I bought this book to read on holiday but I couldn't resist just taking a peek, maybe trying a page or two so I wouldn't be coming to it 'cold' during my break. That was a fatal mistake; I couldn't put it down till I'd found out what happened. Work didn't get worked, washing went unwashed, shopping unshopped. It's a fabulous, glorious, book. Full of warmth, humour, emotional insight and brilliant observations.
The story centres on three main characters whose lives intertwine throughout the book. There's Jojo, the tough cookie New Yorker literary agent; Lily the sweet-natured writer who's suddenly propelled to bestsellerdom but who's happiness is tempered by dreadful guilt because she 'stole' best friend Gemma's boyfriend, Anton, and Gemma, who's father has just left her mother as the book opens. This allows us to pick which heroine we like best and who's story we care about most. I expected to like Gemma most because I too once had a boyfriend 'stolen' from me. Or maybe Jojo because I wish I could be as successful and driven as her. But, no; for me it was the fragile, vulnerable, Lily whose storyline engaged me most and whose story made me cry involuntarily as I rushed to read the conclusion.
This was my first Marian Keyes book and I can't wait to devour the rest. Marian totally deserves her crown of Chick Lit Queen.