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Girl Friday
Since her divorce a year ago, Kit Hargrove feels she has got her life back on track. When her best friend, Tracy, introduces her to Steve, Kit wonders if he could be the final piece of the jigsaw. But Kit doesn't know that Tracy is hiding a secret, one that could destroy their friendship, her happiness with Steve, even her new life.
401 pages, Paperback
First published June 16, 2009
About the author
Jane Green
84 books8,196 followersJane Green's twenty first novel, Sister Stardust, is out April 5th 2022.
She is the author of eighteen previous New York Times Bestselling novels, and known as one of the world's leading authors in women's fiction, with over ten million books in print, and translations in over 25 languages.
Previous novels have included The Beach House, Second Chance, Jemima J, and Tempting Fate.
She joined the ABC News team to write their first enhanced digital book— about the history of Royal marriages, then joined ABC News as a live correspondent covering Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton.
A former journalist in the UK, she has had her own radio show on BBC Radio London, and is a regular contributor on radio and TV, including as well as regularly appearing on television shows including Good Morning America, The Martha Stewart show, and The Today Show.
Together with writing books and blogs, she contributes to various publications, both online and print, including anthologies and novellas, and features for The Huffington Post, The Sunday Times, Cosmopolitan and Self. She has taught at writers conferences, and does regular keynote speaking, and has a weekly column in The Lady magazine, England’s longest running weekly magazine.
A graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York, Green is bringing out her first cookbook: Good Taste , with Berkley in October 2016.
She is a storyteller for The Moth radio hour on NPR,
and lives in Westport, Connecticut with her husband and their blended family. When she is not writing, cooking, gardening, filling her house with friends and herding chickens, she is usually thanking the Lord for caffeine-filled energy drinks.
Jane's Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jane-Gr...
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
She is the author of eighteen previous New York Times Bestselling novels, and known as one of the world's leading authors in women's fiction, with over ten million books in print, and translations in over 25 languages.
Previous novels have included The Beach House, Second Chance, Jemima J, and Tempting Fate.
She joined the ABC News team to write their first enhanced digital book— about the history of Royal marriages, then joined ABC News as a live correspondent covering Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton.
A former journalist in the UK, she has had her own radio show on BBC Radio London, and is a regular contributor on radio and TV, including as well as regularly appearing on television shows including Good Morning America, The Martha Stewart show, and The Today Show.
Together with writing books and blogs, she contributes to various publications, both online and print, including anthologies and novellas, and features for The Huffington Post, The Sunday Times, Cosmopolitan and Self. She has taught at writers conferences, and does regular keynote speaking, and has a weekly column in The Lady magazine, England’s longest running weekly magazine.
A graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York, Green is bringing out her first cookbook: Good Taste , with Berkley in October 2016.
She is a storyteller for The Moth radio hour on NPR,
and lives in Westport, Connecticut with her husband and their blended family. When she is not writing, cooking, gardening, filling her house with friends and herding chickens, she is usually thanking the Lord for caffeine-filled energy drinks.
Jane's Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jane-Gr...
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 960 reviews
March 26, 2011
Once upon a time, Jane Green wrote light, breezy, fun books about young British women coming of age. Those were stellar chick lit novels, best of the genre.
I miss that Jane Green.
The new Jane Green writes stilted, hackneyed, predictable women's fiction novels with two-dimensional characters and ridiculous motivations. I refuse to be suckered into buying another of her novels.
It's as if she is writing by numbers. She appears to pick character names out of a hat, with the result that several characters have similar sounding or looking names (Annabel, Alice, Adam; Kit & Keith; Tracey & Tori). All the women sound alike; there is no attempt to make the Californian Tracey speak differently from poor little rich girl Kit or Real Housewife of Connecticut Charlie. In fact, they all sound like Annabel, the conniving long-lost British sister of Kit. And forget the silliness of Kit not knowing her mother was pregnant when Kit was 12 - the real head-scratcher is why three middle-aged American women talk as if they grew up on the streets of South Kensington.
As for the plot - oy. The resolution is so unbelievable,considering the heinous behavior of one of the protagonists, that the book was literally thrown across the room (thank goodness it was an old-fashioned book and not on an e-reader.)
I miss that Jane Green.
The new Jane Green writes stilted, hackneyed, predictable women's fiction novels with two-dimensional characters and ridiculous motivations. I refuse to be suckered into buying another of her novels.
It's as if she is writing by numbers. She appears to pick character names out of a hat, with the result that several characters have similar sounding or looking names (Annabel, Alice, Adam; Kit & Keith; Tracey & Tori). All the women sound alike; there is no attempt to make the Californian Tracey speak differently from poor little rich girl Kit or Real Housewife of Connecticut Charlie. In fact, they all sound like Annabel, the conniving long-lost British sister of Kit. And forget the silliness of Kit not knowing her mother was pregnant when Kit was 12 - the real head-scratcher is why three middle-aged American women talk as if they grew up on the streets of South Kensington.
As for the plot - oy. The resolution is so unbelievable,considering the heinous behavior of one of the protagonists, that the book was literally thrown across the room (thank goodness it was an old-fashioned book and not on an e-reader.)
February 22, 2016
One of the most terrible, underdeveloped, excessively explanatory, flat and two dimensional books I've ever read. (And I've read Twilight).
