jilljaracz's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
susannahmiller's review against another edition
2.0
This book was basically just filler. like everything in it was irrelevant because it started with her breaking up with Gav because he had an affair and then in the end she just forgave him and they get back together. the middle was her just fancying people then finding out they didn't love her and just wanted a one-night stand so it feels like she just gave up looking for someone better and decided she was okay being with Gav just because he apologized... Honestly, this just made me like mammy Walsh more cause she said don't go back to him if he did that once he will do it again and Maggie was like try and stop me but honestly, she just seemed like such a pushover too me and the ending was so random and dumb.
narniaru's review against another edition
3.0
It was okay but on the whole quite long and forgettable. Also, the attitudes to Lesbianism really dates the book making it cringy at times. While I'm sure Keyes didn't mean for Irish people to come off a bit backwards, reading this in 2018 that's the impression you get.
cowdisease125's review against another edition
2.0
So my last review of 2019 was a Marian Keyes book so how's this for symmetry that my first review of 2020 would be one too.
The thing is, in my last review, I said that anyone who would write a negative review for any of her books should give their heads a wobble but now I'm kind of regretting that because, well, I sort of have to give this a negative one.
I think every author who has an extensive catalogue of books is entitled to have a runt and this is the case for Angels. A runt if ever there was one. I mean, it had all this things that I normally enjoy about her books. You know? Easy to follow if not predictable story and her sense of humour. Grand. But, for me, that's the problem. There are themes and storylines in the book that didn't fit with the easy-going nature of the book. To the point it felt borderline-offensive and glib. Which doesn't make sense at all because I've read four of her other books and she handled some similar and some vastly different but still emotional themes with a big more oomph and sensitivity. Not that she was insensitive I just felt like she tried to lighten the mood a bit too early after certain events took place.
Wow. Reviews are difficult to write when you try to avoid spoilers...
The thing is though, I'd have probably forgiven the above if it wasn't for the lesbian dissing. That stuff baffled me. I don't care when the thing was first published, "licking a mackerel" and "lezzer" and all that garbage - nah.
The thing is, in my last review, I said that anyone who would write a negative review for any of her books should give their heads a wobble but now I'm kind of regretting that because, well, I sort of have to give this a negative one.
I think every author who has an extensive catalogue of books is entitled to have a runt and this is the case for Angels. A runt if ever there was one. I mean, it had all this things that I normally enjoy about her books. You know? Easy to follow if not predictable story and her sense of humour. Grand. But, for me, that's the problem. There are themes and storylines in the book that didn't fit with the easy-going nature of the book. To the point it felt borderline-offensive and glib. Which doesn't make sense at all because I've read four of her other books and she handled some similar and some vastly different but still emotional themes with a big more oomph and sensitivity. Not that she was insensitive I just felt like she tried to lighten the mood a bit too early after certain events took place.
Wow. Reviews are difficult to write when you try to avoid spoilers...
The thing is though, I'd have probably forgiven the above if it wasn't for the lesbian dissing. That stuff baffled me. I don't care when the thing was first published, "licking a mackerel" and "lezzer" and all that garbage - nah.
kristiclear's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
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
4.5
joradora's review against another edition
2.0
It was much longer than I thought it was going to be. For about 2/3 of the book, I couldn't figure out if there was any plot at all. And there really wasn't. It's about a woman reeling form the loss of her marriage who jumps on a plane to Hollywood and tries to get over her husband. Meanwhile, her best friend, who she is staying with, tries to get a screenplay sold. And about half way through, I knew how it was going to end. It's very funny, but, like I said, not much of a plot. If it had been maybe half as long I probably would have given it another star or two.
read_with_g's review against another edition
4.0
I don't normally enjoy chik-lit, but when on holiday once, I was in the mood for something light. I found Keyes' writing hilarious and I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Finished it rather quickly too. Her writing is intelligent. I'm in the mood for something light again, and I'm now reading Anybody Out There....let's see how much I enjoy this one.
beckyyreadss's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I wanted to read this book as I was gifted the second book (Rachel’s Holiday) and the sixth book (Again, Rachel) by Michael Joseph Penguin Publishing. So, me being me, had to read the whole series so I went and bought this book after reading the first book in the series. Again, like the last book this could have been cut down by 200 pages.
This book follows the white sheep of the Walsh family – Maggie Walsh. Unlike her dysfunctional sisters, Rachel and Claire, she married a decent man who adored her and found herself a solid career. Where Rachel is reckless, and Claire is dramatic. Maggie settled early for safety. Or so she believed until she discovers that her husband is having an affair and her boss fired her. Suddenly, her perfectly organised life has become a perfect mess. Devastated, she decided the only thing to do is to run for the shelter of her best friend, Emily, who lives in Los Angeles. There, with the help of sunshine and long days at the beach, she licks her wounds and decides where life will take her next. But from the moment she lands in the City of Angels, things are not quite what she expected. Overnight, she’s mixing with movie stars, even pitching film scripts to studios. Most unexpectedly of all, she finds that just because her marriage is over, it doesn’t mean her life is. In the end neither the City of Angels or Maggie Walsh will ever be the same again.
Right, I'll start with what/who I liked during this book. Emily. That's it. She was the only reasonable one during this book, she didn’t want her best friend to get hurt and her best friend slept with the man she was in love with and didn’t have an issue because her best friend was hurt. Emily was just trying to make it as a script writer and dealing with the friend’s marriage breaking up. I would have loved this book to have been from Emily’s point of view, it would have been 4 stars. She saved this book from being 2 stars.
I didn’t like Watermelon, I thought it was too big for what it was and that it was just Claire’s thoughts and James was a horrible person. This book was the same. Maggie spent half of the time doing literally nothing and the other half sleeping with people and then feeling bad about it. I would have loved for this to have been becoming your true self at a later age story – figuring out your sexuality and I'm all for experimenting but the way Marian Keyes wrote the whole sub-storyline with Lara just rubbed me the wrong way. I don’t think Maggie should have gone back to Garv after he cheated on her, she has clearly got mug written on her head and this book was completely pointless. I don’t think she should have got with Shay and I'm glad she got her closure, and it must have been difficult, but she needed to be on her and the happy ending to this book should have been that she finds her true passion and met someone in LA. But again, with most of the Walsh girls, they go running back to comfort rather than be their true selves.
I don’t really have much hope for the rest of the series but Helen and Anna’s story as probably going to be chaotic, but hopefully a good chaotic unlike the shitshows that has already happened.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion and Miscarriage
Moderate: Fatphobia, Body shaming, and Eating disorder
Minor: Homophobia and Lesbophobia