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Book by FREYA NORTH
384 pages, Paperback
First published July 28, 2003
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About the author
Freya North
41 books699 followersFreya North is the author of many bestselling novels which have been translated into numerous languages. She was born in London but lives in rural Hertfordshire, where she writes from a stable in her back garden. A passionate reader since childhood, Freya was originally inspired by Mary Wesley, Rose Tremain and Barbara Trapido: fiction with strong and original characters. To hear about events, competitions and what she’s writing, join her on Facebook, Twitter and her website.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
January 10, 2020
For my full review, visit me at https://mrsbrownsbooks.wordpress.com/...
No. No. No. I did not enjoy North’s writing style. The classic “boy meets girl” story is told from a different cast of accountant and clown. But when an author decides to remove the “third wall” and talk directly to the reader within the narrative? No way. That had me gasping in disbelief and desperate to conclude this story.
For my full review, visit me at https://mrsbrownsbooks.wordpress.com/...
No. No. No. I did not enjoy North’s writing style. The classic “boy meets girl” story is told from a different cast of accountant and clown. But when an author decides to remove the “third wall” and talk directly to the reader within the narrative? No way. That had me gasping in disbelief and desperate to conclude this story.
For my full review, visit me at https://mrsbrownsbooks.wordpress.com/...
January 22, 2016
A really sweet love story and two lovable main characters. But really too much f**king and too much detail, every situation being described over and over again. Although I really loved Pip and Zak - and Django too - I had trouble finishing the book. I must add that I really enjoyed the descriptions of Pip at work - Freya North clearly knows her clowning. I do feel the book could have been much shorter without really being of less value.
August 8, 2016
Having written the stories of two of the three McCabe sisters, I guess there was an inevitability that Freya North would end up writing the story of the eldest, as that’s frequently how authors think. Having read “Cat” and “Fen”, the novels of the youngest and middle of the McCabe sisters, it was inevitable that I would end up reading “Pip”, the oldest of the McCabe sisters, as that’s the way I tend to think, regardless of my opinion of the first two books in any given trilogy.
That said, the story of Philippa McCabe, also known as the “Pip” of the title, promised to be slightly different due to her chosen career and her attitude to love compared to that of her sisters. For not only is Pip determined that she doesn’t need a man in her life, she makes her living as a professional clown. She performs at children’s parties as Merry Martha, but also spends two afternoons a week as a clown doctor known as Dr. Pippity, which proves to be rather more emotionally draining than the parties. For when she needs company, she has her sisters and best friend Megan and can always turn to them or her Uncle for advice.
Through her work, Pip meets two completely different men. At the hospital she meets Dr. Caleb Simmons, who is a fantastic lover and who Pip falls for completely, until she finds out that the friend he is going on holiday with is his girlfriend. She also meets Zac Holmes, who Pip immediately dismisses as a little strange as he says and does some unusual things, although having also met his son through both her jobs, Pip wouldn’t be interested in someone with Zac’s baggage anyway. Besides which, they’re completely opposite; she’s a clown, he’s an accountant; her flat is painted in dull colours, his is bright and has art on the walls; he has an ex and a son and a companion, she has her sisters and Uncle. Besides which, having been treated badly by Dr. Simmons and managing a one-night stand to get her over him, she doesn’t need any men in her life and she certainly doesn’t have enough money to have need of an accountant.
One of the few things I liked about this book was Pip’s job, especially the hospital work she does. Not just because it seems like a noble and fun thing to do with your time, but because it’s so well described. Nowhere else in this book, or any of the others by Freya North I’ve read, is any action or interaction between characters described in quite so much detail or with quite so much fun. It is clear both from an author’s note, but especially from the prose, that this work is something that has earned North’s respect and it is treated as such throughout the novel. The one shame was that as the book is based more around Pip’s personal life than her professional life, there wasn’t nearly enough about her work, which was far more interesting and funny than anything else here.
It’s amusing that Pip should have a job based around making people smile, as she seemed to be the least sympathetic of all the McCabe sisters. Whilst Cat was suffering and Fen was indecisive, Pip seemed to react to being treated badly by paying that forward, so that she treated a man she actually liked quite badly as a direct reaction to being treated the same way by another who had broken her heart. She was also very changeable which wasn’t terribly appealing to me, as her sudden willingness to make cosmetic changes after a good talking to from her Uncle seemed rather out of character. It’s almost as if she had two sides to her private life as well as there being two clown versions of her in her professional life, despite the clowns not being all that different from each other and the sudden one night stand she had was yet a third strand that didn’t seem in keeping with what was going on in her life otherwise.
