I needed a Halloween bingo break. This book was just the ticket. I finished this yesterday afternoon and went back to Halloween reads so I had maybe a 13 hour break if that.

Cathy Kelly has become my newest favorite Irish author. I do miss Maeve Binchy's works, but Kelly's books have filled a spot with me.

"What She Wants" takes a look at a pair of sisters (Sam and Hope) and a widowed woman (Virginia) who are connected to a town in Ireland. The main reason why I didn't give this book 5 stars was that I thought things wrapped up a bit too neatly, and the one sister's story-line (Sam) I wish that Kelly had taken more time with. I also think that the book was just a bit took long (clocked in at 593 pages people. That's a lot. This was a re-read for me though so I am not going to lie, I did skim some of the less interesting passages which is another reason why I probably rated this 4 stars.

I emphasized the most with Sam's storyline. She's a single woman who is career focused and about to turn 40. She has a new job that is starting to make her resentful and snappish since she's realizing that though she may be good at the job, it's not moving her very much on an emotional level. When she realizes all of her friends seem to be in the next stage of their lives (happily settling down, having babies) she feels a bit lost. She meets a man named Morgan that I honestly wondered why he didn't run screaming from her since she was fairy rude to him more times than I count.

Hope's storyline was very engrossing too. Happily married with two children, she is her family's doormat. When her advertising husband (Matt) decides he wants to write a novel, she agrees to pack up their kids from Bath and move to Ireland so he can just focus on himself for a year.



I couldn't stand Matt. He was selfish as the day was long. I really wanted more development with his character. Too bad Kelly gave that asshat a HEA that I don't think was remotely realistic.

The third character Virginia felt a little shoehorned in. I get why Hope and Sam had their own story-lines, but throwing in Virginia just made the book bigger. If the book had shifted POVs between Hope and Sam that would have made more sense. Also we still could have been introduced to other characters along the way such as Virginia.

The writing was really good, though the flow was a bit rough in places. Due to the book's length I can see why a lot of people just got bored with it. It takes a lot these days to make me sit and read a 500 plus page book. Luckily for me I own this and could take me sweet time re-reading my favorite parts and skimming the other parts. ( )

Career couple with children go to Redlion a village in Ireland to spend a year. Charts the changes in the couple and the dynamics of their relationship and the lives and loves of the people in the village. All very Maeve Binchy - wonderful easy read ( )

A warm hearted story. Incredibly predictable, but somehow Kelly always gets away with this. She always tells the story about three or four women whose lives become entangled. They all have their worries, and these are all solved at the end of the story. Really like a modern fairy tale. I like her books. ( )

Cathy Kelly has a knack for writing characters that I just grow to love and hate to see go book after book. This book I bought to be read on the train, because the three books I'd reserved for my weekend away weren't enough. ( )