April 10th...Love Child by Linda Kavanagh, 8pm

[claire]

Here's the thread, monday evening 8pm irish we shall start taking about this one. Dying to know what you all thought about this. If you can't make it please leave your comments!! And if you don't want to know what happens in he end then don't read this thread!!

[Kaz]

Claire - I was so looking forward to the book club - but I haven't managed to finish the book yet AAAHHHHH !!!

I'm about half way so far - which will have to mean an early night for me tonight if I want to finish it by tomorrow.

[claire]

Don't worry if you can't join in tomorrow. I just don't want the ending ruined for you but feel free to leave your thoughts on it so far!

[charlene]

I'll pop in but I'm staying away from this thread till I've finished the book so if anyone wants to chat on the other threads I'll be there somewhere.

[Karen]

I'll definitely be here later.

[Oonagh]

I cant make it I have to baby sit the twins has my sister has to go to a removal! But ill leave my comment in a little while. Sorry girls! xx

[Shirley]

Not to worry Oons. We will read your comments with interest anyway!

[susanmay]

I'll be a little bit late this evening girls but I'll leave my comments anyway:

When it was first mentioned that Linda Kavanagh had a new book on release I couldn't help but looking forward to reading it as her first book 'Love Child' was brilliant.

I like Linda's style of writing but I just didn't like this story and wasn't convinced by it. It was a mixture of old and new style womens commercial fiction. Its just not my cup of tea every character falling in love at the drop of a hat and without sounding all feminist like - do women still believe these old 'love stories'?

Every character in the book was strong and believable in their own way but when they became romantically involved with each other all reality went out the window for me!

I found myself rushing through the pages waiting for some major action to happen but it never did.

Wasn't the characters of Mary and Mick nonsensical? Or what about Gary? What purpose had Gary got - none.

The main characters name was Joanna I think but I didn't find her very engaging. When she became involved with that hunky guy and flung him aside when she became bored I began to lose total interest!

I could go on for ever. . . What about Gary and Sasha

[Shirley]

susanmay said:

I'll be a little bit late this evening girls but I'll leave my comments anyway:

When it was first mentioned that Linda Kavanagh had a new book on release I couldn't help but looking forward to reading it as her first book 'Love Child' was brilliant.

I like Linda's style of writing but I just didn't like this story and wasn't convinced by it. It was a mixture of old and new style womens commercial fiction. Its just not my cup of tea every character falling in love at the drop of a hat and without sounding all feminist like - do women still believe these old 'love stories'?

Every character in the book was strong and believable in their own way but when they became romantically involved with each other all reality went out the window for me!

I found myself rushing through the pages waiting for some major action to happen but it never did.

Wasn't the characters of Mary and Mick nonsensical? Or what about Gary? What purpose had Gary got - none.

The main characters name was Orla I think but I didn't find her very engaging. When she became involved with that hunky guy and flung him aside when she became bored I began to lose total interest!

I could go on for ever. . . What about Gary and Sasha

Just have to post something on this now in case there is anything wrong with my Internet access at home - it was very erratic yesterday!
That's a really good point about the mix between old and new style, Susan. It was almost as if she was going OTT in the contemporary story to show the difference between the shackles of Agnes's life and the freedom of choice the girls of today have. I just loved the old story and the way it was told, but the contemporary story was much weaker in comparison!
Hope to chat to ye later if the Internet permits it!

[Karen]

I'm going to post my main thoughts just now, but I will still be around later to comment and discuss the book further.

With a great storyline and some pretty likable characters I found this an easy book to get into and found myself skipping through the pages with ease.

There are however a lot of characters all of whom play a significant part in the main storyline as well as having their own individual mini-plots and although I don't think it took anything away from the overall plot I did find it a bit unbelievable that everyone was connected to everyone else in the ways in which they were.

The character who sort of pulls everything else together and connects all the dots is Joanna, a likable enough character but I hated the way she seemed to flit from one man to the next. One minute she's madly in love with her childhood friend Tom (or at the very least has a major crush on him) and the next she's falling into bed with someone she's only known five minutes and then when that relationship comes to an abrupt end she's back declaring undying love to Tom. I found it a bit of a disappointing character trait and one that we could have done without.

I actually found the whole book very predictable and had figured out most of the 'secrets' very early on. There was only one little thing at the end which I hadn't guessed, which was the identity of Ivan and Colette's child, but even that didn't really come as that big of a shock.

I liked the way in which the events from the past were told in flashback but written in a way that takes you back to the day and time as if you were really there with them.

