As other people have said, it’s a very long book - about twice as long as most women’s fiction books. I listened to the audiobook while driving, or I might have abandoned it. The other thing is that it’s rather meta - about a literary agent and two of her clients whose lives intersect in various ways. But the women characters are very self-absorbed and the men are sort of weak. I’ve enjoyed many of Marion Keyes’ books but this one isn’t one of her best.

Marianne Keyes is back to her best with her latest offering about three whacky women in the London Publishing World. Gemma, JoJo and Lily are all involved in the world of writing. Lily as an author, by choice, Gemma, as her rival, by chance, and Jojo as a literary agent.

I loved the insider’s view onto this world of words and wordsmiths and the people who make their money from both of them.

Gemma is having a ‘lust’ affair with a younger man in Ireland, and a flirtation with a pharmacist on the side. She’s also still yearning for her true love, Anton, who left her for London and her best friend, Lily.

Lily is an author who hits on a magical recipe with her flighty book, “Mimi’s Remedies” after years of struggling to have her real work published. She’s an overnight sensation and then a terrible failure. She has a baby, an unsuccessful boyfriend and a mortgage she can’t afford.

Jojo is an American living in London (Must be a Madonna thing). She just happens to be an ex-policewoman who is one of the hottest agents at Lipman Haigh. She is engaged in a love affair with her married boss, Mark Avery. They trade witty emails and have lots of good sex, but something’s not quite right. Keyes weaves the lives of these three women together with a light touch. She is often funny, and poignant when she means to be.

I enjoyed Rachel’s Holiday and Watermelon. I was frustrated by Last Chance Saloon and Angels. Perhaps Keyes was trying too hard. The Other Side of the Story is not meant to be deep. It is probably best described as chick-lit but I enjoyed it. It is an entertaining read that kept me giggling for a couple of nights in a row. In fact, it’s a perfect book to snuggle up with on a cold winter’s night.

On one hand, I loved it. It’s Marian Keyes, who is one of my favourite authors. Commonly known as chic lit, Keyes stories are usually full of heroines whose lives are inevitably changed by, sometimes horrific, life events. It was exactly the kind of book I needed to read at this time of life.

On the other hand, it simple wasn’t long enough. I wanted to keep reading about the characters and what happened after the epilogue. Maybe a bit too much filler for three separate stories? Filler or not, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Marian Keys takes chick lit and makes it deep. Yet still hilarious with just enough love and romance. Despite the length of this book I finished it in two days because I could not stop reading!

I don't why I keep doing this to myself. A possible glutton for punishment, who knows?! This was a painful read from the beginning and another Keyes book where I picked the storyline from the beginning. Little to no respect for the characters who just cannot seem to assert themselves in the circumstances that they find themselves in. There was an hilarious line from Gemma Hogan which went something like, "If Lily can write a book, it can't be that hard." That line made me snort laugh for a split second because I feel like I (or really anyone) could write a book better than this one (if I really felt the need and had the time). Also this book could have been 200 pages instead of more than 600, too much exposition for the unworthy plot.

2.5

Mildly entertaining, but I HATED the characters.

1. Gemma. GET OVER IT. Yes, your best friend "stole" your boyfriend (not EVEN), but it happened THREE YEARS ago. And don't even get me started on Gemma's mother. What an IDIOT. I can understand being devastated after your husband of thirty-five years leaves you for a younger woman, but to make your idiot daughter take care of you for MONTHS as if you're terminally ill? GIVE ME A DAMN BREAK.

2. Jojo. I actually liked Jojo. I didn't have a problem with her affair with Mark, and I liked her ambition. Every time I reached a Jojo chapter, I breathed a small sigh of relief at having been done a ridiculous Gemma one.

3. Lily. OK, she was kind of sweet. But what an idiot with money, and she was such a WIMP. Reading a Lily chapter was like watching a train wreck, and then it just got old.

Marian Keyes, I will give you ONE MORE CHANCE, and then I'm calling it quits. Oh, and by the way, your novels DO NOT need to be this long.

Makkelijk lezen maar kon ook in 200 blz verteld worden ipv 600. Daardoor was het saai. T einde gaf wel enige voldoening. Owja en de hoofdpersonen waren echt de meest irrationele mensen ooit. Not it

I’ve loved some Marian Keyes novels (grown ups!) but this was dreadful. Gave up just over halfway through.

The heroine of this book is a fun loving Irish girl who gets stuck in the middle of many misfortunes. Due to a turn of events, she has to stop her current life and help out her family. While the story starts off where you are feeling sorry for the main character, Marian Keyes does a great job of reeling the reader into the storyline and she does a great job of keeping the reader entertained throughout the book, no matter the subject. This book is a page turner and keeps the reader wondering what will happen to the heroine until the very end. She takes her misfortunes and she makes them positive, and in the end her life might turn out better then it was before.

This is a fun read if you would like to do some light reading before bed, or lounging around on a Saturday afternoon.

This book shares the story of three loosely related women in Ireland and England. The first time it switched points of view, I literally thought the kindle book had suddenly switched to another book altogether. After that though, I enjoyed it, although I can't say that any of the three women was a completely sympathetic character. I felt desperately sorry for Gemma (an event planner who would like to be an author), whose mother latched onto her when her father left her for another woman, and wouldn't even let Gemma spend the night in her own apartment for almost a year. And yet, Gemma spends her spare time plotting against a former friend, Lily (an author), who ended up with Gemma's "boyfriend", although it's not clear to me that they were really still involved when it happened. Lily and Anton, the couple in question, seem incapable of acting like grownups in regard to money. And then there's Jojo, a literary agent who is having an affair with her married boss and trying desperately to make partner when the next partner retires. Jojo ends up representing both Lily and Gemma eventually. Despite those quibbles, I was interested enough to finish it pretty quickly, so I guess it couldn't have been that bad!

I'm rather enjoying listening to this book as I drive to work and home each day, although I do find myself talking in a strange Irish accent :)

Once I drew a map of everyone and slowed down, Marion Keyes's story and style made sense. The number of issues were overwhelming sometimes.