Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Macmillan New Writing (2009)
Pages: 341 (Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0230742688
ISBN-13: 978-0230742680
Synopsis (from Amazon):
Jillian Hunter treasures her independence. She's raised two sons by herself, launched a small business, and restored a tumbledown beach cottage in Connecticut. But when a trip to London reunites her with Colin an old flame she hasn't seen in 35 years, Jill falls for him all over again. Love makes Jill reckless. This could be her chance for a new beginning. But Colin isn't quite the boy she remembers..........
First Line:
There's a party going on downstairs, and it's for me.
My Thoughts:
If I could pick my next door neighbour it would be Jillian Hunter. She was the sort of person who could keep a secret and who could also help you unblock your kitchen sink! I shared a rollercoaster of emotions with her, from her falling in love to falling out with her best friends, I really felt at the end of the book as if I knew her, and I wanted so much for her to find her deserved happiness.
I thought Maggie Dana's excellent and witty writing was spot-on and I identified on so many levels with Jill, yet she was so different to me. I could never climb up onto my roof and mend loose shingles! This probably sums up her independent and spirited nature
Letting go of my sore foot, I lurch out of my rope nest and feel like screaming. Not because my toe is on fire, but because I've bloody well coped. I've spent a lifetime coping because that's what you do when there's nobody else to pick up the pieces, and when I think about women like Shelby and Diana who fall apart because a guest complained or the bartender quit or, heaven forbid, the florist delivered the wrong flowers, I get seriously mad.
Maggie Dana quotes on her website that a friend challenged her to write a novel about feisty middle aged women, as there weren't enough of them, and I think she's succeeded in doing just that.
I was engrossed in this book from beginning to end - and would happily recommend it to anyone wanting a great read with convincing characters and amusing moments - never boring!
Special Thanks to Maggie Dana.
