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A review by justgeekingby
Love Will Tear Us Apart by C.K. McDonnell
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This review contains spoilers for the previous book so if you have not read it please do not look beneath the spoiler tag!
The start of Love Will Tear Us Apart comes as a bit of a shock as Hannah has resigned suddenly with the intent of restarting her marriage with her cheating husband. It’s a pretty flimsy excuse and normally one that the rest of the Stranger Times team would probably question – if they didn’t have more going on. Not only is Bancroft acting stranger than normal, but one of their guest columnists has disappeared randomly.
The problem is that the columnist never actually existed nor did the stories that they wrote, they were both a fabrication of Stranger Times journalist Ox. Yet someone has kidnapped a very real person…. did one of Ox’s wild stories actually hit on a truth and can the Stranger Times team save the poor chap before it’s too late?
Meanwhile, what are Hannah and Bancroft up to and is Hannah’s replacement a spy or an ally in disguise?
Delivering another book full of chaos and hilarity, in Love Will Tear Us Apart C.K. McDonnell brings the subplot of Bancroft’s wife to a close. Is she alive or dead? I’m not going to spoil that for you. I will say that it is a satisfying conclusion that kept me on the edge of my seat. There is so much happening in this third instalment of the Stranger Times series that it may seem as though it’s too much, however, as usual McDonnell has a plan that comes together very nicely.
It was wonderful to see Hannah off on her own, offering her a chance to shine solo and gain some much-needed confidence. McDonnell introduces a great range of secondary characters in Love Will Tear Us Apart, and his aptitude for writing colourful characters is particularly notable with Moira who Hannah notes “was a great big dollop of Glaswegian perspective, unafraid to point out that not only was the emperor not wearing any clothes but he was also aggressively waving his genitalia about”. I laughed out loud so many times during Moira’s scenes.
Betty and Cathy were equally fabulous, and I adored the scenes with Betty and Stella. I hope we have not seen the last of those two formidable ladies. We also get to see a lot more of the mysterious Mrs Hawnforth and learn more about her which was great.
While the Stranger Times series has never shied away from difficult topics or dark material, this is a much darker book compared to the previous two so please check the content warnings before reading. With a deft hand, McDonnell uses humour to navigate these topics with care proving that comedy can be used effectively without the need to be nasty.
The start of Love Will Tear Us Apart comes as a bit of a shock as Hannah has resigned suddenly with the intent of restarting her marriage with her cheating husband. It’s a pretty flimsy excuse and normally one that the rest of the Stranger Times team would probably question – if they didn’t have more going on. Not only is Bancroft acting stranger than normal, but one of their guest columnists has disappeared randomly.
The problem is that the columnist never actually existed nor did the stories that they wrote, they were both a fabrication of Stranger Times journalist Ox. Yet someone has kidnapped a very real person…. did one of Ox’s wild stories actually hit on a truth and can the Stranger Times team save the poor chap before it’s too late?
Meanwhile, what are Hannah and Bancroft up to and is Hannah’s replacement a spy or an ally in disguise?
Delivering another book full of chaos and hilarity, in Love Will Tear Us Apart C.K. McDonnell brings the subplot of Bancroft’s wife to a close. Is she alive or dead? I’m not going to spoil that for you. I will say that it is a satisfying conclusion that kept me on the edge of my seat. There is so much happening in this third instalment of the Stranger Times series that it may seem as though it’s too much, however, as usual McDonnell has a plan that comes together very nicely.
It was wonderful to see Hannah off on her own, offering her a chance to shine solo and gain some much-needed confidence. McDonnell introduces a great range of secondary characters in Love Will Tear Us Apart, and his aptitude for writing colourful characters is particularly notable with Moira who Hannah notes “was a great big dollop of Glaswegian perspective, unafraid to point out that not only was the emperor not wearing any clothes but he was also aggressively waving his genitalia about”. I laughed out loud so many times during Moira’s scenes.
Betty and Cathy were equally fabulous, and I adored the scenes with Betty and Stella. I hope we have not seen the last of those two formidable ladies. We also get to see a lot more of the mysterious Mrs Hawnforth and learn more about her which was great.
While the Stranger Times series has never shied away from difficult topics or dark material, this is a much darker book compared to the previous two so please check the content warnings before reading. With a deft hand, McDonnell uses humour to navigate these topics with care proving that comedy can be used effectively without the need to be nasty.
Content Warnings