After finishing this, my husband asks: "Are you all right? You seem disturbed."
No, I'm not all right. My brain hurts. Jane Green should 1) fire her editor because three hard breaks in the middle of three separate sentences in three separate chapters is just not cool. 2) Actually think about a plot before writing a 450 page book stream-of-conscious style. Seriously, don't introduce 3524832 subplots and then resolve only two of them.
What. The. Actual. Fuck?
The book is on the floor, where I threw it. And it's going to stay there. I honestly don't even want to give it away because I care about people's mental states far too much.
After finishing this, my husband asks: "Are you all right? You seem disturbed."
No, I'm not all right. My brain hurts. Jane Green should 1) fire her editor because three hard breaks in the middle of three separate sentences in three separate chapters is just not cool. 2) Actually think about a plot before writing a 450 page book stream-of-conscious style. Seriously, don't introduce 3524832 subplots and then resolve only two of them.
What. The. Actual. Fuck?
The book is on the floor, where I threw it. And it's going to stay there. I honestly don't even want to give it away because I care about people's mental states far too much.
October 11, 2022
If you're looking for an easy sunbed read that Jane Green is your woman, I really enjoy her books, chick lit at its best!
Four stars.
Four stars.
September 20, 2015
This book presents itself as, I quote, ‘the book to pack in beach bags next summer’.
Now, my definition of the beach book is: fluffy, romantic, easy, and possibly with a little mystery twist.
Dune Road, however, does not check many, if any, of these categories. As the other books I have read from Green so far, this book seems to be tainted by an unhealthy, chilling darkness.
This review will have spoilers, but they are here to make you aware of what you are getting yourself into, as the book description will make sure not to tell you.
For a starter, what the description does not tell you is the amount of alcoholism, drug abuse, domestic violence, and moral degradation present in the book. Here are the details (I am not putting them into spoiler-mode because I think you should really read this before getting into the book. However, if you don’t want to, just do not read further):
Annabelle, the secret sister: She’s an alcoholic who used every possible kind of drug, and went into rehab after overdosing. She has rejection issues since their mother refused to ever get involved with her. She steps onto our heroin's doorstep and tries to take everything from her. She ends up being rejected even further and everyone tries to keep her as far away as possible.
The writer’s mystery: the mystery here is basically that he and his wife were a couple of swingers who hated each other, and he was happy when she had an accident and died.
Tracy, one of the supposed friends: This part definitely sunk the book and pinned it to the not-to-read shelf. She was a victim of domestic abuse from her first husband. So after escaping him, going through a second husband she didn't love, who had a fetish for bondage parties, and finally settling down in a small Connecticut town starting a new life and a business… what does she do? She Facebooks the abusive husband and invites him back into her life. When he obviously becomes abusive again, she goes along with his plot to steal money from the wealthiest man in town, i.e. our writer. Not only she tries to steal money from some of her best friends as well, she also feeds our heroine to her abusive ex-husband as a part of their plot, setting up their first meeting and never guarding her friend from the danger she’s getting into. Well, at the end of the book, she actually falls in love with the writer and confesses everything. The part that enraged me the most is that nobody holds her accountable for her deeds, they do not even as much as blink. Not even the friend that was fed to the abusive man and threated by Tracy like a servant when Tracy starts dating the famous writer! Seriously?! Tracy’s excuse is that she was afraid he would kill her, to stay on the ‘fun and fresh’, so what? You send your best friend to be killed instead? What if she did get sucked in? You lie to everybody because you are the victim? NO. If she asked for help in the end, she was able to do it also before, instead of manipulating everybody, with lies and deception. Annabelle the sister gets crucified, and Tracy is excused in the full? I’m sorry it doesn’t work for me. She even gets married to the millionaire writer.
However, can somebody please explain where is the, I quote again from the book description, ‘fun and fearless adventure’?
There was no fun, and every character was scared to death of one thing or the other. On the other hand, there was plenty of sadness, degradation, violence, and creepiness. KEEP AWAY.
Now, my definition of the beach book is: fluffy, romantic, easy, and possibly with a little mystery twist.
Dune Road, however, does not check many, if any, of these categories. As the other books I have read from Green so far, this book seems to be tainted by an unhealthy, chilling darkness.
This review will have spoilers, but they are here to make you aware of what you are getting yourself into, as the book description will make sure not to tell you.
For a starter, what the description does not tell you is the amount of alcoholism, drug abuse, domestic violence, and moral degradation present in the book. Here are the details (I am not putting them into spoiler-mode because I think you should really read this before getting into the book. However, if you don’t want to, just do not read further):
Annabelle, the secret sister: She’s an alcoholic who used every possible kind of drug, and went into rehab after overdosing. She has rejection issues since their mother refused to ever get involved with her. She steps onto our heroin's doorstep and tries to take everything from her. She ends up being rejected even further and everyone tries to keep her as far away as possible.
The writer’s mystery: the mystery here is basically that he and his wife were a couple of swingers who hated each other, and he was happy when she had an accident and died.
