aprilelise's review against another edition
emotional
funny
relaxing
slow-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
4.0
suecee44's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
spoonybard's review against another edition
emotional
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? No
4.5
lau_evs's review against another edition
5.0
The book has a pretty slow start to allow the reader to get to know the all of the characters, but you are soon gripped by the lives of the Templetons and the two Donovans. It was quite predictable at times - but then sometimes you do want books like that, where everything gets neatly tied up at the end. At the end of the day, like all of Monica McInerney's books, it was unputdownable.
monkreads's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
bhumi_19's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
kscandone28's review against another edition
3.0
For a novel of this length, At Home with the Templetons actually moved at a pretty good clip. Some of the characters I thought I'd like, I ended up hating (Nina, prime suspect #1). Gracie was a bit of a pest throughout the novel, but no worse than her ridiculous siblings. My immediate reaction was thatbthis novel was too farfetched, but after getting into all the back stories and weeding out the lies, I could see how easily everyone ended up the way they did. McInerney was so descriptive about each character, it really made them come to life.
I felt like some parts of the story were glazed over (Nina taking care of the Hall for 8 years, no problem? Come on now.), and some were kind of harped on (why won't anyone talk to Gracie after the accident, WHY?!?!), but that's just me being picky. Really, the story flowed well and it did keep my interest despite it's length. I would recommend it!
I felt like some parts of the story were glazed over (Nina taking care of the Hall for 8 years, no problem? Come on now.), and some were kind of harped on (why won't anyone talk to Gracie after the accident, WHY?!?!), but that's just me being picky. Really, the story flowed well and it did keep my interest despite it's length. I would recommend it!
thejanewayprotocol's review against another edition
4.0
This was my first McInerney novel, I happened upon this book at the library by chance, attracted to it because of the cover. If this is what her other novels are like, I will definitely be picking up some more of her work.
This story mainly follows Nina and her son Tom's lives as they first becoming acquainted with the Templeton family. Like most epic loves and friendships, their initial meeting of each other didn't exactly go over well, but soon enough they found themselves all drawn to each other.
From the outside the Templetons look like a perfect family: they have a gigantic home in which they run a family business together, providing tours through their historical house and grounds. They all work well together and support each other in every way. From Nina and Tom's perspective, it would be easy to see it that way; they live in a tiny house next to their grounds and its just the two of them, always moving from one place to another when things get too tough. When the walls begin to break down, however, its clear that there is a lot more to this family.
Told in several characters perspective, for the most part this story flowed really well. I do think this book was about 200 pages too long - the ending of this book was excruciating, especially since you knew that was going to happen. But for the most part the pacing was exciting, and you, the reader, fell into the Templetons trap of wanting to know more and more about their family.
I did enjoy the romance aspect of the book with Tom and Gracie, the youngest of the Templetons. What I really hated was the I thought all the characters were really well fleshed out, (which given the size of the tome I was reading, they better be!) but more than that, I thought it was great to have some really awful characters to make the plot more realistic. Spencer in particular fit the mould in that regard. To me, it just really made this family seem more three dimensional.
I can see why a lot of people didn't like this book as much - like I said, the pacing really went downhill during the last part of the book, and eventually it started to read like one of the corniest soap operas but all in all I was really entertained and too addicted the story to really care at that point.
This story mainly follows Nina and her son Tom's lives as they first becoming acquainted with the Templeton family. Like most epic loves and friendships, their initial meeting of each other didn't exactly go over well, but soon enough they found themselves all drawn to each other.
From the outside the Templetons look like a perfect family: they have a gigantic home in which they run a family business together, providing tours through their historical house and grounds. They all work well together and support each other in every way. From Nina and Tom's perspective, it would be easy to see it that way; they live in a tiny house next to their grounds and its just the two of them, always moving from one place to another when things get too tough. When the walls begin to break down, however, its clear that there is a lot more to this family.
Told in several characters perspective, for the most part this story flowed really well. I do think this book was about 200 pages too long - the ending of this book was excruciating, especially since you knew that was going to happen. But for the most part the pacing was exciting, and you, the reader, fell into the Templetons trap of wanting to know more and more about their family.
I did enjoy the romance aspect of the book with Tom and Gracie, the youngest of the Templetons. What I really hated was the
Spoiler
Nina and Henry's "affair" really made me turn on Nina, and I didn't want too... yes I know she has been on her own for so long, but I just gave up on her at that point...I can see why a lot of people didn't like this book as much - like I said, the pacing really went downhill during the last part of the book, and eventually it started to read like one of the corniest soap operas but all in all I was really entertained and too addicted the story to really care at that point.