Polly Williams (1)Besprekingen

I've never read any books by this author before, and apparently baby sick lit is a thing! Despite being childless, I still enjoyed this. The idea of losing one's identity during and after pregnancy is not a totally alien concept to people like me, and it is easy to see how a head can be turned if self esteem is at rock bottom. The characters are well written, if at times shallow and slightly stereotyped, and it made for a pleasant holiday read.

Would I read more of her work? Well probably, since I have at least one more of hers sitting at home on my shelf!! Would I go out of my way to read more of her work? Probably not. It would take a lot more for her to join my chick lit must read authors (Jenny and Katie) - maybe me suddenly having an offspring so I can really identify with the characters...maybe her other work will hit the right chord instead.

This somewhat racy romance does have a couple of unexpected twists in it. Amy’s daughter is now six months old but Amy and her boyfriend Joe have not settled into a happy, routine life yet. In fact, they are definitely not on the same page when it comes to their expectations. Evie does not sleep through the night, Amy feels frumpy, Joe is busy with his work, and both are always tired. Joe does not approve of Amy’s friends, and Amy is fearful that Joe finds her unattractive and is seeking affection elsewhere. Whew! And that’s just the beginning! Amy is a bit whiny, and Joe is mostly right about her friends. Not a great cast of characters, and really, some open communication would have helped tremendously. The second half of the novel is far better than the first, and the characters do show some maturity before the story ends. This story is good for a summer beach read, if you just want to while away a few hours.

This book is a great read for anyone who has gone through the life altering event of being pregnant. It grasps expertly the feeling of your body not being your own anymore, even after having the baby. It shows how the mother can often times feel invisible after having gone from her own person to someone that another human so totally relies upon. It dragged me in and I was held captive until the very last page.

Loved this book. Having struggled through those early baby years myself I totally got Amy and her fears and exhaustion! Quite unexpectedly gritty and the plot moves along at a good pace. Good bedtime reading.

The plot was interesting. But it annoyed me that the author was constantly putting down the NoMo was of life and yet was constantly measuring herself and everyone else by those standards. There also was so much name dropping and brand dropping it became annoying.

Gina and Rex are newlyweds and blissfully happy. Then Rex disappears while on a holiday in Spain with his brother and two friends. He headed out windsurfing one day and didn't return. Almost immediately, Gina realises that things aren't quite as they seem. The day before he disappeared, Rex withdrew a large sum of money that has disappeared with him (as has his passport). He has wiped all the history from his laptops at home. Strangers ring telling her that Rex owed them money. She discovers that he wasn't the highflyer at work that she thought he was.

If this was a thriller, Rex's secret other life would come out, Gina would find herself in danger and probably miraculously acquire the ability to fire a gun. Instead, being a chicklit novel, the emphasis is more on how Gina comes to term with her missing - maybe alive, maybe dead - husband and how she gradually learns more about his life and the secrets that they kept from one another. While we do in the end find out what happened to Rex, it's not the main point of the novel.

The central mystery in this book kept me reading although the characters let the book down for me - Gina is so hopeless, believing what she wants to believe and refusing to take any ownership of the situation that she's in. I also felt that some of the connections between various characters were overly forced for the sake of having one more secret to uncover. If there were half ratings I'd probably say 3.5 stars, but given that I devoured this book quite happily in a day, I am giving it four.

Very good, and quite funny in places. But I wasn't sure I liked the ending.

A quick light and fluffy read about a disfunctional family that has to go through some trying dramas.

AFTERWIFE by Polly Williams is an interesting British contemporary women's fiction. It is the sometimes, laugh out loud story of Sophie Brady,who is funny,devoted to the people in her life,beautiful,who just so happens to be dead following a tragic accident. And her heartbroken husband,Ollie,and her best friend,Jenny. When secrets surface concerning Sophie,Jenny,questions,do we really know the people we love after all? A funny,bittersweet story full of insight,second chances,loyalty,widowhood,raising a child after losing a parent,and love. A poignant story of love, loss,grief and loving again after a tragedy. The writer draws the reader into this story with her engaging characters, interesting and intriguing plot. Can the dead really communicate with the living? You have to read "Afterwife" to find out Ms. Williams take on this matter. A funny yet bittersweet,and heartwarming story of death,life,loss and love. An engaging story from beginning to end. Received for an honest review from the publisher. Details can be found at Berkley,the author's website,and My Book Addiction and More.

RATING: 4.5

HEAT RATING: Hot: Detailed sex scenes,profanity or graphic violence

REVIEWED BY: AprilR, My Book Addiction and More/My Book Addiction Reviews½

Das Buch hinterlässt einen bleibenden Eindruck beim Leser. Denn man fühlt total mit und überlegt selber wie würde ich jetzt entscheiden!
Es hat auch ein Happy End, was den Leser irgendwie erleichtert, weil man während des lesens auf Spannung ist, welche Entscheidung denn jetzt getroffen wird. Wird das paar heiraten oder nicht? Dann freut man sich sehr wenn es gut ausgeht(D:)

Es lohnt sich also aufjeden fall das Buch zu kaufen!!!

Not worth my time, really disappointing.

good mom lit

The way that Polly Williams describes situations that new mom Amy Crane is dealing is absolutely hilarious. When I read this book I was literally laughing out loud.
New Mom Amy Crane is trying to find the balance between being a new Mom and finding who she really is. Amy meets a lady named Alice who decides to give Amy a life changing makeover into a new yummy mummy. Through the book Amy has funny, happy and sad adventures and of trying to achieve and become a yummy mummy.

I didn't think it was as good as The Yummy Mummy. I found many of the character traits hard to believe, for instance, the Mom who knows her kid is doing drugs and is OK with that. It was also a bit weird how the characters could go from liking to loving someone or liking to hating someone so quickly. One of the hardest things for me to believe was a reminiscence that 2 of the characters were about to kiss, when another woman interrupted...so the male protagonist just goes off with this new woman and starts dating her instead of the woman he was just about to kiss!!! And I found some of the events to be way too neat and coincidental. I kept hoping that the main character (Stevie) would stand up for herself and assert herself more instead of just inwardly protesting things--especially in a chick lit book!

That being said, there were a few plot twists that I definitely didn't expect, which kept the story interesting.½

Mediocre chick lit for those who enjoy books about early motherhood and relationships - all ends happily of course.