Title: Staying at Daisy's
Author: Jill Mansell
Format: ARC, 501 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Source: review copy from publisher
Published: March 1, 20101 by Sourcebooks
Daisy MacLean runs the country house hotel owned by her flamboyant father, Hector. When she hears who's about to get married there, she isn't worried at all - her friend Tara absolutely promises there won't be any trouble between her and ex-boyfriend Dominic, whom she hasn't seen for years. But Dominic has other ideas... Meanwhile, Hector's getting up to all sorts with...well, that's the village's best kept secret. And then Barney turns up, with a little something belonging to the husband Daisy's been doing her best to forget. That's the thing about hotels, you never know who you're going to meet. Or whether they're going to stay...
Why I Read this Book: Once in a blue moon, I like to read a good chick-lit novel. Way back when (after I had read the Harry Potter series and I was trying to find my reading groove), I dabbled in a bit of click-lit. I’m not a huge fan of the genre so a book really has to grab my attention in order for me to read it. In fact, I have about 10 chick-lit books on my shelf, that have been on my shelf for over 3 years, that are waiting for me to read. When I get in the mood.
What I Liked: The book’s length seems daunting – it’s 500 pages long!! But don’t let that get to you. I felt a bit overwhelmed by the size of the book but once I started reading it, I hardly noticed how long the novel was because I got sucked into the story.
I was also overwhelmed by the blurb. There seemed to be a lot going on (there is) and I was worried that I would get lost in the multiple story arcs. But that wasn’t the case. Staying at Daisy’s is a soap opera; there are many characters to keep track of and a lot of different storylines going on. The different storylines interconnect in ways you wouldn’t have guessed. But the author does a great job at mastering this soap opera. It’s not confusing or overwhelming. It is funny and at times, crazy.
What I Didn’t Like: When I had this book in my hands, the pages just whizzed by. But when I put the book down, I wasn’t so anxious to pick it back up. It wasn’t a gripping novel; it’s a great night time read to keep on your nightstand.
Overall Impression: Staying at Daisy’s interesting characters with drama-filled lives and intertwining storylines will be a perfect read for soap opera fans and chick-lit fans. This is the first book by Jill Mansell that I’ve read so far and I’m looking forward to more from this author. And I’m not even a huge fan of chick-lit! This book is funny, it’s touching and it’s a novel you won’t want to miss.
The Book Vixen’s Rating:
I've found that Jill Mansell's books are a tad confusing in the beginning, but you're into the story before you realize it. This was a bit more serious then the other books I've read by her.
ReplyDeleteBrianna I read the freebie "Millie's Fling" on my Kindle and can I say that Bridget Jones is tame in a lot of ways in comparison to Millie! Jill has a way of sucking you in with her wit, her humor and most of all a pretty good story with some wacky and fun characters!
ReplyDeleteI am still thinking about reading "Staying At Daisys" since a new fan of the authors but may wait awhile on a 500 page book...
I agree with you that these are not rush out to buy and read books, they are however nice bedtime relaxing reading that is fun and easy and that is a nice change of pace sometimes from all the darker adult paranormals I read every day...
Hi there, and thanks a million for the gorgeous review - so happy you enjoyed the book and liked my style of writing! I shall have to try and write shorter novels in future, so as not to put potential readers off!
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Jill Mansell xx
Buckeye Girl - You'd think that Staying at Daisy's would be confusing with all that's going on but the author did a great job at keeping everything straight. I have one other book (maybe 2...) by this author that I can't wait to read :)
ReplyDeleteJackie - I have Millie's Fling on my Kindle waiting for me. And from how you compared the book to BJD, I really can't wait to read it! Regarding Staying at Daisy's, don't let the size turn you away. Like I mentioned in my review, once you start reading the book you're not thinking of how many pages are left. I agree with you; these type of books are a nice change from PNR and other dark novels :)
Jill - Thanks for stopping by! The size of this book was daunting at first but I won't refrain from reading a book because of how many pages it has. If the blurb interests me, I'm going to read it regardless of how many pages. The number of pages in this book was justified by the content. I don't think it should have been shorter :)
Mansell is one of my favorite authors so I know at some point I'll get around to reading this one too!
ReplyDeleteI do not think anyone else than Mansell can make 500 pages go by so fast :)
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