Review: Staying at Daisy's by Jill Mansell

One of the reasons I love Jill Mansell's book so much is her characters. She really makes you care about them and  Daisy MacLean is no exception in Mansell's latest Sourcebooks release, Staying at Daisy's. A young widow who runs a hotel owned by her father, Daisy fights her attraction to a guest at a recent wedding reception, the charming rugby star, Dev Tyzack. The development of their relationship is the core of the story, but Ms. Mansell's subplots are another of her strengths. They feature an endearing mix of characters, each of whom is caught up in romantic circumstances fraught with complications, from Daisy's friend Tara, who is having an affair with her now married former boyfriend, to young Barney, recipient of one of Daisy's late husband's kidneys, each has a part in this enjoyable and heartwarming tale of love and life.

The area of Bristol is familiar territory for fans of Ms. Mansell, and once again she depicts it so effectively that the reader is left with a feeling of having actually walked beside the characters throughout the story and breathed the same air they did. The hotel is a character in itself, charming and a welcome refuge for its many guests.

The plot and subplots move along smoothly, integrated so well that when the many threads come together towards the end of the book, the conclusion feels natural. There are plenty of surprises along the way, as well as a fun storyline featuring a dog named Clarissa. While there is much to enjoy in this novel, there is a serious undertone that gives it depth, as several characters must face some truths about themselves and the way they've chosen to live their lives. Daisy especially has to decide whether to hold on to the past or let it go and begin anew with a man who appears ready to dedicate himself to her and her alone. They never fail to make me care and, dare I say it, even grow a little along with her characters .

So, for those of you who are looking for an entertaining, emotionally satisfying read, I highly recommend you seek out Staying at Daisy's.

Teresa

Book Review...Rumor has it...

Are you looking for a good beach read this summer? If so, you can do no better than Jill Mansell's Rumor has it (Sourcebooks Landmark), in which the heroine, Tilly Cole learns that what you hear isn't always the truth. Having been dumped by her boyfriend, she decides to up sticks and move from London to rural Gloucestershire to be near her best friend, consignment shop owner, Erin. To support herself, she takes a job as a personal assistant to Max, an interior designer with a precocious teenager, Louisa and a devastatingly handsome best friend named Jack Lucas. Jack has a reputation as a ladies man and Tilly has no intention of adding herself to his list of conquests, but circumstances throw them together, allowing her to see a different side of him. Soon she finds herself fighting her attraction to a man everyone tells her will break her heart even as he proves himself to be more than a shameless womanizer.

There are several sub-plots featuring Tilly's friend Erin, her boss Max and his former wife and a hunky teacher at Louisa's school. They add depth to the story without overwhelming the main plot, while reflecting the overall theme of appearances not always reflecting the truth. Ms. Mansell's talent lies in her ability to create quirky, sympathetic and compelling characters about whose fate the reader cares and creating storylines for them that highlight their particular personal journeys. Serving as background, small-town life is portrayed in all its gossipy yet close-knit glory, with just enough physical detail to ground it in reality. I could see the pub, the country lanes and Jack's house in my mind while I read.

Ms. Mansell's accomplished prose strikes just the right balance of narrative and dialogue. North American readers will occasionally encounter British expressions they don't understand, though in general the context makes the meaning clear enough. The story moves along quickly, as Tilly's dilemma deepens and her friends find themselves equally challenged by life's unexpected twists and turns. Are some of the situations in which our heroine finds herself a little far-fetched? Sure! But that's the fun of fiction.

As with other works by Ms. Mansell, I read this one almost compulsively, always reluctant when forced to set it aside to tend to the more mundane aspects of my life. Here's hoping you get to lose yourself in it on a gorgeous sunny day, when you have nothing but time to indulge in a moreish book.

Teresa