Tracy, one of the supposed friends: This part definitely sunk the book and pinned it to the not-to-read shelf. She was a victim of domestic abuse from her first husband. So after escaping him, going through a second husband she didn't love, who had a fetish for bondage parties, and finally settling down in a small Connecticut town starting a new life and a business… what does she do? She Facebooks the abusive husband and invites him back into her life. When he obviously becomes abusive again, she goes along with his plot to steal money from the wealthiest man in town, i.e. our writer. Not only she tries to steal money from some of her best friends as well, she also feeds our heroine to her abusive ex-husband as a part of their plot, setting up their first meeting and never guarding her friend from the danger she’s getting into. Well, at the end of the book, she actually falls in love with the writer and confesses everything. The part that enraged me the most is that nobody holds her accountable for her deeds, they do not even as much as blink. Not even the friend that was fed to the abusive man and threated by Tracy like a servant when Tracy starts dating the famous writer! Seriously?! Tracy’s excuse is that she was afraid he would kill her, to stay on the ‘fun and fresh’, so what? You send your best friend to be killed instead? What if she did get sucked in? You lie to everybody because you are the victim? NO. If she asked for help in the end, she was able to do it also before, instead of manipulating everybody, with lies and deception. Annabelle the sister gets crucified, and Tracy is excused in the full? I’m sorry it doesn’t work for me. She even gets married to the millionaire writer.
However, can somebody please explain where is the, I quote again from the book description, ‘fun and fearless adventure’?
There was no fun, and every character was scared to death of one thing or the other. On the other hand, there was plenty of sadness, degradation, violence, and creepiness. KEEP AWAY.
January 8, 2010
To sum this up in one word: ZZZZZZZZZzzzzz....
The blurb promises to move the reader from laughter to tears and back again. I never laughed and only cried tears of boredom. I was always waiting for this book to pick up but it never quite got there. Just when some kind of plot point began to move forward, the narrator stops and gives us an intricate look into the character's past thoughts, history, and motivations. The other misleading portion of the book blurb says that the main character would stumble upon a dark secret of the novelist she works for. This lead me to believe it would be kind of a mystery-drama. Wrong.
I find it somewhat funny that at one point Robert McClure, the famous author within the novel's premise, makes disparaging commentary on chick lit, which he says moves from the shallow exploits of Manhattan fashionistas to the cliche sob stories of women in unhappy marriages trying to discover their identities & deal with marriage/divorce. Um...hello, Jane Green? Are you serious?
And oh the agonizing over the economy ad nauseam. Gah.
I've read other books by Green before and expected a fun story, but this was just too dramatic. It took itself WAY too seriously.
The blurb promises to move the reader from laughter to tears and back again. I never laughed and only cried tears of boredom. I was always waiting for this book to pick up but it never quite got there. Just when some kind of plot point began to move forward, the narrator stops and gives us an intricate look into the character's past thoughts, history, and motivations. The other misleading portion of the book blurb says that the main character would stumble upon a dark secret of the novelist she works for. This lead me to believe it would be kind of a mystery-drama. Wrong.
I find it somewhat funny that at one point Robert McClure, the famous author within the novel's premise, makes disparaging commentary on chick lit, which he says moves from the shallow exploits of Manhattan fashionistas to the cliche sob stories of women in unhappy marriages trying to discover their identities & deal with marriage/divorce. Um...hello, Jane Green? Are you serious?
And oh the agonizing over the economy ad nauseam. Gah.
I've read other books by Green before and expected a fun story, but this was just too dramatic. It took itself WAY too seriously.
October 5, 2012
I listened to this as an audio book and I hated it. Absolutely. Hated it. I found myself yelling in the car and shutting the disc off so frequently that I couldn't even get through the entire thing. I don't know if it's because I found the actor's voice so irritating and portrayal of the characters so annoying, or if the material really was that dreadful. I think it was both, actually.
The characters were flat. Completely flat. No depth. And they were also whiny, elitist snobs crying about the loss of their McMansions and 6 carat earrings and what a travesty it was they could no longer live outside their means. And how bad it was the other investment bankers and their at-home wives would be judging them now too. And how co-dependent the main character was with her ex-husband, even though she had this whole new life and was starting over, she was still emotionally dependent on him (I don't know if they ended up back together since I didn't bother finishing, but my guess is they would come close)
The writing was bland and repetitive, so that made it even worse.
This was such a let-down for me, since I liked Jemima J.
That's what I get for trying to listen to a fluff book for entertainment.
The characters were flat. Completely flat. No depth. And they were also whiny, elitist snobs crying about the loss of their McMansions and 6 carat earrings and what a travesty it was they could no longer live outside their means. And how bad it was the other investment bankers and their at-home wives would be judging them now too. And how co-dependent the main character was with her ex-husband, even though she had this whole new life and was starting over, she was still emotionally dependent on him (I don't know if they ended up back together since I didn't bother finishing, but my guess is they would come close)
The writing was bland and repetitive, so that made it even worse.
This was such a let-down for me, since I liked Jemima J.
That's what I get for trying to listen to a fluff book for entertainment.
October 31, 2011
I listened to this book on CD while taking a solo road trip up to Canada. I'm in the middle of a divorce so the topic struck a chord with me, life after divorce. I guess I turn to fiction rather than self help books. This story was a bit too "Lifetime" movie for me. I could have definitely lived without the long lost sister and shady criminal boyfriend. It was too much for me; too far from reality.
