Member Reviews
First and foremost I need to thank Megan at Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read this book ahead of publication. It's a fun read with a serious message at its core.
The Danton sisters are a diverse bunch but despite their differences they are what matters most at heart: family. Their dad left home when they were at very impressionable ages and they made a pact back then that nothing would break up the sisterhood. The book looks at how the break up of their family affected each of them and how it helped mould their personalities as they grew into adulthood.
Marina: the organiser, stay at home mum of 2 who controls every aspect of her family's life.
Yvie: the carer. Nurse by profession who gives far more of herself to her job than perhaps is healthy for her.
Zoe: ambitious, career girl with no end to her talents in PR.
Verity: Stressy and uptight, she is a teacher at the same school as Zoe's husband Ned.
I very much enjoyed this look at how a group of sisters can be so different from one another yet still have the same values underneath their individual veneer. The ugly question of what happens when more than one sister takes a shine to the same guy is the main focus of the book with Verity's crush, colleague Ned, taking centre stage in more than one of the ladies' lives. How they each deal with the situation - or the assumptions they have made about the situation - throws up some great comedy moments along the way to Zoe's impromptu wedding ceremony. Unfortunately for her, only a few weeks after the wedding Zoe finds herself sitting on the floor of her flat asking her sisters who slept with her husband.
The book flips between the various sisters' points of view and time frames, which could have been confusing but somehow works beautifully. The story shows just how easily lack of communication between the sisters has led to misunderstandings of how the sisters see one another, and how by taking the time to sit and really talk between themselves they can be so much more supportive as a family. Don't think that this is a preachy self-help book though, it's far from that. More of an easy to read, fun look at a dysfunctional family which many will be able to relate to.
The one character who I really wanted to throttle - I thought it was going to be Ned, but surprisingly he came a very close second - was the girls' mother. Totally self-absorbed I found her annoying virtually every time she featured in the book. On the flip side I loved Yvie's work colleague and good friend Kay who is a proper giggle of a character, who I was rooting for a happy ending for.
You'll have to read the book to find out how that works out for her and the Danton girls.
*This review will be posted on my blog and social media as part of the blog tour on 21st January*
Well, I was pleasantly surprised when I started reading this latest book by Shari Low to find that it was set in the same world as the books I have recently read by her. She does a fantastic job of keeping all of her books just ever so slightly intertwined and allowing characters to make small cameos that we have met before.
This time we are following Zoe, who we met very briefly in ‘One Day in Winter’ when Tom, a main character, was breaking her heart to follow his. We even pick up directly on this plot thread and everything that happened in this book is a direct fallout from what happened here.
Zoe has three sisters, and they are also the stars of this book. We start off with Zoe’s marriage break down, we don’t know who it is to, and it is a little confusing once we know her connection to Tom and his past story. We then skip back in time, and in true Shari Low fashion, the book is split up into sections following the four characters through the time leading up to the marriage fallout. We get to see each perspective to the events that are happening.
Zoe is overcoming the heartbreak that Tom has caused while still having to remain a professional friendship with him for the sake of her career.
Verity, a schoolteacher, is madly in love but her feelings aren’t reciprocated. She has to find a way to come to terms with who the love of her life has chosen to spend the rest of his life with.
Yvie, is the happy, smiling, keeping everything together nurse. But is she? On the surface she seems to have everything together and even manages to help sort everyone else’s lives out, she is the one everyone turns to for help, but on the inside, she is crumbling so fast, and she has no one to help catch her when she falls.
Marina is the patriarchal sister. She has her entire life mapped out, and those of her children’s and husband’s. Her life is a well-oiled machine until the day she doesn’t want it to be anymore, and she starts to strive and crave a little bit of excitement.
All of the sisters have a sorrowful past which is what has made them who they are today. I’m not sure this part of the story really leant much to the book as a whole, especially the chapters set in 1999. I know it was supposed to show how it had shaped them, but it did seem very disjointed and unnecessary.
The intrigue as to who had slept with Zoe’s husband was very well done. These tiny snippets building up the finale were interspersed after every nine chapters. So you really did have a build-up of anticipation waiting to find out what was going on.
I didn’t think this book had the usual Shari Low’ hit you in the gut’ with emotional feelings that I am used to from her. It had some laugh out loud moments, but I am usually emotionally wrecked when I finish one of her books, and I didn’t feel that way this time.
