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Never the Bride
 
 
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Never the Bride (Paperback)

by Paul Magrs (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Headline Review (28 Aug 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0755332873
  • ISBN-13: 978-0755332878
  • Product Dimensions: 23 x 15.2 x 2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 476,357 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review

'NTB is a brilliant extravaganza, gripping, ingeniously plotted, and tragically funny, with unforgettable characters. PM is an original talent with a wonderful and sympathetic ear and eye for the hidden craziness of contemporary life. This book deserves to be widely read, enjoyed and garlanded with praise' Shena Mackay -- Shena Mackay 'I wasn't at all sure I'd read it as I didn't think it would be my thing. I imagined I'd skim through the first few pages, have my doubts confirmed and put it to one side. But...I was wrong! Instead, I have spent the weekend ignoring my family and absolutely racing through the book. It is wonderful, I love it and really hope there will be sequels starring Brenda, whom I love to bits. Many congratulations on having written such a fab book, it deserves to be a huge success' -- Jill Mansell 'An absolutely delicious black comedy! quirky, idiosyncratic, wildly funny ' -- Susan Hill 'NTB is a cornucopia of playfully sinister delights. Funny, poignant, clever and hugely original. I loved it' -- Daren King


Review

'Utterly original. I was totally charmed'

(The Times )

'Without doubt, Never The Bride will be a Gothic smash'

(Guardian )

‘It is wonderful, I love it and really hope there will be sequels starring Brenda, whom I love to bits' (Jill Mansell )

‘This is a quirky, whimsical, episodic novel that combines perversity, situation comedy and quietly lush moments of poetry’

(Time Out ) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Never the Bride
81% buy the item featured on this page:
Never the Bride 3.9 out of 5 stars (15)
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Customer Reviews

15 Reviews
5 star:
 (6)
4 star:
 (5)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic fun!, 18 Jan 2007
By kehs (Hertfordshire, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
Brenda lives in Whitby and runs a B and B. She lives next door to her best friend Effie who owns a junk shop full of magical books. Together they get into a whole bunch of adventures, including going to a macabre beauty parlour called the Deadly Boutique, appearing on a psychic TV programme, assisting in helping aliens to flee their home, and get involved in a mystery as to some missing Christmas Elves. And just who is Mr Alucard?

Brenda herself has no surname, is covered in scars, wears a wig and has an odd pair of hands (one being much bigger than the other). She has had a long, long, long and eventful life and she has come to Whitby to run a B&B in search of some peace and quiet. Just who is she and where did she come from?

A terrific book that's full of humour. The reader will recognise aspects of several gothic greats such as Frankenstein, Sweeney Todd, War of the Worlds and, of course, Dracula. Particularly recommended for fans of Gregory Maguire or Jasper Fforde, but anyone with a wicked sense of humour will love this great tale.
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Never the bride, 15 Aug 2007
By rubbah "rubbah" (Hertfordshire) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Never the Bride (Hardcover)
The setting of Whitby, the town that that inspired Bram Stoker, is perfect for this book as it provides the gothic setting for a story that includes vampires, witches, aliens and more. Even the protaganist is not what she sees-who or what is Brenda?
The ending suggests a sequel and I hope there will be one.
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Charming, unique, utterly goth. More, please!, 14 Jul 2006
By LW Jolly (Reading, Berkshire UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
If Tim Burton ever makes a book into TV show, this would be a fantastic choice. It's a quirky, whimsical fantasy which draws heavily from the `classic horror' genre. Our heroine is a sort of patchwork Miss Marple with a terrible past. In Whitby (of course it would be Whitby), she owns a B&B and stumbles onto one monstrous villain after another. The main character and her witchy neighbour/best friend are endearingly spooky/crabby old ladies, and I enjoyed their adventures a great deal. The setting is a sort of alternate reality in which many of the classic sci-fi and horror stories such as War of the Worlds and Dracula actually happened, yet most facets of modern life remain unchanged. There's a lot of scope in that for future plots!

Each chapter has a sort of episodic feel, yet none of the plot lines is completely resolved by the end--we're left a bit wanting. This ending is the reason I'm giving it 4 stars--one of the plot devices was a tiny bit derivative of Buffy, which I found a bit disappointing, and none of the mysteries that we saw along the way was worked out completely satisfactorily.

Still, the fact that we are left hanging means that we'll get to read more about our two supernatural old dears, and so I'm already excitedly awaiting the next book! I would recommend this book to fans of Charlaine Harris, M.C. Beaton, Gregory Maguire, or Jasper Fforde.
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Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Dumb all over.
I'm surprised at all the really good reviews. The writing is almong the most clumsy I have ever read in a published book with sudden shifts in voice, tense and person with the... Read more
Published 2 months ago by A. Stevenson

5.0 out of 5 stars Most unusual
I did enjoy this. Paul Magrs style is witty and entertaining. Brenda describes herself as 'galumphing' yet up with the lark and doing star jumps before polishing her B&B to... Read more
Published 4 months ago by The Grumpy Goblin

5.0 out of 5 stars In awe of Magrs
I've read` pretty much everything Paul Magrs has written and loved all of it but I am beginning to think that the Brenda and Effie series could end up being thebooks he is most... Read more
Published 6 months ago by A. Bear

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't put the book down!
Never the Bride (Brenda 1)

What an excellent book, Being a student I don't often have the time to read.. Read more
Published 7 months ago by M. Arif

4.0 out of 5 stars Gothic fantasy from the comfort of a Seaside B&B.
First up: I read this AFTER Something Borrowed because I didn't realise that it was a sequel. I thought it was unusual that the main characteors would make casual reference to... Read more
Published 9 months ago by P. K. Preston

4.0 out of 5 stars The Brilliance of Magrs
Brenda runs a B&B in Whitby, she has chosen the location for its peace and quiet and also as somewhere to finally settle along with her best friend Effie she spends various... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Simon Savidge "savidgeread...

3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable
I wasn't sure if this was an adult or 'young adult' book at first but as the book progressed it brought in a few more adult themes (in a tasteful and amusing way). Read more
Published 23 months ago by Nicola

4.0 out of 5 stars Gothic Fun
The chapters read almost like episodes of something like Night Stalker or Buffy. The two main characters, Brenda and Effie are two older women living in Whitby, the town... Read more
Published on 25 Aug 2007 by Wyvernfriend

2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Plot That Fails To Deliver
When I first picked this up in the bookshop I thought it sounded really interesting and well worth buying. I now regret that. Read more
Published on 25 Jul 2007 by Holly Welford

2.0 out of 5 stars An interesting premise that fails to deliver
I was intrigued by the premise of this novel, anticipating a kind of Miss Marple gothic fantasy, but I was disappointed by its episodic nature and Buffy-lite ending. Read more
Published on 18 Jun 2007 by M. Atkinson

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