New Marian Keyes....anyone excited?

[Spidey66]

So, this Thursday is the release of Again, Rachel, the 25 year sequel to Rachel's Holiday, which is possibly one of my all time favourite books. I do love her books but Rachel's Holiday is my stand out. I must have read it and re read it god knows how many times.

I've preordered it on my Kindle and am biting my nails with excitement!

Anyone else looking forward to it?

It’s arrived!!

I’m 26% of the way through. Enjoying it so far.

However…..she has messed up the maths!

In Watermelon Claire is 29 and gives birth to Kate. Helen is in first year university so 18/19. Kate is now 23. Therefore Helen is 42 / 43.

But…. they have given Helen’s age as 39. (To be exact they said that Helen met Bella when Helen was 33 and Bella was 9 and Bella is now 15.)

(I’m a mathematician - I like to get the numbers straight in my head!)

Mine arrived this morning too. Hoping to start reading soon.

I havent looked at my kindle yet as Im wfh and dont want to get distracted. Damn work!

I may buy it on Kindle when it drops to 99p but I haven't liked any MK's after Sushi for Beginners.
My favourites were Lucy Sullivan and Last Chance Saloon.
Of the Walsh books I didn't mind Rachel, but probably preferred Watermelon.

@Mumoftwoinprimary

I’m 26% of the way through. Enjoying it so far.

However…..she has messed up the maths!

In Watermelon Claire is 29 and gives birth to Kate. Helen is in first year university so 18/19. Kate is now 23. Therefore Helen is 42 / 43.

But…. they have given Helen’s age as 39. (To be exact they said that Helen met Bella when Helen was 33 and Bella was 9 and Bella is now 15.)

(I’m a mathematician - I like to get the numbers straight in my head!)

Arghhhh it annoys me when they get their characters wrong. I can't read Jane Fallon anymore because the main character in her book was brunette then blonde overnight with no trip to the salon.

The ages don’t always quite tie up in the other Walsh books too - can’t remember the details but I did try and work it all out once when I reread them all in order (yes I’m sad like that)

Thanks for the heads up. I really enjoyed Grown Ups and listened to it as an audiobook from the library, worked really well as she writes dialogue well.

Read it all yesterday and loved it!,

@22Newnames

Another one who loved her earlier books but Grown Ups was really hard work. Very rare that I give up on a book without finishing but I did with that one.

I’ll wait and see what people say about the new one and maybe buy it when it’s cheaper.

I'll be buying it.

Sorry, meant to say, I agree but I won't wait to buy it, I am pretty sure it will be another winner.

I have read it all, can we talk spoilers here or do we need another thread? I rate it 7/10.

A separate spoiler thread would be useful @DoingsSophie as I'm lurking on here to get views on whether to buy it. I loved Rachel's Holiday and I would rather not read the sequel if it doesn't feel like a credible continuation of the story.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who struggled with Mercy Close.

Agree that MK is a bit hit and miss. The Brightest Star in the Sky was pretty terrible, whereas I loved This Charming Man. Loved Rachel's Holiday, thought Angels was crap etc.

I'll borrow this from the library, it has to be better than Grown Ups.

I’m sitting outside with a glass of wine (early Friday evening here) alternating between reading the book and faffing around on MN. Part of me thinks that if I was really enjoying it I would just keep reading rather than picking up my iPad every ten minutes 😁

I’ve read it and while there are glimmers, it’s nothing like the old Rachel….

I'm excited and am expecting a return to form. Getting inside Rachel's head will help MK find her witty, observant voice again.

Grown Ups wasn't great- it went on and on- but at least it was better than The Woman Who Stole My Life, which was surely just a parody of those shitey thrillers people fill their Kindles with, but the imitation was too good.

I loved Mercy Close, though my favourites are Anybody Out There and Sushi for Beginners.

I’ve read it all. It was pretty good. I think if it was a new author I had never heard of I would have thought it was brilliant. But as it is Marian Keyes and the sequel to Rachel’s holiday my expectations were started off very high. I’d say it was “mid Marian”. Better than This Charming Man and The Brightest Star in the Sky but not as good as Sushi for Beginners or Lucy Sullivan is getting married.

As always the dialogue was spot on and she managed to balance the funny and the heartbreaking.

Ooh, thanks for the heads up, I enjoy an MK too. Loved all the Walsh sister books, think watermelon was my favourite and I really liked this charming man and the brightest star in the sky. I plodded through the break and couldn't eat through grown ups though.

Last Chance Saloon was a big favourite of mine at the time. Loved Rachel. I hear good things. Might be better to consider it is set not necessarily now 25 years later, but just at a later stage of their lives, re numbers, as long as the ages still tally between them iyswim.

For some reason, I can't download it to my kindle. Boo Will have to see if WH Smith's in town are stocking it.

Even a comparatively bad infrerior by Marian is still twenty times better than anything Catherine Alliot or Jo Jo Moyes ever churned out

a comparatively inferior book*

Wifi is cutting in and out, sorry!

I love Marian's earlier books but did not enjoy The Break and Grownups at all. I hope this is back to old Marian!

Did you see the programme on BBC1 Monday? I love Marian, she's very funny. Podcast is good too.