht gefallen hat. Daher vergebe ich ein Monster von insgesamt fünf möglichen.
www.valaraucos-buchstabenmeer.com
jg1876's review
2.0
I was lucky enough to win a copy of Caprice Crane’s new book, Family Affair: A Novel from a Goodreads contest. After reading the promising description and the endorsements from Booklist, Jen Lancaster, and Publisher’s Weekly, among others, I was really looking forward to reading this book.
The premise of Family Affair: A Novel involves Brett and Layla Foster, who met when they were in high school and married about five minutes after graduating from college, in Brett’s words. As they grew up together, Layla adopted his family and they adopted her, as she has no family of her own. The story stems from there, asking what happens when a couple who have been together since high school begin to grow up – can they grow up together or will they grow apart? When Brett asks for a divorce, Layla files for custody – of his family.
As much as I wanted to like this book, I was ultimately disappointed. It had no direction – often times, it seemed actions were performed by Brett and Layla simply for the shock value – i.e. Brett bringing a date to a Layla-begun tradition just to irk Layla, Layla chasing Brett and his family down and filing kidnapping charges to the police officers standing nearby, and so on. Toward the end, something happens to a major family character (though there are hints of it earlier on in the book) and it becomes predictable what will bring Layla and Brett back together. Even the custody argument begins to lose luster halfway through the book and is given a sort of last kiss of life toward the end when it has become redundant.
I often felt that the humor in the book could have been more developed. All the gags and shock moments were a bit quick to the punch line, leaving little time for the characters really to flesh themselves out as opposed to just being good stand-ins for a joke. For me, the more ridiculous moments felt better suited to a visual stage than a literal, almost as though it would have been easier to watch these interactions and laugh rather than read them. I actually spent more time tearing up for the characters than I did laughing at them, though admittedly, there was one incident involving a Mudball and a supermarket run that made me giggle.
I would have liked to see the humor become a little more focused, as well as the plot line, rather than “Well…how can I make these characters even more ridiculous and over the top than they already are?” On a similar note, while Crane’s effort to differentiate the character’s voices is admirable, they didn’t always feel authentic to me. I didn’t feel Brett was all that masculine in voice; I felt more like he was a depiction of what women want men to do when a break up is involved, as he constantly kept thinking about Layla and how wonderful she was. I can understand that Crane would want to create a sense of regret to lead to the inevitable conclusion, but it felt heavy-handed to me.
There are several side lines that are humorous without having any relation to Layla and Brett’s relationship: Layla’s pet photography business encounters a number of ridiculous moments, but again, the humor wasn’t as well developed as I would have liked. I was hoping for more surprises outside of the silly arguments and exchanges, but they never came.
Perhaps the most compelling moment comes when the entire family, biological and not, come together when it is uncovered that a family member is ill. It was in those moments that you begin to see Layla and Brett for who they really are, and not the disgruntled spouses trying to one-up one another as they do throughout the book. Brett begins to sound more like the Brett he’s been described as, and not what the author wants him to embody. I almost wonder if having the family crisis come earlier would have made a difference in my disappointment with the book.
All in all, Family Affair: A Novel was a quick and easy read, but it’s not one that I’ll be picking up again any time soon.
The premise of Family Affair: A Novel involves Brett and Layla Foster, who met when they were in high school and married about five minutes after graduating from college, in Brett’s words. As they grew up together, Layla adopted his family and they adopted her, as she has no family of her own. The story stems from there, asking what happens when a couple who have been together since high school begin to grow up – can they grow up together or will they grow apart? When Brett asks for a divorce, Layla files for custody – of his family.
As much as I wanted to like this book, I was ultimately disappointed. It had no direction – often times, it seemed actions were performed by Brett and Layla simply for the shock value – i.e. Brett bringing a date to a Layla-begun tradition just to irk Layla, Layla chasing Brett and his family down and filing kidnapping charges to the police officers standing nearby, and so on. Toward the end, something happens to a major family character (though there are hints of it earlier on in the book) and it becomes predictable what will bring Layla and Brett back together. Even the custody argument begins to lose luster halfway through the book and is given a sort of last kiss of life toward the end when it has become redundant.
I often felt that the humor in the book could have been more developed. All the gags and shock moments were a bit quick to the punch line, leaving little time for the characters really to flesh themselves out as opposed to just being good stand-ins for a joke. For me, the more ridiculous moments felt better suited to a visual stage than a literal, almost as though it would have been easier to watch these interactions and laugh rather than read them. I actually spent more time tearing up for the characters than I did laughing at them, though admittedly, there was one incident involving a Mudball and a supermarket run that made me giggle.
I would have liked to see the humor become a little more focused, as well as the plot line, rather than “Well…how can I make these characters even more ridiculous and over the top than they already are?” On a similar note, while Crane’s effort to differentiate the character’s voices is admirable, they didn’t always feel authentic to me. I didn’t feel Brett was all that masculine in voice; I felt more like he was a depiction of what women want men to do when a break up is involved, as he constantly kept thinking about Layla and how wonderful she was. I can understand that Crane would want to create a sense of regret to lead to the inevitable conclusion, but it felt heavy-handed to me.
There are several side lines that are humorous without having any relation to Layla and Brett’s relationship: Layla’s pet photography business encounters a number of ridiculous moments, but again, the humor wasn’t as well developed as I would have liked. I was hoping for more surprises outside of the silly arguments and exchanges, but they never came.
Perhaps the most compelling moment comes when the entire family, biological and not, come together when it is uncovered that a family member is ill. It was in those moments that you begin to see Layla and Brett for who they really are, and not the disgruntled spouses trying to one-up one another as they do throughout the book. Brett begins to sound more like the Brett he’s been described as, and not what the author wants him to embody. I almost wonder if having the family crisis come earlier would have made a difference in my disappointment with the book.
All in all, Family Affair: A Novel was a quick and easy read, but it’s not one that I’ll be picking up again any time soon.
jayvall's review
2.0
This was a dnf for me. I don't like books where the narrator breaks the 4th wall and that's how this whole book is written.