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Hooked on a Feeling

(Hooked on a Feeling #1)

Ainslie Paton (Goodreads Author)

4.11 · Rating details · 38 ratings · 12 reviews

From bestselling, groundbreaking author Ainslie Paton comes a groovy romance about changing times, growing up, breaking out and second chances. Set in Sydney in 1975, when pants and collars were wide, hair was big, eyelids were blue and neighbours shared each other's lives.There's a sexual revolution going on, but not in Gayle's life. She's never felt so old, so unattracti ...more

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ebook, 290 pages

Published August 1st 2014 by Escape Publishing

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· 38 ratings · 12 reviews

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Start your review of Hooked on a Feeling (Hooked on a Feeling, #1)

Jul 03, 2014 ✰ Bianca ✰ BJ's Book Blog ✰ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: keeper, i-loved-it, first-reads

Australia 1975.

description

Gayle has just left her husband and her safe life in a nice suburb of Sydney. He doesn't love her anymore and he's having a baby with his girlfriend.
So Gayle and her son Dean were graciously allowed by her husband Max to move into a little house on their own.
Remember this is 1975 - so it's not an everyday thing that a single mum moves into the neighbourhood.
Scandalous!!! o.O
Even her parents won't talk to her - they blame her for everything!!

But Gayle quickly finds friends in her n ...more

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Jul 06, 2014 ✰ BJ's Book Blog ✰Janeane ✰ rated it it was amazing

Thank you Ainslie Paton for giving the the chance to relive my childhood whilst reading Hooked on a Feeling!

Although maybe not so many thanks for making me feel old!!

Seriously, it was like I was ...more

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Aug 14, 2014 Jenny Schwartz rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2014, authors-i-know, romance

I've been debating whether to review "Hooked on a Feeling" as part of the Australian Women Writers Challenge http://australianwomenwriters.com/ and I've decided to go with it. The reservations I had were two-fold.

First, I read a lot of romance and I try to use AWW to stretch my reading. "Hooked on a Feeling" is definitely a romance.

Second, I know Ainslie. She's a writer-friend, published with the same publisher as me. So I was a bit dubious whether people would think I was biased or just silly ...more

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Aug 04, 2014 Love Reading Romance rated it really liked it

Gayle's a good little housewife, until her husband cheats and knocks up another woman. Now life is all single mother terror, judgy school nuns and new neighbors. It's the new neighbors who are most under her skin, though - Steve, who's all sex on legs, but seems to be as much into their neighbor Hazel as he is into her, and Ray, the single dad who brings out the worst in Gayle, just as his daughter brings out the devil in her son.

So, where to begin? There are a few storylines and romances happen Gayle's a good little housewife, until her husband cheats and knocks up another woman. Now life is all single mother terror, judgy school nuns and new neighbors. It's the new neighbors who are most under her skin, though - Steve, who's all sex on legs, but seems to be as much into their neighbor Hazel as he is into her, and Ray, the single dad who brings out the worst in Gayle, just as his daughter brings out the devil in her son.

So, where to begin? There are a few storylines and romances happening in this one, but the primary narratives shift around Gayle and Ray, Gayle and Steve and Steve and Hazel, plus the kids.

Gayle is a wonderful main character. To start with she is so unsure of herself, lost in the world and without any idea of how to find her way. But she's no wilting flower. She's a mama bear first and foremost, determined to protect her son and trying to work out her new identity as Single Mother. She wants to make something of herself beyond that role too, as soon as she can work out how.

Initially led astray by Steve's wandering hands, her primary romance is with Ray. I love Ray. His story is as tumultuous as Gayle's, if not more, having lost his wife to depression and suicide. But he's a dedicated father, consumed by single father terror too, and just wanting to do right by his daughter. It's Gayle and Ray's struggle to balance parenting with their own personal needs and desires that pushes these two apart even as it pulls them together. I found this so realistic, relatable and heart wrenching.