This is a pleasant read. It didn’t blow me away, but it was nice to be back in the world of her characters and the odd mention of a few that we have seen before or shops that we have frequented. It makes you feel as if you are visiting old friends or you are getting to know a friend of a friend.
Overall, not a bad read and a solid four stars!
I absolutely loved this. Shari low is becoming a favourite of mine. I love her writing style & the fact this book referred back to characters that have been in previous books. I really hope she does another book with these characters I really liked them.
I really wanted to love this book but I just couldn't. The flashbacks left me somewhat confused, but that could have been due to editing. It was not up-lifting at all, as it is marketed through NetGalley. I appreciated to opportunity to give this one a try.
Zoe has been married for a month before her marriage falls apart.
The book flits between the present day and the past, and it told from the points of view of Zoe and her three sisters.
An enjoyable read, but I would have liked more of an epilogue to see what happened to them all - but maybe there will be more books in this series?
I actually enjoyed this,made me laugh out loud at times and also wanting to shout to the characters!! Thank you netgalley for the arc. I hope to read more from this author!!
I could not get into this book. I felt like the flashbacks didn't help me all that much when all I really wanted was the juicy stuff right up front. I prefer faster-paced books.
Zoe Dalton has been married for one month, and now it’s over. A close friend has told her something and now she is left wondering if one of her three sisters has betrayed her.
This is a story about four sisters, we learn about them growing up together and their current lives. Each sister is different and is struggling with something while still trying to get along with each other. I really enjoyed this story about families, tragedies, secrets and lies. It is exceptionally well written, easy to follow and was a really good read. I’m looking forward to reading more by this author.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher Boldwood Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
It initially took me a bit of getting used to which sister was who. But my god! I could read this book over and over. For what is actually quite a sad storyline, you will not stop laughing throughout! There is undoubtably a trait in each of the sisters you can relate too! Would highly recommend to anyone!
I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. I have read other books by this author and I always enjoy them and this was no exception. At times I found myself laughing out loud but there were also some sad moments too. I would definitely recommend this book.
A fun read from the very beginning with some laugh out loud moments. This is a very entertaining enjoyable story
Four teenage sisters pledge to look out for each other when their parents divorce. Now in their thirties they all have their own problems and struggle to share them. As with other Shari Low books, this one is also set in Glasgow. I loved the tenuous links she she makes to her other books, enough to satisfy her regular readers but nothing that new readers would not understand. I changed my mind several times about the characters, but then the6 are sisters and sisters are supposed to fall out sometimes!
I5 took a couple of chapters to hook me in, but it was worth persevering. Read and enjoy
Admittedly I love Shari Lows books and this one is no exception. It took a bit of time to get to grips with the 4 sisters and their stories but once I did, I really enjoyed it. An good story of how one event can change people very differently.
When you have a group of sisters, there is one guarantee, meddling and possibly love. This was entertaining and well written.
Absolutely enjoyed this novel by an extremely talented writer. She weaves a twisted net and the reader immediately gets wrapped up in it. Can’t recommend it enough
Good story about a group of sisters and their love lives and relationships. Multi perspective and family drama along with a love story.
This was a hard book for me to finish. It just seemed to be about a bunch of miserable people who aren't especially nice to each other. It made me happy that I only have one sister (whom I adore) because I could not handle the dynamics between them all. After slogging through pages of why each character is so unhappy in their lives, the ending still managed to disappoint me. I can see how this would be a great book to pick up when you want something soapy that makes you appreciate your own life.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book took me a while to get into and had to persevere till the end. Wasn’t a big fan of it, I had hoped it to would be better with what was written in the hook description.
I was amazed as usual by Shari Low's brilliant writing style and utterly brilliant story! I am a great fan of her books and was pleased to find characters from her previous series. I do love a fictional world! I must confess it took me a few pages to get into the story but after that I was hooked. She is a master in managing so many timelines and point of views, keeping the suspense very much alive and she delivered yet another very good book. I read it in two solid days and hope to hear from those Glaswegians again soon! 4,5 stars.
I received an early digital copy of this book from NetGalley prior to publication date with many thanks to NetGalley, Boldwood Books and Shari Low #MyOneMonthMarriage #NetGalley
Sadly I just couldn’t get into this book. I felt it dragged on and it was uninteresting to me. I kept going in the hope it would turn a corner but sadly not