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Not Another Happy Ending

David Solomons

3.41 · Rating details · 265 ratings · 40 reviews

When a struggling publisher discovers his only successful author is blocked he knows he has to unblock her or he's finished. With her newfound success, she's become too damn happy and she can't write when she's happy. The only trouble is, the worse he makes her feel, the more he realises he is in love with her. ...more

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Paperback, 376 pages

Published February 24th 2014 by Harlequin Enterprises (Australia) Pty, Limited (first published September 19th 2013)

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Jan 04, 2017 Amalia Gkavea rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: british-literature, chic-lit, films, scotland, favorites, humour, contemporary

''Why is it that the saddest endings always seem the truest? In the stories I told myself I was always the heroine - always reaching for my happy ending.''

This is a delightful, cute, deliciously quirky love story. A story of two young people who are complete opposites. An intelligent and talented writer and an obnoxious, fierce publisher.

It is an engaging light read for a bookish person that doesn't really enjoy romance that much. Jane is a wonderful character, her thoughts and motions mirro ...more

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May 21, 2014 Namratha rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: chick-lit

Self-doubting thomasina, Jane Lockhart, is a debut author. And she is facing rejections galore. But finally, her angst-ridden novel seems to have caught the eye of Tom Duval, volatile owner of independent (and sinking) publishing house: Tristesse Books. After many long sessions of brutal editing and verbal foreplay, Jane's book is published and she earns the double victory of critical acclaim and mainstream approval.
Oh, and she bumped uglies with dashing Tom Duval along the way.

But then Duval ...more

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Aug 28, 2014 Littlemissmartina rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

'You write because you have to, because it gnaws away at your insides if you try to ignore it, because if you don't write you might as well be dead. Because nothing else can make you so mad, so frustrated, so happy and yes, so miserable. Usually all at the same time.'

Never have I read a book so perceptive in terms of exploring how writers think. As an aspiring writer myself I found these sorts of little insights, scattered throughout the book so welcome and wonderfully true. Jane's entire charac 'You write because you have to, because it gnaws away at your insides if you try to ignore it, because if you don't write you might as well be dead. Because nothing else can make you so mad, so frustrated, so happy and yes, so miserable. Usually all at the same time.'

Never have I read a book so perceptive in terms of exploring how writers think. As an aspiring writer myself I found these sorts of little insights, scattered throughout the book so welcome and wonderfully true. Jane's entire characterisation is perfect, her attitude towards writing and her love for it above nearly all else so relatable and such a true portrayal of the agonising love affair writers have with their work. The addition of the almost schizophrenic Darsie appearances added, to me, to its believability- writers do talk to their characters, and once invented, they become entities of their own, who dictate and do whatever they like.

Solomons has delved into the world of both writing and publishing, presenting the ups and downs of the industry in a realistic yet lighthearted and humorous way, and his depictions of Glasgow, both through the voice of the narrator and through Jane's eyes, firmly establish the setting and give it a wonderful curled-up-under-a-blanket-on-a-rainy-day feel. Solomons also sneaks in a brief exploration of the difficulties of adaptation from literature to cinema, opinions on fidelity to the original text and the way translating something into another medium can affect its meaning and overall feel. As an English major currently studying Literature and Cinema and Stam's 'The Dialogics of Adaptation,' this had particular resonance with me, and I enjoyed Solomons' comical take on it.

All the characters are incredibly well-written, bursting into life within reading a few sentences about them or a few lines of dialogue- in particular, Roddy is a wonderful creation, providing refreshing moments of comic relief to break through the more emotional scenes and Tom's more diabolical moments. His deliberate distortion of English literature, when we see him at work teaching- and the fact that his students actually believe it- provides a wonderful satire of both the frustrations faced in the teaching profession and the obnoxiousness and inattentiveness of high school students everywhere. Each and every character, however, is wonderfully complex- Tom, the Riviera-bred sophisticated Frenchman who has abandoned his life of luxury to struggle as a publisher in Scotland, and prefers cheap sausage rolls to all the fine cuisine of his homeland, Jane, who bakes cupcakes and yet fantasises about bashing her boyfriend's head into a typewriter, Nicola, gorgeous and glamorous, who writes about public transport for some inexplicable reason,and Willie, who fancies himself a top Hollywood screenwriter but just doesn't have the talent.