So what about Hazel and Steve? I love Hazel. She's as innocent as she is perceptive, but totally weighed down by her love of a complete douche-bag. That's right - I really disliked Steve. A lot of readers are going to get the bad boy shivers for him, but he's not the sort of book boyfriend I fall for. So I was almost hoping him and Hazel wouldn't get their HEA/HFN (I know, I know - SACRILEGE!).

The thing is, Steve is a difficult character to redeem and I just couldn't see it happening in the space of a novel. And yet, Ainslie Paton totally came through with this storyline, but not in the way I expected and definitely not the way I wanted. I guess readers don't always know what's best for them and this was one of those cases. I won't spoil the story for you, but I'll just say a big thanks to the author for giving Steve and Hazel the ending they deserved.

Some of this book is also told from the perspective of Dean, Gayle's son. I was very dubious when his first section began, since I think maintaining a child-tone in an adult book can be really difficult and is often unconvincing (Emma Donoghue's Room being a brilliant exception). However, Dean's sections were convincing and gave some really nice insights into the story that I enjoyed, though I'm not 100% sure they were necessary.

Similarly, the main narrative occasionally has an odd structure, with some of the major moments being recalled by characters (including a proposal scene), rather than taking place on the page as present incidents. Weirdly, this didn't bother me as much as I feel like it should have. Somehow it worked, but it was something that I couldn't help noticing and I wonder if it might have been less distracting to have less of a flash back style narrative. I'm not sure.

It was the 70s setting of this novel that had me picking it up in the first place and this story turned out to be such a great blast from the past. Ainslie Paton totally brings the 70s Aussie vibe to life and I was mesmerized. If the characters don't pull you in (which I find hard to believe), the setting will. It is very Aussie, so I have to admit that I'm not sure how international readers will read it, but I reckon a holiday to 70s Sydney is a good trip for anyone. I loved the Brady Bunch references, the 5c lemonade, Hazel's references to molls and especially CRACKER NIGHT!!

The beauty of this book, though, comes from the way it manages to point out the timelessness of the characters' issues and journeys. Despite being set in the 70s, so much about this story is completely here and now. While we like to think we're all liberated post feminist women, the experiences of Gayle, Hazel, and even Ray's late wife Pam, are scarily familiar, and the current reality for many women is made all the more intense by the distance of this story's setting. It's wonderful and heartbreaking.

Oh, I nearly forgot to mention the sex. OMG. Let me just leave you with this quote:

"I’m going to lick you like you licked up that batter."

Oh. My. ...more

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Jul 29, 2014 Fiona Marsden rated it it was amazing

I don't know what it is about Ainslie Paton's writing but even though I would normally say this is not my kind of book, it still manages to suck me in. I was curious about this one because it was set in 1975. I turned 14 at the end of that year so I remember it well. I remember the stubby shorts, the terry towelling outfits. The only thing I was surprised not to see was a safari suit. My dad wore one of those for most of the 70's.

There are two romances and a bit in this story but part of the joy I don't know what it is about Ainslie Paton's writing but even though I would normally say this is not my kind of book, it still manages to suck me in. I was curious about this one because it was set in 1975. I turned 14 at the end of that year so I remember it well. I remember the stubby shorts, the terry towelling outfits. The only thing I was surprised not to see was a safari suit. My dad wore one of those for most of the 70's.

There are two romances and a bit in this story but part of the joy (or angst) is not knowing who is going to end up with who.

Our main heroine, Gayle (I went to school with numerous combinations of that name) is a young women with a child who has just separated from her husband due to his infidelity (among other things). Her seven year old son Dean is the centre of her world and in 1975 starting out as a single mother was a far bigger deal than it is forty years later. Married out of school she has never worked.(yes there are feminist undertones but only in relation to the storyline)

On her first day in her new neighbourhood Gayle meets Steve and Ray and Ray's daughter Kim who is the same age as Dean. She also meets Hazel, a teacher trainee visiting her parents and younger brother Greg. We get to meet the whole neighbourhood as time goes by, including Susan who is the neighbourhood babysitter at sixteen. It's all terribly familiar.

