Daisy WaughCritiques

I was excited to read this book as it was compared to Agatha Christie and PG Wodehouse. However, this book was awful. The characters were terrible, nasty, money hungry, and rude. There was not one likeable character in the bunch. Various relationships and cheating. Plus, add in a ghost, and you have just a terrible novel.
Sir Tode died and his widow wants to leave the house and its grounds to one of the heirs and retire to Crete. But, later, she is found dead on the floor of the family mausoleum. Was it murder, and if so, who killed her?
I am sorry I wasted my time.

I could have written this book, minus a couple minor things that I disagreed with. Holy cow, a great advice book on how to parent and not lose your mind. A great read for any parent.

I thought this was funny, spot-on, and damned refreshing.

This story is told in two storylines, both of which are narrated by Jennifer Doyle aka Lola Nightingale. In 1916, Jennifer accompanies her roguish father from England to America, where she is given a job with the wealthy de Saulles family. It is there that she meets and falls deeply in love with Rudolfo Gullielmi, a dancer employed by the family, who is having a relationship with Mrs de Saulles.

1926, Jennifer goes by the name Lola Nightingale, Rodolfo is now known to the world as film superstar Rudolph Valentino, and at the beginning of the book, they have just been reunited after a decade apart. Jennifer/Lola has been in love with ‘Rudy’ for the whole time, and throughout the rest of the book she proceeds to describe the events that transpired between 1916, when Rudy vanished from her life, and 1926, when he reappeared.

I enjoyed the book, and thought that the writing was engaging and flowed well. However, I veered between sympathy for and annoyance with Jennifer, who was her own worst enemy. She knows that she drinks too much and dabbles in drugs, which are doing her ambitions as a bidding scriptwriter no good, and she also becomes involved with a horrible abusive man, who is a drug dealer to the stars.

Anybody who knows about Rudolph Valentino’s life and death, will have a certain knowledge of what happens in the ending of the book. I personally really enjoy fiction books that are based around real people and events, and I liked the fact that at the end of the book, the fates of all the real people in its pages (such as Mr and Mrs de Saulles) is revealed.

Overall, while I didn’t love the central character, I did really enjoy the story and am looking forward to reading more by Daisy Waugh.½

After a wobbly introduction - I'm not sure that launching into a round of glib dialogue, twenty years after the main events of the story, really works - something clicked, and I got caught up in the characters and the plot. What would have piqued my interest more than a Hollywood party is the historical background to the novel, which comes at the end with the author Q&A. Daisy Waugh paints a poignant portrait of 'Honeyville', or Trinidad, Colorado, the mining town at the heart of her story, both as it was in 1914, at the time of the Ludlow Massacre, and today, with many abandoned buildings but free wifi in McDonald's. Events, both historical and fictional, are gradually explained, but getting a taste of the troubled mining town without needing recourse to Wikipedia would have totally sucked me in!

I did come to like the narrator of the story, a world-weary hooker named Dora who forms an unlikely alliance with a pretty, privileged young woman named Inez. Dora's character is wonderfully layered, but I struggled to form a connection with the character, perhaps because of all the twittery, giggling dialogue with Inez in the opening chapters. Stripping away all the dark history of the town, Honeyville is really the story of a friendship and a doomed love affair, with a few interesting and sympathetic characters on the side. Dora is the heart of the novel, while deceptively ditzy Inez waits in the wings. Waugh sets the scene perfectly, from the gaudy brothel where Dora works to the wild west atmosphere of the town, caught between union agitators and the mining company's heavies. The fictional climax, when it came, was suitably foreshadowed but still slightly shocking - and also, I must admit, rather satisfying!

A well-paced fictional incorporation of an historical tragedy, worth persevering with.

An imaginative and engaging story surrounding the 1913 Ludlow Massacre in Trinidad, Colorado. At the heart of the tale is a prostitute, Dora Whitworth, through whose eyes 'Honeyville' is told. After a murder is committed, she befriends the wealthy Inez and her brother, Xavier, and finds herself embroiled in the ins and outs of the town's unions and miners' strikes.