Indeed, this one-night stand highlighted another thing I wasn’t entirely happy about with this book, in that it also varies between consistency and inconsistency. This happened in France, in a trip to see her sister Cat and has been mentioned in that book, but the version of it in “Pip” differs in a couple of major ways from that in “Cat”, as to where it happened and who was awake at the time to notice. In “Pip”, this one-night stand came as a revelation to the sisters, despite them being aware of it at the time. However, at the same time, throughout this book there are a number of very familiar turns of phrase I recognize from being used in “Cat” and “Fen” and one paragraph in particular that seemed so familiar, I wasn’t entirely convinced it hadn’t been lifted directly from one of the other books.
One place where the writing was a little less repetitive than I have become accustomed to in Freya North’s work was in the sexual scenes. Generally speaking, in the past they have blended into one another, but here Pip is involved with two men who have different approaches to sex, who Pip is sleeping with for different reasons and for whom Pip feels different things. This means that the scenes are written differently, as different language and a different approach is needed for both men, rather than the one size fits all approach of the earlier novels, which I felt made “Pip” the better written of the three books in terms of these scenes and this type of content, which became less boring for the reader.
However, this improvement to the writing in these scenes is once again offset by the voice of the narrator or author, who felt the need to comment in various places, but not in others. This has been a feature of all the McCabe sisters novels, where the story at times is being told by a separate narrator in some parts, but then suddenly the narrator seems to step in and become a commentator, which has been somewhat annoying all the way through, but seems even more intrusive here than before, particularly in the opening to one particular chapter where it felt as if North wanted to force her way through the fourth wall and insert herself in case the reader forgot she was there.
Overall, I felt that whilst some parts of “Pip” were better than that in her sisters’ novels, some aspects of the writing were worse, especially when it comes to the narration. Of the three, this would perhaps be rated in between the two others, as there was more to like in “Pip” than in “Cat”, but certainly more than I didn’t like, or liked less than in “Fen”, who was a much sweeter character. North appeared to make some improvement between “Cat” and “Fen”, which I hoped would continue through to “Pip”, but instead there seems to have been a backwards step in some areas.
That said, the story of Philippa McCabe, also known as the “Pip” of the title, promised to be slightly different due to her chosen career and her attitude to love compared to that of her sisters. For not only is Pip determined that she doesn’t need a man in her life, she makes her living as a professional clown. She performs at children’s parties as Merry Martha, but also spends two afternoons a week as a clown doctor known as Dr. Pippity, which proves to be rather more emotionally draining than the parties. For when she needs company, she has her sisters and best friend Megan and can always turn to them or her Uncle for advice.
Through her work, Pip meets two completely different men. At the hospital she meets Dr. Caleb Simmons, who is a fantastic lover and who Pip falls for completely, until she finds out that the friend he is going on holiday with is his girlfriend. She also meets Zac Holmes, who Pip immediately dismisses as a little strange as he says and does some unusual things, although having also met his son through both her jobs, Pip wouldn’t be interested in someone with Zac’s baggage anyway. Besides which, they’re completely opposite; she’s a clown, he’s an accountant; her flat is painted in dull colours, his is bright and has art on the walls; he has an ex and a son and a companion, she has her sisters and Uncle. Besides which, having been treated badly by Dr. Simmons and managing a one-night stand to get her over him, she doesn’t need any men in her life and she certainly doesn’t have enough money to have need of an accountant.
One of the few things I liked about this book was Pip’s job, especially the hospital work she does. Not just because it seems like a noble and fun thing to do with your time, but because it’s so well described. Nowhere else in this book, or any of the others by Freya North I’ve read, is any action or interaction between characters described in quite so much detail or with quite so much fun. It is clear both from an author’s note, but especially from the prose, that this work is something that has earned North’s respect and it is treated as such throughout the novel. The one shame was that as the book is based more around Pip’s personal life than her professional life, there wasn’t nearly enough about her work, which was far more interesting and funny than anything else here.
