Vintage Jill Mansell. Light, humorous, rom-com with a side of soap opera style multiple storylines.
Set in a Cornish village, this book features three Vintage Jill Mansell. Light, humorous, rom-com with a side of soap opera style multiple storylines.
Set in a Cornish village, this book features three main characters whose somewhat jagged roads to romance we follow to their HEA.
There is Ruby the wife of the Vicar who we find out is not exactly practicing what he preaches. Her introduction really kicks the book off in fun fashion and gives the title a nice wink. I liked her story the best, I think.
We also follow Lottie, a rental property manager, whose storyline involves the re-entry into her life of a her high school sweatheart who broke her heart. Her story was the messiest and I enjoyed the chaos of the families involved.
There is also Freya whose big, blowout wedding starts the book off. And it doesn't quite go as it should. But Freya is a dark horse with a lot happening under the hood. I liked her as a character even though her storyline was a lot more low key than the other two. Kinda like her character.
And finally there is Iris, a supporting character in addition to the main three. Mansell really does love herself and Iris character. Loud, obnoxious, just a very IDGAF character. But who also secretly has a heart of gold and is a ride or die friend. Her romance was kinda tacked on, but I liked her and scenes had a lot of energy.
So this was an easy, entertaining read that I quite enjoyed....more
Great writing. Had to get past my knee-jerk hateration of older-woman younger man age-gap. Don't get me wrong, I still have that hateration, 3.5 stars
Great writing. Had to get past my knee-jerk hateration of older-woman younger man age-gap. Don't get me wrong, I still have that hateration, but I never say never and in the right hands, even the plots/tropes I tend to dislike the most can work. This worked.
A little wordy in places, but the story engaged me and I enjoyed the dialogue and the characters. ...more
Since I read one older woman-younger man age gap romance with The Perfect Find, I decided to read another. I actually was more interested in this one,Since I read one older woman-younger man age gap romance with The Perfect Find, I decided to read another. I actually was more interested in this one, it sounded... I dunno deeper and a little grittier than the other one. And it was.
The writing here was really good. I did wince because, well, blatant adultery and well I still am not a fan of this age-gap element. But the story was immediately engaging. It did drag a bit in the middle but overall I liked the writing and storytelling....more
Somewhat formulaic book of a close-knit friends group and their life romance issues.
This falls squarely in the generic, summer read straddling the linSomewhat formulaic book of a close-knit friends group and their life romance issues.
This falls squarely in the generic, summer read straddling the line of women's fic and romance.
There is Heather with the horrible mother growing up. Her main storyline was she did a DNA test and found her biological father. I rather liked that element of her story. The other part -- her inability to know what love is because of her terrible mother felt labored and was undercut by all the other great loving relationships she had. I thought her heel turn and her ex who takes her back felt abrupt.
Then there is Tori, whose story was the least interesting. She has no family so this found family group of friends is important to her. She catches feelings for one of the guys in their group and doesn't want to mess up the friendship. But he feels that same. Their relationship felt anemic and kinda there.
And finally, there Daphne. This was the most interesting story and the one that pissed me off. Daphne is a high-powered lawyer who is married and a fantastic stepmother to her husband's three young children from a previous marriage. Daphne has a good work friendship with a male lawyer who sent her flowers. Her husband saw them and is freezing her out because he insists she is having an affair. And all he wants her to do is to admit it. No matter how many times she tells him the other guy is a good friend and colleague, the fact that she eats lunch with him and spends time at work with him means she is having an affair.
Now, Daphne's chapters are all in her POV, and based on the writing and what is on the page and what is in her thoughts we know that she is not having an affair emotional or otherwise. She does not think of this guy that way and even though he lightly flirts sometimes, she just never even considered him in that light. And yet her friends and husband gaslight her into believing she is having an 'emotional affair.' I reiterate nothing on the page would lead the reader to that conclusion. The other guy is barely in the book. And yet... she has an epiphany that they were correct. For a woman who is supposed to be so smart, she was written to be stupid. And I found the writing regressive and pretty insulting, tbh.
