Honeymoon Suite by Wendy Holden
Honeymoon Suite, I thought. What an excellent title for a book to read on my honeymoon. And so the day we boarded a rickety propeller plane to shuttle from the hot sunny Caribbean island where we had been bound in holy(ish) matrimony to the hot sunny Caribbean island where we would moon, in a sweet, honeyed fashion, for a further week, I picked it up. I picked it up, turned it over and read the back. “When Nell is marooned at the altar…” it starts. Ah. One of those.
| Honeymoon Suite by Wendy Holden | |
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| Category: Women's Fiction | |
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Reviewer: Zoe Page
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| Summary: A quick witted book, this has many simultaneous stories to entertain and intrigue as they gradually wind their way together | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 496 | Date: January 2017 |
| Publisher: Headline Review | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-0755385355 | |
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This is, despite my aborted start, an excellent read, weaving together many stories. We have Nell who, yes, is left at the altar after a whirlwind romance. It's horrible and horrifying and she is, understandably, distraught. Her last modicum of self-respect vanishes when she rings to cancel her honeymoon, only to find it non-refundable. And so, in a rare show of gumption, she decides to go anyway, taking along her friend Rachel and Rachel's daughter Juno for the ride. At the same time, bestselling novelist Dylan is having romantic woes of his own. An almighty fire has chased him out of town and he needs to disappear, at least for a little bit. As luck, and artistic license, would have it, the two end up in the same place. But this is not the first time they have crossed paths, and they are both in for an almighty shock.
There is a lot going on in this book. In addition to Nell, the smart young thing sent off track by her woefully wooed heart, and Dylan, the wunderkind with a bit of a past, we have the likes of Juno who is not your average kid. Fancying herself as something of a young Miss Marple, a lot of the brains behind the story are found in her small head, and she regularly sees with clarity things to which the grown-ups are blind. We also have Jason, the world-weary hotel manager whose day job seems to be eclipsed by his more pressing task of ensuring the hotel's human resources manager doesn't upset the hotel's human resources.
There is comedy from the get-go with this story but a number of moments that tug on the heart strings spring up too, like old George and his cottage. For the main, though, it is a light-hearted story with lots of funny elements, such as Nell's new job working on weddings – perfect for a newly jilted bride.
I enjoyed every page of the story immensely, and there are a lot of pages. The story was pleasant, by which is mean it wasn't gory or graphic, nothing bad happened (wedding ditching aside). It was an easy read but there was lots going on to keep me interested and it was a pleasure to lose myself in for hours at a time, lounging around by the pool. The story builds nicely with enough new elements to keep you interested and keep the story from being predictable. All around, two newly tanned thumbs up and a hearty recommendation.
I'd like to thank the publishers for supplying this book.
If you want to know what happens next After The Honeymoon by Janey Fraser is a fabulous read.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Honeymoon Suite by Wendy Holden at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Honeymoon Suite by Wendy Holden at Amazon.com.
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