I found 'Honeyville' a fascinating and interesting read which kept me turning the pages. It's wonderfully written with some great characters who are well drawn and realistic. I particularly liked Dora and was always rooting for her. It's cleverly plotted and although there are some serious and shocking themes, there are also some lighter moments.

A gripping, absorbing and compelling insight into an awful episode in Trinidad's history, I would recommend this book to readers who like stories combining fact with fiction but also like a hint of romance. This is the first novel I have read by Daisy Waugh and it won't be my last!

Many thanks to Lovereading.co.uk for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book which will be published in November.

I believed this was going to be a light read with fun examples of over the top parenting. Unfortunately, I found Daisy Waugh to be condescending and judgmental in a frequently angry tone. Wasn't the point of the book to be the opposite?

The book was a pleasant enough read. The basic story line is that a woman gets he dream and moves to the countryside from central london, only to hate it and move back.
strangly the book was fine, what annoyed me was some undelying life issues. everyone has affairs, you should not wory about them and just carry on as normal. Rural women are child obsessed idiots, even if they have been inteligent before children. The last which upset me the most was that it was better to live in the city, the people were better there.
I may not bother with Daisy again.

While I agreed with the author's main point, which was that parents should relax and stop feeling guilty about how they're raising their children, I felt that she made her arguments too extreme simply for the sake of humor.

Not impressed. Perhaps it was just a matter of missed expectations, but I was "expecting" to be highly amused. I wasn't. But that's what makes the world go 'round...someone else coming from a different place in life might just think it's the best thing ever.

I expected to love this book, but I just didn't. I'm down the basic tenents: guilt-free motherhood, the basic okayness of kids these days, throw in a snarky Brit and I thought it would be a home run. But honestly? I found Waugh to be just as judgmental as the women she's criticizing, and not especially funny about it. Meh.½

I found this to be an easy and enjoyable read. Though the Author and I differ on a few views on motherhood and parenting, I still found the book to be an interesting and humorous look at what it's like to be a "modern parent" in an often overly concerned, overly commercial, and overly consumerist culture.

This is a funny, tongue in cheek look at what we espouse to be motherhood in today’s media frenzied era. The author note all the hype put out about motherhood, and explains her simple, understated views on the same. The book is filled with wisdom and a hearty dose of humor as she debunks many of the myths the media perpetuates. From her assertion that we have children because we want to have children, not because of some media imposed sense of selflessness to her to her comments that we can and should feed the children what we want to and can and not the organic food the media and others insist we should, this book addresses most of the common ideas and philosophies put forth about motherhood today. The book covers all the stages of motherhood: pregnancy, baby care, child care, school, and charm school, while debunking most of what the uninitiated continue to hold near and dear. I could easily see this mother having, raising and loving her children in her own way, despite what others think or say. Nevertheless, in the process of all this, a mother who knows how to other, raise and love her children comes through loud and clear. I found her ideas refreshing and insightful in many ways. The soon-to-be-mother as well as the seasoned mother and older grandmother could easily agree with the author as they read along with her somewhat pristine but definitely wholesome and experienced ideas. In today’s day and climate, I wish there were more books that speak to the truth in all matters as this one does available for reading. I highly recommend this one, for sheer enjoyment if not for the nuggets of wisdom the author provides. I received this from Library Thing to read and review.