People who spend 8-10 hours a day are going to build a relationship. If you work closely with someone you eat with them, you talk to them, you can even confide in them. That is also known as friendship. Those things do not necessarily constitute an 'affair' if there is no accompanying emotional intimacy. If anything the husband's attitude and actions were a huge red flag and way more problematic to me than Daphne's not-affair.
So yeah this one was all over the place ranging from meh -to good in places - to bitch, please!...more
Whew boy. Some toxic characters in this book. But overall it was a quick and fun read. I liked the main character and that ending was great. It was thWhew boy. Some toxic characters in this book. But overall it was a quick and fun read. I liked the main character and that ending was great. It was the sort of thing you really wish could happen ALL THE TIME with the people who deserve it....more
I feel like I am the cheese that stands alone on this. But I finally threw in the towel. I have been trying to read this book since, like, JuDNF @ 35%
I feel like I am the cheese that stands alone on this. But I finally threw in the towel. I have been trying to read this book since, like, June and simply could not get into it. This is one of those where I picked it up, read a few pages and put it down again. I just didn't like either the hero or the heroine. Well, "did not like" is harsh more like did not care about them one way or another and their meet, their dialogue... just nothing moved me. So I am tapping out for good....more
Very much enjoyed this. The Groundhog Day aspect was fun. It was very much laugh out loud in places and very much romantic in others. The author did aVery much enjoyed this. The Groundhog Day aspect was fun. It was very much laugh out loud in places and very much romantic in others. The author did a great job of making this group of friends/family feel like a very lived in group. You really felt like they had been in each others' lives and doing all this for years. Sounds like an idyllic way for the kids to grow up.
Very well narrated as well. Perfect antidote for election week stress!!!...more
I read a lot of early reviews of this that gave me pause. A lot of them were not greatly positive and voice similar criticisms across the va3.5 stars
I read a lot of early reviews of this that gave me pause. A lot of them were not greatly positive and voice similar criticisms across the varying reviews. The number one being was that there didn't feel like there was enough romance and too much energy was given the the secondary, battling couple. So I was going to bypass this one.
But it kept being stubbornly recommended to me.
And then I realized one thing, many of the not-so-positive reviews were of long time readers who had a specific expectation of the romance these authors wrote. I can totally relate! Nothing can harsh your glow of a favored writer than them seeming to morph away from the conventions that made you love them in the first place.
So then I realized another thing. I had no expectations of this author. I had come to their work very late and had only read about three or four of their more recent novels. I enjoyed them but hadn't developed any real 'favored author' connection with them so that I had come to count on any sort of narrative, voice, type of romance etc. For me, they are largely contemp chick lit authors with that tell a usually engaging story with a good pair of central characters. Something I can enjoy listening to in my Covid related stay-at-home haze. So if I had any expectation that was all it was.
I have to say I do agree that a lot of energy was given to the secondary couple, the battling marrieds for whom our hero and heroine work as assistants. I could have used less and their passive aggressive sniping and imploding marriage did cast a bit of a pall over the book. But they were the primary conflict source and plot propeller, so they were necessary. And honestly I was curious to see how their whole thing would end. I hate to say I was way more sympathetic to Rusty, cheater that he was. I was glad when he finally (mildly) broke bad in that bar because sometimes you just reach your limit.
If there was a villain here, it was Mel. And she was probably where my biggest dissatisfaction of the book came from. She was just painted as a flat and awful person who was nothing but drive and ambition. And yet, we are told that before they became famous Mel was a nice sweet person. Now I get the idea of power corrupting, but Mel had no layers. So for a person who apparently had been great enough to earn the regard and respect of Carey and supposedly had a loving marriage in the past, this present version of her felt less like a character and more like a plot purposed caricature.
And then we get to Carey and James. I thought their enemies-to-allies-to-friends-to-lovers progression was fine and quite believable and well done. For me they worked because like I said about, I didn't have romancey-romance expectations for them. I liked their interactions with each other and how their relationship progressed and I believed in them. So when we got the romance novel mandated third act break-up, I was bummed. That was a bit of conflict overkill for this couple.
James is probably my favorite character in the book because of the four central characters that make up the plot, he is the most sympathetic without being frustrating. I found Carey frustrating because she is exactly the type of person that frustrates me personally. She was too personally involved with her employers to make good decisions for herself and thus they (mostly Mel) was able to take terrible, even harmful, advantage of her. She was unable to (and in many occasions wasn't even sure if she was allowed to ) advocate for herself. I liked that James saw that right off the bat and attempted in his albeit clumsy way, to get her to try to do something about it.