The characters seemed flat and underdeveloped, not like real people I could relate to and understand. They all seemed so generic and gimmicky, serving very little purpose other than to push the story forward. The yoga instructor, the elderly neighbor, the author, the mommy friend, even the ex-husband, had little more than one dimension to them. The ex-husband's narrative was particularly unbelievable; it's like his world view wasn't his own, it seemed like a woman's interpretation of a man's brain, inaccurate at best. I'm pretty sure men have other things on their minds, not just sex.
Green never really went into detail about the circumstances surrounding the divorce, instead leaving the reader to interpret what may have happened in the moments leading up to it, the really critical moments. I would have rather she focused on this aspect of the story; it would have made it real for me. I think most people can agree that for all the couples out there, none of us really knows what goes on between them when the doors are closed. Things are different on the inside of a relationship vs. the outside looking in. That's the part I'm most curious about, the private lives of people that project outward an air of marital bliss. It would have been far more interesting to get those kinds of details rather than have all these sensationalized plot twists.
Overall, this book just didn't have enough substance to make me feel anything other than frustration. I wish I could avoid such mellow dramatic dribble. I especially didn't like the ending. Green left the reader to wonder at the possibility of Kit reconciling with her ex, the one we never really got a good picture of. I suppose she wanted the reader to come away hopeful that an ideal family unit can be fixed after it's been broken by divorce. This ending debases Kit and her judgement. All we know of her is that her life improved after leaving Adam, so to have her look at him with googly eyes at the end really pissed me off. It's like Green decided to throw her own heroin under the bus while attempting a version of a happy ending. I had to recalculate my impression of Kit as a weak willed and naive woman, akin to those women who just don't know what's good for them so they keep coming back to an abusive mate.
The characters seemed flat and underdeveloped, not like real people I could relate to and understand. They all seemed so generic and gimmicky, serving very little purpose other than to push the story forward. The yoga instructor, the elderly neighbor, the author, the mommy friend, even the ex-husband, had little more than one dimension to them. The ex-husband's narrative was particularly unbelievable; it's like his world view wasn't his own, it seemed like a woman's interpretation of a man's brain, inaccurate at best. I'm pretty sure men have other things on their minds, not just sex.
Green never really went into detail about the circumstances surrounding the divorce, instead leaving the reader to interpret what may have happened in the moments leading up to it, the really critical moments. I would have rather she focused on this aspect of the story; it would have made it real for me. I think most people can agree that for all the couples out there, none of us really knows what goes on between them when the doors are closed. Things are different on the inside of a relationship vs. the outside looking in. That's the part I'm most curious about, the private lives of people that project outward an air of marital bliss. It would have been far more interesting to get those kinds of details rather than have all these sensationalized plot twists.
Overall, this book just didn't have enough substance to make me feel anything other than frustration. I wish I could avoid such mellow dramatic dribble. I especially didn't like the ending. Green left the reader to wonder at the possibility of Kit reconciling with her ex, the one we never really got a good picture of. I suppose she wanted the reader to come away hopeful that an ideal family unit can be fixed after it's been broken by divorce. This ending debases Kit and her judgement. All we know of her is that her life improved after leaving Adam, so to have her look at him with googly eyes at the end really pissed me off. It's like Green decided to throw her own heroin under the bus while attempting a version of a happy ending. I had to recalculate my impression of Kit as a weak willed and naive woman, akin to those women who just don't know what's good for them so they keep coming back to an abusive mate.
February 16, 2011
Read this as a Reader's Advisory class assignment and it reminded me why I really, really don't like chick lit.
Anyway, the plot:
Newly-divorced mom lands a job (miraculously with no effort, no skills, and no interview) working for a famous author in a tony Connecticut beach town. Of course he's craggily handsome, but so is the intriguing new guy in her yoga class who just moved to town and is looking for some company. But what's this? The blond yoga instructor is making moves on her boss the writer. But her motives might not be on the up and up. And her ex-husband isn't looking too bad either now that the custody arrangements have been worked out. Kit just doesn't know how to handle all these new situations in her life but she's definitely going to have some romance while figuring it out.
The writing:
We get treated to about 10 character points of view in this book as the author tells the backstory of every single person by having them think aloud to themselves and run down their entire history while doing so. I didn't find myself relating to anyone, cheering for anyone, or worrying about anyone. One of the characters is a recovering drug addict, and the way she is dismissed out of hand at the end I guess she'll be sinking back into the chasm of drugs rather than hang with these perky, love-triumphs-over-everything BFFs.
Appeal terms, because I am a good student:
chick lit, finding your feet after a divorce, romance, high society Connecticut wives, Wall Street widows
Devotees of the genre may like this book because it explores relationships in a humorous tone, depicts strong friendships between women, has an element of danger from unsavory characters, and has a happy ending.
Anyway, the plot:
Newly-divorced mom lands a job (miraculously with no effort, no skills, and no interview) working for a famous author in a tony Connecticut beach town. Of course he's craggily handsome, but so is the intriguing new guy in her yoga class who just moved to town and is looking for some company. But what's this? The blond yoga instructor is making moves on her boss the writer. But her motives might not be on the up and up. And her ex-husband isn't looking too bad either now that the custody arrangements have been worked out. Kit just doesn't know how to handle all these new situations in her life but she's definitely going to have some romance while figuring it out.