I bought the edition of this with the movie cover, but on my first reading, I had no idea it had been a film before it was a book, nor was I able to tell. I was amazed to find out later that it was a novelisation, or at least a book that was sold as a film first and then Solomons went back and wrote the book- most novelisations I've read are often filled with unnecessary bits of backstory, weak writing and a very flat way of describing and storytelling, but this book was on par with many brilliantly written novels I've read. The writing style is witty, descriptive without being over-the-top, and this book, to me, was clearly not written by someone who just sat down with a screenplay and tried to transform it into prose, but by a gifted writer who has thought about what is required to make this into a NOVEL, not just a book version of the movie.

In my opinion this book is a must-read for all writers, who will, undoubtedly, find themselves reading something Jane has said and thinking 'that's me!' For those who aren't writers, this is a highly enjoyable romantic comedy brimming with quirky and loveable characters, hilarious plots and a brilliant love-hate chemistry between the two main characters that will have you hooked. ...more

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Nov 28, 2013 Tria rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: genre-romance, owned-ebook, genre-family, copy-arc, book-pre-paper-publication, nationality-british

This fair and honest review was promised in exchange for an eARC from the publisher, Harlequin/Mira. I am receiving no other renumeration for this and have requested none.

3.5 stars (rounded up). First off - I haven't seen the film version with Karen Gillan as Jane, yet, though I still want to, and unusually this is ... not strictly an adaptation of the film so far as I can tell, but the book written after the film was made. Whether or not that makes it a novelisation is, I think, probably an arg This fair and honest review was promised in exchange for an eARC from the publisher, Harlequin/Mira. I am receiving no other renumeration for this and have requested none.

3.5 stars (rounded up). First off - I haven't seen the film version with Karen Gillan as Jane, yet, though I still want to, and unusually this is ... not strictly an adaptation of the film so far as I can tell, but the book written after the film was made. Whether or not that makes it a novelisation is, I think, probably an arguable point. Anyway. I came into this book knowing only the cast of the film, and the setting and basic plot of both.

"Not Another Happy Ending" isn't the traditional, slightly-stereotypical "Harlequin romance" one might expect. For one thing, it has a plot which, I believe, would likely still carry it were the amount of romance drastically reduced, which has its own depth. That isn't the case for most of the Harlequin novels I've encountered.

That aside, it's not difficult to match at least some of the cast to the characters in one's mind. For this, being in the order it is, there's less scope than usual to create your own visual - and auditory - impression of the characters in your head. That isn't necessarily a problem, but it does make for a little dissonance here and there if you can't hear the dialogue spoken in the actors' voices, which I couldn't always, particularly with Jane, being used to hearing Karen Gillan as herself and as Amelia Pond, who are both quite different from Jane in terms of personality. That isn't a failing of the book - I'm sure I'll find out later whether it works better in the film version or not - but I did find it slightly offputting, in an almost subconscious way.

As for the story itself, it's decently paced, and carries itself along at a steady clip that brightens up what might otherwise drag, the flow of writing a novel of course feeling irregular for many authors, even those who make themselves sit down every day to write as Willie does. This novel builds gradually but piece by piece and, while you can certainly see certain scenes coming, you're usually too interested in the present page to mind. It isn't invariably so captivating, however.

I tend to five-star books I don't want to break from before I finish reading them, and I took a couple of considerable breaks while reading this one where I got just a bit fed up, hence the rating. I confess, I'm not a fan of Tom, the main male protagonist. Were I Jane I would have told him where to go in no uncertain terms and left it at that - I don't believe claimed temporary insanity is a fair or reasonable excuse for the way Tom behaves throughout the majority of the novel, and I'm not the bad-boy type (or the boy type at all really, but that's not the point). Also, some of the less central female characters are sketched out so lightly that they don't feel like actual people, and that tends rather to put me off a work, especially when the male analogues are much more strongly written.

I enjoyed the last third of the novel much more than the rest, which is why the rating gets rounded up to 4 instead of down to 3 (that and I'm nice. Really) but I can't say why or I'll spoil it. I do think this book is worth reading, but whether or not you'll like it yourself...well, try it and see. You might be pleasantly surprised. ...more

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Feb 28, 2014 L rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

A fabulously fun rom-com about love, sponge cake and the trouble with happy endings!