It’s amusing that Pip should have a job based around making people smile, as she seemed to be the least sympathetic of all the McCabe sisters. Whilst Cat was suffering and Fen was indecisive, Pip seemed to react to being treated badly by paying that forward, so that she treated a man she actually liked quite badly as a direct reaction to being treated the same way by another who had broken her heart. She was also very changeable which wasn’t terribly appealing to me, as her sudden willingness to make cosmetic changes after a good talking to from her Uncle seemed rather out of character. It’s almost as if she had two sides to her private life as well as there being two clown versions of her in her professional life, despite the clowns not being all that different from each other and the sudden one night stand she had was yet a third strand that didn’t seem in keeping with what was going on in her life otherwise.
Indeed, this one-night stand highlighted another thing I wasn’t entirely happy about with this book, in that it also varies between consistency and inconsistency. This happened in France, in a trip to see her sister Cat and has been mentioned in that book, but the version of it in “Pip” differs in a couple of major ways from that in “Cat”, as to where it happened and who was awake at the time to notice. In “Pip”, this one-night stand came as a revelation to the sisters, despite them being aware of it at the time. However, at the same time, throughout this book there are a number of very familiar turns of phrase I recognize from being used in “Cat” and “Fen” and one paragraph in particular that seemed so familiar, I wasn’t entirely convinced it hadn’t been lifted directly from one of the other books.
One place where the writing was a little less repetitive than I have become accustomed to in Freya North’s work was in the sexual scenes. Generally speaking, in the past they have blended into one another, but here Pip is involved with two men who have different approaches to sex, who Pip is sleeping with for different reasons and for whom Pip feels different things. This means that the scenes are written differently, as different language and a different approach is needed for both men, rather than the one size fits all approach of the earlier novels, which I felt made “Pip” the better written of the three books in terms of these scenes and this type of content, which became less boring for the reader.
However, this improvement to the writing in these scenes is once again offset by the voice of the narrator or author, who felt the need to comment in various places, but not in others. This has been a feature of all the McCabe sisters novels, where the story at times is being told by a separate narrator in some parts, but then suddenly the narrator seems to step in and become a commentator, which has been somewhat annoying all the way through, but seems even more intrusive here than before, particularly in the opening to one particular chapter where it felt as if North wanted to force her way through the fourth wall and insert herself in case the reader forgot she was there.
Overall, I felt that whilst some parts of “Pip” were better than that in her sisters’ novels, some aspects of the writing were worse, especially when it comes to the narration. Of the three, this would perhaps be rated in between the two others, as there was more to like in “Pip” than in “Cat”, but certainly more than I didn’t like, or liked less than in “Fen”, who was a much sweeter character. North appeared to make some improvement between “Cat” and “Fen”, which I hoped would continue through to “Pip”, but instead there seems to have been a backwards step in some areas.
October 7, 2025
By the end it had me rooting for pip and zac. I loved the fact that they were so different as people but could still find something in each other. I liked how this book was written as it was such an easier read.
November 9, 2015
Ik had wat moeite met dit boek. Helaas. Deel 1, CAT vond ik ook al wat minder. Deel 2, Fen vond ik wel leuk. Deel 3, dus weer wat minder. Ik ben benieuwd naar het laatste deel, Zussen. Die heb ik al liggen. Toch ga ik eerst een ander boek lezen. Tegen het einde was het boek wel leuk, maar in het begin moest ik er echt inkomen en vond ik het soms wat aan de saaie kant. Pip draait om het derde zusje McCabe. Ze is clown en vanuit die hoedanigheid leert ze Zac kennen. Ik kan niet zo goed uitleggen, waarom ik het boek niet zo leuk vond, want dan zou ik teveel van het plot verklappen en dat wil ik niet. Wel kan ik vertellen dat het nogal lang duurt voordat er echt wat gebeurt. Verder wordt in het boek ook aandacht besteed aan het werk van de CliniClowns.
Wat wel leuk is, is de ontwikkeling die Pip doormaakt. Eerst sluit ze iedereen buiten, ook haar zusjes. Pas als ze wat meer open wordt, wordt ze ook als personage meer aantrekkelijker. Wat leuk aan de serie is dat bepaalde gebeurtenissen uit de andere boeken terug komen, maar dan vanuit een ander perspectief. Zo komt de Tour de France waar Cat verslag van doet (beschreven in Cat) ook even kort voor in dit boek. Dat was bij Fen ook het geval. In plaats van dat de boeken elkaar chronologisch opvolgen, spelen ze in ongeveer dezelfde tijd. Als je de eerste delen hebt gelezen, weet je bepaalde dingen al. Dat heeft Freya North wel op een goede manier gedaan. Toch is dat voor mij geen reden om meer sterren toe te kennen aan dit boek. Daarvoor mist het vaart in het verhaal. Hopelijk is deel 4 leuker.
