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Post by claire on Apr 10, 2006 19:43:51 GMT
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! I felt the same way. He must have been some man to change him so easily
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Post by susanmay on Apr 10, 2006 19:45:58 GMT
Evening All! Sorry I'm late.
I would have loved to be that bull that gored Gary up the arse because I can't stand men like him! ;D
Did anyone else feel the author had her hand in to many pies IE covering a comedy element, suspense, thriller, Crime and the single thirty something (Bridget Jones Style!). There was just far to much going on in this book altogether.
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Post by claire on Apr 10, 2006 19:46:48 GMT
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? Interesting point! We never got to see in her mind as to what she found out. And how she really took to Ivan being her father
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Post by Shirley on Apr 10, 2006 19:47:30 GMT
Right, cringy lines! There were many of them in this book! I have the book right here in front of me and I have to refer to chapter 70. I thought Double Wedding was bad - this is the cringe factor at full throttle! "Gary grabbed her hand and placed it on his erect manhood. "Does that seem in working order to you, Ma'am?" "Oh Gary, it's beautiful!" There was no further need for words. Their bodies were once again speaking the language of love."
UGH!!! I'm sorry like but that's just far too Mills and Boon for my liking.
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Post by claire on Apr 10, 2006 19:48:25 GMT
There was just far to much going on in this book altogether. yep! and good evening to you too
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Post by claire on Apr 10, 2006 19:49:29 GMT
Oh Shirley that sounds terrible. I was cringing too when reading it
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Post by Shirley on Apr 10, 2006 19:51:01 GMT
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? Interesting point! We never got to see in her mind as to what she found out. And how she really took to Ivan being her father Joanna found out all the basic details, but we were privy to a lot more information than she was. I suppose she could find out a lot about what her biological father was really like from questioning Tom, but we didn't get a reaction from her really about how she felt about him being her dad. There was too much going on in that scene anyway what with Joanna and Tom finally getting together at the time of the revelations.
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Post by susanmay on Apr 10, 2006 19:51:28 GMT
Ah Shirley! You have me in stitches here! Does she really use the word manhood? She'd want to read a good Jackie Collins book its far from manhood she calls it!!!
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Post by Shirley on Apr 10, 2006 19:54:23 GMT
Did anyone else feel the author had her hand in to many pies IE covering a comedy element, suspense, thriller, Crime and the single thirty something (Bridget Jones Style!). There was just far to much going on in this book altogether. Totally - it's like there was a checklist of criteria she had to meet before the book was released. I think all the elements worked well together though, but I completely get where you're coming from.
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Post by Shirley on Apr 10, 2006 19:57:45 GMT
Ah Shirley! You have me in stitches here! Does it really use the word manhood. She'd want to read a good Jackie Collins book its far from manhood she calls it!!! Honest to God, that's a direct quote - I honestly couldn't make up anything that cringy! Manhood indeed! And of course, Orla and Gary came at the same time in a shuddering climax....is there a puke icon on this board? I actually feel like it's a bit rude to even be typing this stuff, but it's all direct quotes!!!!!!!!!
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Post by Karen on Apr 10, 2006 19:58:45 GMT
Shirley, I'm killing myself here with laughter. Out of all the cringe worthy lines in this book, you had to pick up on these two! lol
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Post by Shirley on Apr 10, 2006 20:00:19 GMT
Oh God help us, the Daniel O'Donnell show is on tv here! Now that's pure cringy!
Anyway, to get back to the book - what characters did you guys like best? I liked Orla - she was ballsy and she had the sense to kick Declan's axs to the kerb and not let him come crawling back. I loved Agnes and Catherine and their relationship.
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Post by claire on Apr 10, 2006 20:01:48 GMT
I loved the mothers too, they made it for me.
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Post by Karen on Apr 10, 2006 20:03:11 GMT
Nobody has mentioned Harry. He seemed kind of sweet (putting aside the fact he was cheating on his wife) and got the raw end of the deal. Poor guy!
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Post by Shirley on Apr 10, 2006 20:04:42 GMT
Linda should really think about writing some type of period-style book involving a family saga or something. She's just fab at writing about life as it used to be many years ago.