In case you hadn't heard, being a mom is hard. I mean, HARD. For those of you without kids, you LITERALLY have NO IDEA how HARD. You may think you can imagine - but you're wrong. Only once you become a parent can you truly know what it mean to love something that is seemingly hell-bent on running you past the point of exhaustion 24 hours, 7 days a week. Now, part of this is because, as a single person unencumbered by a child, you can't REALLY imagine this kind of commitment to another - even if you have a dog or cat that you really, really, love - just no. If you are one of those people reading my review, don't feel antagonized by my commentary - rather, relish the ability to do as you please when you please while you still can. Just as being a parent is special and magical, being a single person, responsible only for your own survival, is priceless. Soak it in. Live it up. Anyways, the other reason people (read also: first time moms) don't know how HARD it is - is because no one really talks about or acknowledges their own struggles with being a new parent. For some women, motherhood is almost on par with a religious calling - something that requires willing self-sacrifice and devotion. For others, those like myself, it is something of a chore - and I can admit that I struggle with it daily. Just admitting that being a mother is hard work has caused a twinge of guilt in me - and I feel compelled to add in a louder voice - I STILL LOVE MY BABY. At least, no less than a woman who pretends that all this vomit, poop, and screaming is really her cup of tea.

Even if YOU don't necessarily know how hard it is to be a parent, Daisy Waugh does. She isn't afraid to admit her shortcomings and laugh at her own struggles. She thinks the myth surrounding the modern martyrdom of good mothers is ridiculous. Rather, she encourages women to allow themselves some slack in indulging in some selfish behavior. You don't have to steam your own organic vegetables and breastfeed your child through puberty to be a good mother - despite what some of your Facebook friends might post. Waugh gives mothers the permission to be seen as women again - to succumb to human impulses and take some shortcuts every once in a while.

The chapters were extremely short - bite-sized snippets that are perfect for moms looking to sneak in some reading inbetween the frequent diaper changes and temper tantrums. I don't necessarily advocate all of her advice and opinions - but I LOVE her refreshing and permissive attitude. Moms carry around a lot of inexplicable internal guilt without their husbands, friends and media sources chiming in with advice and statistics. The kids WILL be fine, despite what your adversaries may say. This book is a much-needed 'atta girl to women struggle, women who need to hear that others have trouble too.

Thanks to LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program for an advanced copy of this book. It was just what the doctor ordered.½

It's nice to have someone to talk to about perplexities of having children and doing this through a book can be good. This book makes a good introduction and support to becoming a parent, although without much of the specific or classic advice you might or might not be looking for. Beginning with pregnancy, author Daisy Waugh gently guides you, not *through* this new experience, but mostly *around* this well-meant meddling into your affairs. You do not need to buy every gadget ever conceived for newborns, for example. Skipping along through *chapters,?* only averaging a page or two, she deals with the usual problems that come up with kids in a mostly chronological order, taking problems as they come and your child gets older. The theme of the book is that life goes on and you will very likely do just fine raising your child with a much less frantic or panic approach. I think her ideas come across as very practical most of the time. My only complaint is her use of the F-word that seems to get used more and more frequently in the last half of the book. I really hate that word. Otherwise, it's relaxing, funny, entertaining, and gives good thoughts to ponder. The book is barely 214 pages. Enjoy and be assured you are doing a fine job with your kids.½

Well, I wanted to like this book. As the mom of a newish baby, one of the things I wasn't prepared for was the guilt. I was hoping "The Kids WIll Be Fine" would make me laugh and calm some of my fears and worries. It read more like a rant with sometimes just a scant page devoted to a chapter. Could be that as an American, I just didn't get her British humor. I would love it if I had more of Waugh's laissez-faire approach to parenting as it would help be be more guilt-free. Unfortunately, her book doesn't tell me how.

This is, without a doubt, one of the worst books I have had the misfortune to pick up.

I was excited to receive this book because I anticipated a light-hearted romp through motherhood with anecdotes showing that whatever a well-intentioned mother inflicted upon her child, the child was likely to turn out just fine. What I sadly found was a judgmental, poorly written book portraying a very one-sided approach to mothering. Apparently, the kids will be just fine IF you are parenting the way the Waugh chooses to parent.

