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Once in a Lifetime
Warm, captivating storytelling from the heart – treat yourself to come Cathy Kelly time with this No. 1 bestseller.
Something happens that changes you forever…
Ingrid Fitzgerald is flying high. A successful TV presenter, she's happily married with two wonderful children. But as they fly the nest, she's about to discover a secret that will shatter her world.
Natalie Flynn is falling in love – but the secrecy surrounding her mother's past still troubles her. And Charlie Fallon loves her family and her job at Kenny's Department Store, but could now be the time to fight for her own happiness?
The woman with the power to help them is free spirit Star Bluestone. Experience tells her that the important things in life must be treasured and the chance for real joy comes only once in a lifetime…
Something happens that changes you forever…
Ingrid Fitzgerald is flying high. A successful TV presenter, she's happily married with two wonderful children. But as they fly the nest, she's about to discover a secret that will shatter her world.
Natalie Flynn is falling in love – but the secrecy surrounding her mother's past still troubles her. And Charlie Fallon loves her family and her job at Kenny's Department Store, but could now be the time to fight for her own happiness?
The woman with the power to help them is free spirit Star Bluestone. Experience tells her that the important things in life must be treasured and the chance for real joy comes only once in a lifetime…
478 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2009
146 people are currently reading
1159 people want to read
About the author
Cathy Kelly
115 books1,083 followersBorn in Belfast but raised in Dublin, Cathy initially worked for thirteen years as a newspaper journalist with a national Irish Sunday newspaper, where she worked in news, features, along with spending time as an agony aunt and the paper’s film critic. However, her overwhelming love was always fiction and she published her first international bestseller, Woman To Woman, in 1997. She did not become a full-time writer until she had written another two books (She’s The One and Never Too Late) and finally decided to leave the world of journalism in 2001, moving to HarperCollins Publishers at the same time.
Someone Like You and What She Wants followed in successive years. Her sixth novel, Just Between Us, was her first Sunday Times number one bestseller, while her eighth novel, Always and Forever, topped the UK bestseller lists in October 2005, displacing Dan Brown and J. K. Rowling. In 2007, Past Secrets in was also a number one paperback bestseller.
Lessons in Heartbreak was shortlisted for the Eason Irish Popular Fiction Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards in April 2009. In September 2009, Once in a Lifetime topped the UK bestseller lists for three weeks. In March 2011, Homecoming achieved the same feat. Her latest novel is It Started With Paris, published by Orion in 2014.
In Autumn 2011, Cathy headlined a search for a new writer on ITV’s The Alan Titchmarsh Show.
Cathy’s trademark is warm story-telling and she consistently tops the bestseller lists around the world with books which deal with themes ranging from relationships and marriage to depression and loss, but always with an uplifting message and strong female characters at the heart.
Cathy also has a passionate interest in children’s rights and is an ambassador for UNICEF Ireland. Her role for UNICEF is a Global Parent, which means raising funds and awareness for children orphaned by or living with HIV/AIDs.
She lives with her husband, John, their twin sons, Dylan and Murray, and their three dogs in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow.
To contact Cathy email info@cathykelly.com
Someone Like You and What She Wants followed in successive years. Her sixth novel, Just Between Us, was her first Sunday Times number one bestseller, while her eighth novel, Always and Forever, topped the UK bestseller lists in October 2005, displacing Dan Brown and J. K. Rowling. In 2007, Past Secrets in was also a number one paperback bestseller.
Lessons in Heartbreak was shortlisted for the Eason Irish Popular Fiction Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards in April 2009. In September 2009, Once in a Lifetime topped the UK bestseller lists for three weeks. In March 2011, Homecoming achieved the same feat. Her latest novel is It Started With Paris, published by Orion in 2014.
In Autumn 2011, Cathy headlined a search for a new writer on ITV’s The Alan Titchmarsh Show.
Cathy’s trademark is warm story-telling and she consistently tops the bestseller lists around the world with books which deal with themes ranging from relationships and marriage to depression and loss, but always with an uplifting message and strong female characters at the heart.