In the end, I ended up finding the story engaging and the romance believable. Hence once again, for me, these authors delivered non-expectation expectations....more
I will preface this review by saying that I liked this book and came away from it with a good feeling. It ended on a great feel good note and was mostI will preface this review by saying that I liked this book and came away from it with a good feeling. It ended on a great feel good note and was mostly a fun read with lots of funny parts.
And yet as I was reading it I wasn't sure how to really parse the tone of the book. There seemed to be two levels working here, one on the surface was the funny one with Sam's (the heroine/main character) generally amusing observations and the funny/appalled reactions of her and the teachers to the seismic changes the new principal (Duncan -- her long time crush and somewhat hero of the book) is making on the private school they all work at.
The other one, bubbling below the surface is a lot more serious, though and this serious piece also manages to bubble up to the surface periodically in ways that sometimes threaten the more light parts.
The book begins with a death of a character that looms large over the whole book (and frankly one I would have loved to spend some time with) and so there is a sense of loss that permeates. Also there is a lot of trauma, one very obvious with Duncan even if not verified until later in the book, and also of Sam and her feelings of self worth and acceptance.
The story in and of itself it great. Sam works as a librarian in a private school in a small town in the Gulf of Texas. The school was founded by a couple, Babette and Max, who are beloved by the entire town. She lives in their carriage house and has a great affection for them. Max was also school's principal as the book begins, Max dies suddenly. In the aftermath of his death, Babette is drowning in grief and her unscrupulous son-in-law swoops in and takes over the administration of the school hiring a new principal no one has ever heard of or know about.
Except Sam. She knows Duncan. He is the reason she left her old school. She was madly in love with him but since he was about to be engaged to be married she realized she could not stay any longer and be in his presence. She has also reinvented herself, not really liking the drab little thing she was back then.
At first his hiring is a good news. She remembers him as being like another Max. Fun and full of energy, bright colors and goofy ties. But the Duncan that arrives is not the man she remembers. He is solemn, wears grey and begins making a series of sweeping, catastrophic changes that start to leech all the personality the school is famous for.
The push-pull between Duncan and the teachers, their reactions, Sam's machinations all make for a great story and some really fun scenes. But like I said there is a lot of anger and angst bubbling underneath that just doesn't make this the effortless, light-heated read it tries to be.
But even so, it has a lot of heart and I enjoyed how Sam and Duncan re-discover each other as they intro the other to their new selves. I also enjoyed how Sam was determined to bring the old Duncan back. In doing so, Sam does some outrageous, often really funny things. The dance scene toward the end was really laugh-out-loud funny. So the book doesn't ever manage to give it to its own undercover angst.
In addition to Sam and Duncan, the supporting characters are really great, my favorite has to be the nine year old (going on 30) third grader Clay.
In the end this was a good book, with some serious themes that will make you laugh and feel good anyway....more
This book hit just the spot. It was light and airy and full of fun characters and lots of happy at the end.
Jill Mansell has perfected this lane and sThis book hit just the spot. It was light and airy and full of fun characters and lots of happy at the end.
Jill Mansell has perfected this lane and she stays in it. Sometimes she colors outside her own lines, some of her books skew a littler darker and heavier-- even for her special brand of fizzy chick lit. Some just don't have the sparkle or the characters are duds. This one, though, hits every on every cylinder: Great banter, engaging individual plots, root-worthy romances, and nice little surprise ways in seeing how all the various characters' lives and stories intersect.
The main character is Lainey. She is one of those bright, energetic people with lots of optimism. She and her bff Kit work in the hospitality industry at a vacation destination chateau in France owned and operated by an older couple. Only the couple can't keep up with the extravagant expenses to keep the chateau going and the most recent event there, a very public staged engagement proposal by a multimillionaire to his girlfriend does not go as planned so they won't get the income they'd been counting on for the grand wedding. Hence they have to close and Lainey and Kit are out of a job.
