Sarah Duncan (1)

This was quite grown up chick-lit and I was taken by surprise as I hadn’t quite expected that. It’s not overly predictable although it does have a very neat and tidy ending. Reading this book was my second outing for Sarah Duncan having previously read ‘Another Woman’s Husband’ and I’ll certainly be looking out for my by her. The book narrowly missed out on five stars simply because it took me a few chapters to settle into it and I didn’t initially like the character of Anna Carmichael.

I’d expected the garden history to be the complete focus of the novel holding together the plot, instead it became integral to the novel and I found myself completely fascinated by the information the author presented through Anna and the other characters. The two men in her life, Will and Oliver, were poles apart – well actually they’d have to be in a novel about love, romance and gardening otherwise the choice wouldn’t be as much fun to read about.

There are grown up (and quite modern) issues discussed but handled well and with the right amount of tact, diplomacy and entertainment. I liked a lot of the other characters – Anna’s mother and also her friend. Her sister on the other hand, I just couldn’t get away with. All in all, it was a pleasant novel to read, it didn’t take me that long and is worth recommending.… (más)

I chose this book not really sure what to expect. I thought it would be your average `chick-lit' with very little substance and that the title said it all. However, I was wrong. This book packed quite a punch and very quickly I was hooked in the lives of the characters. Although the reader does know the premise for the book based on the blurb on Amazon and on the cover, you aren't aware of the emotions that Becca (and her family) experience as one deceit reveals another.

I enjoyed this book and was actually disappointed when it ended; I felt it could have gone on for a little bit longer. Sarah Duncan uses cliff-hangers effectively - there are a lot of them but for good reason and they certainly keep you reading well after you intended closing the book. The characters are real; you can imagine them not only from the description but will know people like them. Nothing seems fabricated - I can genuinely imagine these circumstances happening; perhaps that's why the book is successfully written.

Nothing turns out the way you plan and Becca succeeds in proving this. The only niggle I did have was that I couldn't get away with Becca calling her parents by their first names. I imagine this does happen in some families, it just didn't sit well with me and if that is the only complaint from a novel then I'd call that an achievement. This was a book that was easy to become involved with.… (más)