paigeturners20's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
3.5
romana159's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-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
2.25
laura_h_77's review against another edition
3.0
This was ok. I knew Lisa Jewell had written chick lit and was interested to see what it was like, I much prefer her more recent thrillers. I’ll be honest, I didn’t really buy into the male viewpoints in this book although it was a good idea. I liked Gervase and his talents. The female characters were all a bit too much of a cliche for me. It’s also dated quite badly, some of the pop culture references don’t really work anymore. But it was mindless fun.
almond's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
laurenlethbridge's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
vickksx's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
merrynhughes's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
jenn5675's review against another edition
2.0
This is not only spoilers, but high-points and ending.
This is not what I was expecting from Lisa Jewell. The previous Lisa Jewell books I've read were suspense thrillers, this was more a love triangle and it wasn't thrilling in any way.
Mom and Dad have three grown boys - Tony, Sean, and Ned. Their 40th wedding anniversary is coming up so dad plans a big surprise party and all the boys come home. Mom sings in a local bar for fun and meets a man one evening - Gervase. Gervase is a drifter and mom invites him to stay with them while he's in town.
Tony is divorced and seeing a woman named Ness. Since his divorce, he's let himself go a little. He has tons of fun with Ness, but he's getting a little pudgy around the waistline. He doesn't see a future with Ness because he dreams of his brother's girl, Milly. Tony is the oldest. He started his own greeting card business and it is now well established. He's the oldest.
Sean is a writer. His first book was a best-seller, but his second book is due soon and writer's block has got him down. He's seeing Milly. Sean and Milly love to party, but there's been no commitment talk. Sean's been staying at Milly's place for a few weeks and he gets the bright idea to propose to her with the thought that they wouldn't actually get married for a few years. He buys a ring.
Ned is the baby of the family. He was with his high school sweetheart for years until he meets a woman at a bar and decides to go off to Australia with her. His high school sweetheart was regular and normal and boring, but this new girl was exciting and thrilling. But the new girl turned out to be a bit crazy. When he gets the news about the party, he leaves a note for her leaving her and coming back home. He intends to get back with his high school sweetheart and just live at home. He may be 27, but he loves it at home. When he arrives, he finds Gervase sleeping in his room.
Sean proposes to Milly, she says "yes". They announce it to the family on her first meeting the parents. Then Milly finds out she's pregnant. Sean isn't so happy about it. He likes their life of bar-hopping and recreational drug use. She wants to keep it and Sean starts avoiding her under the pretense of writing his book. He get the idea to write about how women make all the decisions in the world because they are the only ones to decide to keep a baby.
Ned finds high school sweetheart, but she's all grown up and over him now. Ned's Australia girl starts sending him pieces of herself (hair, toenails, eyelashes, etc.) in the mail and texting him "cunt" over and over. He finally writes a letter to her parents and we never hear anything more from her. Ned finally decides he needs to get a job and starts working for a temp agency. He meets a girl on the job and they hit it off, but when Ned makes a move, she turns him down stating that he hasn't grown up yet. Ned and Gervase are get close.
Tony is with Ness, but he really wants Milly. Milly has confided in him about what an ass Sean is being about the baby. Sean has confided in him about how he doesn't really want a baby. Tony told Sean to grow up. They have a dinner one evening and things comes to blows between Sean and Milly and Sean leaves. Ness goes to bed and leaves Tony alone with Milly. Tony tells Milly how wonderful he thinks she is and they kiss. Then Tony realizes he doesn't really want Milly and that them doing anything would be a huge mistake. And all of a sudden, he's over his crush. He makes love to Ness that night and professes his love, but in his head, it was just something he said not something he meant. He breaks up with Ness. Ness is close to mom so she heads to her house, but mom is out. Only Ned is there. Ned comforts her and realizes how great she is. He decides to escort her to the party.
During all this drama, Gervase has spent time with each of the boys. He does this thing where he holds their hands and looks deep into their eyes and they go all gooey inside and wind up spilling everything to him. Turns out he's a bit psychic, a gift he got from his mom. He advises all the boys.