On their way back to London they happen upon an advert for a live-in couple to work as household staff for a family. The advertisement makes the family sound fun and the two are a bit desperate for work. But, the catch, they are not a couple. Lainey just broke up with her player boyfriend and Kit is gay. But they tell a small fib. Hence the title of the book.
As you can guess that small fib works as a bit of conflict of the book.
For Lainey that is Seth, the oldest son of the family they are working for. Seth is one who hires them, having done a back ground check vetting them. Lainey and Kit vow to make sure no one would ever doubt they are a couple so as to not muck up their new job. Yeah... that doesn't go so well.
While Lainey and Seth are pretty much the main characters, the books if filled with a lot of other good characters. Seth's entire family have their own side plots, as does Kit and even the multimillionaire from the failed engagement party in France.
All in all this was a quick, easy and super enjoyable read. Just the sort of book that is perfect for the summer and definitely something to lighten the mood when you need something to do just that.
This is an honest review based upon an ARC received by the publisher via Netgalley...more
I always enjoy books set in the world of theatre, especially those that include backstage stuff and the details suI liked the set up and the conflict.
I always enjoy books set in the world of theatre, especially those that include backstage stuff and the details surrounding what it takes to bring a show to life. So that part was fun. Probably my favorite aspect.
I enjoyed the progression of the romance, but I thought the marrying under dubious circumstances was rife with conflict especially as the feelings grow from expedient to authentic and grappling with how to communicate that and reconcile those. Also liked how the professional difference in circumstances as things started to go really well for Calvin but stall and go nowhere for Holland added to the tension. So when other things got thrown in it felt almost as if they were being included just to add to the conflict rather than feeling like organic circumstances that come out of the conflict.
Also felt it ended a little abruptly with some stuff dangling. I would have liked to have seen his family interact with Holland after he told them the truth. Or even have see Holland's parents actually find out she got married. Also the fallout with her relationship with her BFF. Even though we got an HEA, I think some important plot elements just felt ignored....more
Quick read. Very enjoyable. Somewhat cliche plot made to feel not cliche with lots of layers and nuance. Witty dialogue. Interesting characters both main Quick read. Very enjoyable. Somewhat cliche plot made to feel not cliche with lots of layers and nuance. Witty dialogue. Interesting characters both main and supporting. The romance is quiet, sometimes angsty, but all the time lovely....more
I enjoyed both main characters equally. Tiffy and her out there personality felt fun not try hard. Leon was a bit of an introvert So. Damned. Charming.
I enjoyed both main characters equally. Tiffy and her out there personality felt fun not try hard. Leon was a bit of an introvert who was more quiet and thoughtful but not enough to be overshadowed by Tiffy.
All of the supporting characters were well drawn with vivid personalities. They had little side stories that didn't detract from Tiffy and Leon but added to the world that surrounded these two.
Leon's inner voice took a bit to get used to. There were times when I can only described that he thought in "list" format. Where he didn't uses articles to begin a sentence and it felt like he was "thinking" in bullet points. (I listened to this on audio so I am not sure what his thoughts looked like in print).
There was a surprising minor dark subplot that added a little more gravitas to the book than I am used to with the lighter side of rom-com, but I adored how supportive Tiffy's friends were. They were all ride or die.
The premise felt a little weird and odd, but the author sold it completely. I loved reading the notes they left to each other. And I love, that even after they got together, they still spoke in note format a lot because that is how Tiffy and Leon rolled. The epilogue was perfect.
Pleasant enough in places. But felt interminable in other places. This author does light romance and usually pulls it off. In this one, it almost 2.5
Pleasant enough in places. But felt interminable in other places. This author does light romance and usually pulls it off. In this one, it almost felt like the characters were pieces on a chessboard being shuffled around. I don't read JM for depth, but even so, this was a little too surface.
Also too much of the plot relies on people just letting things happen to them and haplessly dealing with the fallout. Even though their personalities are clearly established as not being passive.
There were places where some of the characters some alive and some situations were authentically amusing, but not enough to really elevate the book....more
Usually I can rely on Jill Mansell to give me a bright, fluffy Brit Chick Lit book filled with fun, flirty characters who have musical-chairs like romUsually I can rely on Jill Mansell to give me a bright, fluffy Brit Chick Lit book filled with fun, flirty characters who have musical-chairs like romantic adventures before settling in with their eventual romantic partner by the end.
