Several years ago, I was searching for new books by authors I hadn’t read before. Every so often that winter, I took a trip out to the local Borders (gosh, I miss that store!) for a latte and a round of book browsing. Like most of my choices for leisure reading, I was looking for a book with that certain element of “fluff.” I found Take a Chance one Me by Jill Mansell. She has since become one of my favorite authors to read.
My Review:
Set in England, Cleo’s and Abbie’s – two sisters aged 15 years a part – lives are turned upside down by the secrets the men in their lives kept from them. Cleo believes she has finally found “the one” only to find out he has been anything but honest with her. While Abbie discovers her husband has been keeping a secret that rocks her marriage to its core. To make matters worse for Cleo, her teenage nemesis, Johnny, is back in town and grating on her nerves more than ever. (Or is he really? 😉 ) With a long string of supporting characters, Cleo and Abbie discover to get to that place in life for which you yearn, sometimes you just have to take a chance.
While I enjoyed Take a Chance on Me, I have mixed emotions about it. There were a lot of characters. I really mean a lot of characters. At first it was hard to keep track of them, and then as the story progressed, I felt like I didn’t get to learn enough about any of them. However, the other side of that is, I was really impressed with Mansell and her ability for intertwining the lives of more than 7 characters together. The pieces of every character’s story fit together. It wasn’t my favorite book, but it’s definitely be a good read for the beach or pool….or even a rainy day by the fire!