The writing:
We get treated to about 10 character points of view in this book as the author tells the backstory of every single person by having them think aloud to themselves and run down their entire history while doing so. I didn't find myself relating to anyone, cheering for anyone, or worrying about anyone. One of the characters is a recovering drug addict, and the way she is dismissed out of hand at the end I guess she'll be sinking back into the chasm of drugs rather than hang with these perky, love-triumphs-over-everything BFFs.
Appeal terms, because I am a good student:
chick lit, finding your feet after a divorce, romance, high society Connecticut wives, Wall Street widows
Devotees of the genre may like this book because it explores relationships in a humorous tone, depicts strong friendships between women, has an element of danger from unsavory characters, and has a happy ending.
June 28, 2013
Predictable characters with predictable situations. I was interested in the book when I read the synopsis concerning a woman who worked for a famous writer and the secret she uncovers about him. Well, that's just a blip in the book. The rest is about rich woman in Connecticut with too much time on their hands. Oh, throw in one abused woman just to make the story a little more intersting. Jane Green could've done better. I suspect if she didn't have so many books under her belt, that no publisher would touch this facile work of fiction. It's probably a good beach read if you want nonsense and shallow characters that will leave your mind as soon as you brush the sand off of yourself.
July 18, 2010
I didn't expect too much since it was a chick-lit book, but the most IRRITATING thing about this book is the language that the characters use. Jane Green is British and most of the books I've read of hers so far have characters who are also British. This book is about characters living in the US... Connecticut, to be exact.
What was most irritating is that so many British phrases were used in this book in the language of these American born-and-raised characters. How would an editor have let that slip? So, Jane, if you read this, Americans don't use the phrase "get on" for "get along" as in "Go ahead and invite John to the movie too - I think he'll get on well with the rest of the group". Also, we don't refer to the restroom as "the ladies'". We call it "the ladies' ROOM". Additionally, when asking about going to someone's house, Americans don't say "why don't we meet at yours and take one car?" we would say "why don't we meet at your HOUSE and take one car?"
I know there were others in this book as I listened to it (audiobook - read by an actress with an American accent), but I forgot them along the way.
What was most irritating is that so many British phrases were used in this book in the language of these American born-and-raised characters. How would an editor have let that slip? So, Jane, if you read this, Americans don't use the phrase "get on" for "get along" as in "Go ahead and invite John to the movie too - I think he'll get on well with the rest of the group". Also, we don't refer to the restroom as "the ladies'". We call it "the ladies' ROOM". Additionally, when asking about going to someone's house, Americans don't say "why don't we meet at yours and take one car?" we would say "why don't we meet at your HOUSE and take one car?"
I know there were others in this book as I listened to it (audiobook - read by an actress with an American accent), but I forgot them along the way.
February 11, 2012
This was pretty bad. I enjoy a little mindless chick lit now and then but this book was so ridiculous and implausible it was laughable. It was like Jane Green was trying to write a Jackie Collins type Hollywood novel but she chose to base it in the "gold coast of Connecticut" (that world famous vacation spot!) The characters were all one dimensional and total cliches.
Someone should tell Jane Green that then you cook with wine the alcohol cooks out making it safe even for children took consume. To have an alcoholic say she can't eat the fish because it was poached in wine and it would get her drunk was possibly one of the stupidest things I've ever read.
Spoilers follow:
Kit, the"heroine" of the book wins the prize for biggest idiot ever. She forgives her ex husband for sleeping with her secret half sister, she forgives her mother for a lifetime of neglect (her mother did hug her that one time I guess) and she forgives her supposed close friend for secretly setting her up with her batterer of an ex husband who was also out to use her to extort money. Maybe if I did more yoga I'd learn to be more forgiving myself. I was going to make a bad joke about her yoga mat turning her into a doormat but I'll spare us all.
Early on I started to suspect that Steve was Jed, Traci's abusive ex husband, but then I thought, no, that's just plain ridiculous, who would do that? and then she does!!! Dumbest "plot twist" ever.
Someone should tell Jane Green that then you cook with wine the alcohol cooks out making it safe even for children took consume. To have an alcoholic say she can't eat the fish because it was poached in wine and it would get her drunk was possibly one of the stupidest things I've ever read.
Spoilers follow:
Kit, the"heroine" of the book wins the prize for biggest idiot ever. She forgives her ex husband for sleeping with her secret half sister, she forgives her mother for a lifetime of neglect (her mother did hug her that one time I guess) and she forgives her supposed close friend for secretly setting her up with her batterer of an ex husband who was also out to use her to extort money. Maybe if I did more yoga I'd learn to be more forgiving myself. I was going to make a bad joke about her yoga mat turning her into a doormat but I'll spare us all.
Early on I started to suspect that Steve was Jed, Traci's abusive ex husband, but then I thought, no, that's just plain ridiculous, who would do that? and then she does!!! Dumbest "plot twist" ever.
July 6, 2010
Kit's getting use to her new single life. Has her and her kids set up in a new house, is starting to get a better relationship/friendship with her ex husband. Is expanding her group of friends and has a new job as assistance to Robert McClore a famous secluded author in town. Not all is as easy and as together for everyone as it seems though.