Wat wel leuk is, is de ontwikkeling die Pip doormaakt. Eerst sluit ze iedereen buiten, ook haar zusjes. Pas als ze wat meer open wordt, wordt ze ook als personage meer aantrekkelijker. Wat leuk aan de serie is dat bepaalde gebeurtenissen uit de andere boeken terug komen, maar dan vanuit een ander perspectief. Zo komt de Tour de France waar Cat verslag van doet (beschreven in Cat) ook even kort voor in dit boek. Dat was bij Fen ook het geval. In plaats van dat de boeken elkaar chronologisch opvolgen, spelen ze in ongeveer dezelfde tijd. Als je de eerste delen hebt gelezen, weet je bepaalde dingen al. Dat heeft Freya North wel op een goede manier gedaan. Toch is dat voor mij geen reden om meer sterren toe te kennen aan dit boek. Daarvoor mist het vaart in het verhaal. Hopelijk is deel 4 leuker.
May 2, 2013
Not a real big fan of chick-lit, I just had the read this after really enjoying 'Fen', another book in the same series. I wasn't disappointed.
Pip McCabe has an unusual life, she's a professional clown. But her in her personal life she is more demour. Always there for her sisters, uncle and the sick children she entertains, she doesn't like to let people into her life. Then she meets two promising men. The suave and handsome doctor, who turns out not to be quite as nice as his exterior, and the father of one of the children who adores her. And then there's the quick one night stand on top of the Alps! But can she let go enough to make any of the relationships work?
This is funny, witty and the story just keeps on moving. With this sort of book, there is no question of how it will end, but the journey there is interesting an fast paced. I'll definitely be tracking down the third book in the set.
Pip McCabe has an unusual life, she's a professional clown. But her in her personal life she is more demour. Always there for her sisters, uncle and the sick children she entertains, she doesn't like to let people into her life. Then she meets two promising men. The suave and handsome doctor, who turns out not to be quite as nice as his exterior, and the father of one of the children who adores her. And then there's the quick one night stand on top of the Alps! But can she let go enough to make any of the relationships work?
This is funny, witty and the story just keeps on moving. With this sort of book, there is no question of how it will end, but the journey there is interesting an fast paced. I'll definitely be tracking down the third book in the set.
October 6, 2007
What can I say? It's chicklit, but it's good stuff.
Very funny adlibs from the narrator, commenting on the progress of the story.
Fun book, with lots of stops and starts, looking at how and why someone would decide to go for a real relationship and risk complications, when other arrangements (and in pip's case, other appliances, apparently) can hit the spot.
The book is an interesting look at how two people who are so very different, could end up togehter.
And I read a lot of chicklit so if I say I like this then it must be better than the rest! ;0
Very funny adlibs from the narrator, commenting on the progress of the story.
Fun book, with lots of stops and starts, looking at how and why someone would decide to go for a real relationship and risk complications, when other arrangements (and in pip's case, other appliances, apparently) can hit the spot.
The book is an interesting look at how two people who are so very different, could end up togehter.
And I read a lot of chicklit so if I say I like this then it must be better than the rest! ;0
September 1, 2013
The first Freya North book I ever was Home Truths, and based on that I went on to read Fen and then Pip. Pip was my least favourite - I didn't like the fact that the end of the story was so obviously announced right at the beginning (even though I was expecting a HEA I didn't want the anticipation stripped away quite so completely). And, one of the things I liked about Home Truths was there was some quite nice, quite raunchy sex in it. In this book, I just could not find the clown concept sexy in any way, shape or form - and clown and accountant? It was just too hard to believe.
September 8, 2009
Reading this for my book group and I had already owned it for ages but didn't think it would be my book but I quite enjoyed it. It was a sweet story with some interesting twists and when haven't we all done some things accidently on purpose. It seemed quite realistic and hearing about the clown doctors was interesting. No I don't agree with the critics that the story should have focused on the clown doctors rather than the romantic entanglement of a clown and an accountant.
December 7, 2010
Jelly and ice cream kind of a read but it filled me up more than I was expecting. Not as predictable as I'd expected it to be - not that there's any chance that girl will end up without the right boy, but the way she got there wasn't quite as obvious as I'd imagined. Also I thought Pip had a little bit more depth to her than her younger sisters Fen and Cat who featured in Freya North's last couple of books.
