Pleasing, happy & poignant listening

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Sometimes it's hard to identify the exact reason one finds a book, song or film pleasing and that non-identifiable something is always part of the magic of any created artwork. While this is most definitely light reading - warm carbohydrate literature that is most definitely not taxing, there is real pathos and feeling in this book and it has that something special vital to any truly decently written story. It certainly got my thumbs up.Each character is well-drawn and easy, if not always to warm to, certainly to be interested in and to root for. I did react with slight incredulity and lack of tolerance to the 'problem' Ellen develops as a result of her husband's death and oh how I felt for her sweet son Charlie. All in all the book is a pleasure to listen to and Ellen is still a character you want to see happy and thriving .I enjoyed both Matt and German Sabine ( the narrator is excellent and she dons a slight German accent that is amusing without descending into parody.) And though the seventeenth century novel Allegra Howard' is writing and which Ellen is so involved in was the only dull part of the book for me; Allegra was another individual and likeable character and fundamental to the unfolding story.
Grief and other difficult subjects are explored and endured by characters in this book but whilst they touch the listener they do not draw one down into a pit of misery. For an all-round appealing , absorbing and enjoyable read you could do a lot worse than add this audio to your library feed.

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2 people found this helpful

Pleasant but predictable story.

I have read a couple of other books by this author and loved them so I was looking forward to listening to this book but I really didn't enjoy it very much. I very nearly gave up a few times.

The story was very predictable. The sister's secret was obvious and I had to skip all the Allegra Howard trashy novel bits that went on and on and we're really cringy.

I would recommend it though if you are after a fluffy easy to listen to chick lit story. It is perfectly pleasant and has nice characters. I especially liked Sabine, the German lodger.

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1 person found this helpful