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Every Woman for Herself
Charlotte "Charlie” Rhymer's husband wants a divorce. Charlie isn't sure what she wants, but after the incident with the frying pan, even she has to concede that their differences may be irreconcilable after all. Returning home to her native Yorkshire and the bosom of her family seemed like a good idea at the time. Even if Charlie's father has never quite forgiven Charlie or her siblings (Anne, Emily and Branwell) for failing to live up to their more literary (as in Bronte) namesakes.
Upvale Parsonage, the family home to which Charlie has retreated, is presided over by her sister Em. Em's hobbies are composing inspirational verses, dabbling in the Ancient Black Arts, and fighting off the incursions of Father's latest mistress. When the current mistress actually moves in, family loyalties are sorely tried. Still, Charlie is determined to bounce back from disaster and strike a blow for deserted older wives everywhere. But when she meets brooding actor Mace North, she realizes that when it comes to dating for the over-forty crowd, female solidarity be damned- it is every woman for herself!
Sure to delight both Bronte fans and readers who like a good laugh with their romance, Trisha Ashley's first book to be published in the United States is a welcome treat.
Upvale Parsonage, the family home to which Charlie has retreated, is presided over by her sister Em. Em's hobbies are composing inspirational verses, dabbling in the Ancient Black Arts, and fighting off the incursions of Father's latest mistress. When the current mistress actually moves in, family loyalties are sorely tried. Still, Charlie is determined to bounce back from disaster and strike a blow for deserted older wives everywhere. But when she meets brooding actor Mace North, she realizes that when it comes to dating for the over-forty crowd, female solidarity be damned- it is every woman for herself!
Sure to delight both Bronte fans and readers who like a good laugh with their romance, Trisha Ashley's first book to be published in the United States is a welcome treat.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published May 30, 2002
228 people are currently reading
1218 people want to read
About the author
Trisha Ashley
39 books1,099 followersTrisha Ashley is now a full-time novelist, but she has been known to work for stained glass makers and/or plumbers. She likes to paint, eat, drink, and read literary biographies. Her previous hobbies included getting divorced and packing to move. She claims to have once actually eaten Bronte burgers at the Branwell café, but her publisher declines to verify this. She lives in North Wales.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 216 reviews
November 12, 2017
Such a delightful book! I've been in a reading slump that turned into a writing slump, and decided I needed something completely different. This was it.
When Charlie's husband tells her he wants a divorce, she's at a loss for how to proceed. Forty, childless despite years of trying, unable to paint, she has to move home when the divorce leaves her penniless. But her family is strange, and Charlie's life isn't over yet--particularly since the brooding film star Mace North keeps appearing at odd moments. Salted with excerpts from the women's magazine Charlie writes as a joke (that turns serious), it's at times hilarious and always heartwarming.
I loved Charlie and her family and how crazy they are without being unbelievably so. In fact, as I look back on the book, I can see how in another author's hands the whole thing would have been unbelievable wish-fulfilment. Particularly Charlie's romance--handsome, wealthy actor with an adorable non-twee child falls for her? And yet it works, especially since Mace isn't at all the man the tabloids paint him as.
Charlie's family is just as good. They're all interesting without being caricatures--Em with her Wicca and cooking, Anne and her gruff war correspondent exterior hiding her tenderness, even nutty Bram. Their dad is probably the least well-drawn, and even he's interesting. I'm really glad my husband went out of his way to buy this, and even gladder I picked it up this afternoon.
When Charlie's husband tells her he wants a divorce, she's at a loss for how to proceed. Forty, childless despite years of trying, unable to paint, she has to move home when the divorce leaves her penniless. But her family is strange, and Charlie's life isn't over yet--particularly since the brooding film star Mace North keeps appearing at odd moments. Salted with excerpts from the women's magazine Charlie writes as a joke (that turns serious), it's at times hilarious and always heartwarming.
