This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Why do we have to live with men? As another evening with her best friends and a few bottles of wine comes to an end, Cat O'Connor is left pondering this very question. And, escaping from a ruined love affair, she is about to find the answer. When Cat joins a group of women in a huge, decaying farmhouse deep in the countryside, she prepares to embark on six months without men. Cat is promised a nirvana of serenity where the chores are done without mutinous mutterings, where nourishing food simmers on the Aga and where feelings are taken seriously. But Cat soon discovers that women are no saints either …
Oh, I loved this book. It's well documented that I prefer my chick lit with a big helping of comedy and this book really delivers it.
A most original concept (in which a group of very different women go to the countryside on a man sabbatical and learn that living with women can bring just as many problems as living with men) gave the novel a real fresh vibe.
This book was beautifully written. The nifty pacing ensured that I was never bored and I eagerly turned the pages, finishing the book in one go. The sensitive issues were well handled, the characters were fully rounded personalities(and Sarge in particular – hilarious!) and like I mentioned – it was bloody funny – the situations the women found themselves in, the snarky dialogue between very different characters, the very fact that there was a pig called Dave. Funny funny funny.
Bernadette Strachan is a unique, sharp, witty voice in Chick Lit and I look forward to reading her next book (and probably her back list too.)
9/10