3,5/5 Mi estreno con Marian Keyes ha estado bien, pero quizá por las expectativas, creía que sería mejor. Lo que se me ha hecho pesado en muchas ocasiones han sido los pensamientos de Claire, se alejaba tanto del tema en cuestión que me perdía y me costaba volver a coger el hilo, aunque a otra persona puede que no le pase y que simplemente no era el momento para leer este tipo de historia, pero con la sinopsis me parecía una lectura perfecta para el verano. Me ha parecido muy peculiar la familia Walsh, así que posiblemente siga conociendo las historias de las otras hermanas, así como otros libros de Marian que me han recomendado.

Oh god, I just hated this. So, so, very much.
I don't have anything against chick-lit or a more light read, and I do read and enjoy them immensely from time to time. However, I feel that books like Watermelon are what give chick-lit a bad name.

The book starts with 29-year-old Claire Walsh getting dumped by her husband, the day after she gives birth to their baby. You are supposed to feel bad for her but she is so judgmental, moralizing, whinny, sexist, racist... and keeps rambling on and on about every single thing that I found it impossible. She is SUCH a Karen.

The writing never gets to the point and every single plot point and action is so predictable. Also, there are multiple times when the author tried to be progressive and failed miserably, ending up with a situation where a weak-willed woman just bounces from one awful man to another less-awful one and calls this a happy ending.

There is a protagonist rant (one of many I assure you) at the end of the book where she demonizes abortion and anyone who even dares to think about options. The wording and "explanations" are just cringeworthy.

Maybe my book club friends will have some nice things to say about it that will make me find a redeemable quality, but so far I am categorizing it as a complete loss of my time.

2.5 stars

Marian Keyes is the Queen of Chick Lit. I've read (& Loved) Rachel's Holiday. Read another two - enjoyable but not memorable.

Anyway, this was Keyes's first & I'm picking that after it's success that she was given a more senior editor. There were so many superfluous sentences that someone should have ruthlessly crossed out with a red pen.

The book did improve but the ending had too many strings wrapped up in a neat, tidy bow. It didn't help that I know someone who had a similar experience as the opening premise - & it wasn't jolly ditsy chick lit experience. & I didn't buy the romance either.

A clear product of its time but also just what I needed. Even with its cringey and wildly inappropriate 90's humor, it was a fun read for me, but I can see why not everyone would like it. The writing is funny, and I found it really easy to related to Claire. Probably because I am at times a deeply depressed bitch. I did find the love interest, Adam, to be a little flat and lackluster. He needed a bit more personality. And there were times that Claire's monologue dragged on and on, to the point that I wanted to get in the book and slap her while shouting, "enough with the tangents!" Still, I found Keyes' writing to be so personal and fun, I can't wait to read more of her work.

I think this was a 3.5 for me. I liked the character and her family, I liked the narration. I found it WILD being inside the mind of a woman in her late 20s in the 2000s. What a terrible time mentally to be a woman in terms of body image?? It’s wild to see how far we have come in terms of body positivity. Also not drinking and driving lol

I picked this book up after I finished Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married. Like Lucy Sullivan, I enjoyed Marian Keyes chatty style. Reading this book feels like a chat with a friend and I found that I got to know the main character very well. Marian Keyes excels at character development.

As you probably know, this story is about Claire, a 29 year old Irish woman living in London. A few hours after she gave birth, her husband James announces that he doesn't love her anymore and that he is leaving her for another woman. Devastated, Claire left London for her family in Dublin. In Dublin we experience with Claire her stages of "mourning," which seem quite accurate for a woman in her predicament. First, she wants her husband to come back to her and for everything to return how it was, then she is angry, and then she finds acceptance. As Claire goes on with her life and meets someone knew, her husband James pops back into her life and wants her back. Claire contemplates taking him back because she wants to have the perfect family and her old life back. In the end, she realizes that she cannot forgive her husband. The book is a predictable plotline, of course, but what is special about it is how Claire wrestles with her changing perception of her husband and herself. She realizes that she had placed her husband on a pedestal and she figures out that he was really not the guy she thought he was.

Yes, Claire gets annoying at times. Don't we all? And aren't most poeple who go through big breakups kind of selfish and self-centered? The fact is, Claire is a very real person. She has her flaws and faults, but the reader grows to care about her.

I gave this book four stars because some sections were kind of wordy and at some points (e.g. the baggage claim scene when Claire first arrives in Dublin) where it looks like the author is trying too hard to be funny. But this is a fantastic book if you are looking for a light, funny read.

Hay muchas cosas que me han fallado en este libro lo principal es lo lenta que avanza la trama y lo mucho que se pierde la autora en reflexiones que lo único que hacen es sacarte de la novela. No he conectado con la protagonista ni con el tipo de humor de la autora.

Book one in the Walsh Family series and I fell in love with this family instantly.

This has such a great opening which really kept me hooked.

Five stars.

This book was hard to put down. Marian Keyes writes in a way that is very relatable. She has a way of expressing humor in tragic experiences that makes you feel exactly how her characters are feeling. The plot is very realistic and the characters are well-drawn. I have never read Marian Keyes before but I look forward to reading the 2nd book in this series, Rachel's Holiday, and I would highly recommend Watermelon to those who love to read chick-lit.

4.5⭐️

4⭐️

This book was difficult to read. While engaging at times, I found myself skipping swathes, if not pages of text - it really needs some judicious editing!