Cathy also has a passionate interest in children’s rights and is an ambassador for UNICEF Ireland. Her role for UNICEF is a Global Parent, which means raising funds and awareness for children orphaned by or living with HIV/AIDs.
She lives with her husband, John, their twin sons, Dylan and Murray, and their three dogs in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow.
To contact Cathy email info@cathykelly.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 162 reviews
April 6, 2015
I adore her, but this one is not among her best ones... :(
March 4, 2011
This has to be one of the most unfortunate titles and cover art I've seen, the picture of a carefree young woman on a swing is misleading, a lesson in "don't judge a book by its cover". It appears to be a romance, or chick-lit, but it's actually a very well written, thoughtful, satisfying work of fiction for women. Yes, there are a few young women in the story, but the majority of the book focuses on middle-aged women, women who are in (or entering) the autumn of their lives and find that it's not the end after all. Each chapter heading has a line or two of advice which I really should write down for my own benefit, and at the ending of the book, it all comes together.
August 21, 2024
This book was a failure that had all the advantages to be a success. I have the feeling Cathy Kelly aspires to be Maeve Binchy, and she certainly had all the Binchy elements here: First and foremost, this book should have been firmly focused on the department store, because that was the connecting element for virtually all of the characters in it. And it did give just enough about it so that you were enamored of it and wished you could shop there; but then neglected to give that Binchy feel of daily involvement that would have made it more central. Kenny's Department Store should serve as the foil to showcase all its characters in the same way that Binchy's The Evening Class used the night school to examine the lives and secret goals of all the folks who were enrolled in its beginning Italian class; but Kenny's ultimately took a back seat. It came and went in importance, and the story wraps up with a Kenny's narrative, but it disappeared for too much of the book to work in the same way.
Likewise, in some ways Kelly is a master at characterization, and yet I felt like in the end, her characters failed to hold the line. The personality and presence she developed for TV reporter Ingrid Fitzgerald simply would not have reacted to things the way Ingrid did in the end, I don't care how soothed she was by the book's airy fairy mystical witch woman who seemed to have the solutions to many of the characters' problems. Similarly, if this witch woman, Star Bluestone, was to be the catalyst for so much action, then she, like Kenny's, should have been far more prominent throughout the story, instead of in bits and bobs here and there. And I sincerely liked such characters as Charlotte (Charlie) and Natalie, David Kenny, and even the subsidiary characters Stacy, Dara, Molly and Ethan, and Ingrid's best friend whose name I am blanking on, but the extremely uneven coverage of all of them was disconcerting.
I felt like Kelly had indeed aimed at using the store as the background to show you the chapters of the lives of the various people who worked there (or who were there by association, like Ingrid, married to the owner), but the stories were so uneven in length and in importance that the reader got confused as to where the book was going.
Also, she gives a big promise of treating her women like people instead of women, and then succumbs, near the end of the book, to what I would consider as rank misogyny. Some forgive the unforgiveable, others act like giddy schoolgirls and embrace a last-minute romance in their 50s and their friends observe that "he's just the type of strong man she needs." What?!
Finally, what did the book in was its cover and its title. "Once in a Lifetime" is so vague as to be insulting to a book as specific as this one was; and where in the world did that picture of a girl on a swing come from? No one in the book ever frequents a playground, that I noticed, or gets on a swing, or feels as happy and jubilant about it as this pictured stranger apparently does. What the hell, publishers? While I was ultimately able to read the book for its own merits (which, despite my negative review, were many), the cover was so misleading about the book that it took me twice as long to get into the story, which wasn't following the lead that the cover gave it.
I would love to see Kelly do a rewrite of this book, rein in some of her characters (enough about Charlie's mother, OMG) and expand the others, connect them all more closely with the store that brings them together, and change the title and cover to something reflective of all that. I doubt that would ever happen, but that is my wish, because this book DESERVED to be better.