If, God forbid, you are a mother who chooses a different path - perhaps choosing natural childbirth, organic foods, or breast-feeding - there is no doubt in Waugh's mind that your child will be parented by an imbecile. I have to assume that means the child is doomed as well.

I was hoping for a book that did not attack any mother doing her very best with her child. What I got was more of the same - an attack on mothers who choose to parent differently than the author. I was appalled by the book in parts. Quoting her OB as saying that a mother can drink, do drugs, whatever she wants in the first trimester and the baby will be fine! This book is not only insulting - I believe it is dangerous.

I would not recommend this book to anyone. I am only giving it a half star instead of a star so that no one will think I forgot to rank it.½

Overall a quick and enjoyable book, and a refreshing break from other mommy memoirs since it unapologetically celebrates moms as normal human beings who are capable of experience irritation, boredom, and occasional dissatisfaction without becoming lesser parents. That said, it seemed to dance back and forth between advocating that mothers judge each other less and actively judging other mothers. It fits solidly into advice-not-advice genre of parenting books, but with it's own individual twists.

As the mother of three children, I know a thing or two about parental guilt so I was looking forward to reading this book. The author looks at different aspects of motherhood and the sometimes unrealistic expectations placed on mothers. First of all, this is a funny book and I laughed out loud several times. Her sections on pregnancy and baby care are by far the funniest I have ever read. However, about midway through her opinions become fiercer and I am not sure she does a good job alleviating that guilt. I also didn’t find some of her examples very relevant…possibly because my children go to public schools? Regardless, this is a very funny book and I was able to sympathize and agree with enough points to make it worth the read.½

I just received this book and started reading it. It has already won me over by liberal use of terms like "bullsh*t" and "piss," the assertion--one that I have always agreed with--that in this modern age there is no reason in the world to deny painkillers to women in labor, and the section, "Don't Call Me Mom," which lights exactly on my number-one pet peeve as a mother. And I quote:

"There are only three people [one, in my case] in the world who can call me Mom, and they know who they are. To anyone else: call me ugly, for all I care. Call me anything at all. Just don't call me Mom. I am not your mom. If I were, you'd have better manners."

Yes, yes, dear God, yes.

This book is chock full of common sense and cuts straight through the (dare I say it?) bullsh*t of modern parenting. Refreshing. And quite often funny too.

I agree with Ms. Waugh's assertion that kids should just be left alone to do their kid things. Not every minute of every day has to be productive and educational. Sometimes when I hear my mother's voice coming out of my mouth, laying down some pointless rule so I can feel parental, I do stop and think: "Why is this necessary? Can't I just let him enjoy life? For most of his life, he's going to be an adult with a job and responsibilities and chores and putting up with bullsh*t and feeling guilty for taking a few minutes out to lie in the grass or look at the stars or play video games. Life is short; let him be a kid!" And I shut myself up.

So I feel entirely simpatico with Ms. Waugh, and more power to her. I hope more moms get the message.½

This was my Early Reviewers book for the month. It arrived in the mail yesterday, and I took it into the bath with me and finished it within the hour. It's that kind of short, delightful book. Waugh is British, and has a very British sensibility when it comes to not tolerating bullsh*t (think Caitlin Moran, though not quite as brilliant or amusing). The book does skim over pregnancy policing and spend too much time (I think) on pressure to participate in the child's school career, but that's where Waugh is right now in her life, so it makes sense. I'm currently eight months pregnant, and I wanted more about what applies to me now, not what I'll be dealing with in eight years. But I will definitely hang onto this book and return to it as applicable. It made me laugh a lot, and did succeed in making me feel less guilty about a lot of stuff: Waugh is especially funny about the pressure to have a drug-free childbirth, which I have definitely felt increase throughout my pregnancy.