In the end, Tony decides he needs to travel a bit. So he sells his business, but not before giving Ned a high-paying, important job and tells him to stay in his flat while he's gone. Ned accepts Tony's offer and he and Ness get together. Sean finally comes to terms with the baby and him and Milly get back together. That's it. The end.
This is not what I was expecting from Lisa Jewell. The previous Lisa Jewell books I've read were suspense thrillers, this was more a love triangle and it wasn't thrilling in any way.
Mom and Dad have three grown boys - Tony, Sean, and Ned. Their 40th wedding anniversary is coming up so dad plans a big surprise party and all the boys come home. Mom sings in a local bar for fun and meets a man one evening - Gervase. Gervase is a drifter and mom invites him to stay with them while he's in town.
Tony is divorced and seeing a woman named Ness. Since his divorce, he's let himself go a little. He has tons of fun with Ness, but he's getting a little pudgy around the waistline. He doesn't see a future with Ness because he dreams of his brother's girl, Milly. Tony is the oldest. He started his own greeting card business and it is now well established. He's the oldest.
Sean is a writer. His first book was a best-seller, but his second book is due soon and writer's block has got him down. He's seeing Milly. Sean and Milly love to party, but there's been no commitment talk. Sean's been staying at Milly's place for a few weeks and he gets the bright idea to propose to her with the thought that they wouldn't actually get married for a few years. He buys a ring.
Ned is the baby of the family. He was with his high school sweetheart for years until he meets a woman at a bar and decides to go off to Australia with her. His high school sweetheart was regular and normal and boring, but this new girl was exciting and thrilling. But the new girl turned out to be a bit crazy. When he gets the news about the party, he leaves a note for her leaving her and coming back home. He intends to get back with his high school sweetheart and just live at home. He may be 27, but he loves it at home. When he arrives, he finds Gervase sleeping in his room.
Sean proposes to Milly, she says "yes". They announce it to the family on her first meeting the parents. Then Milly finds out she's pregnant. Sean isn't so happy about it. He likes their life of bar-hopping and recreational drug use. She wants to keep it and Sean starts avoiding her under the pretense of writing his book. He get the idea to write about how women make all the decisions in the world because they are the only ones to decide to keep a baby.
Ned finds high school sweetheart, but she's all grown up and over him now. Ned's Australia girl starts sending him pieces of herself (hair, toenails, eyelashes, etc.) in the mail and texting him "cunt" over and over. He finally writes a letter to her parents and we never hear anything more from her. Ned finally decides he needs to get a job and starts working for a temp agency. He meets a girl on the job and they hit it off, but when Ned makes a move, she turns him down stating that he hasn't grown up yet. Ned and Gervase are get close.
Tony is with Ness, but he really wants Milly. Milly has confided in him about what an ass Sean is being about the baby. Sean has confided in him about how he doesn't really want a baby. Tony told Sean to grow up. They have a dinner one evening and things comes to blows between Sean and Milly and Sean leaves. Ness goes to bed and leaves Tony alone with Milly. Tony tells Milly how wonderful he thinks she is and they kiss. Then Tony realizes he doesn't really want Milly and that them doing anything would be a huge mistake. And all of a sudden, he's over his crush. He makes love to Ness that night and professes his love, but in his head, it was just something he said not something he meant. He breaks up with Ness. Ness is close to mom so she heads to her house, but mom is out. Only Ned is there. Ned comforts her and realizes how great she is. He decides to escort her to the party.
During all this drama, Gervase has spent time with each of the boys. He does this thing where he holds their hands and looks deep into their eyes and they go all gooey inside and wind up spilling everything to him. Turns out he's a bit psychic, a gift he got from his mom. He advises all the boys.
In the end, Tony decides he needs to travel a bit. So he sells his business, but not before giving Ned a high-paying, important job and tells him to stay in his flat while he's gone. Ned accepts Tony's offer and he and Ness get together. Sean finally comes to terms with the baby and him and Milly get back together. That's it. The end.