Likewise, in some ways Kelly is a master at characterization, and yet I felt like in the end, her characters failed to hold the line. The personality and presence she developed for TV reporter Ingrid Fitzgerald simply would not have reacted to things the way Ingrid did in the end, I don't care how soothed she was by the book's airy fairy mystical witch woman who seemed to have the solutions to many of the characters' problems. Similarly, if this witch woman, Star Bluestone, was to be the catalyst for so much action, then she, like Kenny's, should have been far more prominent throughout the story, instead of in bits and bobs here and there. And I sincerely liked such characters as Charlotte (Charlie) and Natalie, David Kenny, and even the subsidiary characters Stacy, Dara, Molly and Ethan, and Ingrid's best friend whose name I am blanking on, but the extremely uneven coverage of all of them was disconcerting.
I felt like Kelly had indeed aimed at using the store as the background to show you the chapters of the lives of the various people who worked there (or who were there by association, like Ingrid, married to the owner), but the stories were so uneven in length and in importance that the reader got confused as to where the book was going.
Also, she gives a big promise of treating her women like people instead of women, and then succumbs, near the end of the book, to what I would consider as rank misogyny. Some forgive the unforgiveable, others act like giddy schoolgirls and embrace a last-minute romance in their 50s and their friends observe that "he's just the type of strong man she needs." What?!
Finally, what did the book in was its cover and its title. "Once in a Lifetime" is so vague as to be insulting to a book as specific as this one was; and where in the world did that picture of a girl on a swing come from? No one in the book ever frequents a playground, that I noticed, or gets on a swing, or feels as happy and jubilant about it as this pictured stranger apparently does. What the hell, publishers? While I was ultimately able to read the book for its own merits (which, despite my negative review, were many), the cover was so misleading about the book that it took me twice as long to get into the story, which wasn't following the lead that the cover gave it.
I would love to see Kelly do a rewrite of this book, rein in some of her characters (enough about Charlie's mother, OMG) and expand the others, connect them all more closely with the store that brings them together, and change the title and cover to something reflective of all that. I doubt that would ever happen, but that is my wish, because this book DESERVED to be better.
December 5, 2009
The town of Ardagh in Ireland loves its local department store, Kenny’s, run by David Kenny. But things to do with the people aren’t all rosy. David’s wife Ingrid, a politics TV Presenter is juggling her family life and work life, but she soon unearths a secret that will shatter her world. Kenny’s employee Natalie is starting to question her father about her long-deceased mother, and finds out some shocking revelations that rock her. Charlie Fallon, a make-up guru at Kenny’s is in despair at her rocky relationship with her mother, but loves her own husband and son. She’s determined to make it right with her mother, but are they both too stubborn? And finally, Star Bluestone who provides tapestries for the store, holds the knowledge to help all these women in their hours of need. Star knows how important it is to these women to find closure… but will they let her provide it?
Cathy Kelly is a very popular Irish author, and amazingly this is the 11th book she has released. She’s been writing since 1997, but since I was only 11 years old then, I’ve only just really got into her work, my first Kelly novel being her previous release, Lessons in Heartbreak (reviewed of course). I wasn’t overly impressed but hoped that this one would be more enjoyable for me. When I read the blurb, I wasn’t too sure as it sounded like a lot of characters and would therefore require a bit more concentration that I liked to give a book but still I was willing to give it a real go and head into it with an open mind. It was a rather chunky book, so was one that would take me a while, and consequently give me a chance to really get into it.
When I started the book, it really wasn’t the modern tale of a department store that I had expected straight away. Instead, we were introduced to white-witch Star, and I really struggled to get into the book at all. If I am honest, I did think about putting it down because usually I don’t persevere with it because I have so many others to read, but I decided to give it a chance for some reason. When the book got going a bit more, I found the read sort of flowed better and I very much liked the characters that were being introduced, especially Ingrid and Natalie who were interesting, modern and had great stories to read about. Although she appeared in the book’s prologue, we don’t see all that much of Star in the book (good for me because I didn’t like her) but you can see her importance as the book progresses, which is all due to Kelly’s writing talent.