I loved Charlie and her family and how crazy they are without being unbelievably so. In fact, as I look back on the book, I can see how in another author's hands the whole thing would have been unbelievable wish-fulfilment. Particularly Charlie's romance--handsome, wealthy actor with an adorable non-twee child falls for her? And yet it works, especially since Mace isn't at all the man the tabloids paint him as.
Charlie's family is just as good. They're all interesting without being caricatures--Em with her Wicca and cooking, Anne and her gruff war correspondent exterior hiding her tenderness, even nutty Bram. Their dad is probably the least well-drawn, and even he's interesting. I'm really glad my husband went out of his way to buy this, and even gladder I picked it up this afternoon.
September 15, 2015
I doubt I'll ever understand HarperCollins' pricing strategy. Only the Kindle version of this is available at Amazon US and that's priced over $5. Surprisingly, I was able to order a paperback copy from the U.K. for significantly less (used, of course) and had the added benefit of receiving a most welcome surprise by post (having forgotten I'd ordered it).
And what a great surprise it was, too. It starts off rather depressing, but Melissa had to remind me of that or I'd have forgotten I felt that way. Charlie's life is kind of bleak to start with, and you can feel that her slimeball husband is snowing her about the divorce and that he's misrepresenting both the marital assets and the papers he's having her sign. So Charlie comes off rather irresolute and possibly a little simple.
That changes quickly, however, once she gets "home" (back to her family in York). And that's really where the novel takes off, I think. The characters are strongly-drawn and a great deal of fun to read. Ashley is a bit like the grown-up version of Hilary McKay (er, the writing for grown-ups version), with characters that you like, even enjoy, but that would probably drive you around the bend if you had to actually live with them.
The rest of the story is packed full of pastors, jungles, snapdragon (the "game"), family, actors, independence, witches, pets, kids, love, and a treacle tart. All of the characters have both good and bad to them, which was a pleasant surprise given that some would have been pure antagonists in the hands of a lesser author. I was particularly surprised to find eventual sympathy even for the psycho hosebeast, Angie.
But the real surprise was finding myself laughing out loud for pages at a time near the end. Really, this was a treat to read and I'm so glad that a good used copy was so easily available. Plus, now I have it to lend to family and friends!
And what a great surprise it was, too. It starts off rather depressing, but Melissa had to remind me of that or I'd have forgotten I felt that way. Charlie's life is kind of bleak to start with, and you can feel that her slimeball husband is snowing her about the divorce and that he's misrepresenting both the marital assets and the papers he's having her sign. So Charlie comes off rather irresolute and possibly a little simple.
That changes quickly, however, once she gets "home" (back to her family in York). And that's really where the novel takes off, I think. The characters are strongly-drawn and a great deal of fun to read. Ashley is a bit like the grown-up version of Hilary McKay (er, the writing for grown-ups version), with characters that you like, even enjoy, but that would probably drive you around the bend if you had to actually live with them.
The rest of the story is packed full of pastors, jungles, snapdragon (the "game"), family, actors, independence, witches, pets, kids, love, and a treacle tart. All of the characters have both good and bad to them, which was a pleasant surprise given that some would have been pure antagonists in the hands of a lesser author. I was particularly surprised to find eventual sympathy even for the psycho hosebeast, Angie.
But the real surprise was finding myself laughing out loud for pages at a time near the end. Really, this was a treat to read and I'm so glad that a good used copy was so easily available. Plus, now I have it to lend to family and friends!
July 10, 2014
I picked this up on a friend's recommendation and I'm very glad I did; it was really quite excellent.
Charlie's husband tells her out of the blue one morning that he's started divorce proceedings. Shortly thereafter, his obnoxious best friend tries to feel her up, and she accidentally kills him. This does not, I grant, sound like a promising opening. But the author manages to make it brilliantly funny. Charlie goes back to her family home in Yorkshire, currently inhabited by her father (a literary biographer who specialises in "proving" that women's writings were really done by the men in their lives), her father's mistress (plus awful offspring), her sister Emily (domesticated, outspoken, and a witch), her sister Anne (a war correspondent, home temporarily after cancer treatment), her brother Branwell (an academic of excessive eccentricity), and the Loyal Family Retainers, Gloria and Walter.