This book sorta does that but not really.
Even though we do get a lot of characters including Mimi (the main character) Cal (the cute guy she crushes on), Cora (Cal's cute daughter), Lois(the sexy flirt), Felix (Lois's patient husband), Paddy (the local hearthrob), Henrietta (the mean curmudgeon), CJ (her temperamental boss) the story isn't as frenetic as most of her offerings.
For one thing, the story is only told from Mimi's close, third person POV. This is a departure from her other books because usually we get multiple POVs from almost every character.
For another this one doesn't have the light, fluffy feel that I am used to. It is not heavy or angsty by any means, but there is a bit more gravitas because a many of the characters grapple with some serious stuff and some tragedy.
And finally, while we do get side stories of the other characters and romance resolutions for more people than just Mimi, they are all presented as observed by Mimi. Because the book is from her POV, anything that happens has to be observed by her, and the other characters' motivations and feelings have to be explained to her (or discerned by her through interpretation). This isn't unusual in most books, but it does have a bit of a muffling effect on the characters and isn't in keeping with the style of this author that I have come to know. And it was really frustrating in the case of Cal, Mimi's years long crush because we get no sense of what he is thinking or feeling at all, whereas we are intimately familiar with everything Mimi thinks and feels about him.
All that said, it was still a good book to read, the frustrating bit about Cal aside. The book takes place over a five year period and having the device of keeping Mimi and Cal apart be a case of bad timing, geography and old fashion misunderstanding is effective if a bit tropey.
In the end all things come aright, many characters end up with whom and where they are supposed to be. And even if it is a bit less fluffy than I expected, it was still very nice and uplifting.
Listened on audio and the Narrator was very good. I also realized that I don't think in all the audiobooks I've ever listened to with a British narrator or for all the British tv I've watched has anyone ever used the word Zebra. So I was an education to learn it is pronounced "Zebb-bra". You learn something new everyday!...more
Not as giddily good as the first one, but a nice rebound from the second book which I did not like. Always like hanging with Don and this was a nice cNot as giddily good as the first one, but a nice rebound from the second book which I did not like. Always like hanging with Don and this was a nice conclusion to his series....more
Laurie and Jack meet eyes one day and fall in love just like that. Except she is on a crowded bus and he is outside at a bus stSigh. This was so good.
Laurie and Jack meet eyes one day and fall in love just like that. Except she is on a crowded bus and he is outside at a bus stop. She can't get off (too crowded) and he doesn't get on (too late). So she trundles out of his life. She spends a year looking for him. And finds him again as the new guy her best friend is dating and madly in love with.
What follows is 10 years in their romantic life. They become and integral part of each others' life, their feelings for each other stemming from that day on the bus remain -- sometimes strong sometimes muted, sometimes all but dead -- but always tantalizingly out of reach. Their timing is never quite right. Each one in a romance or relationship or life event or just an emotional nadir that does not allow for the connection.
I really enjoyed the structure of the story, each chapter a significant date over the ensuing 10 years. It helped the story move, gave it a sense of momentum while you are waiting for them to get together and living through all their missed connections, other life events (both good and bad) and romances with other people.
The writing was really smart with it hitting a lot of really good emotional beats. Nothing felt off or thrown in for plot convenience. I also really liked that all the other love interests were never vilified in order to maintain sympathy or make you keep rooting for Laurie and Jack. Since their feelings always ran like a muted undercurrent under the story, you never had to worry about that. This allowed the story to breathe and the characters -- all of them -- to blossom in their own way.
The supporting characters were uniformly excellent. I especially loved the friendship between Laurie and Sarah. Such a tight, ride or die friendship even when it hits a rocky moment or two.
I listened to this on audio and the dual narration was simply excellent. I honestly think this really contributed to my enjoyment of the book. The female narrator was especially good with accents effortlessly moving from a posh accent, to a more broad North London to an Aussie accent and even a Scottish one. Also, there were a couple of moments when Laurie and Jack allow their feelings to roar to the front for just a few seconds and the writing and the narration become just so achingly romantic. I legit cried at the end....more
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