Maria Savva's Blog - Posts Tagged "festive-flaws-and-fairy-lights"

I Hate (love) Brussels Sprouts by Tara Ford

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I loved the first book in this series, and was looking forward to reading this one. Tara Ford certainly knows how to keep readers guessing. This book is suspenseful and entertaining.

Susie Satchel's life seems to be setting down after her disastrous Christmas and she's determined to keep it that way, to the extent that she does some crazy things that end up making her situation worse. It's written in a comical way but this book, like the first in the series, has a lot of depth. The deeper meaning here seems to be about control and how when we try to hard to control things in our life it can actually make everything worse.

The ongoing theme is of Susie Satchel's inability to tell the truth for fear of being seen in a bad light, this character trait can be a bit infuriating at times. The way the author deals with this is great and it really casts a light on something we can all relate to. We've all been in the situation when we don't want people to find something out because of the way they will react, but more often than not it would have been better to just tell the truth from the start. This is a recurring theme in this book.

"I Hate (love) Brussels Sprouts" is a well written novel, there's a good dose of comedy along with the wise observations about life and human nature. Susie Satchel is a very realistic character, and there are so many true-to-life characters that pop up in this book. The part about the Brussels sprouts, and the ensuing consequences, is one of the most memorable laugh-out-loud moments in the book.

A fun read, with lots of ups and downs. I was happy to find out at the end that this isn't the end of the story and there is another book coming. Definitely a series I would recommend.



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