After doing a bit of research on her other novels, it seems Kelly’s novels are all about women and their relationships, be it with their husbands, mothers or other family. She’s stuck to what she knows here, but perhaps too much because when discussing this book with my mum, she told me it felt too much like something Kelly has written before – fine if it’s one of your first Cathy Kelly books like me, but for my mum and nan who are long-time readers, they feel a bit cheated and weren’t all that convinced it was a good, fresh story. The story was well written, don’t get me wrong on that part, but as with all chick-lit to a degree, it was quite predictable as to how it was going to progress. One strand of storyline kept me guessing because not enough was revealed to guess the answer, but it wasn’t enough to really keep my interest in the book at its peak, and at times I felt I was just reading it to get to the end as quickly as possible.
The characterisation in the book was very good – Kelly really gets into the hearts of characters and puts on paper perfectly what you expect them to be feeling. There aren’t all that many relationships in the book to build on, mainly as they involve characters that aren’t around in the book, but the few that are there are realistic and enjoyable to read. Kelly writes in the third person, making it easy to switch between the amount of characters in the book. As mentioned, my favourites were Ingrid, the strong, business-savvy TV presenter and Natalie who is without a mother. Charlie annoyed me in ways but I did feel sorry for her, and as I said I really didn’t like Star, although I can’t put my finger on why. You would expect an author of Kelly’s history to write well, and yes she does, but the book just didn’t grip me like so many young and more vibrant writers do these days.
If I’m honest, I don’t think I’ll be looking to pick up another Cathy Kelly book in a hurry. My mum has told me to read some of her earlier books because they are far better, and I will when I have the time, but I won’t hurry to get her new ones in the future. It is a well written book with good, realistic characters but for me it seemed to drag on and on, without an end in sight. There didn’t seem to be an aim to reach and without that, the story sort of tended to amble on and on, often dipping into the past of certain characters to reveal some new storylines but even they weren’t enough to renew my interest. For fans of Cathy Kelly, you’ll probably still want to read this and may enjoy it, but if you’re not a fan, don’t rush to read this, there’s much better out there.
Cathy Kelly is a very popular Irish author, and amazingly this is the 11th book she has released. She’s been writing since 1997, but since I was only 11 years old then, I’ve only just really got into her work, my first Kelly novel being her previous release, Lessons in Heartbreak (reviewed of course). I wasn’t overly impressed but hoped that this one would be more enjoyable for me. When I read the blurb, I wasn’t too sure as it sounded like a lot of characters and would therefore require a bit more concentration that I liked to give a book but still I was willing to give it a real go and head into it with an open mind. It was a rather chunky book, so was one that would take me a while, and consequently give me a chance to really get into it.
When I started the book, it really wasn’t the modern tale of a department store that I had expected straight away. Instead, we were introduced to white-witch Star, and I really struggled to get into the book at all. If I am honest, I did think about putting it down because usually I don’t persevere with it because I have so many others to read, but I decided to give it a chance for some reason. When the book got going a bit more, I found the read sort of flowed better and I very much liked the characters that were being introduced, especially Ingrid and Natalie who were interesting, modern and had great stories to read about. Although she appeared in the book’s prologue, we don’t see all that much of Star in the book (good for me because I didn’t like her) but you can see her importance as the book progresses, which is all due to Kelly’s writing talent.
After doing a bit of research on her other novels, it seems Kelly’s novels are all about women and their relationships, be it with their husbands, mothers or other family. She’s stuck to what she knows here, but perhaps too much because when discussing this book with my mum, she told me it felt too much like something Kelly has written before – fine if it’s one of your first Cathy Kelly books like me, but for my mum and nan who are long-time readers, they feel a bit cheated and weren’t all that convinced it was a good, fresh story. The story was well written, don’t get me wrong on that part, but as with all chick-lit to a degree, it was quite predictable as to how it was going to progress. One strand of storyline kept me guessing because not enough was revealed to guess the answer, but it wasn’t enough to really keep my interest in the book at its peak, and at times I felt I was just reading it to get to the end as quickly as possible.
