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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
I really liked the concept and the really really final message but there were some times where I was getting such strong secondhand embarrassment from the main character that I literally had to put the book down until the next day. Also I don’t love how it ended w her father and the fact that she is just okay with them never being friends and is okay with him saying horribly offensive things to her but I do like the development of other characters.
I read "P.S. I Love You" several years ago. Though I really didn't like all aspects of the novel I did think it showed flashes of brilliance by Ms. Ahern. Reading her newest novel, "The Time of My Life" I just ended up feeling nothing but disappointment at an opportunity lost with this novel.
Lucy Silchester, the main protagonist is living in a small apartment with her cat, working a job she hates. Lucy keeps getting appointments for her to meet with her 'Life' and is doing her level best to avoid the appointment so she doesn't have to see what a mess she has turned her 'Life' into since she and her ex-boyfriend parted ways and she lost a high-paying job.
I loved the overall idea of this novel. A person has a physical form of their 'Life.' Your family and others around you can agree to send your Life to meet you in order for you to get it on the right track again. However, the novel really doesn't work when you factor in how unpleasant Lucy as a character was throughout this story.
Lucy has no redeeming qualities at all. She lies, which maybe would not have been an issue except as a reader you have to read paragraphs of her lies and then she says to you, "that was a total lie." All I felt was frustration since you never knew if what you were reading was actually what happened or not.
Besides the fact that Lucy lies, we quickly find out that she is a horrible friend, sister, daughter, and co-worker. I was still perplexed by the fact that Lucy has any friends at all considering how she behaved towards everyone.
When we get Lucy interacting with her 'Life' things at least become interesting since her 'Life' won't let her get away with half-truths or out right lies. Frankly I was more interested in the whole 'Life' concept more than anything that was going on with Lucy and would have happily read more about that.
After we get through all of this we then have Lucy trying to face the truth of her 'Life' and try to fix it, however, when we get to the ending I felt as if a lot of things with Lucy were left unresolved.
I do not recommend this novel.
Please note that I received this novel via the Amazon Vine Program.
Lucy Silchester, the main protagonist is living in a small apartment with her cat, working a job she hates. Lucy keeps getting appointments for her to meet with her 'Life' and is doing her level best to avoid the appointment so she doesn't have to see what a mess she has turned her 'Life' into since she and her ex-boyfriend parted ways and she lost a high-paying job.
I loved the overall idea of this novel. A person has a physical form of their 'Life.' Your family and others around you can agree to send your Life to meet you in order for you to get it on the right track again. However, the novel really doesn't work when you factor in how unpleasant Lucy as a character was throughout this story.
Lucy has no redeeming qualities at all. She lies, which maybe would not have been an issue except as a reader you have to read paragraphs of her lies and then she says to you, "that was a total lie." All I felt was frustration since you never knew if what you were reading was actually what happened or not.
Besides the fact that Lucy lies, we quickly find out that she is a horrible friend, sister, daughter, and co-worker. I was still perplexed by the fact that Lucy has any friends at all considering how she behaved towards everyone.
When we get Lucy interacting with her 'Life' things at least become interesting since her 'Life' won't let her get away with half-truths or out right lies. Frankly I was more interested in the whole 'Life' concept more than anything that was going on with Lucy and would have happily read more about that.
After we get through all of this we then have Lucy trying to face the truth of her 'Life' and try to fix it, however, when we get to the ending I felt as if a lot of things with Lucy were left unresolved.
I do not recommend this novel.
Please note that I received this novel via the Amazon Vine Program.
Зазвичай мене нервують книжки, у яких головний герой (у цьому випадку - героїня) поводиться як повний ідіот. Я не вірю таким героям, вони виглядають натягнутими, здається, що нормальні люди так не роблять. Але у цій книжці роздратування постійно змагалося з цікавістю: що ж буде далі, чим закінчиться черговий дурнуватий вчинок? Тому враження двоякі: ніби і цікаво, а з іншого боку - хочеться дати головній героїні добрячого запотиличника :) Крім того, ця книжка може мати певнй терапевтичинй ефект для дівчаток у їхньому пізньому тінейджерстві - коли ще не можеш відрізнити другорядне від головного. Але для більш дорослого читача вона наврядчи відкриє щось нове.
It took me a few pages to get into the story but once I settled with the fact that Lucy was interacting with her life it was a fun read and got me thinking a few times.
