I can sum up this book in a sentence for you by saying that it is a perfect holiday read. Buy it now (only £1.99 on Kindle- what a bargain) and enjoy whilst lounging around in the sun (with a G&T if the sun is over the yard arm).
I discovered Lucy Robinson's writing last year, when I laughed and laughed at A Passionate Love Affair With A Total Stanger (prior to that she wrote The Greatest Love Story Of All Time, which I haven't read yet). I think you can probably guess from the titles and jackets that they aren't high-brow reads, but they are very well-crafted indeed. They are essentially romances, so you can guess what the end-point of the plot is going to be, but they are definitely not formulaic, and there is plenty of humour and swearing along the way.
I absolutely loved the backdrop to The Unfinished Symphony Of You And Me. It is set in the world of operatic music, and Sally the heroine is a wonderful but untrained singer (within the confines of her wardrobe). There is reference to Alfie Boe (bonus point from me for that one) and a cast of brilliantly eclectic characters. I found Jan Borsos, the Hungarian student who had walked across Europe Mister Magnolia-style with only one shoe, completely hilarious, and ex-boyfriend Julian was really quite delicious. The story isn't all a laugh a minute, there is a terribly sad story in Sally's past, and for a little while I wasn't sure that the ending that I had predicted was going to be the case at all. I ended up doing my usual trick of staying up until midnight with my eyes propped open to enjoy the last third of the book in one go, and it was just brilliant.
Funny, heart-warming and mentioning both Alfie Boe and Les Mis. That's pretty much all the boxes ticked as far as I am concerned- a great read!
*****
Three more to try
Jojo Moyes is brilliant; I think we all know that. The One Plus One is her most recent book, and has believable characters, warmth, sadness and humour. I loved it.
I am a bit obsessed by You Had Me At Hello . I recommend it to everyone, and it's still only 99p on Kindle. You'd be BONKERS not to own it at that price. Think of One Day, but funny and with characters that you care about. It's perfect.
Vince & Joy are my favourite Lisa Jewell couple, I love them. This is an oldie but a real goodie.
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Taking notes! Pretty please add bloglovin' so we can subscribe to your blog? You can do it really easily at bloglovin.com
ReplyDeletexx
Hi Sarah
ReplyDeleteI read The Third Wife on holiday in one day it was a great story. Proper holiday reading. I also read You Had Me at Hello, greatly enjoyed that too although it did give me disturbing dreams about my ex ... was quite pleased to wake up and realise it was just a dream!
Thank you for the suggestions.
xx