Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #71035 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-01
• Binding: Hardcover
• 448 pages

Synopsis
Step inside the home of Holly Mac and meet her successful, distinguished husband Marcus, notice how beautiful her home is and how gorgeous her children Daisy and Oliver are. You might say that they are the perfect family, but you would be very wrong...Holly is desperately lonely. She has spent her entire marriage trying to be the perfect wife but she is missing the one thing she really wants - a husband she can talk to, a soul mate to share everything with, someone like her first love and best friend Tom.Then a terrible tragedy finds Holly reunited with some old friends, and she soon realises that they too are each beset by their own problems. There's Saffron, a Hollywood actress and a recovering alcoholic, in love with a very famous and very married actor. Then there are Paul and Anna who have a great relationship but months of IVF have destroyed them financially and Anna still isn't pregnant. As the safety net of Holly's life begins to unravel, she's about to confront her problems head-on but is she ready for the change? And faced with a second chance at life, will she take it?

Customer Reviews

Surprisingly, I loved it!
I have in the past tended to steer clear of Jane Green novels and any other novel, in fact, that has that unmistakable chic lit look about its cover. I don't really know why I decided then to pick it up and flick through it but within about half a minute I knew I wanted to buy it. It was not a disappointment. It is descriped on the cover as 'escapism' and that's exactly what it is except with the added ingredient that I found I could relate to so much of it from my personal experiences. Even with the characters and situations I couldn't directly relate to I could see some of my friends' and familys' circumstances and dilemmas reflected perfectly in the storyline. So I finished it within one day and was a bit surprised about it considering I usually can't bear chic-lit...however, after reading some óf the reviews on here it seems that this book is NOT typical of Jane Green and not really considered chic-lit in its purist form so perhaps that explains it! Very enjoyable.

Not her best, but still a good read
While this is not Jane Green's best book (Life Swap, Babyville and Spellbound were brilliant), it is still a very good read and I feel it deserves a bit more than some of the very bad ratings it has received here. Yes, it is more serious than some of her previous books, which makes it a bit different. But I thought the serious tone was handled well by the author. To use a fictitious terrorist attack as subplot might be not everybody's cup of tea, but I thought it was handled with great sensitivity and the process of shock and grieving for the people involved described well.

It is always interesting to see how a book is viewed differently by different people. I note that some previous reviewer found the actress strand in the book interesting, but the housewife one "yawnsville" if I remember correctly. Well, to be honest, for me it was exactly the other way round. While Saffron's story is not bad, it is too far removed from normal life to me, whereas Holly's story was far more gripping. Again it goes to show that books will mean different things to different people. If you like Jane Green, I'd still give this one a go. I certainly enjoyed it.

Glorified Mills and Boon
My husband picked up this book for me to read on holiday. I usually read something light when I am away. I am not a huge fan of Jane Green but had fond memories of working in a bookstore on Oxford st when Jemima J came out and found it utterly readable and addictive.
This book however was really disappointing. The characters are tiresome. Especially the main one - Holly Mac. I just don't have sympathy for this predictable and wet woman. Someone who is insufferably self absorbed. I cant feel sorry for a character 'stuck in a loveless marriage' whilst being able to sleep in and let the nanny deal with kids. (as well as living in a beautiful house who works part time as an illustrator and can buy anything she wants.)My heart bleeds. I would have perhaps had more sympathy if she were stuck in a loveless marriage, living in a council flat with very little money or prospects.
Jane Green is also terribly 'cliched' and I could just about predict what was going to happen next - to the very word.
If you were going to spend money on a Jane Greens title and this isnt it. The characters are pretty bland, the writing simple and predictable, the ending - obvious.