March 2, 2014
I don't particularly enjoy the chic-lit genre but I was looking for something light to read and this was perfect.
Great characters, predictable but funny situations and overall a decent plot.
The kind of book you can fall asleep for a few pages and pick it up again without having to go back and re-read the bits you missed. I read her other books Fen and Cat years ago as holiday reads and enjoyed all equally.
I will definitely pick up other books by Freya North.
Great characters, predictable but funny situations and overall a decent plot.
The kind of book you can fall asleep for a few pages and pick it up again without having to go back and re-read the bits you missed. I read her other books Fen and Cat years ago as holiday reads and enjoyed all equally.
I will definitely pick up other books by Freya North.
August 23, 2016
I loved this book. I really liked the way the author did the narrative, so you got a clear idea of everyone's thoughts and feelings.
Very saucy, funny and endearing. The characters really came to life for me, I going to read Cat and Fen next.
I was also very pleased to hear there are real giggle doctors. What a wonderful charity. I have decided that I'll support them by buying their Christmas cards this year.
Very saucy, funny and endearing. The characters really came to life for me, I going to read Cat and Fen next.
I was also very pleased to hear there are real giggle doctors. What a wonderful charity. I have decided that I'll support them by buying their Christmas cards this year.
August 2, 2010
Heerlijk boek om te lezen, losstaand deel van een serie over zussen, telkens vanuit een andere invalshoek geschreven. Geen hoogstaande literatuur, maar wel een boek dat je in 1 x wil uitlezen omdat je wil weten wat er precies met de hoofdpersoon gaat gebeuren. Ook al is einde voor de hand liggend, je wil het toch wel even zeker weten.
July 30, 2011
I didn't enjoy this as much as Pillow Talk but still a great story - like many of the other reviews have mentioned, I like the way her books tie together so often as I have read others by her in the past - a clever ploy as well, as it makes you want to read the other books to find out what happens to those characters!
August 2, 2011
My first and last Freya North novel. I had a thing for 'Chick Lit' books around about 2004-ish but then I developed taste in books and never went down that road again (I think)
I haven't got much to say on this book because I don't remember much about reading it, except I really liked Pip's tights.
I haven't got much to say on this book because I don't remember much about reading it, except I really liked Pip's tights.
May 25, 2014
This is the third Freya North book I've read and it's the second that I've felt like I've learnt something interesting. From Cat I've picked up an interest (not sure how big an interest just yet) in the Tour de France, and now from Pip, getting a glimpse into the world of professional clowns, particularly Dr Clowns.
As an author she's starting to grow on me. Three and a half stars.
As an author she's starting to grow on me. Three and a half stars.
July 22, 2013
While the Book is predictable "chic lit" I wouldn't dismiss the read, it's light hearted and towards the end i was willing Pip McCabe and Zac Homes to get there predictable ending. Easy summer reading!
November 13, 2013
I found this to be quite predictable, and not much happened - it seemed fleshed out with things that didn't really matter. Although I do really like the author and I am a fan of her other books, this one didn't really excite me
February 16, 2017
2.5 stars. This took forever to get in to but i did enjoy it when i finally did. Im not keen on the writing style thats used so i think that distracted me a bit, that and it was slow to begin with. Zac and Pip annoyed me at times too with their avoidance, i wont read the others in the series.
January 20, 2008
A fun book about a clown. Its a great book for when you don't feel like getting into a deep book but want to read something quirky!
March 17, 2008
I love all of the McCabe sisters & my favourite is always the one that I'm currently reading about. Freya North is also one of my favourite authors.
March 8, 2011
Fun. Easy read. Good "change of world".
Read
July 28, 2011Easy summer reading. Bit predictable, but then it's not rocket science.
March 23, 2012
A very below par chick lit, everything very predictable and the story getting to the predictable ending wasn't particularly interesting.
August 4, 2013
I loved Pip, she is a kooky character and I really wanted things to work out for her. Easy, enjoyable read.
November 24, 2013
Got this book free with Cosmopolitan magazine a few years ago, it was alright but nothing special from what I remember.
January 18, 2014
Started very slowly but then baaam and finished the book in one day ^____^
I loved it
I loved it
July 4, 2014
my first Freya North's book and i simply love it! :)
March 7, 2015
Great characters - gd fun and gd modern romance.
February 12, 2016
A cute romance revolving around a lady-clown!
Another of North's book that shows the growth of people and their love for each other.. :)
Another of North's book that shows the growth of people and their love for each other.. :)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews