Review: The Wildflowers

The Wildflowers by Harriet Evans
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Wildes are a family of means – father Anthony (Tony) and Mum Althea are both actors, living a glamorous life, but once which is jam packed with adultery. With their children, Cordelia and Ben, they spend their summers in the Bosky – a summer house down in Dorset. It is here that the family meet Mads, a year younger than Cordelia, but who has been abandoned by her own family. Each summer they take Mads under their wing, but it appears that their complicated lives start to unravel.

I have to be completely honest and say that I didn’t enjoy this book. The story didn’t really keep me guessing there was no magic twist at the end and one whole chapter towards the finish of the story was of Althea completely repeating what had already happened earlier on in the book. It felt like jury service – you sit and listen to all the evidence twice, once from the opposition and once from the defence, and then when you don’t think you can take anymore, you hear it all again in the judge’s summing up.

I felt no empathy towards any character…Cordelia annoyed the hell out of me, I thought she was spoilt and difficult, and I wanted Ben to grow a backbone.

Overall, I was really glad when the story ended, because I could then move on to something else.

I dislike giving books bad reviews, because an author will put blood, sweat and tears into composing a story that they want people to like, but I'm afraid that it just wasn’t for me, but that’s not to say that other people won't find it a wonderful story. After all, the world would be a very dull place if we all liked the same things!

View all my reviews

Comments

Review: The Weekend Away by Sarah Alderson

The Weekend Away by Sarah Alderson Published by Avon Books 4 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐ New Mum Orla and Party girl Kate have been best friends forever and so with Orla adapting to motherhood, and Kate facing a messy divorce, they decide to have a girl’s weekend away in Lisbon. Kate has booked the perfect apartment, complete with hot tub and they kick the weekend off in style with champagne, a fancy dinner, and drinks at a trendy bar. Returning to the apartment that evening Orla feels a bit woozy and goes to bed but the next morning, she wakes up very groggy and is convinced that her drink was spiked and she tries to piece the night back together again. When she checks on her friend, Kate is not in the apartment, and hasn’t left a note – she has simply disappeared. As Orla frantically retraces their steps she makes a series of discoveries that may change her life forever. The main character in this book is Orla who is been married to Rob, together they have baby Marlow who they conceived with IV...

REVIEW: Confessions Of A Forty-Something F**ck Up by Alexandra Potter

Confessions Of A Forty-Something F**k Up by Alexandra Potter published by Pan Macmillan Nell Stevens’ life is a mess – moving back to London from LA after her business goes bust and her relationship fails she notices that many things have changed. Her friends are now all settled with children, and she is forced to rent a room in a house. Life just feels like it’s f**ked up!. When Nell gets a job writing obituaries, she first encounters Cricket, an eighty-something widow with challenges of her own, and they strike up an unlikely friendship. Together they begin to help each other heal their aching hearts, cope with the loss of the lives they had planned, and push each other into new adventures and unexpected joys. Because Nell is determined. Next year things are going to be very different. It's time to turn her life around. Initially I didn’t think I was going to like this book, as I mistakenly thought it was transcripts of a podcast, but how wrong was I? Th...

Diva written by Daisy Goodwin and published by Aria and Aries

Opera singer Maria Callas known as “ la divina” with her fabulous voice was born with note only a gift of singing, but also the drama and beauty needed to succeed on the worldwide operatic stages. Sadly, liked a bird in a gilded cage, Maria’s life is lonely, and although surrounded by people and her husband she feels isolated. When she meets the fabulously rich shipping magnate, Aristotle Onassis, her isolation melts away. For the first time in her life, she believes she's found a man who sees the woman rather than the legendary soprano. Desperately in love, Onassis introduces her to a life of unbelievable luxury, mixing with celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. And then, suddenly, it's over. The international press announce that Onassis will marry the most famous woman in the world, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, leaving Maria to pick up the pieces. This is a fictional account based on true events, think of The...

Book-Mad-Mum

Search This Blog