Reviews

Der schönste Zufall meines Lebens by Laura Jane Williams

rosiefpb's review against another edition

4.0

An unconventional love story. I didn't feel massively attached to the characters but it made me laugh a few times and kept my interest. I enjoyed it.

snowy_b's review against another edition

• Loveable characters? No

2.25

sat down and forced myself to read this to get out of my reading slump. it took me about 2 hr 40 minutes but i managed it. 

tbh it wasn't my favourite, i thought there were some weak spots and overall the ending was quite underwhelming. the perspective jumps in the middle of paragraphs was very confusing and it really did tell rather than show. 
plus it just kept rehashing backstory that we'd just been told two chapter ago. justice for priyesh man. i also feel for clemmie, charlie and sharon who really honestly did not get any characterisation besides being there for penny rain or shine. 
i didn't like that she got together with francesco, even when they were dating the first time she felt like something was missing and wrong and then she realised she didn't trust him at all but hey he's the only guy mentioned for the first half of the book so who else could have been the last man standing? also he was a bit of a dick, but then so were most people in this book. 

but i did read the whole thing in one sitting, so there's that. 

janbabs's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

gracie_harvey1's review against another edition

3.0

kinda mid it wasn’t anything special. it had a predictable happy ending which was cool but a lot of the character where assholes.

chlooee's review against another edition

4.0

I actually really enjoyed this! I was a bit skeptical going into it, but ended up being a fun read with good representation.

The ending though, I wasn’t exactly delighted with... I won’t say more! As long as Penny is happy

vilmati's review against another edition

4.0

Lämmin tarina perheestä ja rakkaudesta, kevyt mutta ei pelkkää hömppää 

rosali's review

hopeful slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Der erste Drittel des Buches war super, wie Penny und Francesco sich kennenlernen. Dass bis zum Happyend noch ein paar Hindernisse auftauchen war klar. Dass Penny darum aufs Land muss um den Pub von ihrem kranken Onkel zu leiten und die räumliche Trennung eine Prüfung ist, passt ins Genre. Aber was soll die Kehrtwendung in Pennys Verhalten? In London traut sie sich erst nicht auf Francesco einzulassen, wegen ihrer Vergangenheit. Und dann lernt sie auf dem Land gleich 2 Typen kennen und geht gleichzeitig mit ihnen aus. Das passte für mich nicht zusammen. Auch das erwartete Happyend war für mich keine schlüssige Auflösung.

miasmaroon's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

whimsicella's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

Wasn’t a big fan of this one, which was disappointing since I’m a big fan of LJW’s work. I’ve read all her non-fiction, adored her debut Our Stop, and thought her novella, The Wrong Suitcase, was fun too.

I know conflict is needed to make an interesting story, but it felt a bit simple/dumbed down, each of the men in this love square being exaggerated caricatures. Plus there was soooo much slut shaming and victim blaming, that I personally would find hard to forgive. I get that Penny, the main character, is not me, but it just felt so wrong that she took on all of this blame when she didn’t do anything wrong. 

I found Penny’s family life - her sister, her uncle, her journey to motherhood - far more interesting and held much more depth. Almost DNF halfway through, but preserved and the ending was quite sweet.

mollyhyland's review against another edition

emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0