*Out now on DVD* is ‘not another happy ending’ as a movie with Karen gillan {Doctor Who star}, which I am now excited to see having read David Soloman’s book. This Harlequin romance is sassy, sophisticated and full of heartfelt sincerity that will entertain for many hours and leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside. If you enjoy classic chick-lit and humorous stories, such as Amanda Foreman or Trisha Ashley et ...more

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Aug 23, 2020 Book collector rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I came to this after seeing the Karen gillan movie. Now I really enjoyed the movie so was interested in the novel. I'm pleased I tried it. The novel is based on the screenplay, essentially it's a movie novelisation but very definitely a superior one. The writing is excellent and the book expands on the film giving us more background, new scenes and alternative sequences. It's a great little book of an underrated film. Well worth hunting out.

...more

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Oct 09, 2016 Ellyn → Allonsythornraxx rated it it was amazing

Shelves: film-tv-adaption

10 October, 2016

You wouldn't know it by the amount of time it took me to get through this novel but I actually loved it. This was a refreshing change from what I usually read, and I'm so glad I randomly picked it up because Amy Pond and Fitz were on the cover.

rtc... I hope ...more

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Sep 06, 2015 Saritha rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Can't believe this was adapted from a screenplay! What a lovely book and such a refreshing change from the chick-lit/romance cliches! ...more

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Jun 09, 2016 Heather rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: chick-lit

Not wonderful but not terrible either. Doesn't really inspire me to watch the movie based on it. ...more

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Apr 14, 2019 Molly Jane Smith rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 21, 2017 Sumati Arora rated it liked it · review of another edition

Ironical title....completely but then again....its chick lit!!! I don't understand why is boy meet girl, they fall in love and lived happily every after concept so appealing to the masses???

Why couldn't this genuinely have been a not so happy ending....the book was going in the perfect direction and then the same cliche ending.

Loved the style but not so much the story of this one. The narrative techhnique the attention to detailed characterization and all is great but still doesn't make up for m ...more

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Mar 19, 2018 Emma rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Interesting insights into the publishing industry!

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May 21, 2018 Neve rated it liked it · review of another edition

Nothing exceptional but a sweet and very binge-able read

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May 23, 2019 Rose rated it liked it · review of another edition

it was very funny, i found myself laughing so hard most of the time.

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Mar 21, 2014 Bree T rated it liked it · review of another edition

Jane Lockhart has a whole pile of rejections from publishers. In fact she has them pinned up on the wall and refers to it as her Board of Pain. However she’s not giving up – although she’s exhausted most of the publishers and agents, she prints yet another copy of her manuscript and takes it to Tristesse Books, a local publisher in Glasgow. It’s owned and run by a Frenchman named Tom Duval who is famous for falling out with authors he’s published. And several that he hasn’t.

Despite what he sees Jane Lockhart has a whole pile of rejections from publishers. In fact she has them pinned up on the wall and refers to it as her Board of Pain. However she’s not giving up – although she’s exhausted most of the publishers and agents, she prints yet another copy of her manuscript and takes it to Tristesse Books, a local publisher in Glasgow. It’s owned and run by a Frenchman named Tom Duval who is famous for falling out with authors he’s published. And several that he hasn’t.

Despite what he sees is a terrible title, Tom sees potential in Jane’s manuscript and he decides to publish it. It’s exactly the sort of work he’s been looking for and he pushes her hard during edits, ripping apart her work and stitching it back together again. All of that time spent together is getting to the both of them and before the edit is done they’re blurring the lines between business and pleasure.

Jane’s book is successful for Tristesse and Jane has one more book to deliver to them to fulfill her two book contract. However – she’s blocked. She can’t decide upon the ending. Her and Tom fizzled out not long after he published her first book and now, as per Jane’s request, they don’t see each other. Tom decides that Jane’s problem is that she’s just too happy. The success of her first novel has made her much happier, which is why she cannot write. So he resolves to make all aspects of her life miserable. That way she will finish the novel and deliver Tristesse Books from the grim fate that awaits them without it. Tom needs this book – without it he will certainly lose his business and livelihood.

But maybe Tom has it wrong about what it is that’s causing Jane’s block. And maybe he’s wrong about what he needs as well.

So I’m a little bit in two minds about this book.