I was captivated by the cover of Melting the Snow on Hester Street browsing in Reader’s Feast, Melbourne. I still haven’t got out of my craze for 20’s era fiction, and I loved the way the cover tagline referenced F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Beautiful and Damned. The blurb suggested the book was about the last golden days of Hollywood, before the great stock market crash of 1929. It’s definitely about that, but so much more. The book also goes into great detail about New York life in the early 1900s and one of the worst industrial disasters in history, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. Why is this not mentioned on the back? This would be even more likely to draw my interest, as it was only mentioned briefly in another book I recently read, Astor Place Vintage.

So what is this book really about? We open with a scene between Charlie Chaplin and Marion Davies, discussing a party to be held at the house of the famous Beecham couple. Max is a noted director and Eleanor is a leading lady actress of both silent and ‘talkie’ films. We start to suspect something might be wrong during the party, as both Max and Eleanor’s lovers attend and there’s a few sticky moments. The day after, Eleanor heads for Reno after receiving a letter in the post – but it’s not divorce she’s after. We then move back in time to a cold, hungry New York and find out how the Beechams got to be the toast of Hollywood. All around them, their dreams are crumbling as the market falls…

I really enjoyed the narrative of this story. Waugh weaves the past and present very well together – I loved how the excess of the 1920s contrasts with the poverty of earlier New York. The description of the Triangle fire was also brilliantly done – it was difficult to read at times, so harrowing were the accounts of the people trying to leave the burning floors. The narrative also moved along at a good pace that maintained my interest to keep reading…and reading! The characters are well drawn, especially Eleanor, who has a cool reserve that only melts as she discusses her time in New York. As I learned more about her, I became more sympathetic towards her. She hasn’t had an easy life, but she needs to hide it in glamorous Hollywood.

I felt that the wonderful story was let down by typos and spelling errors – note that I read a final copy, not an ARC. There are continual references to a rubbish ‘shoot’ first on page 168 – then on page 283 it starts off as a ‘chute’ but changes to a ‘shoot’ in the following sentence. Similarly, there is confusion between ‘principle’ and ‘principal’ on page 222. I’m sure that the gentleman concerned didn’t want to ‘stand on a principal’. (Ouch!) There’s also a picture of The World newspaper after the Triangle fire with the heading, ‘The World newspaper, 1929’ – the Triangle fire was in 1911. These are basic errors and in my opinion, should have been noted corrected before the final print.

I felt these issues lessened my enjoyment in the ending – I’m not sure how ambiguous the person in the big reveal was meant to be. Are we meant to believe it’s the person that everyone thinks it is or someone else? I felt I couldn’t trust the description of them to make a calculated judgement. However, it brought life and love back into Eleanor and Max’s lives, which is a lovely thing.

A very interesting story, told well.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com½

Visiting my lovely local bookshop, Chapter One, during Independent Booksellers week meant that they kindly provided me with free coffee, cake and the opportunity to chat with local poet A.F. Harrold. Of course, all free things have their price and so I duly felt obliged to buy a book. 'I Don't know why she bothers' caught my attention with its promise of 'guilt-free motherhood'.

What's it about?

Writer and novelist Daisy Waugh is on a mission to save mothers valuable time and energy while abolishing guilt. It seems that guilt is often an accepted, even expected, by-product of being a parent, so this is a laudable aim. Instead of 'how does she do it?' Waugh encourages mothers to ask 'why does she bother?' in a book that the blurb hails as 'part feminist manifesto, part hilarious rant'.

What's it like?

Waugh opens with a box full of short summaries of conflicting research studies, moves on to a facetious three question quiz and then dives into an anecdote involving 'clever, serious men' who (she assumes) have never spent much time looking after their own children and yet are happily criticising young, single mothers. Quickly moving on, Waugh reflects upon the state of modern parenting, the birth of her third child, the reasons people have children, martyr mummies, me time... Flitting about like a grasshopper, she touches upon all these subjects briefly, stating her views decisively and moving on without ever troubling herself to defend her views.