And then there are various people falling in love, and such diversions as melon-bashing, searches for shallow graves, paternity testing, magazine production, and witchcraft. And a collective happy ending.
The characters are all lovely (except the ones who aren't meant to be, obviously, but even they have life and personality), Charlie (who is also the narrator) has a most engaging voice, the various story strands braid beautifully together, and the whole thing is laugh-out-loud funny (I think I scared some people on the bus, giggling at it).
And how can you not love a heroine who guesses that her now ex-husband's promises of generosity in maintenance are likely "to dwindle away, like in Sense and Sensibility [...] where the widow and her daughters were going to be looked after by the son who inherited everything, only the allowance sort of dwindled away to the present of the odd duck". ("The odd duck" subsequently becomes a catchphrase throughout the book, and made me giggle every time.)
Charlie's husband tells her out of the blue one morning that he's started divorce proceedings. Shortly thereafter, his obnoxious best friend tries to feel her up, and she accidentally kills him. This does not, I grant, sound like a promising opening. But the author manages to make it brilliantly funny. Charlie goes back to her family home in Yorkshire, currently inhabited by her father (a literary biographer who specialises in "proving" that women's writings were really done by the men in their lives), her father's mistress (plus awful offspring), her sister Emily (domesticated, outspoken, and a witch), her sister Anne (a war correspondent, home temporarily after cancer treatment), her brother Branwell (an academic of excessive eccentricity), and the Loyal Family Retainers, Gloria and Walter.
And then there are various people falling in love, and such diversions as melon-bashing, searches for shallow graves, paternity testing, magazine production, and witchcraft. And a collective happy ending.
The characters are all lovely (except the ones who aren't meant to be, obviously, but even they have life and personality), Charlie (who is also the narrator) has a most engaging voice, the various story strands braid beautifully together, and the whole thing is laugh-out-loud funny (I think I scared some people on the bus, giggling at it).
And how can you not love a heroine who guesses that her now ex-husband's promises of generosity in maintenance are likely "to dwindle away, like in Sense and Sensibility [...] where the widow and her daughters were going to be looked after by the son who inherited everything, only the allowance sort of dwindled away to the present of the odd duck". ("The odd duck" subsequently becomes a catchphrase throughout the book, and made me giggle every time.)
May 6, 2014
I have to come right out and say that this would not rank as one of my favourite Trisha Ashley books, nor anywhere near the top of the list. The characters and situations are strange, at times bizarre, making it difficult to follow what is going on in places. I found the first half of the story heavy going, but it got better towards the end, or maybe I just became accustomed to the cast. I would not be surprised to find that many people would have begun to read the story but never finished it. This is actually an early example of Trisha Ashley's work, which could explain why it is not, in my view, the best.
The main character, Charlie (short for Charlotte),is one of a family of four children of an eccentric father who has decided that they should each bear the name of one of the Brontes and that they must live in a parsonage, although in reality it has never even seen a parson. She has to return to the family home, deep in the wilds of Yorkshire, when her husband suddenly announces that he is divorcing her. There are some comic episodes in the story, but I found quite a lot of the time I was very worried for Charlie and what would become of her. She has a tough time dealing with her husband's behaviour and being plunged into a world where she has to fit back into her strange family and try to make a living from painting. The story improved somewhat for me with the arrival of an actor, Mace, and his young daughter to the village. He has his own problems with an estranged wife, but brings a bit of normality to the situation.
I would say that this is an entertaining tale overall, but is quite difficult to get into, although your perseverance is rewarded by a satisfactory conclusion .
The main character, Charlie (short for Charlotte),is one of a family of four children of an eccentric father who has decided that they should each bear the name of one of the Brontes and that they must live in a parsonage, although in reality it has never even seen a parson. She has to return to the family home, deep in the wilds of Yorkshire, when her husband suddenly announces that he is divorcing her. There are some comic episodes in the story, but I found quite a lot of the time I was very worried for Charlie and what would become of her. She has a tough time dealing with her husband's behaviour and being plunged into a world where she has to fit back into her strange family and try to make a living from painting. The story improved somewhat for me with the arrival of an actor, Mace, and his young daughter to the village. He has his own problems with an estranged wife, but brings a bit of normality to the situation.
