Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another wonderful novel by a talented author, 15 April 2009
Living and working in Paris is the wonderful Clio, slightly too tall, slighty overweight, with (quelle horreur) curly hair, trying to do the best for her son after two failed marriages, trying (and failing) to please her fastidious French boyfriend, Philippe, with his impossible mother who is waiting for him to get back with the ex (who is, of course, beautiful, classy, French and still married to him).
Luckily, Philippe has the most wonderful Aunt - Isabelle - who adores Clio and actually treats her as one of the family (probably due to Aunt Isabelle's relationship with Philippe's mother being frosty to say the least).
Philippe is insistant that Clio pull her weight when it comes to the housekeeping so she works part-time as a tour guide (with a dreadful boss nicknamed Miss Piggy) and also writes rather whimsical travel articles and restaurant reviews for a "one-horse magazine published in America". Philippe also takes it upon himself to recommend she go to Weightwatchers (this is the point when I would have dumped him) and never fails to make critical remarks about the way Clio looks. (His reassurances that he will speak to his ex about a divorce never reassure me either. He's a slime-ball of the first degree.)
As you would hope, Clio finds a wonderful, charming, sensitive man in the form of Canadian Joe, but confusion and misunderstandings ensue, leaving you wondering if anything is ever going to go right for her.
The ending is warm, wonderful and actually perfectly balanced with the rest of the book. And I don't often get to say that!
Beautifully written, with a cast of well-crafted characters, Susie Vereker does it again!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A charming tale of love, life and France, 5 Jan 2009
The front cover of this book, the Eiffel Tower in a knot, is delightful and promises quirky charms that are delivered by the bucketful. The author's deft ways with an approachable, identifyable-with heroine and a cast of supporting characters are well demonstrated in this charming novel. A familiar setting - Paris - comes to life as do the environs, as we struggle alongside Clio, who is slightly too much (ample of stomach, English, curly of hair, often married) and at the same time not enough (groomed, French, rude, appealing to the family) for her fussy French boyfriend, trying to work out if she should settle for his slightly dubious charms and rather mad family, or strike out on her own. Conscious of her need to provide a safe background for her teenage son, Clio tries to do the best for everyone until she finally realises that she should do the best for herself.
A lovely setting, marvellous characters (her women are as usual a delight, from the porcine boss to the frosty mother-in-law and the all-too-perfect third-wife-of-the-first-husband) and animals that remain safe and sound.
My only wish would be that this could come out in paperback.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Modern Love Story, 9 Aug 2009
Romantic comedy for the 21st century this was a perfect read for a sunny afternoon of relaxation.
A perfectly feasible modern love story, if not rather predictable as I was not surprised at all by anything that happened. Although this novel has all the traditional elements of a romantic novel I feel it lacks the humour, suspense and intrigue of Susie Vereker's earlier novels.
The protagonist is twice married and divorced Clio, living in Paris with her French lover Philippe. Although she is not completely sure she is happy with Philippe, due to his constant criticism and desire for perfection, she remains with him as she craves stability in her life. She stays with Philippe not only for her sake but for that of her son Alex, the single most important person in her life. Anyway Philippe does sort of propose to her, the problem being that he is still legally married.
A fact Philippe's mother is constantly reminding Clio of in a far from subtle manner.
Clio works as a tour guide and it is through her work that she meets someone who gives her renewed confidence in herself which Philippe has slowly eroded.
Well I am sure you can guess the rest, love story with a predictably happy ending!
I have already added Susie Vereker's next novel `Tropical Connections' to My Wishlist.
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by Susie Vereker
by E.M. Delafield
by Susie Vereker
by Linda Gillard