She is inconsistent, stating that mums at the school gate are not scary or troublesome, then writes several pages on how horrible they are. Similarly she sees men as an enemy 'rubbing their hands together in glee' over women complaining about other women...then complains about other women.

These inconsistencies are one reason why this doesn't feel like a serious book. Liberally peppered with swearing, emoticons, capitalised words, casual insults and an astonishing number of dashes and ellipses, this reads less like a feminist manifesto and more like a slightly drunken pub conversation between best mates. The constant use of subheadings suggests structure but really this is one long set of digressions on the theme of motherhood. Whether or not this relaxed, chatty style appeals will depend upon the reader and their sensitivities. Personally, I longed for a more rigorous editor who might abolish some of the f words and correct the erroneous colons. As a blog post it wouldn't bother me but as a book the approach felt too casual.

Waugh's opinions become law here. She criticises Michelle Obama for 'pretending' that the she doesn't hire child-care, opining that the 'First Grandma' won't be the one packing the children's bags or sewing labels into their clothes. Possibly not. But unless she has a hotline to the White House her conviction seems flawed.

This is characteristic of her decisive approach. After dismissively writing off Victorian marriages as 'nothing more than a badly lit lifetime of mundane sexual abuse - or sex endured', Waugh implicitly condones infidelity, noting that, obviously, parents won't fancy each other when they spend their days having conversations about baby poo and their nights cleaning it up. I agree that sex might not be high up the priority list when you've just helped your partner clean baby sick out of their hair, but that doesn't mean couples can't ever find each other attractive again.

Waugh is deliberately provocative. Natural birth is a ridiculous con forced on women by an NHS trying to save money and a public that want mothers to be nothing more than cattle. Dads who attend antenatal classes or, God forbid, want to be present at their child's birth, are 'wet' and she questions how they 'ever got laid'.

There is some sense under the nonsense. Did you know that men can claim chauffeurs against tax but women can't claim a nanny or au pair against tax? I agree that baby on board stickers are largely pointless, that regular weigh-ins can contribute to unnecessary parental angst and that referring to someone as 'mum' rather than bothering to learn and / or apply their actual name can feel lazy and even insulting. (Rather like when male senior management insist on referring to all female teachers as 'miss', it makes you wonder if the person speaking has any idea who you are.)

Final thoughts

Unfortunately, the words baby and bath water come to mind and in her desire to free mothers from the shackles of guilt and undue effort, Waugh replaces one set of expectations with another. Breastfeeding is lazy and the equivalent of doing nothing while you smoke a cigarette; why wouldn't you bottle feed? Stay-at-home mothers are martyrs with nothing of interest to say to anyone, especially their husband; why wouldn't you go back to work?

Waugh may simply dismiss me as a 'mumgelical' or 'orgasimum' but, having made choices she would deem daft, I found her book astonishingly rude at times, and belligerant in its refusal to credit current thinking with any merit. Readers who have made different choices to me may find her tone refreshing and reassuring in its conviction. This is quite an engaging rant if you aren't the one under attack and could be an enjoyable read.

Who doesn't like to be slightly voyeuristic about the lives rich and famous of Hollywood? All the more so if they're from the "golden era" - back when the studio owned its actors, and movies were just beginning to become "talkies". With Waugh's latest novel, we get just that - a peek behind the boudoir doors that reveal secrets that aren't just simply romantic affairs. These mysteries stretch back to 28 years earlier and the dirty streets of New York's garment district. From there, a couple are forced to flee for their lives, leaving even their daughter behind. After reaching the other shores of the country, they change their names and soon become part of the movie industry, and are on the road to fame and fortune. But everything they do leads them back to what they left behind and the tragedy that forced them to leave.

Waugh's novel is built on a good premise, with an interesting time line and characters the reader will grow to like. Although it starts out a bit slow, the pace soon picks up and the story just whizzes by. And just when you start to think its going to end in a cliche, the tiny twist at the end puts a perfect cap on everything.

You can read my full review here...

