for book club. Sandy's pic.
This sounded good when I read the description, But mostly, I found the character's obnoxious with very little to redeem them, The plot was predictable and by turns painfully depressing and saccharinely sweet, The writing was simplistic with tons of editorial misses,
Just not really my cuppa,
Shaker's Five people, Eight months. Lives end. Lives begin.
March to November navigates the entangled points of view of Tracey Duggan and her circle of friends and foes in modernday Belfast, Ireland as they struggle with bereavement, broken marriages, broken dreams and broken minds.
All Tracey wants is a normal life, All she has, however, is violence and betrayal from those closest to her,
Can Tracey escape the pattern of destructive relationships that plague her Will her new boyfriend Tommy decide to be right or be happy Will her sisterinlaw Molly find the strength to deal with her new situation Will her brother, Dermot let go of his past and man up to his mistakes Can Dermots lover, Sheila really have it all
Belfast is not the city of bombs and bullets of their childhood, but its still full of trouble for these five as they alternately walk, run and stumble along the road toward a shocking finale.
Although this type of novel is not my usual reading fare, I enjoyed the energy and overlap of multiple characters and multiple stories, I also enjoyed the Irish flair of the language and setting, I think this book would make a good movie! I received a copy of this book from the author and sitelink wordpress in return for a fair and honest review, Thank you for this opportunity,
March to November is about love and loss, betrayal and trust, happiness and despair and the cycles of grief, It details the events of Tracey Duggan and her friends and family lives during the months of March to November, hence the title, The book is set in modernday Belfast, Ireland, There arepredominate characters in this novel, Tracey Dugan, Molly Dugan, Dermot Duggan and Tommy OBrian, It deals with the doomed marriage of Molly and Dermot, Tracey's best friend and brother, Molly must accept that her love and obsession has left her for another woman and their impending “love child, ” It details past abusive relationships and the terror that comes back to haunt Tracey in her budding relationship with Tommy, The author does an excellent job getting the reader to fall into the lives of these characters and make you feel like you are a fly on the wall watching or as a friend.
I fell into despair with Molly at first and in love with Tommy as if I were Tracey, I had a love hate relationship with Dermot because I understood the betrayal Tracey felt but the lingering hope she had in this messed up situation they were in.
I never really fell for Sheila, Dermots new girlfriend, She seemed as cold as her apartment, all white and clean lines, She seemed distant and reserved yet at times showed her humanity when she thought of losing Dermot, She never seemed to connect with the pregnancy so the twist at the end was accepted as real,
Mollys heartache was so real until it became almost too much, Her obsession with Dermot and her demented revenge set the pace for the downward spiral that her life took, I was so happy to see her get to the stage of acceptance and was hurt by the twist that spiraled to a bombshell for everyone to deal with near the end.
I was happy to see the growth in Tommy and Dermot by the end of the book,
Out of the minor characters, Orla is probably my favorite, I love her no nonsense “grab life by the balls and hold on tight” personality, I laughed at so many of her comments, She really brought out the Irish setting with her way of saying things such as “F off! No way did I lead him on, He was drunk as a skunk, ”
Fury pummeled Molly.
“Well, hed have to be, Look at you!” she screamed and jabbed her forefinger at Orla,
That slut always threw herself at men, Dermot couldnt help it!
“Jesus Christ, thats a bit low, I might not be Scarlett Johansson,
but that randy fer would poke a hole in the wall if the wall let
him, ”
I would recommend this to anyone looking for bit of romanticism with a twist, March to November is about love and loss, betrayal and trust, happiness and despair and the cycles of grief, It details the events of Tracey Duggan and her friends and family lives during the months of March to November, hence the title, The book is set in modernday Belfast, Ireland, There arepredominate characters in this novel, Tracey Duggan, Molly Duggan, Dermot Duggan and Tommy OBrian, It deals with the doomed marriage of Molly and Dermot, Traceys best friend and brother, Molly must accept that her love and obsession has left her for another woman and their impending “love child, ” It details past abusive relationships and the terror that comes back to haunt Tracey in her budding relationship with Tommy, The author does an excellent job getting the reader to fall into the lives of these characters and make you feel like you are a fly on the wall watching or as a friend.