The characterisation in the book was very good – Kelly really gets into the hearts of characters and puts on paper perfectly what you expect them to be feeling. There aren’t all that many relationships in the book to build on, mainly as they involve characters that aren’t around in the book, but the few that are there are realistic and enjoyable to read. Kelly writes in the third person, making it easy to switch between the amount of characters in the book. As mentioned, my favourites were Ingrid, the strong, business-savvy TV presenter and Natalie who is without a mother. Charlie annoyed me in ways but I did feel sorry for her, and as I said I really didn’t like Star, although I can’t put my finger on why. You would expect an author of Kelly’s history to write well, and yes she does, but the book just didn’t grip me like so many young and more vibrant writers do these days.
If I’m honest, I don’t think I’ll be looking to pick up another Cathy Kelly book in a hurry. My mum has told me to read some of her earlier books because they are far better, and I will when I have the time, but I won’t hurry to get her new ones in the future. It is a well written book with good, realistic characters but for me it seemed to drag on and on, without an end in sight. There didn’t seem to be an aim to reach and without that, the story sort of tended to amble on and on, often dipping into the past of certain characters to reveal some new storylines but even they weren’t enough to renew my interest. For fans of Cathy Kelly, you’ll probably still want to read this and may enjoy it, but if you’re not a fan, don’t rush to read this, there’s much better out there.
July 16, 2017
Leitura agradável. Gostei mais do que estava à espera. Gosto de livros que me surpreendem pela positiva.
February 27, 2014
By golly this book was hard work. I very nearly gave up on it on more than one occasion, however, by the time I was three quarters of the way through I figured I might as well continue. The book conceptually shows promise however it doesn't quite deliver. The book very unsatisfactorily jumps around a multitude of characters and concurrent story lines in such as way that it is difficult (almost impossible) to develop any kind of attachment, interest or empathy for all of the different characters. This theme continues throughout the book and just when you think there is going to be an interesting twist where all of the stories converge and start to make sense the book ends. As I read the last page I was left thinking 'Oh is that it?'. I have a little baby so my reading time is precious, I therefore almost feel cheated that I spent my time reading such an unsatisfying book. That said, I am glad that I finished it and recognize that there was something about this novel that kept me turning the pages...
August 26, 2019
This book surprised me. When I had finished it and moved on to another book I actually missed this one. The characters were all quite nice--I feel like they are nicer people than I am but still believable and I liked and appreciated them (most of them).
A little bit of "universe magic" thrown in here which I sometimes like or don't, depending on the day, but in this case it was fun and not too heavy. Anyway pretty enjoyable holiday read.
A little bit of "universe magic" thrown in here which I sometimes like or don't, depending on the day, but in this case it was fun and not too heavy. Anyway pretty enjoyable holiday read.
January 26, 2014
Successful woman happily married to successful man must re-examine her life after husband's untimely death. With lots and lots of mundane padding.
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July 16, 2015Rubbish book
What a bore
What a bore
July 19, 2015
Niet mijn ding, komt erg traag op gang en pas op het einde komt er wat leven in de zaak waardoor je dingen gaat snappen. Het laatste deel was goed, de rest een beetje saai.
April 18, 2020
This is my first Cathy Kelly book, and I have read several negative reviews about it since I finished it, but I have to say that I didn't find it anywhere near as bad as those reviews would have had me think. What I do think, which nobody else seems to have mentioned, is that David Kenny was an absolute cad, bounder and bandit! But before we realise that, something that happens to him becomes the catalyst for many things that happen to others throughout the book.
It was, I think, meant to be an ensemble cast but David Kenny - or rather his TV presenter wife Ingrid - take centre stage and this was a mistake as the story became unbalanced. There could have been more exploration of the backgrounds of characters like Kitty, Lizzie and Charlie's upbringing. As it was, they felt glossed over in comparison to Ingrid.
Kenny's is a department store in the small Irish town of Ardagh and is something of a town gem. David has inherited it from his father who founded the store in 1928 and seemed to be a bit of a Mr Selfridge. But we didn't really find out much about who he really was. Unfortunately, even his wife didn't know, and I really did not like the author's sympathetic apologist treatment of this aspect of the story or the way Ingrid resolved it. What on earth made him act in the horrible way he did and justify it to himself? Moreover, getting Ingrid to justify it was ridiculous. The store could also have been made much more of and added a lot more interest that way.