When I started it, I thought I was going to love it. The first 50p flew by and made me laugh. I liked Tom Duval, a Frenchman who has made his way to Glasgow and decided to stay. He’s somewhat temperamental and has a habit of making his writers cry and storm out (and that’s just the beginning). Jane has had a horrid childhood and she has poured all of that pain into her first manuscript, laughably entitled The Endless Anguish of my Father. When Tom first receives it, he pitches it into the bin and it’s only because he needs to kill something (a fly I think?) that he retrieves it and ends up reading it. He immediately knows he can publish it, although he has to fix it first. The interactions between Tom and Jane were interesting and crackled off the page. I was surprised, given the blurb, how long it took for the book to reach the part where Tom and Jane part ways and Jane is working on her second book. And that’s where it started to slide a bit for me.

Although I kind of understand Tom’s reasoning in wanting to hurry Jane along in finishing her second manuscript, because his company is in serious trouble and he needs to publish something with a successful name behind it, some of the stunts he pulled…kind of sat uncomfortably with me. I know it’s intended to be humour and Tom is kind of emotionally underdeveloped as a person but he was intending to hurt Jane quite a bit and make her really miserable. Now if this was written making Tom the publisher from hell, with zero romantic interest, I might’ve enjoyed it a lot more. But I found it quite weird that Tom was obviously in love with Jane (and she him as well) but he was intending to do these horrible things to her to make her miserable so that she might write. A couple of them were harmless and the one that would’ve done some severe, severe damage to Jane’s mental state and her very fledgling relationship with someone important to her doesn’t actually come off but the point is, Tom still tried to destroy things to her that were important.

I enjoyed the portion of the book where Jane and Tom worked together to edit her first novel: their discussions, their unorthodox ways of working together, their tipping over into sexual attraction, that all worked for me. I liked Tom during that section of the book, in all his moody French glory. I didn’t like him quite so much in the second half of the book although I did really enjoy his employee/friend Roddy. Roddy wavers between the voice of reason and willing accomplice in some of Tom’s more outlandish attempts to make Jane miserable so that she can finish her book. Some of the interactions between Tom and Roddy were quite funny and might even be the highlights of the book. Unfortunately, I found the interactions between Jane and Darsie really difficult to get into. I think that sort of thing in a book is something a reader either really loves or doesn’t get at all. I’m in the ‘don’t really get it’ camp.

So….two minds. The first part is a thumbs up but not the second part unfortunately. ...more

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Oct 10, 2013 Janet Emson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I received a copy of this book from the publishers via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I have to admit that before I received this book I was not aware of the film on which it is based so came to read it without any preconceptions.

Jane is a struggling writer, receiving rejection letter after rejection letter in response to her first manuscript entitled 'The Endless Anguish of My Father'. Tom is the publisher who is looking for the book that will establish his company amongst the big I received a copy of this book from the publishers via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I have to admit that before I received this book I was not aware of the film on which it is based so came to read it without any preconceptions.

Jane is a struggling writer, receiving rejection letter after rejection letter in response to her first manuscript entitled 'The Endless Anguish of My Father'. Tom is the publisher who is looking for the book that will establish his company amongst the big publishing greats. Initially rejecting Jane's novel he agrees to publish it, so long as she agrees to extensive re-writes. Working together on the re-writes brings the two closer together until Tom changes the title of novel and the two no longer speak.

The book is launched and becomes a best seller, throwing Jane into the limelight, and leaving her with the pressure of writing an equally amazing second novel. However the angst and sadness that drive Jane to write her first novel have apparently disappeared, she has a new boyfriend, Willie, who is adapting her first novel as a screen play and has reconciled with her father who had walked out on her in her 7th birthday. With the new found contentment in her life she suddenly finds she has writer's block and is unable to finish the second novel.

Meanwhile Tom needs Jane's next book. His company Tristesse is nearly broke and he'll have to sell if the book isn't finished and released soon. He finds out Jane is blocked and realises that the only way to get her writing again is to make her miserable. So he starts out on his quest to restore writing order with his flatmate Roddy in a madcap plan that includes kidnapping her umbrella plant and starting a fight on a bus.

I have to say I really enjoyed this book. There were places where I laughed out loud, Roddy in particular had some of the funniest lines and he and Tom made a good comedy duo.

There were some parts where I could guess what was going to happen but this didn't detract from the book, in fact I think I would have been disappointed if my surmises had been wrong!

