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A review by jenbsbooks
Very Very Lucky by Amanda Prowse
4.5
I liked this. A lot. 4.5 stars. A good story that drew me in, made me care about the characters. That being said, it hit some personal things that were slightly painful/uncomfortable, which can impact overall "enjoyment" somewhat.
This was included in KindleUnlimited, text and audio. I went with the audio, narrated by the author. She's a great narrator too (I made that comment about the last book of hers. Just read one before, but I'm putting her other books on my list). She's a little "quiet" ... I had to turn my volume all the way and still struggled to hear a bit at times. Very British in accent and some terms ... "Loo Roll" for toilet paper. I actually haven't heard that one before although it's perfectly logical.
There are two storylines ... the POV of Emma (mother of three, as the book starts off, she's fallen into an exhausted sleep on a bed in Ikea) and Thurston (older gentleman, recently lost his wife). Both are told in 3rd person/Past tense. At times I wondered it I would have preferred a male narrator for the Thurston chapters ... it might have made a bit more of a separation in the audio. The two POVs tended to run together a bit being narrated in the same voice.
Now I'm NOT one who requires/looks for trigger warnings - but there were a few things that hit a little close to home. Emma's son Reggie ... similar to one of my boys (we ended up pulling out of high school to do online school. The worries about anxiety/depression.) Happily my son is doing quite well now, but it still brought back memories of tougher times in the past. At one point Emma mentions wishing she could clone herself. The movie "Multiplicity" is a family favorite. So many times I thought we needed multiple of Hubs and all he does. This one hit me a little ... not at a great place emotionally myself, and the sad fact that one of me is more than enough. There are the usual family struggles, between husband and wife, siblings, situation with a daughter, situation with a friend ... with the latter, when is it "accepted" to "give up" and not fight? Then there's Thurston. His situation reminded me a bit of "A Man Called Ove" except he wasn't nearly as grumpy. Similar situation, pondering taking the end of his life into his own hands. He just wants to be with his wife again. Suicide was a fairly central part of his storyline. Dealing with death ... death that has happened (also Emma's father), is anticipated, is desired ...holding on or letting go.
I didn't have many notes/quotes - profound thoughts, but that IS a lot harder in audio than if I am reading the book myself. I'll have to watch the quotes section here on GR to see if more get added. It's still new, just published a few months ago (Jan2024).
There was some proFanity (x14) ... some slight sexual stuff, a lot of it was pretty funny. I noted the word "hectoring" ... I feel like I heard it for the first time last month (Into Thin Air ... I think it was much more noticeable NOT in an English accent). Crazy I've seen if a few times since then! A mention of Zumba. A few smirks and scowls. There was a song at the very end ... spoken, not sung (these are just random things/words I notice). I liked this. A lot. 4.5 stars. A good story that drew me in, made me care about the characters. That being said, it hit some personal things that were slightly painful/uncomfortable, which can impact overall "enjoyment" somewhat.
This was included in KindleUnlimited, text and audio. I went with the audio, narrated by the author. She's a great narrator too (I made that comment about the last book of hers. Just read one before, but I'm putting her other books on my list). She's a little "quiet" ... I had to turn my volume all the way and still struggled to hear a bit at times. Very British in accent and some terms ... "Loo Roll" for toilet paper. I actually haven't heard that one before although it's perfectly logical.
There are two storylines ... the POV of Emma (mother of three, as the book starts off, she's fallen into an exhausted sleep on a bed in Ikea) and Thurston (older gentleman, recently lost his wife). Both are told in 3rd person/Past tense. At times I wondered it I would have preferred a male narrator for the Thurston chapters ... it might have made a bit more of a separation in the audio. The two POVs tended to run together a bit being narrated in the same voice.
Now I'm NOT one who requires/looks for trigger warnings - but there were a few things that hit a little close to home. Emma's son Reggie ... similar to one of my boys (we ended up pulling out of high school to do online school. The worries about anxiety/depression.) Happily my son is doing quite well now, but it still brought back memories of tougher times in the past. At one point Emma mentions wishing she could clone herself. The movie "Multiplicity" is a family favorite. So many times I thought we needed multiple of Hubs and all he does. This one hit me a little ... not at a great place emotionally myself, and the sad fact that one of me is more than enough. There are the usual family struggles, between husband and wife, siblings, situation with a daughter, situation with a friend ... with the latter, when is it "accepted" to "give up" and not fight? Then there's Thurston. His situation reminded me a bit of "A Man Called Ove" except he wasn't nearly as grumpy. Similar situation, pondering taking the end of his life into his own hands. He just wants to be with his wife again. Suicide was a fairly central part of his storyline. Dealing with death ... death that has happened (also Emma's father), is anticipated, is desired ...holding on or letting go.
I didn't have many notes/quotes - profound thoughts, but that IS a lot harder in audio than if I am reading the book myself. I'll have to watch the quotes section here on GR to see if more get added. It's still new, just published a few months ago (Jan2024).
There was some proFanity (x14) ... some slight sexual stuff, a lot of it was pretty funny. I noted the word "hectoring" ... I feel like I heard it for the first time last month (Into Thin Air ... I think it was much more noticeable NOT in an English accent). Crazy I've seen if a few times since then! A mention of Zumba. A few smirks and scowls. There was a song at the very end ... spoken, not sung (these are just random things/words I notice).
