Cecelia Ahern - The Time of my Life

Publisher: Harper Collins

ISBN: 9780007350445

My rating: 4/5

Lucy Silchester has an appointment with her life – and she’s going to have to keep it.
Lying on Lucy Silchester’s carpet one day when she returns from work is a gold envelope. Inside is an invitation – to a meeting with Life. Her life. It turns out she's been ignoring it and it needs to meet with her face to face.

It sounds peculiar, but Lucy’s read about this in a magazine. Anyway, she can’t make the date: she’s much too busy despising her job, skipping out on her friends and avoiding her family.

But Lucy’s life isn’t what it seems. Some of the choices she’s made – and stories she’s told – aren’t what they seem either. From the moment she meets the man who introduces himself as her life, her stubborn half-truths are going to be revealed in all their glory – unless Lucy learns to tell the truth about what really matters to her. (CeceliaAhern.ie)

 

 

My thoughts

 

I cannot believe, I'd had the book on my desk for over a year before I started reading, but after the previous Ahern books I'd been a bit hesitant!

Anyway ... beautifully written and thought provoking would be a summary of this review!

 

Lucy, the main character, meets "her life", a grumpy guy who is trying to improve her life. Her life: she's broken up with her partner, lost her job and now lives in a small apartment, growing more and more distant to her family and friends.

 

I didn't really like Lucy that much, although very realistic, I couldn't really warm to her. Yet, I loved "her life". He was funny, witty and had some really good lines.

 

Bottom line, I'd say, this is Cecelia Ahern at her best again. The story makes you think, not only about what you've just read, but your own life, and stays with you well and truly after you've finished the book. I laughed, I blinked away tears - and loved it!

 

 

Reblogged from fourfoxesonehound - 7 Jan 13

Happy 2013!

“Shoot for the moon, even if you fail, you’ll land among the stars” – Cecelia Ahern

I’m really glad and humbled that you’ve come back to check out my post this week as well. Yes, I’m the newbie here, filling big shoes – literally. Anyway. Got back from holidays today, just in time to post numéro deux for this week. The brain still mushy from the heat last week, I wondered yesterday whether I should humbly ask for a widget that converts Celsius to Fahrenheit, because if I tell you lovelies it was 40+ deg the last week, you probably raise your eyebrows in wonder when I also tell you that we did extreme “pooling” as we call it – wake up, swim in the pool, eat, swim in the pool, eat some more, swim in the pool… You get the gist ... continue reading here.

Cecelia Ahern - The Book of Tomorrow

Publisher:  Harper Collins

ISBN: 978-0007233700

My rating: 4/5

Tamara Goodwin has always got everything she’s ever wanted. Born into a family of wealth, she grew up in a mansion with its own private beach, a wardrobe full of designer clothes, and a large four poster bed complete with a luxurious bathroom en-suite. She’s always lived in the here and now, never giving a second thought to tomorrow.
But then suddenly her dad is gone and life for Tamara and her mother changes forever. Left with a mountain of debt, they have no choice but to sell everything they own and move to the country to live with Tamara’s Uncle and Aunt. Nestled next to Kilsaney Castle, their gate house is a world away from Tamara’s childhood. With her Mother shut away with grief, and her Aunt busy tending to her, Tamara is lonely and bored and longs to return to Dublin.
When a travelling library passes through Kilsaney Demesne, Tamara is intrigued. She needs a distraction. Her eyes rest on a mysterious large leather bound tome locked with a gold clasp and padlock. With some help, Tamara finally manages to open the book. What she discovers within the pages takes her breath away and shakes her world to its core. (http://www.ceceliaahern.ie/)


My thougths


I like Cecelia Ahern, I really do. Actually one of my favourite books is by Cecelia Ahern. She brings a touch of magic into her books that I love – and she does it so well you sometimes find yourself believing in it. "The Book of Tomorrow" delivers what we expect from Cecelia Ahern.

I’ve had this book for almost two years here on my desk and I feel really awful because I know my very special friend made the effort to not only send it to me, but have it signed by Cecelia as well. Initially it took me at least four or five attempts until I got through the first 100 pages, then I got to the point where Tamara found the book in the mobile Library, she met Sister Ignatius and read the first diary entry - and I was hooked and the story was interesting enough for me to keep reading at every spare minute.

Tamara’s father commits suicide because of financial troubles and she then finds herself living with her aunt and uncle in the Irish countryside. There she is drawn to a mysterious castle and its surrounding land. Bored and lonely, she’s happy to meet Marcus who drives the mobile library – this is where Tamara comes across the large leather bound book locked with a gold clasp and padlock.

Even though I did enjoy the book there were still a few things about the book I felt didn’t get answered. We’re never told where magical book actually comes from; Tamara never raises the question why she out of all people found the book or where it came from ... for me there wasn’t enough information, even if it were in line with the magical theme, about the book and its history.

Give it a try, I believe if you like Cecelia Ahern, you’ll like this one as well, even though you need to struggle through the first odd chapters.

Favourite Quote: "I think about books a lot differently now."