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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
Mhairi McFarlane does it again. This one is maybe my favorite one she's ever written along with you had me at hello.
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Weddings have been a main theme in the last three books I’ve read. Just a coincidence or….?
On a real note, the reason I read this was that I’ve heard amazing things about Mhari Mcfarlane’s writing (mainly from Haley Pham) so I wanted to see if it was as witty and humorous as described.
Was it?
Short Answer: No.
Long Answer: Maybe it’s just that I have a different sense of humour but I really don’t understand why this book earned a reputation of being funny?? The humour is very British (a.k.a dry) and as a British person I do enjoy that sometimes but in this case it just wasn’t funny.
Most of the humour relied on references. But also I’m quite slow when it comes to jokes so maybe I just didn’t get a lot of them??
The Plot:
The beginning was dreadfully dull, Around 90 pages in is when it picked up for me and I found some of the dialogue funny.
Then there were a few subplots. At first I thought they were irrelevant but they come together towards the end.
The Jon subplot? Just dumb. I did feel sorry for Jon at first but the writer made him a bit insane so that we’d be on Harriet’s side, which felt forced. Don’t be with somebody for two years if you don’t care about them.
The Scott subplot? I get what it was trying to do and maybe it’s more touching to people who’ve had similar experiences. It felt like it was trying to lecture me on gaslighting, but it wasn’t telling me anything I didn’t already know…
I think the only thing I enjoyed about this book was the romance and there was barely any of it.
The Writing:
Sometimes writing focuses on people, sometimes it forces on setting. This book was a mix of the two. As a lover of descriptive, vivid, abstract writing, I found Mhari’s writing style way too literal and overly-detailed for me. As for the people writing? Idk.
Conclusion: Not everybook needs a plot, but if it doesn’t have a plot, it should evoke an emotion from you, which in this case it did not; or it should have amazing characters which in my opinion, this did not; or it should be something groundbreaking / insightful which again it was NOT.
TL;DR: Nothing groundbreaking. Quite dull in fact. Romance was good but barely any of it.
This is unrelated but I’d like to add that I found out the author made a distasteful Israel/Palestine joke in one of her other books which is ironic considering she hasn’t spoken up for Palestine, as far as I’m aware. I don’t know how to post the screenshot in a review so if you want to read the joke, lmk.
emotional
funny
Funny, surprisingly emotional - the mother stuff. Excellently horrific antagonists. Good love interest, I was relieved they didn't hate each other to begin with
5 Sterne, ohne fucking Zweifel. Ich liebe Mhairis Bücher so sehr, sie ist wirklich die einzige Autorin, bei der ich auf jedes einzelne ihrer Bücher hinfiebere. Ich werde immer jedes Buch von ihr lesen, ich kaufe sie mir schon ohne den Klappentext zu lesen, tbh. Ich liebe sie und ich liebe ihren Humor - wie oft ich bei diesem Buch laut auflachen oder wie ne bekloppte kichern musste... Ich habe das Buch ntürlich verschlungen und wie so oft hat mich Mhairi mal wieder aus einem reading slump rausgeholt <3
Eine Sache noch: am Anfang hat es meinen inneren monk wirklich unglaublich auf die Palme gebracht, dass das Design dieses Buches komplett anders ist als die bisherigen (ich weiß, luxusprobleme). Beim lesen ist mir aber eine Eingebung gekommen: In diesem Buch geht es ja doch vorrangiger um die Solidarität unter Frauen, als um die Romanze an sich. Klar, sie ist nicht unerheblich, duh, aber sie ist doch subtiler und steht etwas mehr im Hintergrund als bei den anderen Büchern. Wenn man es so betrachtet, passt der optische Wechsel dann vielleicht doch ziemlich gut… Point is… ich hab keinen Point, lol. Wollte nur meine Gedanken runterschreiben hahaha
Eine Sache noch: am Anfang hat es meinen inneren monk wirklich unglaublich auf die Palme gebracht, dass das Design dieses Buches komplett anders ist als die bisherigen (ich weiß, luxusprobleme). Beim lesen ist mir aber eine Eingebung gekommen: In diesem Buch geht es ja doch vorrangiger um die Solidarität unter Frauen, als um die Romanze an sich. Klar, sie ist nicht unerheblich, duh, aber sie ist doch subtiler und steht etwas mehr im Hintergrund als bei den anderen Büchern. Wenn man es so betrachtet, passt der optische Wechsel dann vielleicht doch ziemlich gut… Point is… ich hab keinen Point, lol. Wollte nur meine Gedanken runterschreiben hahaha
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
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:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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 listened to this book while I was doing my gardening, and I loved it! It was a breath of fresh air for me, and I found it uplifting, funny and heartwarming.
The main character is Harriet, who is a wedding photographer. After splitting up with her long term boyfriend, she moves into a new house with some new people, one of them being a man called Cal. Over time, they become very good friends. I really liked both of these characters, especially Harriet, who I grew quite fond of.
The audiobook narrator was great, with a nice voice, and she was perfect for the job.
This is a really lovely book, which I highly recommend.
Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The main character is Harriet, who is a wedding photographer. After splitting up with her long term boyfriend, she moves into a new house with some new people, one of them being a man called Cal. Over time, they become very good friends. I really liked both of these characters, especially Harriet, who I grew quite fond of.
The audiobook narrator was great, with a nice voice, and she was perfect for the job.
This is a really lovely book, which I highly recommend.
Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.