I would say that this is an entertaining tale overall, but is quite difficult to get into, although your perseverance is rewarded by a satisfactory conclusion .
October 5, 2014
This was FUN. It was wacky in a way that reminded me of Jennifer Crusie, but the book has a distinct style of its own. So distinct, in fact that it took me a few seconds to get used to it. (Literally just a few seconds, but it's very much its own thing.)
The characters are just a wonderful collection of people (okay, a few might not be so wonderful, such as the one who goes around shouting "murderess!", but they are all great fun).
The romance seemed kind of fast, but that's not really a huge fault in a book with so much going on.
I recommend it.
The characters are just a wonderful collection of people (okay, a few might not be so wonderful, such as the one who goes around shouting "murderess!", but they are all great fun).
The romance seemed kind of fast, but that's not really a huge fault in a book with so much going on.
I recommend it.
September 19, 2014
I read this because of Dorian's review, followed in fairly short order by Jacob's, and I agree with almost everything each of them said. Like Dorian, I loved the recurring references to Sense and Sensibility and "the odd duck", and like Jacob, found the beginning, with the husband who soon became the ex rather less funny and more depressing than not. (Guess who got divorced from a DIY kit purchased in a drug-store? Yes, because she was still trying to play nice.) Once that part (which also had many enjoyable bits, including the S&S riff set-up) was over and Charlie "safely" back with her family, it was pure fun all the way. I was quite surprised at the outcome of the plot-line about one of the several witches and her possible relationship with a vicar, but absolutely pleasantly so.
Another thing about which I agreed with Jacob was the way the characters are ones you can love enthusiastically on the page but who would probably be hard to tolerate in real life form. Like some of Hilary McKay's characters, as he said. More than McKay for grown-ups, though, I often felt as if I were reading a modern, gentler Cold Comfort Farm, although my memory of that is shaky enough that character names are totally gone. Gloria and her muttered imprecations about Mace, among others, could easily have fit right in on the farm, for example. The only thing I wasn't absolutely sold on was the romance, but as this is my favourite type of romance/relationship lit, in which there's as much or more focus on family and other relationships as on the romantic pair, this wasn't a big problem. It didn't hurt that the romantic hero was a great father, and the child characters were a lot of fun too - even the Treacle Tart's kids turned out to be likeable! Very, very funny, and the literary refs were smart as well as comic.
I think I'll have to get a copy of my own at some point, though not an ebook edition. The humour doesn't seem the type that would wear thin, and this would probably make a lovely reread.
Another thing about which I agreed with Jacob was the way the characters are ones you can love enthusiastically on the page but who would probably be hard to tolerate in real life form. Like some of Hilary McKay's characters, as he said. More than McKay for grown-ups, though, I often felt as if I were reading a modern, gentler Cold Comfort Farm, although my memory of that is shaky enough that character names are totally gone. Gloria and her muttered imprecations about Mace, among others, could easily have fit right in on the farm, for example. The only thing I wasn't absolutely sold on was the romance, but as this is my favourite type of romance/relationship lit, in which there's as much or more focus on family and other relationships as on the romantic pair, this wasn't a big problem. It didn't hurt that the romantic hero was a great father, and the child characters were a lot of fun too - even the Treacle Tart's kids turned out to be likeable! Very, very funny, and the literary refs were smart as well as comic.
I think I'll have to get a copy of my own at some point, though not an ebook edition. The humour doesn't seem the type that would wear thin, and this would probably make a lovely reread.
December 23, 2017
During the first few chapters I wasn't sure I was going to be able to finish this - the characters didn't seem believable and it felt like the kind of book where British humour becomes pure farce. Pretty soon, the characters still didn't feel quite believable, but they began to utterly charm me. The Rhymers are the kind of completely eccentric family that you don't feel could quite possibly exist but that you wish you could be part of.
