Another good book from Madeleine Wickham/Sophie Kinsella. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of the books published under the name of Madeleine Wickham!

I have now read all of Madeleine Wickham’s book and must say that this is the worst out of them all. The plot seemed incoherent, but there was also an entire subplot that was unrelated to the main story.

It was... Meh. I love Sophie, I love her writing as Madeleine, but this book ranks second last, among the four books of hers that I've read. Better than Sleeping Arrangements. I love Barnaby, Alexis, Meredith. Hated Cassian. Loved his name but hated him.

2,5*'s
Just like the other books of Madeleine Wickham, this was just okay. Having started with the books she has written under her pseudonym Sophie Kinsella, her older books just don't do much. They aren't bad or anything, but at the end of the book I'm always left with the question 'What was the point?'. Just like her books under Sophie Kinsella they are tagged as romance, but they are more like regular fiction and don't have the rom-com feel that the books under her pseudonym have. Also, they very obviously are a product of their time and certain topics just feel old.

I will definitely stick to her books written under her pseudonym in the future. Don't really recommend picking up the books written under Madeleine Wickham.

I was hoping for something good, since I'm usually not disappointed by Sophie Kinsella/Madeleine Wickham. Unfortunately, this book didn't do it for me. I was hoping for something more chicklit and this just wasn't it.

I think this was an okay read, it wasn't bad and I enjoyed it. But it wasn't anything really good. The characters weren't always very likable, and some of their decisions were questionable but understandable at times.

Spoiler

The biggest issue I had was the way it was portrayed how Louise and Barnaby treated their other daughter Amelia after the accident. After that she was basically non existent in the book and when she was in it, it was only to say how her parents never had any time for her. And I get how difficult it must be, but still you two children not only the one who got into an accident.

That being said it felt realistic, and it showed how an accident can mess up friendships.

I think this book was a bit disappointing because it was an attempt to cover a serious issue while still incorporating the typical chick lit themes of marriage, affairs and life in a small village. It was hard to like any of the characters due to how the plot revolved around the money - but was the author intending for you to like all the characters? I just felt a bit confused at the end of the book. I think I would recommend other books by Sophie Kinsella/Madeline Wickham but not this one.

Carino, si legge abbastanza in fretta. La storia in realtà non è nulla di che, non c'è uno sviluppo dei personaggi, niente di questo. Una lettura leggera. Il finale un pochino scontato, ma d'altra parte ci sarei rimasta male se non fosse finito in quel modo.
C'è da dire che la Kinsella è sempre la Kinsella.

3/5 - I picked up this book expecting a fairly light contemporary book and that is exactly what it delivered. I was not left disappointed.