Kit's friends lives start changing and falling apart in ways. Asking them and Kit what their priorities really are. Tracy Kit's single new yoga friend starts a relationship with Robert, her boss, but things may not be what they seem. Parts of Kit's mother's past come back to haunt Kit. And Kit is starting to wonder if her marriage really should have ended.
I loved how all the characters were woven together in this book. The plot and character kept the book interesting and moving. The other thing that I enjoyed is how things that were happening in society right now were brought into the plot, with the recession and how it effected people and the characters. I really enjoyed this book and it just flew by when I read it. I would really recommend this book to a friend. It could fit for a lite beach read, but then it was still enjoyable and I didn't feel like it was a guilty pleasure type book at the end.
Kit's friends lives start changing and falling apart in ways. Asking them and Kit what their priorities really are. Tracy Kit's single new yoga friend starts a relationship with Robert, her boss, but things may not be what they seem. Parts of Kit's mother's past come back to haunt Kit. And Kit is starting to wonder if her marriage really should have ended.
I loved how all the characters were woven together in this book. The plot and character kept the book interesting and moving. The other thing that I enjoyed is how things that were happening in society right now were brought into the plot, with the recession and how it effected people and the characters. I really enjoyed this book and it just flew by when I read it. I would really recommend this book to a friend. It could fit for a lite beach read, but then it was still enjoyable and I didn't feel like it was a guilty pleasure type book at the end.
May 3, 2021
I do love a Jane Green book! Fun, an easy read and always a bit ridiculous, this proved to be the perfect book to curl up with.
August 6, 2023
I really struggled with this book at the beginning and almost gave it up after about 100 pages in, but then it got better and I managed to complete the book.
March 20, 2010
There are times when a girl's brain just needs a break and so you go to the chic lite aisle and grab something that sounds completely trashy and inane. This is the second Jane Green book I've read and she's definitely not one of my favorites. I find it trite to justify "chic lit" as "art" in your own chic lit story.
Green's writing is okay as far as chic lite stories go. The story reads easy enough and the premise had certain promises. The main problem I had with this story had nothing to do with the author. The main character is 40 years old and experiencing things that this 36 year old has yet to face. And so I had a very hard time relating to this woman.
The other thing that got me was the ending. WHile the plot was unrealistic, one expects a certain leeway in said genre. So it says a LOT when I can't get past certain points. Like, the main character refuses to speak to her new found half-sister because said half-sister slept with her ex-huband and was slowly plotting to replace her in her ex-husband's and children's lives. BUT when its revealed her new found close friend had introduced her to said friend's domestic violence, wife-beating on-again/off-again boyfriend and said boyfriend seduced her in order to get more dirt on the local literary hero so said friend could seduce him, and the woman doesn't even blink, I was thankful there were only a handful of pages left otherwise I would have chucked the book right into the toilet.
Lastly, Green is a US-based British author. This means you get a very British-style "chic lite" story but set in America. This is annoying because British-style chic lite stories are greatly different and so characters set in the US and suppose to be American but have a very British voice is not just annoying but confusing. If you're going to write a story in the US, do us a favor and make them British ex-pats. At least then when they say things that no self-respecting American would say, you can chock it up to their British-ness.
All-in-all, if you like chic lite, this isn't a bad read. But I think there are more entertaining stories out there and definitely better written ones. And I really need to stop reading British chic lite. It's just not my cuppa.
Green's writing is okay as far as chic lite stories go. The story reads easy enough and the premise had certain promises. The main problem I had with this story had nothing to do with the author. The main character is 40 years old and experiencing things that this 36 year old has yet to face. And so I had a very hard time relating to this woman.
The other thing that got me was the ending. WHile the plot was unrealistic, one expects a certain leeway in said genre. So it says a LOT when I can't get past certain points. Like, the main character refuses to speak to her new found half-sister because said half-sister slept with her ex-huband and was slowly plotting to replace her in her ex-husband's and children's lives. BUT when its revealed her new found close friend had introduced her to said friend's domestic violence, wife-beating on-again/off-again boyfriend and said boyfriend seduced her in order to get more dirt on the local literary hero so said friend could seduce him, and the woman doesn't even blink, I was thankful there were only a handful of pages left otherwise I would have chucked the book right into the toilet.
Lastly, Green is a US-based British author. This means you get a very British-style "chic lite" story but set in America. This is annoying because British-style chic lite stories are greatly different and so characters set in the US and suppose to be American but have a very British voice is not just annoying but confusing. If you're going to write a story in the US, do us a favor and make them British ex-pats. At least then when they say things that no self-respecting American would say, you can chock it up to their British-ness.
All-in-all, if you like chic lite, this isn't a bad read. But I think there are more entertaining stories out there and definitely better written ones. And I really need to stop reading British chic lite. It's just not my cuppa.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 7, 2013
Kit, a recently divorced mom of 2, moves from her palatial mansion in a wealthy suburb of CT to a smaller home in the same area. She has a great relationship with her ex-husband, a Wall Street banker (she didn't want to become the trophy wife she felt he wanted) and a great group of girlfriends. She starts working as an assistant to a reclusive writer and begins dating a new man. Meanwhile, one of her friends starts dating her boss yet is being secret about it, and another is facing financial problems in the wake of the current economic environment. Kit's life is further interrupted when a woman arrives claiming to be her sister.