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Post by Shirley on Apr 10, 2006 20:06:00 GMT
Did anyone else think the last love child would be Sasha and not Orla? I totally got sucked into that conclusion.
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Post by Karen on Apr 10, 2006 20:06:48 GMT
I don't think Sasha was old enough to be the other child.
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Post by claire on Apr 10, 2006 20:07:25 GMT
Oh God help us, the Daniel O'Donnell show is on tv here! Now that's pure cringy! We have these holiday parks here called Center Parcs and guess who is in the ad.....the one and only Johnny Logan HE is trying to come up with a song for the park to use as an anthym(sp). My God it's terrible
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Post by claire on Apr 10, 2006 20:08:13 GMT
Well my thoughts were going out to Gary the doc
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Post by Karen on Apr 10, 2006 20:09:52 GMT
We have these holiday parks here called Center Parcs and guess who is in the ad.....the one and only Johnny Logan Sorry I know it's off topic but who's Johnny Logan?
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Post by Shirley on Apr 10, 2006 20:10:41 GMT
Nobody has mentioned Harry. He seemed kind of sweet (putting aside the fact he was cheating on his wife) and got the raw end of the deal. Poor guy! Yes, Harry did seem like a nice guy. And his wife Maura was amazing - not many people would have reacted the way she did to the fact that her husband had another lover. I really liked the way Agnes and Maura met many years later and Agnes offered to help Maura financially.
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Post by susanmay on Apr 10, 2006 20:11:09 GMT
I think Linda Kavanagh is a fantastic writer and can write a good suspense book but why writers in that genre think they have to lighten the book up with romance, comedy and the likes beats me. Its as if their trying to cover all aspects of writing. It just doesn't work in one book. When a writer is writing the opposite of what they normally write it comes across as unrealistic and smells of commercialism! If you know what I mean!
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Post by Shirley on Apr 10, 2006 20:12:51 GMT
One thing that I did find unrealistic was that we had two infertile people in this story - Maura and Bill. The fact that they were both infertile was important - Bill accepted straight away that Joanna was his child because he was so desperate to have a child, and Maura wanted a child so much too that she was happy to rear Colette's child Orla. As I said before though, the unrealistic nature of the book didn't stop me from enjoying it.
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Post by claire on Apr 10, 2006 20:15:09 GMT
Karen he won the Eurovision Song Contest twice for Ireland or was that three times. 'What's another year' was one of them www.johnnylogan.net/
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Post by Shirley on Apr 10, 2006 20:18:10 GMT
The other one was Hold Me Now. He wrote Linda Martin's winning song Why Me? as well. Did anyone else think the whole Mick/Mary storyline could have been cut out?
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Post by claire on Apr 10, 2006 20:20:35 GMT
Yes I didn't think it had anything to do with the story at all. It was ok to know about her in the office but her private life just wasn't important
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Post by claire on Apr 10, 2006 20:21:27 GMT
Girls I'm off, can't keep me eyes open any longer. See you all tomorrow!
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Post by susanmay on Apr 10, 2006 20:22:05 GMT
A shuddering climax!!!!! Whats the world coming too!!!!!!! ;D Agnes and Catherine were great, Harry too. Can't think of Agnes's Hubbies name but I like the story around him at the end of the day it was really Agnes's father that sealed her faith by leaving all his money to her husband. Karen, I also thought the writing on Catherine's Alzheimer's disease was written very well. I could have read on and on about the older characters they were just so much more interesting.
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Post by Shirley on Apr 10, 2006 20:23:09 GMT
Yeah, for some reason we seemed to have to know about each and every character, but in a book that's full to the brim of characters, we had enough lives to read about! Right girls, I'm off for now to do a shop before Dunnes closes at ten - will be back online later. I'm going to buy Woman's Way now, so I will scan in Sarah's Take a Chance review at some stage. Might not get to do it tonight as LOST is on at ten, but you never know!
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Post by susanmay on Apr 10, 2006 20:27:51 GMT
OK girls chat to you all tomorrow. Claire, there was definitely no need to know anymore about Marys life other than what she did at work and even that would probably be irrelevant. I think I must have put on a stone reading this book cause every time Mary brought in more Mikado bickies to Joanna I got a craving!
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