Maddie Please

Elin leaves England for a trip back to Australia to visit her family. She talks with a man at the airport and on the plane but never asks his name. Her sister, Rowan, meets her at the airport. At home is her boyfriend, Shane, who is younger and likes to surf and run his bar/restaurant. He is not interested in his family's business of which he is half owner. During Elin's welcome home party, Shane's brother stops in, and he is the same man that Elin met on the plane. Turns out he and Shane do not get along. When Elin's uncle is injured on a trip with his wife, Elin is elected to go to bring back their RV. Shane's brother, Kit, agrees to go with her. Which man is Kit--the kind one she met at the airport or the nasty one who interrupted her welcome home party? Is she attracted to Kit? Is he attracted to her?

I enjoyed this story. It was fun. I loved the road trip with Elin and Kit. Those days were so easy on them. They enjoyed life and each other's company. They talked of the past and, hopefully, the future. There were misunderstandings. Rowan was funny as she tried to get Elin to admit she was kidnapped by Kit since they were taking so long to get home. When Elin finds out why Kit went with her, I felt bad that Shane said anything. I wanted to kick his behind. Shane and Rowan's wedding was unusual but fun. I was glad I could go to it. I loved the Silver Surfers that Elin's aunt and uncle belonged to. Their entertainment was a blast as well as the stories they told of other trips. Add in Elin's ex-husband, who is a jerk, and fun is had by all except her ex who she finally stands up to. I loved it.

This is a feel-good book. I couldn't put it down. I had such a good time with these characters that I wish I were on the road trips with them.… (mais)

I probably would have rated this more highly if it hadn't been oversold as a rollicking, laugh-out-loud comedy.

'Cause it ain't.

It is, at best, a borderline soap about sisters who have fallen out over each one's disapproval of the other's love life and who now hope to re-establish old bonds as they work together to prepare their inheritance -- a small houae in the French countryside -- for sale as they settle their aunt's estate.

There's a hunky Frenchman (surprise!) and some colorful locals, but except for one scene that descends into slapstick, the laughs are pretty few and far between.… (mais)

I would give this book five stars just for the one scene where Dom comes to the house to look at the pool pump (I haven't laughed so hard in a while, and it just went on and on), but this is a wonderful book deserving of an excellent rating as a whole.
Kitty is the POV character. She's in her early sixties, and she and her estranged sister Jenny inherit a house in Brittany. It needs some TLC, and Kitty hopes working together will be a chance to mend things with Jenny. The two sisters have trod different paths in life but were very close in their younger years.
This is a lovely book with great descriptions of French villages and countryside as well as a wonderful cast of characters and animals. I heartily recommend it for nostalgia and laughter.… (mais)

I ended up hating this novel by the time I reached the end. I was screaming "Ugh no" repeatedly at the way the story was wrapped up. The characters just didn't feel realistic to me at all and what should be a relatively interesting plot is dry and boring. Lottie just went round and round in circles until suddenly she just stopped. Painful. I think we are supposed to believe Lottie finally grew a spine and became her own woman by the end but I didn't see much of that at all. She ate lots of chocolate, got drunk of wine all the time, passed out, woke up hungover, moped around, sometimes did some home renovation, and then in the ned everything just kind of works out for her. Hardly an inspirational feat.

I also struggled to grasp how time progressed throughout the novel. I'm guessing 6 or so months passed but it felt poorly communicated by the author.… (mais)