When an attractive man half her age approaches Larissa Stark in the local supermarket, it sets into motion a series of events that will permanently alter her secure, affluent, wholesome family life in the suburbs. This is one of those books that are at once supremely well-written and a complete train wreck. The reader will marvel at the protagonist and her colossally poor life choices, but will also be unable to stop turning pages. ( )

Contains some minor spoilers.

Larissa Stark has it all – a loving husband, three great children, a big house in a good neighbourhood, good looks and lots of money. But everything is turned on it’s head when she meets a young man in parking lot and finds herself drawn to another life. Her existence becomes a ongoing deceit and web of lies as she struggles with her conscience and tries to decide whether to stay or go. But is it possible to exchange one life for another quite so easily – and is the grass always as green as it appears on the other side?…

I have read several of Paullina Simons’ books over the years and enjoyed them all (I especially recommend The Bronze Horseman, The Girl in Times Square and Tully, the latter of which touched on many of the same themes as A Song in the Daylight). So it was with eagerness that I started this book, as well as maybe some apprehension (it’s almost 800 pages long and if I didn’t enjoy it, that could be a bit of a slog!) And after having finished it this morning, I find I have mixed thoughts. On the positive side, I do like Simons’ style of writing – she takes her time telling a story, so if a fast moving plot is what you are after, this may not be the book for you, but she really grounds out the situation for the reader so that you are immersed in events. Her prose flows and I found that I was reading large chunks at a time, and yes I did look forward to picking it up and continuing to read.

However, I found that I absolutely detested the main character. Now, I don’t think it’s necessary to like a character to enjoy a book – for me, American Psycho is one of the best books I ever read and there is no universe in which I can say I like Patrick Bateman – but there does have to be something about them to draw you in, to maybe see things from their point of view even if you don’t agree with it. But Larissa just came across as a spoiled, selfish and pretentious narcissist who rode roughshod over other people to get what she wanted. Not only did she treat her husband and family badly but she also stopped caring about her friends and stopped seeing when they clearly needed her support.

Most of the other characters were also fairly unsympathetic – I found that as a reader I never really knew much about her young lover Kai; somehow I feel like he was the least fleshed out character of all. I did quite like Jared in the end, and also Larissa’s friend Maggie, but not her pretentious navel-gazing husband Ezra, although he came across better in the last third of the book, when the point of view is switched to that of Jared.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and would still read more by Paullina Simons. That said, if you had never read this author before and wanted to give it a go, this would not be the book I would recommend you start with. ( )

Really disappointing after reading all her other works. My least favourite of her books. ( )

I consider myself an open minded person, so when I picked this book up I was ready to understand Larissa, to empathise with her. Because all humans have hidden desires, secret passions which can make us go crazy, lose direction, forget right or wrong. So I started this story full of good intentions, ready to follow Larissa and struggle with her until the end, whatever it had to be.
I won't spoil nothing for you, don't worry, you know that she leaves with her lover on the first chapter, so that being said, I thought it'd all be a matter of seeing HOW that happened. Right, all seemed good.
But the thing is that I HATED, really HATED this book. The further I read the further I wanted that the story didn't come out right for Larissa. I didn't like her. She was a spoiled, rich, bored, middle aged woman, conceited, shallow, whose only worries were when to have an appointment to have her nails done or how many Armani jackets had she bought that month or if she would have time enough between shopping and meeting her posh friends for lunch to lead an amateur theatre company. Oh, and by the way, is it normal that when you turn 40 your hubby gives you a Jaguar as a present? Because in this book it seemed like if buying a Jag was the most natural thing in the world to do. Oh come on, that's not real life, isn't it?

I would have never expected a novel like this by Paullina Simons, I read her Bronze Horseman trilogy and I loved it. This novel wasn't engaging, it wasn't convincing, the characters lacked force. Larissa, such a weak personality. Jared, the poor husband, so bland and unbelievably blind. Ezra, the smart friend, so full with himself and his existential questions, their conversations so unnatural. Che, the hippie friend living la vida loca in Mexico. Kai, the hot and mysterious guy, temptation with legs. Everything was so obvious and so cliched that I couldn't believe it.
I will only say that after they leave together, the story gets even worse. The end is not even rewarding, it feels so unreal that you don't care one way or the other, you just want it to finish. That detached and estranged was I from the story and from its characters.
Don't lose your time with this monstrous 800 hundred pages book, honestly, it's not worth it. ( )

Well written but DEPRESSING ( )