Reviews

'Pas celle que tu crois', c'est l'histoire d'Edie, ses déboires, sa reprise en main, le tout sur fond de campagne anglaise et de copieuses insultes sur les réseaux sociaux.
Edie, c'est la trentenaire qui a quitté sa campagne dès qu'elle a pu pour aller faire carrière à la capitale. Une vie plate et sans histoires, jusqu'à ce mariage auquel elle va sans aucune envie, mariage au cours duquel elle s'illustrera bien malgré elle !
Suite à un regrettable "incident", la voilà pendue haut et court sur les réseaux sociaux (version moderne du pilori), et forcée de s'exiler à Nottingham (petite ville paumée dont elle est - comme par hasard- originaire) afin d'écrire la biographie d'Eliott Owen, acteur très en vogue qui tourne justement une série dans cette ville.

Une fois sur place, Edie va devoir cohabiter avec son père, dépassé par la vie, je crois qu'on ne peut pas vraiment le qualifier autrement, et sa soeur, vegan enragée, assez peste et complètement barrée. Petite parenthèse pour signaler que je déplore le côté caricatural de ces personnages secondaires, c'est dommage, vraiment, mais passons ...
Voilà donc Edie coincée entre une maison de fous et cet acteur avec qui elle doit travailler. La voilà embringuée dans une aventure qui la dépasse parfois. Elle se découvre des points communs avec lui, apprend à le connaître et à l'apprivoiser.

Avec Pas celle que tu crois Mhairi McFarlane signe un roman plutôt émouvant, reprenant tous les codes de la chick-lit. Comme souvent dans ses romans, l'auteur nous livre une histoire douce-amère, parfois grinçante, parfois jubilatoire (la scène au restaurant, sur la fin !), le tout étant porté par une écriture agréablement fluide.

racheld's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful 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? Yes

3.5

beate251's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective 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

4.25

Wow, there's a lot going on here. First, copywriter Edie is caught being kissed by her friend and colleague Jack on his wedding day, and because life is unfair and it's always the women getting blamed, she gets bullied and is very happy when she can escape London to her hometown of Nottingham to ghostwrite a book about hot new actor Elliot Owen, also a Nottingham native. She stays with her Dad and sister Meg which causes endless conflicts. Meg is one of those joyless vegans who is incredibly rude to her older sister for no apparent reason bar jealousy. We learn that their mother committed suicide when Edie was 9 and Megan 5, and there is still a lot of unresolved grief. Meanwhile, Edie grows closer to Elliot and tries to both come to terms with unwanted press attention and the fact she is still vilified for her transgression with Jack.

As much as Edie is an intelligent 35 year old, she is also often frustratingly dense, and doesn't think much of herself. Elliot has a hard time telling her that he likes her. She has a small but great group of friends that stick with her, and their cantankerous and colourful elderly neighbour Margot is a fabulous addition to the (literally) supporting characters.

This is extremely well-written, but at least 100 pages too long. To be fair, I say that for just about every book that hovers around the 500 pages mark, although I forgive it here because I loved the characters (except Jack, Charlotte, Lucie and Louis, the utter cockwombles). It's also nice to see a fair, supportive boss now and then.

That cliffhanger ending would have me throw crockery right now if I didn't know that after more than eight long years, a sequel called "You Belong With Me" is coming out on 20 June 24 (it's the reason I re-read this), and, what's more, I hold in my sweaty hands an ARC courtesy of NetGalley, which I will read and review imminently! I can't wait because I'm extremely invested in those characters now, so stick around!

"I notice when you're not around."

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