I always enjoy a book by Cecelia Ahern. Her books are light to read, but always have something to think about in the end. This book met all expectations of her books, a very original and different story that leaves you feeling happy! It does have some cheesy moments, but it's fun!
I love books by Cecelia Ahern, although I always love them I never quite know what to expect next with her books! I have just finished reading The Time Of My Life which is due out 13th October this year. I have to say the cover to this book is stunning and in my opinion is the best cover of all the Cecelia Ahern books.
Plot
Lucy Silchester has received an appointment card. Actually, she’s been invited along few times to this appointment, but she keeps brushing the gold embossed envelope under the shag pile carpet. She’s taken her eye off the ball and has busied herself with work (a job she doesn’t love), helping out friends, fixing her car, feeding her cat, seeing her family and devoting her time to their life dramas.
But Lucy is about to find out that this is one appointment that she can’t miss. And she can’t escape it either. Her life is about to catch up with her in the most extraordinary of ways....
My Opinion
Our heroine in this book is Lucy Silchester and she is a likeable character who is very down to earth which makes her character easy to read. Lucy’s character is very realistic whereas the storyline is very farfetched but in my opinion it is this great mix which brings the humour into the book. The book gets off to a quick start with Lucy receiving her appointment card from Life which she ignores but she is soon to learn that Life just doesn’t give up on you!
Lucy finally meets Life who is a man and although I can honestly say I have never read a character like Life before he is a joy to read. I was expecting Life to be very God or angle like so when we meet a bog standard grumpy guy I was a little shocked!
There were many laugh out loud moments in this novel which made it an enjoyable read and very hard to put down.
I feel like the storyline carries a message and really gets you thinking, are you making the most of your life and doing things you enjoy? Too many of us, like Lucy have got ourselves wrapped up in life and stuck in a rut and we need to unwind ourselves and make positive changes in life as unfortunately I don’t think Life will be sending any of us an appointment card anytime soon!
This book is a must for Cecelia Ahern fans, and does not disappoint. The novel has a great mix of characters who work well together in this book. The novel will give you a very unique storyline which will have you gripped and guessing as to what will happen next all the way through. I loved that the ending wasn’t predictable and also that the ending was tied up beautifully. A truly quirky read !
Review also on my blog http://reabookreview.blogspot.com
Plot
Lucy Silchester has received an appointment card. Actually, she’s been invited along few times to this appointment, but she keeps brushing the gold embossed envelope under the shag pile carpet. She’s taken her eye off the ball and has busied herself with work (a job she doesn’t love), helping out friends, fixing her car, feeding her cat, seeing her family and devoting her time to their life dramas.
But Lucy is about to find out that this is one appointment that she can’t miss. And she can’t escape it either. Her life is about to catch up with her in the most extraordinary of ways....
My Opinion
Our heroine in this book is Lucy Silchester and she is a likeable character who is very down to earth which makes her character easy to read. Lucy’s character is very realistic whereas the storyline is very farfetched but in my opinion it is this great mix which brings the humour into the book. The book gets off to a quick start with Lucy receiving her appointment card from Life which she ignores but she is soon to learn that Life just doesn’t give up on you!
Lucy finally meets Life who is a man and although I can honestly say I have never read a character like Life before he is a joy to read. I was expecting Life to be very God or angle like so when we meet a bog standard grumpy guy I was a little shocked!
There were many laugh out loud moments in this novel which made it an enjoyable read and very hard to put down.
I feel like the storyline carries a message and really gets you thinking, are you making the most of your life and doing things you enjoy? Too many of us, like Lucy have got ourselves wrapped up in life and stuck in a rut and we need to unwind ourselves and make positive changes in life as unfortunately I don’t think Life will be sending any of us an appointment card anytime soon!
This book is a must for Cecelia Ahern fans, and does not disappoint. The novel has a great mix of characters who work well together in this book. The novel will give you a very unique storyline which will have you gripped and guessing as to what will happen next all the way through. I loved that the ending wasn’t predictable and also that the ending was tied up beautifully. A truly quirky read !