This book was adapted from the screenplay of the same name. Whilst I can imagine this book as a film it wasn't at the forefront of mind whilst I read it. Having read books that weren't based on screenplays but obviously written in the hope that they would be one day and been distracted by it. Thankfully that wasn't the case here.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable, light-hearted, romantic and funny read. ...more

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May 17, 2014 Kathryn rated it liked it · review of another edition

It is not often that at book based on a screenplay turns out to be a winner, but Not Another Happy Ending proved itself to be one of those rare gems. Author David Solomon also wrote the screenplay for this quirky, set-in-Scotland, romantic comedy that pokes fun at the publishing industry, so it is no surprise that the story survives the transition from screen to print. The film/novel tells the story of Jane Lockheart, a twenty-something aspiring writer and lover of all things miserable, whose no It is not often that at book based on a screenplay turns out to be a winner, but Not Another Happy Ending proved itself to be one of those rare gems. Author David Solomon also wrote the screenplay for this quirky, set-in-Scotland, romantic comedy that pokes fun at the publishing industry, so it is no surprise that the story survives the transition from screen to print. The film/novel tells the story of Jane Lockheart, a twenty-something aspiring writer and lover of all things miserable, whose novel goes on to be a surprise literary hit. She also enjoys a brief relationship with her editor, but then all of her success goes on to make her rather happy, which destroys not only her relationship, but leaves her with a terrible case of writers block. Ex-boyfriend Tom is quick to realise that Jane's happiness is getting in the way of her becoming a successful writer so he goes about in a cruel-but-ultimately-disastrous attempt at making her unhappy. There is a couple of twists and turns, but mostly the comedy revolves around Tom's many failed attempts at making Jane miserable, along with his unwillingness to admit that he is still in love with Jane. It's not a plot that is terribly deep and nor is it going to please everyone. I struggled to identify with Jane and feel that the story may have been more interesting had it been told entirely from Tom's perspective--I think the author had a better understanding of this character and his motivations, whereas Jane came across as quite unremarkable despite possessing a number of quirks. There are a few romantic comedy cliches--i.e. kissing in the rain, a leading lady who loves Jane Austen, but these feel delightfully ironic, rather than annoying.

This one could have been a hell of a lot deeper and there are a lot of digs at the publishing industry (I had to laugh when one of Tom's ideas on how he could make Jane unhappy was to show her what bloggers were saying about her book,) but Not Another Happy Ending remains fun, light entertainment. This one is recommended for a lazy afternoon or evening. ...more

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Feb 19, 2017 Ingo marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: filmed-as-movie-tv

As a fan of female Red-Heads, Scotland, and filmed books I had to buy this, but have yet to read it and just ordered the movie on DVD (no Blu-ray yet, which is a shame! - written February 19th, 2017).

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Jun 02, 2014 BestChickLit.com rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This was not at all the book I was expecting to read from the cover and the blurb, which is actually quite ironic considering the subject matter. I was expecting something a little less substantial and definitely less bleak to start out. Knowing Glasgow, however, the rain was definitely a given. Once I had started to read, I very quickly became utterly engrossed and the book came everywhere with me; reading it walking to work, in my break, etc. We were inseparable, which was a little unfortunate ...more

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Apr 16, 2014 Toast rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I think this book is trying to hard, to trendy, to screenplay to be a book. It ticks all the right boxes for the marketing team, it is well written but it has no matter. The lead - Jane - is a writer hence all the Jane Austen mentions; she is feisty, gutsy, individual ie she's a red head who wears a bowler hat, she bakes and she swears and throws things at her publisher boyfriend. He - the lead - Tom - is a dashing Frenchman who runs a cutting edge publishing house in Glasgow with the aid of his ...more

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Oct 14, 2013 Bobbie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I had no idea that this was the book of a film when I picked it up, so I started reading with no precoceptions. Half way through I saw that there was a film of the same name, and assumed that the book came before the film. Now I know that the film came first, I'm even more impressed. The transition from page to screen, or screen to page, is never an easy one, but although I haven't seen the film yet, the book of Not Another Happy Ending works so well. I read a lot of NA and YA books, but I do ha ...more

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Oct 15, 2013 Katy Noyes rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley-reviewcopy

Review of a Netgalley review copy.

I felt a bit cheated, when, a few chapters in, I read somewhere that this book is a novelisation of a film screenplay. Usually I avoid books OF films. It's an adaptation of a simplified story already, though in this case I believe an original screenplay (by the author of this adaptation).