One thing: I was a bit taken aback with so much 'anti-thin' humour. I get that because there is so much pressure on women to be thin in our society, and because thin is seen as equivalent to attractive, mocking thin people may not seem the same as fat-shaming, which is (rightly) seen as completely unacceptable. I also get that the thin women who are laughed at in the novel are portrayed as starving themselves in order to be thin, so it's sort of fun to have a go at them in contrast to 'real' women, who apparently are never naturally 'too thin'. But the point is that this isn't true: real women do come in thin sizes as well. I thoroughly enjoyed the overall humour of the novel, but the 'thin woman as silly bimbo' trope did irritate me after a while.
This was just a nagging detail, though, in a book that on the whole was thoroughly delightful.
One thing: I was a bit taken aback with so much 'anti-thin' humour. I get that because there is so much pressure on women to be thin in our society, and because thin is seen as equivalent to attractive, mocking thin people may not seem the same as fat-shaming, which is (rightly) seen as completely unacceptable. I also get that the thin women who are laughed at in the novel are portrayed as starving themselves in order to be thin, so it's sort of fun to have a go at them in contrast to 'real' women, who apparently are never naturally 'too thin'. But the point is that this isn't true: real women do come in thin sizes as well. I thoroughly enjoyed the overall humour of the novel, but the 'thin woman as silly bimbo' trope did irritate me after a while.
This was just a nagging detail, though, in a book that on the whole was thoroughly delightful.
April 17, 2017
Some highs and lows in Charlotte's life. A bit of an unorthodox family but I found each od the main character's enjoyable to read about.
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September 10, 2014I ticked 'fantasy' though there is only the thinnest veneer; Charlie Fry, the heroine, discovers her husband has turned into an alien (in other words, he wants a divorce) and she has to move back home as he's also going to pull a Dashwood (Sense and Sensibility) and legally squeeze her out of her share.
She moves back to the Parsonage (which never was one, the name comes from the Brontes) where her family, a collection of oddballs, mostly lives, though they are all forty-somethings. The lynchpin is Em, a practicing witch, overseen by the equally adept Gloria Mundi, whose tea leaves tell futures. Em and her coven practice spells, which seem to work, thus the fantasy, but the plot is such adamant wish-fulfillment that it edges into Cinderella territory.
Before Charlie leaves her ex-home, she inadvertently does something terrible, which is handled with such smiling malice that the reader scarcely has time to register it before she's settling into a ramshackle addition to the Parsonage called 'the Summer House' where her father's string of mistresses usually live. But the current mistress has taken over Charlie's room, and is determined to marry Charlie's philandering father in spite of being continually insulted to her face by Em and the others of the household.
Then Charlie meets Mace, the handsome, brooding film star. Rich film star, and his daughter . . . and Charlie dreams up a magazine aimed at middle aged northern women, with trenchantly sarcastic bits of articles worked into the text.
There is a lot of romance among these whacky characters (some are a straight-jacket loop away from certifiable), and a great deal of that smiling malice that skirted mean-spiritedness, but didn't quite tip over the edge because the prose was so full of wit and humor. This narrative voice reminded me a bit of the Mapp and Lucia books of E.F. Benson, only Charlie, at the center, is clearly set up to win rainbows and ponies whether she deserves them or not. Benson made his characters work for their happiness.
The casual refs to Austen, the Brontes, and other literature as well as the humor made me curious to try more books by this author; this felt like an early effort. If so, I'd like to see where she's gone.
She moves back to the Parsonage (which never was one, the name comes from the Brontes) where her family, a collection of oddballs, mostly lives, though they are all forty-somethings. The lynchpin is Em, a practicing witch, overseen by the equally adept Gloria Mundi, whose tea leaves tell futures. Em and her coven practice spells, which seem to work, thus the fantasy, but the plot is such adamant wish-fulfillment that it edges into Cinderella territory.