Ingrid, along with fellow characters Charlie and Natalie, start to question their lives and relationships and what changes they could and should make as well as what they should come to terms with. Unlike many reviewers too I really liked the character of Star and would like her to have featured more prominently.
Very relationship and character driven, it's a good read but somewhat unbalanced in my view.
It was, I think, meant to be an ensemble cast but David Kenny - or rather his TV presenter wife Ingrid - take centre stage and this was a mistake as the story became unbalanced. There could have been more exploration of the backgrounds of characters like Kitty, Lizzie and Charlie's upbringing. As it was, they felt glossed over in comparison to Ingrid.
Kenny's is a department store in the small Irish town of Ardagh and is something of a town gem. David has inherited it from his father who founded the store in 1928 and seemed to be a bit of a Mr Selfridge. But we didn't really find out much about who he really was. Unfortunately, even his wife didn't know, and I really did not like the author's sympathetic apologist treatment of this aspect of the story or the way Ingrid resolved it. What on earth made him act in the horrible way he did and justify it to himself? Moreover, getting Ingrid to justify it was ridiculous. The store could also have been made much more of and added a lot more interest that way.
Ingrid, along with fellow characters Charlie and Natalie, start to question their lives and relationships and what changes they could and should make as well as what they should come to terms with. Unlike many reviewers too I really liked the character of Star and would like her to have featured more prominently.
Very relationship and character driven, it's a good read but somewhat unbalanced in my view.
April 26, 2020
In once in a lifetime there is a strong elements of mother and daughter relationships. In this book, she wrote two main mothers life how they are dealing their difficult situation and solve out the problems. I like to read this book but i have just little bit inconvenience that was many different name's and different family friends life she mentioned it. Otherwise admired to reading through.
March 2, 2023
There were parts that I really enjoyed but struggled getting through it. This was definitely not Cathy Kelly’s best book
October 26, 2023
Nope, not for me. I really like the way it started but then drifted into something boring and I stopped reading it. 0h well..🙈
April 13, 2020
Wise, easy to read, compassionate. This is the first time I've read one of her books. Wanted to keep reading. Looking forward to more of her books. Highly recommend this one.
May 5, 2015
Mais um livro maravilhoso e doce da autora.
Mais quatro personagens com história sofridas e interligando-se entre si.Vidas com dramas e alegrias, descritos de uma maneira suave pela autora.Os livros de Cathy Kelly transmitem-me serenidade, e este em especial, pois vem carregado com a magia da personagem Star.Por mais difícil e triste que seja os momentos da vida das pessoas que habitam na pequena Ardagh, existe sempre uma lição de vida especial, que nos faz pensar .É um romance realista, do que pode acontecer a qualquer momento a qualquer pessoa, e como conseguir a paz necessária para conseguir ultrapassar obstáculos que na vida podem surgir.
Muito bom.
August 25, 2017
São três histórias diferentes mas que acabam por ter algo em comum. Foi a primeira vez que li algo desta autora e que gostei imenso. É um romance leve, aliás bastante leve e que se lê bastante bem, para que não aprecia romances, pode começar com este que vai adorar de certeza absoluta.
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July 5, 2014
an interesting but somewhat disappointing read. good premise; takes too long to get to the point.
January 5, 2018
I was expecting to hate this book. My mum gave me a handful of this type of book last time I was home and they've been sitting unloved and unread on my shelf ever since. However, I needed something light after reading 1984!
Cathy Kelly is a pretty well-known Irish author but this is the first of her novels that I've read. This book is an interconnected series of stories about women and the connections and relationships between them.
I found this book to be an enjoyable read. It was exactly the kind of light relief I was looking for. It would be easy to just dismiss this as chick lit but it does have some depth. I do have to admit to finding it difficult to get into. The first few chapters really were a struggle, especially trying to keep up with who all the different characters were. However, by the time the stories had started weaving together, I was invested in the characters. I even found myself getting a bit emotional at times! The majority of the main characters were well written and engaging.