All through, even before knowing its origin, I felt something was strange about the writing, some jumping around of action, some character decisions that didn't make sense. It c ...more

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Jun 16, 2015 Jo Kaiser rated it liked it · review of another edition

I've just spent the last few minutes reading some of the existing reviews, there was one reoccurring comment that struck me; it was not the book that came first, before the movie, but the movie. And with this revelation everything in the book suddenly makes sense. Having watched the movie several times now (and over a span of a couple of weeks) I could not help but compare the book and the movie in my head. In certain scenes and chapters I could see the movie being played out before me, which is ...more

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Oct 24, 2013 Amy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

When Jane Lockart writes a best-selling novel that also garnered rave reviews, she seems destined for the big time. Her agent Tom Duval certainly hopes so. Something about Jane’s poignant, heartbreaking debut affected him, although he doesn’t want her to know that. But then Jane gets writer’s block (Jane Lockart’s “art” is “locked”), and Tom decides that it’s because Jane is happy. She wrote her first novel when she was sad and miserable, so Tom sets out to make her sad and miserable again. He d ...more

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Jun 23, 2014 JoAnne rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: womens-fiction, romance, humor

Jane Lockhart is a writer trying to find a publisher for her novel. She has submitted it to 40 publishers - all of them rejected it until she finds Tristesse, a small publishing house in Glasgow. Tom Duval is a Frenchman that tired of the gorgeous Cote D'azur but fell in love with Scotland. He also loves Jane's book. They work together to edit it and have a relationship, sort of. Jane is writing her second novel but cannot seem to finish it. Tom is desperate to get the book to save his failing c ...more

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Mar 29, 2014 Holly marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Okay, I may not actually read this book for two reasons:
1. It is not readily available locally.
2. It turns out that it is a novelization of the movie, when I was hoping the movie was based on a book.
I just watched the movie online and it had the feel of an adaptation that maybe had to leave some things out. Still, I liked the movie well enough. It was a nice, little, fluffy rom-com. It was relatively clean, though there was one person's naked backside, but done in a slapstick, funny way, not in ...more

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Oct 20, 2013 Donna rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I really did want to like this and it was a novel idea to have the movie tie in but I don't think I'll be reading it more than once. I particularly enjoyed the interactions between Jane and Darsie but otherwise I didn't feel much for any of the characters. Rather then jumping out of the page and allowing me to become emotionally attached to them and root for them, they seemed rather stilted. almost as if like Darsie they too weren't fully formed yet ...more

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Dec 15, 2013 Karine rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I read this book before watching the film and I must say, I still pictured Karen Gillian and Stanley Webber as Jane and Tom even though I was trying my damnedest not to! The book was hilarious and witty, and reading a book that was set in my home city of Glasgow was so refreshing. I loved this book for the characters, the plot and obviously the wee slice of home it holds. It was a brilliant contemporary read and I devoured it in less than a day, and the movie isn't half bad either! ...more

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Apr 11, 2015 T. Renee Doty rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own-and-read, favorites

Such a nice reread. I had just as much fun with the characters. I love them and feel for them.

As a writer myself, Jane is very easy to relate to. She has a lot of self-doubt and insecurity, which every artistic person battles with. The film version is just as lovely, with the screenplay also written by Solomons.

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Feb 24, 2016 Renelle rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: stupid-ass-protagonist, wants-to-slap-le-protagonist, what-the-hell, why-did-i-read-this, mediocre, could-have-been-better, mary-sues-everywhere, stand-alone, disappointment, thought-it-would-have-been-great

This book had potential. I had faith in it even though I saw through the premise and saw the ending 300 pages too early. I don't like books that end the way I expect them to. Every author ought to know that, right? *sighs* How will I ever appreciate Adult Fiction if all the books turn out the same, clichéd way? ...more

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About David Solomons

David Solomons

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David Solomons has been writing screenplays for many years. His first feature film was an adaptation of ‘Five Children and It’ (starring Kenneth Branagh and Eddie Izzard, with gala screenings at the Toronto and Tribeca Film Festivals). His latest film is a romantic comedy set in the world of publishing, ‘Not Another Happy Ending’ (Karen Gillan, Iain de Caestecker), which closed the Edinburgh Inter ...more