I'm a huge fan of Jane Green and this book was 'off.' First of all, Green's 'American' English could use some help. Where was the editor? Certain words should have been changed as this book is about Americans. The reasons why Kit and her husband got divorced were very thin and I'm sure most readers were routing for them to get back together from practically page 1. The subplot involving her friend Tracy was completely ridiculous and *spoiler alert* I find it hard to believe that anyone would automatically forgive someone for purposely setting them up with a physically abusive conman. Furthermore, Green became lazy at the end and spent a lot of time recapping certain aspects of the characters that they reader already knew from the previous 200 or so pages.
'Jemima J' this book is NOT!
I'm a huge fan of Jane Green and this book was 'off.' First of all, Green's 'American' English could use some help. Where was the editor? Certain words should have been changed as this book is about Americans. The reasons why Kit and her husband got divorced were very thin and I'm sure most readers were routing for them to get back together from practically page 1. The subplot involving her friend Tracy was completely ridiculous and *spoiler alert* I find it hard to believe that anyone would automatically forgive someone for purposely setting them up with a physically abusive conman. Furthermore, Green became lazy at the end and spent a lot of time recapping certain aspects of the characters that they reader already knew from the previous 200 or so pages.
'Jemima J' this book is NOT!
February 4, 2011
SPOILERS (if you want to call them that considering how small of a surprise they were.)
Meh. I guess it was OK. I DID find it incredibly predictable, though ... and by the time the final big revelation came, it was delivered so nonchalantly that it seemed like the author had grown weary of pretending it was some big surprise as well. (That revelation being that Steve was, indeed, Jed was done in passing, when the POV switched back to Tracy.)
It was also incredibly repetitive and at times very, very boring and shallow. Such sketchy portraits of these people -- maybe there were just too many points of view attempted to allow any one of them to become more well-rounded.
The *whole book* was so shallowly done. Despite its current relevance, the outside-world crisis topics just kind of came along, bounced off characters enough to leave some dregs, and then moved on ... Charlie and family were so affected by the financial crash but there was no real look at how deeply the pain and consequences. Sure, there were a few crap-graphs about Charlie reading a book on grieving, blah blah. But how was Keith affected? Their children? It was like that throughout the book.
Kind of a snoozer, really.
Meh. I guess it was OK. I DID find it incredibly predictable, though ... and by the time the final big revelation came, it was delivered so nonchalantly that it seemed like the author had grown weary of pretending it was some big surprise as well. (That revelation being that Steve was, indeed, Jed was done in passing, when the POV switched back to Tracy.)
It was also incredibly repetitive and at times very, very boring and shallow. Such sketchy portraits of these people -- maybe there were just too many points of view attempted to allow any one of them to become more well-rounded.
The *whole book* was so shallowly done. Despite its current relevance, the outside-world crisis topics just kind of came along, bounced off characters enough to leave some dregs, and then moved on ... Charlie and family were so affected by the financial crash but there was no real look at how deeply the pain and consequences. Sure, there were a few crap-graphs about Charlie reading a book on grieving, blah blah. But how was Keith affected? Their children? It was like that throughout the book.
Kind of a snoozer, really.
July 22, 2011
Greens' books are getting worse and worse as the years go on. I think I have read them all and maybe I just can't relate to them anymore. You can tell, for the most part when someone is single and they write to when someone isn't anymore. If you read Green's earlier books, they are all insane and fun and single and in London. Now, they are all old and married and living outside NYC, which is you read her bio, is just like her now. Blah. This book had so many characters, by the end, I was like, and what do they have to do with each other? I mean, they all overlapped, but there was still a lot of them. Friends and husbands and kids and neighbours, blah. Way too many. Also there was a lot going on that really never connected either. The best part was the twist at the end, which while the book was kind of blah to me, I liked the twist a lot, so I am not going to say it here. It's not worth it to read the book, but like anyway really cares anyway, after this joke of a review. Another thing that was kind of nice is she brought in characters she used in a previous book. The only problem is I read the book so long ago, I don't really remember them that much, but they seemed slightly familiar to me. All in all, don't bother.
Grade: C-
Grade: C-
August 15, 2014
I enjoyed this book, but I do wish a few things would have been different:
1. I realize the author is British, but if you're going to write about America, use the correct verbiage. We do not have car parks here, we have parking lots. We don't "get on" with one another, we "get along." And so forth.
2. The author mentions that Anabelle had Kit's bank statements. OK, but why? We're left to assume she was going to steal money from Kit, but it's never explained why she would do that. The rest of the book sets everything up as her trying to get more money from her dad because she's running out. If she was that desperate for cash, she would have stolen from Kit before the bank statements were discovered.
3. We never do find out why Anabelle's dad isn't returning her calls. I thought maybe he died, but we never get to know.
4. Your friend sets you up with her abusive ex-husband as part of a scheme to defraud her current boyfriend and you totally forgive her and move forward?? WHAT???? After that kind of betrayal, I think I'd have a hard time ever even looking at the person again, let alone being their friend.