I fell into despair with Molly at first and in love with Tommy as if I were Tracey, I had a love hate relationship with Dermot because I understood the betrayal Tracey felt but the lingering hope she had in this messed up situation they were in.
I never really fell for Sheila, Dermots new girlfriend, She seemed as cold as her apartment, all white and clean lines, She seemed distant and reserved yet at times showed her humanity when she thought of losing Dermot, She never seemed to connect with the pregnancy so the twist at the end was accepted as real,
Mollys heartache was so real until it became almost too much, Her obsession with Dermot and her demented revenge set the pace for the downward spiral that her life took, I was so happy to see her get to the stage of acceptance and was hurt by the twist that spiraled to a bombshell for everyone to deal with near the end.
I was happy to see the growth in Tommy and Dermot by the end of the book,
Out of the minor characters, Orla is probably my favorite, I love her no nonsense “grab life by the balls and hold on tight” personality, I laughed at so many of her comments, She really brought out the Irish setting with her way of saying things such as:
“F off! No way did I lead him on.
He was drunk as a skunk, ”
Fury pummeled Molly,
“Well, hed have to be, Look at you!” she screamed and jabbed her forefinger at Orla, That slut always threw herself at men, Dermot couldnt help it!
“Jesus Christ, thats a bit low, I might not be Scarlett Johansson, but that randy fer would poke a hole in the wall if the wall let him, ”
I would recommend this to anyone looking for bit of romanticism with a twist,
er: Amanda
sitelinkThis review was originally posted on Between My Lines
Green Giants is my feature where I share some of my favourite books by Irish Authors.
Im passionate about Irish Authors, they supply us with a great and exciting mix of books, hopefully you will find something new to try, Today it's a new to me author Byddi Lee whose debut novel I devoured recently,
sitelink
I loved the setting of this book, Modern day Belfast, after the ceasefire isnt a setting you see very often in books and its a vibrant, engaging one,
First Line of March to November by Byddi Lee:
“Tracey turned her kayak with a wide sweep stroke, stretching her torso forward and straightening her arm against the drag of the water, adjusting her balance with her hips and thighs so she didnt capsize.
”
My Thoughts on March to November by Byddi Lee:
Do you know the way sometimes you read books and want to be best friends with all the characters Well this isnt one of those books! All the characters are flawed and some are downright horrible at times.
But I loved spending time with them, And even the ones that I should hate, I just dont as they have redeeming characteristics, OK I hated them for a bit but I came around, more or less,
I really enjoyed the realistic tone of the book and the dialogue was lifelike, The situations in the book were also credible and I felt like I was listening in to some friends gossiping about their lives, Warts and all. Actually one of my Goodreads statuses sums it up perfectly:
“Getting along with this book like a house on fire! Although Dermot can burn, hes a piece of work!”.
There is a story about a marriage break up for two of the characters, a blossoming romance for another
two characters and the stories blended well together.
I also liked that it explored mental health and depression in an evocative way, It didnt take over the plot but it did hit me at times and made me feel the despair of the character involved,
The page is lively and I never for a moment felt bored while reading, I was caught up in a big messy mess about family, love and forgiveness and thoroughly enjoyed it, In addition, it takes the prize for one of the funniest lines Ive read this year!
“Sheila, Its stuck. My willys stuck to the ice cream!”, His voice rose in panic, Sheila started to chortle again,
Overall I really enjoyed this one and look forward to reading more by Byddi Lee in the future,
Who should read March to November by Byddi Lee
Id recommend this to you if you like contemporary fiction with realistic characters, an Irish setting and lots of family drama.
Fans of authors such as Patricia Scanlan, Carmel Harrington and Cathy Kelly should also enjoy,
Thanks to Byddi Lee for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review, I loved this book and couldnt put it down, Its a fast read with a perfect mix of humor and drama, The humor made me laugh a lot, thinking that I could implement the same tricks in my relationships, The characters feel and act real, and thats what draws me to most books that I enjoy reading, The setting is exotic, and I learned a lot about Belfast by reading this book: how it appears and how people talk to each other, Sometimes I had to pause to understand the usage of words and slangs and their meanings in Irish English, but that was a lot of fun! I highly recommend this book, and look forward to more writings from this author.
.