Despite all that, there were some parts I didn't like. Many of the supporting characters were very 2 dimensional and interchangeable. The one thing that bugged me most though was Star and her "magic". It just felt so unnecessary to me and cheapened the story. For such a small group of women, there were a lot of dramatic themes too. I mean there's death, secret children, hidden affairs, child abuse and alcoholism. I think focusing on less of these would have been wiser and more realistic. It's also a touch long.
Based on this book, I'm not sure if I'd pick up another novel from Cathy Kelly. It might be ok for a beach read but I don't think I'd pay full price for one!
Cathy Kelly is a pretty well-known Irish author but this is the first of her novels that I've read. This book is an interconnected series of stories about women and the connections and relationships between them.
I found this book to be an enjoyable read. It was exactly the kind of light relief I was looking for. It would be easy to just dismiss this as chick lit but it does have some depth. I do have to admit to finding it difficult to get into. The first few chapters really were a struggle, especially trying to keep up with who all the different characters were. However, by the time the stories had started weaving together, I was invested in the characters. I even found myself getting a bit emotional at times! The majority of the main characters were well written and engaging.
Despite all that, there were some parts I didn't like. Many of the supporting characters were very 2 dimensional and interchangeable. The one thing that bugged me most though was Star and her "magic". It just felt so unnecessary to me and cheapened the story. For such a small group of women, there were a lot of dramatic themes too. I mean there's death, secret children, hidden affairs, child abuse and alcoholism. I think focusing on less of these would have been wiser and more realistic. It's also a touch long.
Based on this book, I'm not sure if I'd pick up another novel from Cathy Kelly. It might be ok for a beach read but I don't think I'd pay full price for one!
May 29, 2024
You never have to go very far...
Kenny's Department Store isn't just a place to shop; it's the heart of Ardagh, Ireland. Behind its stately Edwardian facade is an up-to-date store featuring unusual boutique products in an elegant setting. Here lives intersect...and secrets hide. TV reporter Ingrid Fitzgerald has watched her husband, David Kenny, pour his heart and soul into the family store -- the "other woman" in her marriage -- for years. Now, as their children fly the nest, Ingrid discovers something that will shake her world to its foundation.
...to see that you aren't alone.
Charlie Fallon is a dedicated Kenny's employee who adores her husband and son, but her selfish, dominating mother seems determined to ruin everything. Free spirit Star Bluestone, who sells her beautifully crafted tapestries at Kenny's, has her own secrets and wisdom to share. But when unexpected tragedy shocks everyone at Kenny's and threatens its future, the women of Ardagh find that secrets have a way of always coming out -- with repercussions that lead them to rely on one another more than ever before.
Kenny's Department Store isn't just a place to shop; it's the heart of Ardagh, Ireland. Behind its stately Edwardian facade is an up-to-date store featuring unusual boutique products in an elegant setting. Here lives intersect...and secrets hide. TV reporter Ingrid Fitzgerald has watched her husband, David Kenny, pour his heart and soul into the family store -- the "other woman" in her marriage -- for years. Now, as their children fly the nest, Ingrid discovers something that will shake her world to its foundation.
...to see that you aren't alone.
Charlie Fallon is a dedicated Kenny's employee who adores her husband and son, but her selfish, dominating mother seems determined to ruin everything. Free spirit Star Bluestone, who sells her beautifully crafted tapestries at Kenny's, has her own secrets and wisdom to share. But when unexpected tragedy shocks everyone at Kenny's and threatens its future, the women of Ardagh find that secrets have a way of always coming out -- with repercussions that lead them to rely on one another more than ever before.
March 14, 2020
This chick lit style tale based around a family business in Ireland is an easy read, great for those times when you want a comforting book with enough characters and storylines to keep you absorbed but you don’t want to be challenged. The untimely death of David Kenny triggers a chain of events among family, friends and colleagues that resurrect old wounds and raise lots of questions.