Before Charlie leaves her ex-home, she inadvertently does something terrible, which is handled with such smiling malice that the reader scarcely has time to register it before she's settling into a ramshackle addition to the Parsonage called 'the Summer House' where her father's string of mistresses usually live. But the current mistress has taken over Charlie's room, and is determined to marry Charlie's philandering father in spite of being continually insulted to her face by Em and the others of the household.
Then Charlie meets Mace, the handsome, brooding film star. Rich film star, and his daughter . . . and Charlie dreams up a magazine aimed at middle aged northern women, with trenchantly sarcastic bits of articles worked into the text.
There is a lot of romance among these whacky characters (some are a straight-jacket loop away from certifiable), and a great deal of that smiling malice that skirted mean-spiritedness, but didn't quite tip over the edge because the prose was so full of wit and humor. This narrative voice reminded me a bit of the Mapp and Lucia books of E.F. Benson, only Charlie, at the center, is clearly set up to win rainbows and ponies whether she deserves them or not. Benson made his characters work for their happiness.
The casual refs to Austen, the Brontes, and other literature as well as the humor made me curious to try more books by this author; this felt like an early effort. If so, I'd like to see where she's gone.
December 20, 2019
I'm not sure how this book ended up on my 'want to read' list but I really found it to be quite poor. The accidental death of Greg was brushed over as if it were nothing. However, what I found most concerning was the portrayal of Mace's possessive nature as if it were a desirable quality as opposed to what, in reality, would be a potential warning sign for an abusive relationship. I found Charlie's character quite pathetic and hardly an ambassador for being a strong woman.
In balance, there is a nice attempt at the Spanish genre of magical realism through the characters Em and Gloria. It added a different element to the book and gave some much needed charm.
In balance, there is a nice attempt at the Spanish genre of magical realism through the characters Em and Gloria. It added a different element to the book and gave some much needed charm.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 25, 2024
loved this warm and witty story and the madcap antics of Charlue's family. A real treat
September 5, 2019
Lots of fun. These characters are people I'd like to meet.
Re-reads 2/20/09, 5/6/13
9/15/16 Re-read once again. This is one of my favorites of TA's. Charlie, the melons, her quirky family, the crazy creative way they get along together, that jungle, the incredible odd characters, the kids, and Mace (a hero with a sense of humor, love it!). It's total brain candy for quirky romance lovers like me. (I actually ordered this from the UK so I'd have it in my possession for a re-read any time I took a notion to do so...and glad I did.)
Re-reads 2/20/09, 5/6/13
9/15/16 Re-read once again. This is one of my favorites of TA's. Charlie, the melons, her quirky family, the crazy creative way they get along together, that jungle, the incredible odd characters, the kids, and Mace (a hero with a sense of humor, love it!). It's total brain candy for quirky romance lovers like me. (I actually ordered this from the UK so I'd have it in my possession for a re-read any time I took a notion to do so...and glad I did.)
January 28, 2018
I must say, I really didn't enjoy this book... I guess the plot and the characters were just not for me because half the time everything seemed unrealistic and I didn't really care for the characters. I didn't even like the main character Charlotte let alone like the rest. Actually I just liked Mace, I guess he was decent.
March 26, 2008
I liked this quirky, British family named after the Bronte's a lot, the writing is funny without going overboard.
October 25, 2017
Nagyon bírtam a könyv hangulatát holott eleinte nem is gondoltam volna, hogy ide fog kifutni, az egyik kedvenc terepemre: őrült, szeretni való család egy bohókás angol kisvárosban, egytől egyig fura de emlékezetes alakokkal, akiknek kiváló beszólásaik és majdnem eposzi jellemvonásaik vannak. Ráadásul még egy születendő magazin kulisszatitkai mögé is bekukkanthatunk és folyamatosan jobbnál jobb tanácsokat olvashatunk a csóró 40-es nők életéről. Lehet, hogy egy évtizede nem jött volna be ennyire a könyv, de most nagyon megtalált.
