Publishing Date: April 23rd, 2013
Genre: Adult, Women's Fiction
Pages: 512 pgs
ISBN: 9780062248602
Source: ARC provided from Edelweiss for an honest review
Summary from Goodreads:
Dear Lucy Silchester, You have an appointment for Monday 27th July 2011. Yours sincerely Life.
Lucy Silchester has received an appointment card. Actually, she's been invited along a few times to this appointment, but she keeps brushing the gold embossed envelope under the shag pile carpet. She's taken her eye off the ball and has busied herself with work (a job she doesn't love), helping out friends, fixing her car, feeding her cat, seeing her family and devoting her time to their life dramas. But Lucy is about to find out that this is one appointment that she can't miss. And she can't escape it either. Her Life is about to catch up with her in the most surreal of ways.
My Review:
Cecelia Ahern books have always been hit or miss with me. Sometimes they are great while other times I find them to be too predictable. This book was somewhere in the middle for me.
It follows the life of Lucy Silchester who is having a difficult time with her life. She is still pining over her ex and she is apt to tell little white lies that then snowball into insane fictional stories. This is where she is when her life calls her up and requests a meeting.
Ahern presents this magical realism and doesn't offer up any convoluted explanations for this but just presents it as a normal part of the story. I much prefer this to characters in a book just accepting some sort of strange explanation for magical things. If I know up front about the magic and it's just a part of the world then I am good with it. I thought the idea was actually pretty cute. Imagine getting a call from your life when things are a little out of sync. I could have used a call from my life once or twice.
Anyhow, I have to admit that while Lucy is a hot mess I couldn't help but she was endearing in so many ways. She is always looking out for others rather than thinking of herself at times. I was interested in seeing her grow with a little help from Life.
I also enjoyed the cast of minor characters in this novel. The overbearing father, the wacky co-workers, and Lucy's mystery love interest all reveal little details about Lucy's character.
Something that bothered me about this novel was it's predictability. It is a love story and so while there are bumps and difficulties along the road you know that inevitably things will all end happily ever after. It was fun to read and that's why I enjoyed it but I don't think it'll be going on my favourites list.
I do think that if you are looking for something light and fun to read for the summer or while you're on the beach then this may be just what you are looking for.
It follows the life of Lucy Silchester who is having a difficult time with her life. She is still pining over her ex and she is apt to tell little white lies that then snowball into insane fictional stories. This is where she is when her life calls her up and requests a meeting.
Ahern presents this magical realism and doesn't offer up any convoluted explanations for this but just presents it as a normal part of the story. I much prefer this to characters in a book just accepting some sort of strange explanation for magical things. If I know up front about the magic and it's just a part of the world then I am good with it. I thought the idea was actually pretty cute. Imagine getting a call from your life when things are a little out of sync. I could have used a call from my life once or twice.
Anyhow, I have to admit that while Lucy is a hot mess I couldn't help but she was endearing in so many ways. She is always looking out for others rather than thinking of herself at times. I was interested in seeing her grow with a little help from Life.
I also enjoyed the cast of minor characters in this novel. The overbearing father, the wacky co-workers, and Lucy's mystery love interest all reveal little details about Lucy's character.
Something that bothered me about this novel was it's predictability. It is a love story and so while there are bumps and difficulties along the road you know that inevitably things will all end happily ever after. It was fun to read and that's why I enjoyed it but I don't think it'll be going on my favourites list.
I do think that if you are looking for something light and fun to read for the summer or while you're on the beach then this may be just what you are looking for.
Cecelia Ahern is my favourite author, I've loved almost every one of her books. So I am definitely excited to pick up her new one, this is one author that I plan to have all her books, they are always so cute, and this one sounds like a story I need.
ReplyDeleteIt is definitely one of her better books in my opinion. It is cute and light which is what I needed at this point :) Which one is your favourite?
DeleteI think I'm going to after to get this one. It sounds really cute and easy to relate to. I haven't read this author before.
ReplyDeleteIt is pretty cute. She is better known for P.S. I Love You which was made into a movie.
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