Kudos to Linda Kavanagh on her portrayal of Alzheimer's. Although I personally have never known someone with Alzheimer's, I really could feel both Catherine's confusion and Joanna's pain at seeing her mother affected by this terrible disease.

Even though it was very predictable and doesn't necessarily have any wow factor, on the whole I thoroughly enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes nothing better to just chill out on the couch with a good book. Just don't expect any major revelations as you pretty much know how it's going to end long before you reach the half way mark.

[Oonagh]

Ok heres my comments on it. I loved it! I thought i wouldnt at the start but really was a page turner for me. Kept me occupied before i broke my ankle. The day i actually broke my ankle i think. Any how going on a bit of a rant here but sure any way. I must admit i knew the nding but i didnt know about the will and that really helped me to stay in suspense. Now what i did wonder how Jo and Orla became friends in the first place. That was tooo coincendal in my opinion. Oh though have to disagree with you about Gary god he sounded gorgeous. I agree with you susan on th ewhole thing with Jo jumping in to bed wit your man and then changing her mind. That kinda bugged me as well. He sounded great. The great thing about the book comparing to three Wishes is that there was chemistry between the female and the male characters and u could feel it nearly. Now i must really read love hurts to see does she still live up to my expectations.

[claire]

Most of what you lot have said so far is just what I think

Karen: "With a great storyline and some pretty likable characters I found this an easy book to get into and found myself skipping through the pages with ease.

There are however a lot of characters all of whom play a significant part in the main storyline as well as having their own individual mini-plots and although I don't think it took anything away from the overall plot I did find it a bit unbelievable that everyone was connected to everyone else in the ways in which they were."

I agree totally with you here. Especially that they were all in some way connected.

Oonagh: "Now what i did wonder how Jo and Orla became friends in the first place. That was tooo coincendal in my opinion"

I found that odd too.

Susan: "Every character in the book was strong and believable in their own way but when they became romantically involved with each other all reality went out the window for me!"

My thoughts excatly!

Karen: "I liked the way in which the events from the past were told in flashback but written in a way that takes you back to the day and time as if you were really there with them."

Me too. I loved the old story, I found myself looking forward to the next episode. But Ivan was really made out to be a terrible brute. I found him a bit too much at times.

I have to go now be back later to talk more

[susanmay]

Shirley: It was almost as if she was going OTT in the contemporary story to show the difference between the shackles of Agnes's life and the freedom of choice the girls of today have. I just loved the old story and the way it was told, but the contemporary story was much weaker in comparison!

Exactly - I could have read the older womens story forever. I remember in 'Love Hurts' Linda was brilliant at telling the old story as well. She's definitely better at writing stories that involve more mature characters.

Even though I wasn't overly gone on this book it still wouldn't put me off buying another one of hers because the first book was so good.

I just hope she doesn't feel she has to jump onto the contemporary or romantic bandwagon because her own original style of writing was very entertaining.

[susanmay]

This is the review 'Love Child' received from Bibliofemme.

Love Child by Linda Kavanagh
(Published by Poolbeg)


Linda Kavanagh's second novel follows the same lines as her excellent debut, Love Hurts.
Joanna Brennan has just set up her own solicitor's practice. One of her first jobs is to administer the will of her mother's friend, Agnes, who has just suffered a serious heart attack. Agnes is about to reveal the reasoning behind some of her stranger bequests but she dies before she gets the chance.

In order to fulfil Agnes' wishes, Joanna herself has to uncover the secrets behind the will's bequests. Travelling back to a forgotten murder and a strange suicide, Joanna soon realises that nothing is what it should be.

Along her strange journey Joanna rekindles her friendship with Agnes' son Tom and their relationship grows. When Joanna uncovers a dramatic truth that affects Tom she has to wrestle with her conscience to make the right decision.

Combining mystery with a traditional chick lit story, Linda Kavanagh once again has a winner on her hands.

Also by Linda Kavanagh
Love Hurts

[Karen]

susanmay said:

Or what about Gary? What purpose had Gary got - none.

From what I can see the only purpose he had was that he was the link between Ellen and the whole mystery. Pretty big coincidence that one of Joanna's clients happened to live next door to the one person who actually witnessed Collette's murder.

And on the subject of Ellen and the whole dog bite thing, maybe I've been watching too many CSI's but surely any doctor would be able to tell the difference between a dog bite and a human bite, so I wouldn't have thought it would have even got to the court case stage. Sorry I know this is just a minor thing in the grand scheme of things, but it did make me wonder....I definitely have been watching too many episode's of CSI!

oonagh said:

Now what i did wonder how Jo and Orla became friends in the first place. That was tooo coincendal in my opinion.