Review also on my blog http://reabookreview.blogspot.com
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Wow, it saddens me to rate a book written by Cecelia Ahern so low, but it just wasn't that great :(
I used to be such a huge fan of hers, recommending her writing to many friends. I absolutely loved "PS, I Love You", and thought that "Love, Rosie" (aka, "Rosie Dunne" / "Where Rainbows End") was also really good. But her books have steadily gone downhill from there, and I think the common denominator is that only her first two books were sincere, realistic, and heartfelt. The rest of the books all seem to have some sort of 'magical' element to them -- first we had imaginary friends ("If You Could See Me Now"), then imaginary worlds ("A Place Called Here" / "There's No Place Like Here"), then we had imagined memories through a blood-transfusion ("Thanks for the Memories"), then a magical book that writes the future ("The Book of Tomorrow"), a Scrooged/Christmas-Carol-like encounter ("The Gift") and now finally, someone's life, personified, in this book. It's all just a bit weird. For me, it takes away some of the credibility when ther's too much 'magical', when the story focuses more on the fantastical element than the real interactions with real people in real situations. The sincerity of the story diminishes a bit.
I didn't like Lucy one bit, nor did I like her family or her friends. I know that was the point, to not like Lucy and want her to improve, but the story just wasn't that compelling. The whole idea of your life being someone you could sit there and talk to and get help from was interesting, but not carried out well. Didn't anyone else in the story think it was strange that her life was sitting there at the table having a conversation with everyone? And if it was so common that it didn't make anyone go "Hmmm???", why hadn't more people experienced this before with their own life? It just didn't work well for me.
Sadly, I won't be recommending this to anyone, and I'm actually pretty upset that I paid full price for this as a new release in Europe, and lugged it all the way back home to the US (it's huge).
I used to be such a huge fan of hers, recommending her writing to many friends. I absolutely loved "PS, I Love You", and thought that "Love, Rosie" (aka, "Rosie Dunne" / "Where Rainbows End") was also really good. But her books have steadily gone downhill from there, and I think the common denominator is that only her first two books were sincere, realistic, and heartfelt. The rest of the books all seem to have some sort of 'magical' element to them -- first we had imaginary friends ("If You Could See Me Now"), then imaginary worlds ("A Place Called Here" / "There's No Place Like Here"), then we had imagined memories through a blood-transfusion ("Thanks for the Memories"), then a magical book that writes the future ("The Book of Tomorrow"), a Scrooged/Christmas-Carol-like encounter ("The Gift") and now finally, someone's life, personified, in this book. It's all just a bit weird. For me, it takes away some of the credibility when ther's too much 'magical', when the story focuses more on the fantastical element than the real interactions with real people in real situations. The sincerity of the story diminishes a bit.
I didn't like Lucy one bit, nor did I like her family or her friends. I know that was the point, to not like Lucy and want her to improve, but the story just wasn't that compelling. The whole idea of your life being someone you could sit there and talk to and get help from was interesting, but not carried out well. Didn't anyone else in the story think it was strange that her life was sitting there at the table having a conversation with everyone? And if it was so common that it didn't make anyone go "Hmmm???", why hadn't more people experienced this before with their own life? It just didn't work well for me.
Sadly, I won't be recommending this to anyone, and I'm actually pretty upset that I paid full price for this as a new release in Europe, and lugged it all the way back home to the US (it's huge).
I'm really not entirely sure what happened in this book but I know that I really enjoyed it and would absolutely read another by Ahern.
The whole idea of having a physical representation of your life who comes to your rescue when you need them is a weird and almost inconceivable notion, and though I got used to this as a central plot point I still didn't fully understand it, even by the end. Feeling that the whole system was never really explained or developed.
The banter and dialogue was by far the best that I've read in a novel in a really long time, it was serious when it needed to be but genuinely laugh-out-loud funny at other times.
I liked almost all of the characters in the novel though it was roughly 500 pages long and by half way I was so annoyed with Lucy who remained stubbornly undeveloped right up until the final few chapters. I wanted to reach into the pages and give her a massive shake. There is a line between making your readers purposely frustrated with a character, and making them bored with them, and I feel that this book just crossed the line for me.
Still, I did enjoy it despite the criticisms and way-out plot!
The whole idea of having a physical representation of your life who comes to your rescue when you need them is a weird and almost inconceivable notion, and though I got used to this as a central plot point I still didn't fully understand it, even by the end. Feeling that the whole system was never really explained or developed.
The banter and dialogue was by far the best that I've read in a novel in a really long time, it was serious when it needed to be but genuinely laugh-out-loud funny at other times.
I liked almost all of the characters in the novel though it was roughly 500 pages long and by half way I was so annoyed with Lucy who remained stubbornly undeveloped right up until the final few chapters. I wanted to reach into the pages and give her a massive shake. There is a line between making your readers purposely frustrated with a character, and making them bored with them, and I feel that this book just crossed the line for me.
Still, I did enjoy it despite the criticisms and way-out plot!