1. I realize the author is British, but if you're going to write about America, use the correct verbiage. We do not have car parks here, we have parking lots. We don't "get on" with one another, we "get along." And so forth.
2. The author mentions that Anabelle had Kit's bank statements. OK, but why? We're left to assume she was going to steal money from Kit, but it's never explained why she would do that. The rest of the book sets everything up as her trying to get more money from her dad because she's running out. If she was that desperate for cash, she would have stolen from Kit before the bank statements were discovered.
3. We never do find out why Anabelle's dad isn't returning her calls. I thought maybe he died, but we never get to know.
4. Your friend sets you up with her abusive ex-husband as part of a scheme to defraud her current boyfriend and you totally forgive her and move forward?? WHAT???? After that kind of betrayal, I think I'd have a hard time ever even looking at the person again, let alone being their friend.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 12, 2011
Just finished up with this one and I have to say it was PAINFUL to read. Honestly. The only reason I kept going with it was because I wanted to know what happened in the end, but really - it is a bad bad book! You don't even like the characters so I found it very hard to feel bad or want anything good to happen to any of them. I found myself yelling at the characters in the book, groaning because some of the parts are so pathetic. Ugggh!!! There are a few twists, one of them that I saw coming from a mile so it was no big deal. Jane Green had some great books in the beginning of her career but now she is stuck in this rich Connecticut housewife mode that is incredibly boring. The book is awful - steer clear!
May 22, 2010
I love Jane Green, she's been one of my favorite authors since I was 18. But this book was NOT the Jane Green that I know and love. She usually does fun chick lit novels that are perfect beach (or pool, since that's how I spent my week) reads. This was not fun or funny. It dragged at times, and when it wasn't dragging it left you thinking "what the hell is wrong with every character in this book??" If you like chick lit, and are looking for a book to take on vacation, I'd recommend any of her past books - Jemima J, Mr. Maybe, and Bookends being my favorites. But I would not recommend this one.
October 26, 2016
I found it interesting and very plausible that it took getting divorced to make Kit and Adam realize the value of their relationship and their family as a unit. The divorce was like pressing a giant reset button that allowed them to change patterns and the power dynamic until they could appreciate each other again.
The one plot point that felt the most false to me was that Kit forgave Tracy immediately for setting her up with Steve. Granted, Steve, a/k/a Jed, was never abusive to Kit, but he could have been.
The one plot point that felt the most false to me was that Kit forgave Tracy immediately for setting her up with Steve. Granted, Steve, a/k/a Jed, was never abusive to Kit, but he could have been.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 17, 2016
The last book I read was drivel but it had convinced itself that it was full of deep life lessons. Hated it. So I thought that I would now read fluff that wasn't pretending it was anything else. This book had the bones of enjoyable fluff but somehow went awry: Characters that were flat and unconvincing, themes that were silly (not fluffy), and most of all a truly bad/unreal ending. Jane Green's previous books may have been "irresistible bon-bons," as the cover of this book states, but this one is "a bland frozen TV dinner."
July 9, 2009
Ugh - started out slooooow but picked up for the second half. The middle of the book there just seemed too much going on! Friends losing their homes, weird boyfriends, long-lost sisters, dreamy boss, etc, etc.
The end was also not great - i hate it when nasty characters don't get their comeuppance!
The end was also not great - i hate it when nasty characters don't get their comeuppance!
March 28, 2016
I've enjoyed other Jane Green novels but this one was repetitious and often confusing. Here's a simple example from page 250:
"Robert is fast asleep...blissfully unaware that the woman... has secrets she is struggling with."
And then, very next paragraph,
"Robert is wary. He feels with (the woman)...that there are secrets there...."
Huh? Is Robert unaware or aware?
"Robert is fast asleep...blissfully unaware that the woman... has secrets she is struggling with."
And then, very next paragraph,
"Robert is wary. He feels with (the woman)...that there are secrets there...."
Huh? Is Robert unaware or aware?
August 18, 2016
I had some problems with the plot. I don't understand why Kit would never question why her "friend" Tracy would set her up with her ex-husband, Jed, who is a complete psychopath. She just understands and moves along like it wasn't any big deal. Very unbelievable in my opinion.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 20, 2016
A pleasant read, gives me a touch of Desperate Housewives kind of feel but much less toned down on the fornicating & no murder at all, mind you. Hahahaha. Although I was hoping Plum would have 'ended' the likes of that awful Jed!
January 24, 2021
Dune Road has a whole load of characters that seem to have sprung out of London although the setting is a Wall Street bedroom community in Connecticut. Somehow the people , problems, and conflicts fail to be that riveting or believable. The instant family bonding, heinous schemes, the unreal , easy answers that wonderfully drop into the characters laps made me impatiently( cause I wanted to get done with the nonesense) push through the story. If the reader wants to just suspend all belief, then there are a few good moments strung together as a story.
December 28, 2022
I finally got through this one, but I really did not enjoy it… it started out ok but dragged in the middle and I had to force myself to finish it , just to see if it would improve….it did not. It was set in Connecticut which I liked , but that is about all I liked…. Too bad …
May 5, 2019
If this is what Jane Green books are like, I won't bother reading another one. Just so much ugh. Hackneyed writing. A ridiculous coincidence. Weird non-resolutions. And a slog to read. Basically, a waste of my time.
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