Yeah it was. Didn't they meet at school or something?

susanmay said:

Even though I wasn't overly gone on this book it still wouldn't put me off buying another one of hers because the first book was so good.

Same here. I'm definitely interested in reading her other book Love Hurts and will keep an eye open for it.

[claire]

I thought the same on the dog bite but if it was bandaged he never got to see it.
I didn't like the way the girls always seemed to be meeting handsome single men everywhere they went. Most find it hard to meet one decent bloke once your over 28/30!! And they way they fell head over heels in love and the way the men spoke to them just did not ring right in my ears

[Karen]

claire said:

I thought the same on the dog bite but if it was bandaged he never got to see it.

Gary didn't need to see it. I'm talking about the police report, surely they would have got a hospital report or something, so the doctor who treated her should have been able to identify it.

Anyway I'm just nit-picking now. Just ignore me.

[claire]

karen said:

Anyway I'm just nit-picking now. Just ignore me.

no i will not
that's whatwe are here for ;D

[claire]

I couldn't wait to finish this book, not because of excietment or anything, I just had to get it over and done with. I'm sure I skipped some parts but for me it was too much that Orla was the third party

[Karen]

I agree, although I hadn't guessed that Orla was the other child, it didn't come as that big of a shock due to the fact that everyone else was so closely connected, but it was a bit unrealistic the way it turned out. Or at least I thought so.

I have to say though, that even though I did find it predictable and a bit unrealistic at times, I did actually really enjoy it.

[claire]

there was a great story line, I must say that and the flash backs were very well told. I think it was the romance side of it that could have been left out. It didn't do anything for the story

[Shirley]

Overall, this book was more positive than negative for me. I liked the fact that it was so easy to get into from the very first line. Although there were a hell of a lot of characters, it was relatively easy to get into their stories. Although the storyline was unrealistic at times, it didn't put me off the book - a lot of successful books and indeed movies have been based on unrealistic events occurring throughout the course of the story! Where the story fell down for me was in the depiction of the modern-day characters. Joanna was an affable enough person to be at the centre of solving the mystery, but I didn't feel like we really got to know her at all. I would have liked to have seen her demonstrate more determination - sure, she solved the mystery, but she didn't seem to be burning to do so either. She was burning for another thing - all we found out about her really was how much she wanted a man!
The men in this story pisxed me off royally. This story was set in Dublin. Nobody I know has ever met men like Gary and Tom in Dublin! Nobody I know has ever met men like them in Ireland! I mean, how many men meet a girl once at a function like Gary did with Orla, decide that she's the one they're going to marry and then say things like "Oh Orla, please tell me this is the start of something special between us!" when they finally get together? And then go to bed with that woman and then propose? Give me a break! It seemed like the author was just trying to slot the perfect lonely thirtysomething man in there somewhere.

[Shirley]

The flashbacks were excellent. And Susan's right - they were amazing in Love Hurts too.

[claire]

I so agree with you Shirley.

But I loved the Declan and Sasha story, the bull in the field was ott but the rest was funny

[claire]

it's very quite tonight

[Shirley]

There were some funny moments in the book. I loved when Joanna pushed Sasha by the arse into the cake at the magazine's party (when Orla met Gary). However, I thought it was very unrealistic that she didn't tell Orla about it straight afterwards! Any woman would! At least it showed that she was discreet though, which was fitting for her profession.
I also liked the bit when Gary went into the field to retrieve the flowers and the bull attacked him!

[Karen]

I agree with the comments about the great flashbacks.

One thing I've been thinking is (and I'll probably find this hard to put into words) although we know exactly what happened in the past because of the flashbacks, I wonder just how much information Joanna did actually find out. I mean if you took out all the chapters that were flashbacks and set 30 plus years before the rest of the story, would we still know what happened. Did Joanna actually find out and reveal enough to answer the basic questions, or does it only seem like it because we've read what happened ourselves?

Does that make sense?

[Shirley]

Just saw your post on the bull now Claire, LOL!

[Shirley]

I found it hard to believe as well that problematic Paul would turn over a new leaf so easily just because he got a "father figure" in his life all of a sudden. Teenagers aren't that easy to win over!

[claire]

shirley said:

I also liked the bit when Gary went into the field to retrieve the flowers and the bull attacked him!

it was Declan the one that was engaged to Orla. He had to go to the hospital and there he met Gary who then thought that Orla was engaged!