Először azt hittem, hogy Charlie amolyan halvérű nebáncsvirág, aki semmit se tesz, csak sodortatja magát az élettel, de ahogy visszatér valódi környezetébe, bizony kivirágzik és magára talál, s naná, hogy még az ellenkező neműeknek is feltűnik a dolog. Bírtam a körülötte lévő szereplőgárdát is, a szoknyabolond irodalmár apát, akinek a saját bőrén kell megtanulnia, hogy a nők igenis többre képesek minden tekintetben, mint amire tartja őket, s a végén majdnem ő húzza a rövidebbet. Aztán ott voltak az öreg bútordarabnak számító szolgálók is, Gloria aki mindenkinek a tealeveleiből olvasgatott és irányítani akart, de esélye sem volt, meg a testvére, az ezermester Walter, aki direkt nem hord parókát és büszke erre. De a helyi boszorkánykör elnökeként funkcionáló Emily meg havernői és az átkozott ikreket megnevelő határozott, kemény Anne is szerzett jó pár kellemes percet. Az, hogy ehhez képest a szerelmi szál kicsit elnagyolt volt, fel se tűnt. Roppant jól szórakoztam és igen, jöhet a következő Trisha Ashley könyv. Szerencsére, van pár.
S bár szeretem az angol nőirodalmat eredeti nyelven forgatni, igazából semmi kifogásom nem lehetett a fordítással szemben. Kiválóan szórakoztam.
Bővebben: http://olvasonaplo.net/olvasonaplo/20...
Először azt hittem, hogy Charlie amolyan halvérű nebáncsvirág, aki semmit se tesz, csak sodortatja magát az élettel, de ahogy visszatér valódi környezetébe, bizony kivirágzik és magára talál, s naná, hogy még az ellenkező neműeknek is feltűnik a dolog. Bírtam a körülötte lévő szereplőgárdát is, a szoknyabolond irodalmár apát, akinek a saját bőrén kell megtanulnia, hogy a nők igenis többre képesek minden tekintetben, mint amire tartja őket, s a végén majdnem ő húzza a rövidebbet. Aztán ott voltak az öreg bútordarabnak számító szolgálók is, Gloria aki mindenkinek a tealeveleiből olvasgatott és irányítani akart, de esélye sem volt, meg a testvére, az ezermester Walter, aki direkt nem hord parókát és büszke erre. De a helyi boszorkánykör elnökeként funkcionáló Emily meg havernői és az átkozott ikreket megnevelő határozott, kemény Anne is szerzett jó pár kellemes percet. Az, hogy ehhez képest a szerelmi szál kicsit elnagyolt volt, fel se tűnt. Roppant jól szórakoztam és igen, jöhet a következő Trisha Ashley könyv. Szerencsére, van pár.
S bár szeretem az angol nőirodalmat eredeti nyelven forgatni, igazából semmi kifogásom nem lehetett a fordítással szemben. Kiválóan szórakoztam.
Bővebben: http://olvasonaplo.net/olvasonaplo/20...
November 21, 2018
I always enjoy a Trisha Ashley book and this was funny and romantic and getting back in the saddle after a divorce. A good read and with good characters and was very quick read and it's heartwarming.
Charlie is with her husband but he asks for a divorce she's nearly 40 and sadly she has to move back to her family home as she can't afford to buy a house but she has a challenging time living with her father and siblings but she can enjoy painting again. An actor moves to the village and her life moves on in more ways than she guessed.
Charlie is with her husband but he asks for a divorce she's nearly 40 and sadly she has to move back to her family home as she can't afford to buy a house but she has a challenging time living with her father and siblings but she can enjoy painting again. An actor moves to the village and her life moves on in more ways than she guessed.
June 14, 2019
4.5 stars. Has a very "Cold Comfort Farm" vibe, updated to modern times. "No bodily hair whatsoever" replaces "I saw something nasty in the woodshed", and Charlotte "Charlie" Rhymer is much more self-sufficient than poor Flora Post. Characters are odd in the extreme, but seem very real, not forced. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
December 1, 2017
This was a book club choice and not a book I would have ever picked up on my own. I really didn't enjoy it, it was very predictable and choppy. It flitted from one thing to another with little in between. My book club mostly disagreed and would recommend this book as a book to take on holiday.