Despite the cast of thousands, it is a very intimate story centred around Dean and Kim's friendship and the to and fro of the adults around them. Steve is a Vietnam vet, his brother is a widower and even between these two brothers there are secrets and tensions that impact on the story. Hazel has her part to play and of course there is Max, Gayle's ex who still has a role in her life because of Dean.

This is not a standard romance, even though there are love stories contained within. It is a time capsule of a period in Australian suburbia that will evoke nostalgia for those of my generation and above. It is a complex story about very real people dealing with real issues with the odd effect of looking through a lens slightly distorted by the setting in 1975. ...more

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Jul 02, 2014 Susan rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary-romance

This is a bit of a departure for Ainslie Paton from her contemporary romances, as it takes place in 1976 and has a strong secondary romance, along with a heroine who starts off with one guy and ends up with another. I could identify with the period details (even though I grew up in America, not Australia) - the songs, the disco, the clothes, the mustaches. And Paton reminds us of how difficult life could be for women of that era, especially divorced ones, who were frequently considered loose wom ...more

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Jul 19, 2014 Sharryn rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2014-reading-challenge, arc, australian-author, e-books, romance

4 out of 5 stars

I felt like I was reliving 1975 whilst reading this book. I was in my later teens at the time and it was the year I got my first full time job, passed my driving test and bought my first car. No it was not a Sandman panel van! Thankyou to Ainslie for her wonderful take on the era.

I will admit there was a lot of Aussieness in this book and I’m not sure non Australian readers will understand a lot of it. But if you are an Aussie you will love the references to Sunnyboys, fish finge ...more

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Jul 10, 2014 Ava rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc-or-netgalley, goodread-2013-2014, fav-read-of-all-time

ARC received via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review

5 sparkling retro Stars

this book is in the favorite book I read.
It was so naturally lovely cute and realistic.
The era felt close and far away. I wasn't born but it was set in the 70s, somewhere I wasn't hoping for Hippy, I have nothing against hippy, it just I can't really grab the lifestyle.
With this book, it wasn't only about Gayle, a young but age woman, lost and ashame of her situation. Ashame not really but her situation wasn't ...more

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Nov 06, 2014 Cat rated it it was ok

I was quite anticipating reading this; i love australian fiction. Bit disappointed in this, though.....the story was good....however, there were rather a lot of longwinded sex scenes which kind of got rather ho-hum......
one...yeah..ok.....two even....but in the end i just skimmed through them feeling vaguely annoyed. if i wanted to read erotic fiction, then i would read 50 shades of whatever.
i really wish the author had just told the story...put in a couple of sex bits (it's set in the 70's aft ...more

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Jun 22, 2015 Kylie H rated it liked it

I enjoyed the story line but found the characters a bit corny and a little too perfect. I also found the constant references to 70's songs quite irritating as it was unnecessary, it was clear the story was set in the 70's and didn't need a song catalogue to authenticate it. The story also ended a bit too abruptly for my liking. Clearly others have really enjoyed this, it was a good story but not great. ...more

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Jul 20, 2014 Kathryn rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2014, 4-star, women-s-fiction, historical-fiction, e-arc

This book is quite different to the two previous books I have read by Ainslie Paton, so it took me a little while to adjust. Was it great reading? You bet. Loved the characters and the situations they were in, I wasn't sure how it was all going to end up - but I was every bit as satisfied with how things played out, as were Kim and Dean (the kids!) ...more

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Aug 12, 2014 Roz ~ My Written Romance rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2014-reading-challenge, arcs, books-full-of-awesome, australian-author, redeeming-a-difficult-character

Holy sh*tballs! I...love...this...book!

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About Ainslie Paton

Ainslie Paton

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Ainslie Paton always wanted to write stories to make people smile, but the need to eat, accumulate books, and have bedclothes to read under was ever present. She sold out, and worked as a flack, a suit, and a creative, ghosting for business leaders, rabble-rousers, and politicians, and making words happen for companies, governments, causes, conditions, high-profile CEOs, low-profile celebs, and th ...more