Voiced in a playful, darkly comical tone, Bordeaux Housewives lives up to the words in its title in that it's airy and exquisite—Bordeaux—and at the same time, fierce and dangerously thrilling—housewives. While I will be the first to acknowledge there isn't anything highly substantial or literarily tasteful about this book, it's a hell of a fun, flirty read, and it's one that should be accompanied by a glass of champagne and a sunny day—if only for pure entertainment.

The secrets and dreams and fears of Maude, Daffy, and Emma, our delightful housewives—and I say delightful in the broadest sense because once you see the ruthlessness, paranoia, and human inadequacy in them yourself, you may start thinking differently—are not only hysterical to keep up with, but also inanely human, which is why I loved the characters so much. Waugh introduces a unique, vivid cast of charming characters who are so easy to relate to and even easier to fall in love with. They're rather two-dimensional, tending to have the shallowest of weaknesses, and their rightful happily ever afters are a little saccharine, yes, but I adored them so much, I feel they deserve their happy (or not so happy) endings. They make poor decisions solely in the name of creating drama and can be annoyingly flimsy, but they are, if anything, memorable. They weren't written to give lessons or teach morals, so I don't hold anything against them; I think the characterization is, while only developed on the surface, one of the strongest aspects of the novel.

The Haunts run an undercover business beneath their sickeningly perfect cloak of domesticity—down to the sun-kissed children and house in the south of France—and get into all sorts of senseless trouble. Maude is starkly plain, and yet she's one of my favorite characters because of the reckless way her mind works. Horatio wins the "most clueless husband" award for sure, but he's equally funny and just delightful.

Daffy's life is a little bleaker. Stranded Bordeaux alone due to her pig of a husband's demands, she's the passive, obtuse character I expected to hate, but ended up cheering for, by the end of the book. She's ridiculously helpless and even a little pathetic, but she's so frail, so comically flawed, that even she hits a nerve.

And then there's Emma. Shameless thing, but a delight of a character to read about. She's unscrupulous and immensely dislikable, but that's her charm; she's toxic, but she's delicious. I loved her even though I wasn't supposed to!

The setting, I also am enchanted by. Reminiscent of the French countryside, from the fresh vegetables, the yummy men, the warm atmosphere, Bordeaux sounds homey, endearing, and even a little magical, which provides a marvelous escape. For those of you who've always wanted to run off to France: live vicariously through Bordeaux Housewives!

Pros: Hilarious // Charming // Makes me want to live in Bordeaux! // Each and every character captivated me in their own way // Pace is slow but the pages turn quickly! I finished this one before I knew it // The perfect breezy read

Cons: Slow start // Characters aren't could-be-your-best-friend realistic // Rather unexciting and absent plot

Love: It was the single piece of advice [her husband] gave to her: watch out, Daphne, [the French] all hate you. Because we won the Battle of Britain, or something, he said (she'd watched his raspberry lips moving). The Battle of something-something and something else. Lots of battles. We'd also won the Olympic bid, the war in Iraq, and there was something about a C.A.P. or S.C.A.R.F.E. or a pair of S.U.N.G.L.A.S.S.E.S. (her joke).

Verdict: While the story of Daisy Waugh's British chick-lit novel itself is nothing groundbreaking—it's mildly amusing, at most—the twisted situations three seemingly discordant families get themselves into—as well as the twisted way in which they are all connected—are brilliant. The plot thickens as words said and unsaid meddle with their lives, and the ensuing chaos is an absolute hoot. With charming characters, tongue-in-cheek humor, and a carefree, casual style akin to that of Sophie Kinsella, Bordeaux Housewives relays the juicily constructive—and of course, mistakingly destructive—power of gossip, as well as the appreciation for free will, justice, and of course, true love.

Rating: 9 out of 10 hearts (5 stars): Loved it! This book has a spot on my favorites shelf.

Source: Complimentary copy provided by TripFiction in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you, Tina!).