January 10, 2019
Absolutely loved the characters in this book. They were eccentric, lovable and eclectic! A fun read that made me laugh out loud!
March 19, 2024
Thoroughly enjoyed this wacky fun book.
August 11, 2022
Filled with quirky and downright odd characters. I enjoyed listening to the audio.
July 28, 2020
Such fun! Trisha Ashley has a naughty sense of humour. You will never look at watermelons the same way after reading this book.
January 19, 2018
It was quite an odd story with characters that were all odd but also alike. Even though there were loads of characters within the book unrelated they all acted and thought the same most of the time which was weird and made the book itself less real. The situation at the start was a little over dramatic to me and there was no slow burning romance that made you want the main two to get together. It felt really forced and because of that the ending was a let down. Characters just got together even though they didn’t seem right or didn’t seem to want it. Some parts were good but I’m glad to hear that this is one of her earlier books, her writing has much improved! I also don’t think it’s one of the best love stories in the past 50 years, I think that’s giving it way too much credit.
September 28, 2018
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and laughed like a mad woman all the way through. I enjoyed the crazy family and loved that they absorbed everyone around them into their craziness. I could rainy day read.
December 12, 2014
The perfect comfort read for a rainy Sunday. Kind of like an I Capture the Castle for adults. Eccentric family of artists and writers and academics, English country setting, quirky humor, and a few romantic entanglements. Fans of Katie Fforde and Catherine Alliot will like this one.
April 15, 2018
disappointing considering its supposed to be such a great book..not for me
October 3, 2023
It’s a great time.
January 19, 2022
Yourself first, and then family first always.
October 22, 2016
Lovely romantic read
November 12, 2021
Of Tricia Ashley's many marvelous books this is a serious contender for 1st place!
I so enjoyed meeting the Rhymer family and the interesting friends they pull into their orbit. Many circumstances are in flux but they juggle all with capable nonchalance. Despite an enormous cast, every character seems quite real. The biography-writer and serial womanizing father has named and raised his children to be the embodiment of the Brontès in an effort to prove that Branwell alone did all the writing as men are naturally clever and women are their dependents in every way. Despite his efforts, all the grown children have their own forms of genius, eccentric and varied. Together they are a funny and supportive group who seem set to prove Father's theories to be entirely lacking merit. The reluctant heroine, unceremoniously dumped by her husband because she "just isn't bringing anything to this marriage" is immensely surprised to find herself attracting man after man while she is looking forward to doing everything her own way rather than pleasing autocratic men. Her sisters find themselves in equally challenging roles. With surreal art, white (mostly) witchcraft and inventive minds the three and their like-minded friends deal patriarchy a serious blow while creating happily-ever-after for everyone. A most enjoyable story filled with sly truths, much humor and happy endings!
I so enjoyed meeting the Rhymer family and the interesting friends they pull into their orbit. Many circumstances are in flux but they juggle all with capable nonchalance. Despite an enormous cast, every character seems quite real. The biography-writer and serial womanizing father has named and raised his children to be the embodiment of the Brontès in an effort to prove that Branwell alone did all the writing as men are naturally clever and women are their dependents in every way. Despite his efforts, all the grown children have their own forms of genius, eccentric and varied. Together they are a funny and supportive group who seem set to prove Father's theories to be entirely lacking merit. The reluctant heroine, unceremoniously dumped by her husband because she "just isn't bringing anything to this marriage" is immensely surprised to find herself attracting man after man while she is looking forward to doing everything her own way rather than pleasing autocratic men. Her sisters find themselves in equally challenging roles. With surreal art, white (mostly) witchcraft and inventive minds the three and their like-minded friends deal patriarchy a serious blow while creating happily-ever-after for everyone. A most enjoyable story filled with sly truths, much humor and happy endings!
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