This was the third Lucy Diamond audiobook I have listened to. I really enjoyed ‘Sweet Temptation’ and ‘On a Beautiful Day’ so I had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, while it did have a fair but going for it, it did not match up to the other two, and had I not listened to those two already, I’m not sure I would listen to any more by this author. I note that this book was written before either of the other two, so for me at least, her books get more enjoyable the longer she has been writing.

The story revolves around the three Jones brothers and their wives / partners / potential partners. The brothers’ parents Lilian and Eddie run a holiday cottage in Dorset, but it’s starting to get too much for them – and more worryingly – Eddie’s memory seems to be failing him – and they decide they might have to give it up. They hope that one of their sons might take over, but the only one who initially seems interested is youngest son, loveable but unreliable Charlie…

Oldest son Hugh is married to Alicia. Alicia is approaching 40 and feeling older – she loves Hugh, but feels as though she is stuck in a rut. Maybe it’s time to shake things up a bit.

Middle son David is married to Emma, but they are going through a rough time, as David has recently lost his job, and their plans to have a baby don’t seem to be amounting to much.

Izzy Allerton has recently moved to the area with her two young daughters after escaping a violent marriage and swearing off men forever. But then Charlie Jones comes into her life, and despite her instincts telling her to leave well alone, there’s just something about Charlie!

The book is mostly told from the three female points of view, in alternating chapters. I liked Emma the best but Alicia and Emma were also likeable characters. I think what put me off the book was that apart from some fairly shocking events that take place about halfway through, the whole thing is so very ‘twee’. I also found the narration a tad irritating. Jilly Bond has such an upper class English accent that it really grated – please understand I have nothing against such an accent, just that it didn’t seem entirely appropriate for this book. Also, I hated pretty much all of the character voices she did. Hugh was so incredibly posh that he was basically a caricature, and the voices of the children were awful. I’m sure she is a great narrator, but not for this particular story, which required some regional accents and those didn’t come over very well.

Nonetheless, the book held my attention to the end – I think it could have done with a bit of editing, as for some time the story seemed to get stuck – and based on the other Lucy Diamond books I’ve listened to, I would give this author another try. ( )

This book is a bit confusing at first, as there are quite a few characters. Lilian and Eddie Jones are in their 60s and have been running the family home as a bed and breakfast for some years, now. But they’re getting tired, and Eddie seems to be losing his touch. Ideally, they would like one of their three sons to take over.

So Lilian calls a family gathering over Sunday lunch. I thought this was a great way of seeing the family together and beginning to understand some of the dynamics. The story is told alternately from the viewpoints of the four women concerned, each of them married to (or, in one case, getting to know) one of the Mr Joneses of the family, and I thought it worked well. I had no trouble remembering who was whom, and by the time I was a few chapters into the book, it was very difficult to put down.

It’s not that there’s much plot; there are one or two surprises, and one shock around the middle of the book, but most of what happens is quite predictable. However, that doesn’t matter; I enjoyed the glimpses into the lives of this family, and the way their relationships developed in the course of the novel.

The writing is a tad informal in places, but the pace is good. There are some quite difficult themes, and they are handled sensitively. There’s some bad language, but I didn’t think it was too excessive; bedroom doors are firmly closed. In the last few chapters, I found myself deeply moved a couple of times.

I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys character-based women’s fiction. Four and a half stars would be fairer.
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This is a perfectly decent read, though slow to start - but once it gets going in the middle, I really enjoyed it, and was swept along by the lives of the three Jones' wives/women. Some of the storyline in the middle is top notch - dramatic without being melodramatic and very tense indeed.

Up until the end I was prepared to give it 4 stars but, sadly, the end chapters are just sooooo irritatingly sugary-sweet and everything is just sooo perfectly lovely and unrealistically happy-ever-after that quite honestly it set my teeth on edge - they're still hurting! - so my rating has dropped to a 3 star.

This author is obviously good, but needs an editor prepared to cut the c**p and stop the Mills & Boon-type overindulgence. I hope she gets that. ( )