Had the title tie-in (a few times). No discussion questions (I would have liked some - I could probably find some if I Google, I just don't get around to doing that). Table of Contents matched for the audio to kindle copy, and did include the POV (they did switch every other chapter, Emma/odds, Thurston/evens).
This was included in KindleUnlimited, text and audio. I went with the audio, narrated by the author. She's a great narrator too (I made that comment about the last book of hers. Just read one before, but I'm putting her other books on my list). She's a little "quiet" ... I had to turn my volume all the way and still struggled to hear a bit at times. Very British in accent and some terms ... "Loo Roll" for toilet paper. I actually haven't heard that one before although it's perfectly logical.
There are two storylines ... the POV of Emma (mother of three, as the book starts off, she's fallen into an exhausted sleep on a bed in Ikea) and Thurston (older gentleman, recently lost his wife). Both are told in 3rd person/Past tense. At times I wondered it I would have preferred a male narrator for the Thurston chapters ... it might have made a bit more of a separation in the audio. The two POVs tended to run together a bit being narrated in the same voice.
Now I'm NOT one who requires/looks for trigger warnings - but there were a few things that hit a little close to home. Emma's son Reggie ... similar to one of my boys (we ended up pulling out of high school to do online school. The worries about anxiety/depression.) Happily my son is doing quite well now, but it still brought back memories of tougher times in the past. At one point Emma mentions wishing she could clone herself. The movie "Multiplicity" is a family favorite. So many times I thought we needed multiple of Hubs and all he does. This one hit me a little ... not at a great place emotionally myself, and the sad fact that one of me is more than enough. There are the usual family struggles, between husband and wife, siblings, situation with a daughter, situation with a friend ... with the latter, when is it "accepted" to "give up" and not fight? Then there's Thurston. His situation reminded me a bit of "A Man Called Ove" except he wasn't nearly as grumpy. Similar situation, pondering taking the end of his life into his own hands. He just wants to be with his wife again. Suicide was a fairly central part of his storyline. Dealing with death ... death that has happened (also Emma's father), is anticipated, is desired ...holding on or letting go.
I didn't have many notes/quotes - profound thoughts, but that IS a lot harder in audio than if I am reading the book myself. I'll have to watch the quotes section here on GR to see if more get added. It's still new, just published a few months ago (Jan2024).
There was some proFanity (x14) ... some slight sexual stuff, a lot of it was pretty funny. I noted the word "hectoring" ... I feel like I heard it for the first time last month (Into Thin Air ... I think it was much more noticeable NOT in an English accent). Crazy I've seen if a few times since then! A mention of Zumba. A few smirks and scowls. There was a song at the very end ... spoken, not sung (these are just random things/words I notice). I liked this. A lot. 4.5 stars. A good story that drew me in, made me care about the characters. That being said, it hit some personal things that were slightly painful/uncomfortable, which can impact overall "enjoyment" somewhat.
This was included in KindleUnlimited, text and audio. I went with the audio, narrated by the author. She's a great narrator too (I made that comment about the last book of hers. Just read one before, but I'm putting her other books on my list). She's a little "quiet" ... I had to turn my volume all the way and still struggled to hear a bit at times. Very British in accent and some terms ... "Loo Roll" for toilet paper. I actually haven't heard that one before although it's perfectly logical.
There are two storylines ... the POV of Emma (mother of three, as the book starts off, she's fallen into an exhausted sleep on a bed in Ikea) and Thurston (older gentleman, recently lost his wife). Both are told in 3rd person/Past tense. At times I wondered it I would have preferred a male narrator for the Thurston chapters ... it might have made a bit more of a separation in the audio. The two POVs tended to run together a bit being narrated in the same voice.
Now I'm NOT one who requires/looks for trigger warnings - but there were a few things that hit a little close to home. Emma's son Reggie ... similar to one of my boys (we ended up pulling out of high school to do online school. The worries about anxiety/depression.) Happily my son is doing quite well now, but it still brought back memories of tougher times in the past. At one point Emma mentions wishing she could clone herself. The movie "Multiplicity" is a family favorite. So many times I thought we needed multiple of Hubs and all he does. This one hit me a little ... not at a great place emotionally myself, and the sad fact that one of me is more than enough. There are the usual family struggles, between husband and wife, siblings, situation with a daughter, situation with a friend ... with the latter, when is it "accepted" to "give up" and not fight? Then there's Thurston. His situation reminded me a bit of "A Man Called Ove" except he wasn't nearly as grumpy. Similar situation, pondering taking the end of his life into his own hands. He just wants to be with his wife again. Suicide was a fairly central part of his storyline. Dealing with death ... death that has happened (also Emma's father), is anticipated, is desired ...holding on or letting go.
I didn't have many notes/quotes - profound thoughts, but that IS a lot harder in audio than if I am reading the book myself. I'll have to watch the quotes section here on GR to see if more get added. It's still new, just published a few months ago (Jan2024).
There was some proFanity (x14) ... some slight sexual stuff, a lot of it was pretty funny. I noted the word "hectoring" ... I feel like I heard it for the first time last month (Into Thin Air ... I think it was much more noticeable NOT in an English accent). Crazy I've seen if a few times since then! A mention of Zumba. A few smirks and scowls. There was a song at the very end ... spoken, not sung (these are just random things/words I notice).
Had the title tie-in (a few times). No discussion questions (I would have liked some - I could probably find some if I Google, I just don't get around to doing that). Table of Contents matched for the audio to kindle copy, and did include the POV (they did switch every other chapter, Emma/odds, Thurston/evens).