Basic plot
Claire and Bill Hudson have been soulmates since they were 5 years old . They went through life together, loved each other and planned to spend the rest of their lives together. Their daughter Georgia completed the almost fairy-tale picture of perfect happiness. That is until, a tragic accident leaves Claire and Georgia alone without the most important man in their lives. Years later, Claire is still trying to cope, to forget, to live but is at a loss when her now teenage daughter asks her for advice on boys. Her relationship with Bill had been simple and straightforward, she knows nothing about dating and the usual teenage angst. Claire decides to take a radical approach by throwing herself into the strange world of dating, all in the name of research of course, in order to better answer her young daughter's queries. What results is a funny string of events involving blind dates, David Beckham look-alikes and grumpy gardeners.
What I liked about this book
I have often stressed that I am not a fan of chick lit. However, since I have previously read Ms O'Flanagan's book (Isobel's Wedding), I knew that her books were not run of the mill fluffy female fodder. This book was sweet, funny and very heartwarming. The supporting characters were also very interesting and added colour to the story. It was a very pleasant read.
What I disliked about this book
In some instances, I felt Claire was slightly one-dimensional compared to the other people around her, which was strange as she was the main character. I wished that I could have empathized with her more, perhaps had a stronger sense of her relationship with Bill who also could have used more layers. I would have preferred the story to focus more on them and Georgia's relationship with her father plus the subsequent dating experiments as opposed to frequent trips to address the best friend's marriage troubles.
A quote I liked from the book
The nice men are ugly. The handsome men are not nice. The handsome and nice men are gay. The handsome, nice and heterosexual men are married. The men who are not so handsome, but are nice men, have no money. The men who are not so handsome, but are nice men with money, think we are only after their money. The handsome men without money are after our money. The handsome men who are not so nice and somewhat heterosexual don't think we are beautiful enough. The men who think we are beautiful, that are heterosexual, somewhat nice and have money are pigs. The men who are somewhat handsome, somewhat nice and have some money thank GOD are heterosexual are shy and NEVER MAKE THE FIRST MOVE! The men who never make the first move automatically lose the interest in us when we take the initiative. NOW, WHO IN THE WORLD UNDERSTAND MEN? Men are like afine wine.They all start out like grapes, and it's our job to stomp on them and keep them in the dark until they mature into something you'd like to have dinner with.
Rating: 4/5
