Get Your Own Copy! A book you love so much, no way are you loaning it out. Worthy of high praise and frequent recommendations – but trust us, if you let someone borrow this one, they’ll “forget” to return it. Don’t miss the next title by this author.
Keeper. You won’t regret either time or money spent with this book. It has a permanent spot on your shelf. Recommend it freely and lend it carefully to that trustworthy “inner circle” of reader friends. Put the author on your To Be Read list.
Nice Bang for Your Entertainment Buck. Well worth your time and money, but not necessarily worth a re-read. Pass it on to someone who’ll enjoy it and keep the author on your radar.
Borrow It. An okay read, but try to borrow it from a friend or library. This author will likely improve with experience, so remember him/her.
Don’t Bother. We won’t sink into varying degrees of badness – one size fits all in our “not worthy” category. Do remember, this is just one opinion, so take us with a grain of salt.
First selection for review: This Charming Man, by Marian Keyes, Harper Collins 2008.
A main theme of this book – revenge – is one of our favorites.
Four very different women. One very debonair politician who changes each of their lives. Humor, mystery, romance, alcoholism, second chances, violence…this book truly has it all. Women’s fiction from Ireland just seems to be the bomb.
Keyes sheds new light on alcoholism and the tumbled thought processes of victims on both sides of the bottle. Likewise domestic violence. It’s so easy to be the outsider condemning “those stupid women” who put up with it. An inside look is both enlightening and terrifying.
The women are so real, I found myself relating to all of them, pulling my hair at their demise, and rooting for one incredibly "heroic" heroine, who has the most to lose and risks it all to help the others.
The dry wit made me laugh out loud, often. I was shocked to the point of exclaiming out loud (EOL?) and cheered like crazy at the climactic revenge. And yes, thanks to both a new romance and one meant-to-be relationship repair, I got my awwwwwsome ending.
Rating? Absolutely, positively, without a doubt Get your own copy!
I’ve now got a request at the library for Keyes’ backlist.
On the nightstand: Stephen King’s Duma Key. It’s no disappointment so far, I tell you. King sinks us right into the hero’s poor, addled brain.
Autumn
Got romance?
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