Product Description

A wonderfully wise romantic comedy about the ones we love and the one that got away...

Juliet Joyce has been happily married for twenty-five years. But with two grown-up children who treat the house like a hotel, a seventy-year-old mother who’s just moved in and a father who’s announced he’s gay it’s hardly surprising that her relationship with her husband Rick is beginning to suffer. Juliet’s resigned to the fact that the only romance she’s going to get is from the pages of her library books, so nothing prepares her for the unexpected return of Steven Aubrey. Last seen twenty-six years ago, when he jilted Juliet on their wedding day, he ignites a passion in her that she thought was long gone. But will Steven sweep her off her feet or can Rick remind her of the loving feeling that they’ve lost? There’s only one way to find out...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2856 in Books
• Published on: 2009-09-17
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

About the Author
Carole Matthews is an internationally bestselling author whose unique sense of humour has won her legions of fans and critical acclaim. Carole has presented on television and is a regular radio guest. When she is not writing novels and television scripts she manages to find time to trek in the Himalayas, rollerblade in Central Park, take tea in China and snooze in her garden shed in Milton Keynes.

Customer Reviews

LOVING this book!
What can I say? I have to be totally honest and say that whilst reading this book I embarrassed myself on numerous occasions by actually laughing out loud whilst on the train. This book was an absolute joy to read. I am a huge fan of the series the Chocolate Lovers and found that I was comparing each book to that series. This book needed no comparison.

Juliet Joyce is a typical married mother of two. Her husband Rick along with their two children in their late teens Tom and Chloe, live in a regular close leading a very ordinary life. Juliet's mother has recently moved in after deciding that upon reaching her 70s she was going to start living her life the way she wanted. Juliet works in the local library and the most excitement her life sees is what lies in store for her when she gets home with regards to what new and inventive ways her children have come up with top avoid cleaning their rooms, or god forbid, getting a job!

However, when her ex fiancé who jilted her at the alter, Steven Aubrey turns up, her life is thrown into the mixer. This along with the predicaments her husband manages to get himself into along with the behaviour of her kids, her party animal mother, and her father who has changed his life dramatically make for an absolutely explosive and hilarious story. Her marriage starts to teeter when Steven comes on the scene and she has to decide whether she wants to make a new life for herself or stick with what she already has.

This story was told with such humour that I was hooked from the first chapter. The characters are the most honest version of mixed up families I have read in a while and some of the one-liners that were told had tears running down my cheeks. I finished this book in a day and a half and haven't laughed that much at a book in a long time. Thoroughly enjoyed every page and would highly recommend to anybody. The Chocolate Lovers series although still a firm favourite, doesn't seem quite as important after reading this latest Carole Matthews books. A definite must have.

That Loving Feeling
Juliet and Rick Joyce have been married for 25 years but they feel as if the spark is burning out. Not only that but Juliet's mother and father have just separated and her mother has decided she wants to live with the Joyce's; Juliet & Rick's two children are beyond spoilt; and Juliet's father has announced he's gay. Throw in Steven Aubrey, the man who jilted Juliet at the altar 26 years ago, and there's bound to be trouble.

As with all of Carole's books the writing alternates between first person to third person and, as always, it makes the transition with relative ease. It's told in the first person by Juliet and is told from the viewpoint of Rick once it switches into third-person. It works perfectly and we easily see Juliet & Rick's life from both perspectives.

Juliet and Rick's relationship gets steadily rockier through-out the book when each and every drama throws itself in the face of the pair. The book was like reading the script to an episode of EastEnders, it was that full of drama and twists. It also had it's laugh-out-loud moments, particularly where Rick was concerned. The situations he managed to get himself into were incredibly amusing and yet, at the same time, so incredibly innocent.

Juliet was our main character and while I enjoyed hearing her inner-most thoughts I also wanted to strangle her multiple times. Yes, Rick got himself into some sticky situations but as I said earlier, they were perfectly innocent but what Juliet was doing was the complete opposite of innocent and it just didn't sit well with me. Yet I still lived Juliet, that's how good Carole's writing is. No I don't agree with her moral compass but she was still a nice character at heart and in the end, she made the right decision.

I loved Rick, he was amusing and yet came across quite naive too. Going out to look at the stars but getting arrested for dogging is one of the examples. Through-out the book I kept wishing he wouldn't get himself into any more trouble and just laughed as he pluged himself into yet more trouble.

I couldn't warm to Chloe and Tom, Juliet & Rick's kids, but I loved Juliet's mother and father. I thought Juliet's mother, Rita, was a bit bonkers but on the whole I loved her. Juliet's father was a sweet character and I was surprised when he announced he was gay - at 70! We don't see what it was like for Juliet's parents together but reading about them apart made it seem as if both parties were finally free. Back on to Chloe and Tom, I thought they were completely irresponsible as well as shockingly lazy. They didn't treat their parents with any respect and did treat the house more like a hotel. I could relate to Juliet better than I could relate to her children and I'm a teenager myself. However Chloe and Tom didn't detract to the story, they just added to the madness really.

There were a couple more minor characters, Stacey Lovejoy the Joyces' neighbour who resembles a WAG minus the footballer, Hal, Rick's annoying-at-times boss and Una, Juliet's work-friend from the library. Of course I haven't even mentioned Steven. I didn't like him. I thought Juliet let him back into her life far too scott-free considering he jilted her at the altar. I also didn't really believe anything he said either. I also found Una and Juliet's friendship was cast aside with relative ease which was a shame as I enjoyed the interaction between the pair.

The only thing that irritated me about the book was the fact Carole managed to spell Jodi Picoult's name wrong at the beginning of the book. She added an `e' on Jodi and considering she's an author herself you'd think she'd know how it's spelt. Always a pet hate of mine, names of celebs or authors or whoever spelt wrong. Apart from that I loved the book. Carole's writing is just so easy to read that I flew through the book. I wholly recommend it.

Fascinating family interaction
Juliet and Rick have been married for 25 years when their relatively placid lives are suddenly turned upside down. Stephen Aubrey - who jilted Juliet virtually at the altar - returns to his home town and seeks her out. Meanwhile husband Rick is getting himself into all sorts of embarrassing situations; Juliet's mother has left her father and moved in with her daughter; son Tom can't make up his mind whether he is gay or straight; Juliet's father has discovered at the age of 72 that he is really gay; daughter Chloe has crashed her mother's car and Juliet's friend Una is venturing into online dating.

There is almost too much going on in this story but it makes fast paced amusing reading. I liked Juliet and found her attempts to solve all the problems interesting. I could not quite believe her willingness to accept Stephen Aubrey as a friend considering the circumstances of their break up. Though I could see she needed an escape from her home life. I liked Rick - he does his best to turn his life around with very mixed results. His boss, Hal, was a little irritating and neighbour Stacey is a masterpiece. I loved her.

The story is told in alternating first and third person from Juliet's and Rick's point of view respectively which mainly worked well I thought. My only complaint about this is that there was a little too much recapping when there was a change of point of view. I didn't need reminding of what had happened two chapters previously. If these extra paragraphs had been edited out I think the book would have had a better feel to it. For example - at the end of one chapter Rick is thinking about buying Juliet jewellery for their 25 anniversary. Then there are one or two short chapters from Juliet and then back to Rick where there is a paragraph reminding the reader of what lead up to his search for a present. I didn't need reminding and most readers won't need reminding either.

I'm sure Carole Matthews' many fans will love this though for me it didn't quite come up the two 'Chocolate Lovers' books.