It was an interesting setting for this type of book and I liked the main characters, but the reason for only 2 stars is that the number and complexity of sub plots became rather irritating. I think it would have been more interesting to focus on David’s immediate family and the issues with the business.
It was an interesting setting for this type of book and I liked the main characters, but the reason for only 2 stars is that the number and complexity of sub plots became rather irritating. I think it would have been more interesting to focus on David’s immediate family and the issues with the business.
November 9, 2020
I love Cathy Kelly's books, but I have to say this one wasn't one of my top favorites of hers. I was reading other books that's why it took me so long to finish but I finally got back into it last week. It was a bit hard to get into the story. There were several characters and I couldn't keep them straight, plus I felt that the main storyline was getting lost. We finally get back to Ingrid and David more than halfway through. The little side stories were ok but I'm not sure they were all needed. They mostly get tied together at the end, but for me this one fell flat. I will definitely keep reading her books though!
August 20, 2023
Trigger Warning: child sexual abuse, rape
The connection of the characters was a little hard to follow. It seemed as if there were too many characters, so not every one mentioned was developed thoroughly enough to make you care about them.
It took 200 pages to get to the part where you were starting to realize the point of the story. Even then, the point didn't come across clearly to me. I went another 200 pages looking for the moment of clarity where everything neatly fit together, but it didn't really come occur.
The connection of the characters was a little hard to follow. It seemed as if there were too many characters, so not every one mentioned was developed thoroughly enough to make you care about them.
It took 200 pages to get to the part where you were starting to realize the point of the story. Even then, the point didn't come across clearly to me. I went another 200 pages looking for the moment of clarity where everything neatly fit together, but it didn't really come occur.
March 23, 2018
There are times when you read a book and it truly speaks to you.
This book was one of them. So many parallels on a relationship level that I could relate to on a personal level. Many times it stirred the pain I did not wish to have stirred.
Don't get me wrong this is a marvelous story. Full of love and Irish humour. Well worth the read and no it is not depressing in any way.
This book was one of them. So many parallels on a relationship level that I could relate to on a personal level. Many times it stirred the pain I did not wish to have stirred.
Don't get me wrong this is a marvelous story. Full of love and Irish humour. Well worth the read and no it is not depressing in any way.
April 27, 2018
Somewhere along the way I stopped reading, which was previously one of my most favourite hobbies. Recently, my Grandma gave me a bunch of her second-hand light reads, this book was one of them. I enjoyed it, I finished it, I'm thankful for it because I'm slowly back in the world of reading. As I said, it's a light read, good as an easy holiday read.
January 24, 2021
I struggled to pick this book up, Seemed okay but not great.
Maybe just not my style, but I really couldn’t get into this book or find myself wanting to pick it back up to find out what happens.
Maybe cause I wasn’t interested in it I didn’t focus on it enough to even know the storyline, if there was one.
Maybe just not my style, but I really couldn’t get into this book or find myself wanting to pick it back up to find out what happens.
Maybe cause I wasn’t interested in it I didn’t focus on it enough to even know the storyline, if there was one.
July 2, 2021
My favorite author but somehow I find this book not as interesting as others. The storyline is quite flat. When the story went back to the past, I was hoping to read some excitements or mystery that has happened but again it was just normal and flat storyline. The characters are also quite boring. The only interesting chapter was when David died. Quite dissapointed with this book.
August 22, 2024
I found this to be an enjoyable read, but it felt like the last few chapters were up against a deadline. I also think there was an opportunity to make the department store more of its own character since it was fairly central to the story.
I likely won't be reading this again since there are so many other works of fiction out there.
I likely won't be reading this again since there are so many other works of fiction out there.
December 18, 2019
Whilst I enjoyed this book somewhat I do not think it is one of the authors best novels. The story lost its way somewhere along the line and whilst it explored mother/daughter relationships and friendship I did not find the central plot believable or interesting.
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August 5, 2020Started this at the end July then discovered an unpacked book which I finished yesterday, 4th August so have just picked this up again to read, not far into it, perhaps 60 pages or so, but intricate characterisations and the setting intrigue me.
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