This book is about three different women who are connected to each other, but are not necessarily friends. Gemma's father has left her mother and she has to be the one to pick up the pieces. She keeps her friend in Seattle updated via emails that are part venting and part escapism. Her friend sends them to a literary agent because she thinks they are good enough to be a book. Jojo is the literary agent who is tough and dedicated to her career. While working hard to further her career she falls in love with one of the partners of the firm. Problem is he is married. The last woman in the story is Lily. She WAS a friend of Gemma's but ended up falling for Gemma's old boyfriend. This causes a rift between her and Gemma. She writes a book which has a huge following but has difficulty coming up with a follow up that is successful. As she enjoys the relationship she has with Anton she can't help feeling all the bad things that occur to her are because of her stealing Gemma's boyfriend.[return][return]By telling the story through the three women, the author is able to create sympathy for one at the same time she is telling us a lighthearted scene in the life of one of the other women. Marian Keyes never disappoints.

I’m currently re-reading The Other Side of the Story. Previously I had rated it four stars, but I had to change it to three stars. I don’t know how I missed this before - but the characters are really frustrating. I often say that there doesn’t have to be a “hero/ine” and not all the characters have to be likeable (in fact, I quite like controversial characters), but these characters are just annoying. Gemma is mean, Lily comes across as weak, and Jojo is a cheat (although she’s still my favourite out of the three). #RantOver. I’m not saying don’t read the book - I love Marian Keyes, but reading her older stuff now, I have a new appreciation for her more recent novels.

Very good read, very light, not too deep. Three stories, three women, three situations. Would love to know there are other stories connected to this.

So, in general I loved this. Another lovely read from Marian Keyes. The only thing I would say is that, for such a long book, it wrapped things up very quickly at the end; it could have been paced slightly better.

I’ve struggled to finish this book. Just when I think I’m hooked onto the characters and story, I lose interest and pick up another book.

I’m not quite sure what it is, but I really want to love this one but cannot. I’ve read and re-read several of Marian Keyes’ books but this one is just tougher for me.

Enjoyed reading this book. The characters were very well integrated into each other's lives. The book focuses on the lives of different characters throughout the book but manages to link the characters very well. Definitely a good read.

This is a nice little book about book agent Jojo, who's having an affair with her boss; Jojo's author Lily and the latter's former best friend Gemma. Lily and Gemma are no longer friends because Lily nabbed Anton from Gemma. Although this is stretching the truth as Anton and Gemma had already broken up at that point.



This book is not terribly exciting. I wouldn't say it "makes you bubble with happiness inside" as one review said either. The end is pretty much as expected, although there was more growing up taking place than expected. An easy read for the none-fastidious.

Predictable chic-lit, however enjoyable. I really liked Jojo and would have liked more of her story. The crossover of their lives was good and done pretty seamlessly. Easy to read and plenty of laugh out loud moments

Malo,malo,malo. Me ha costado terminarlo de lo aburrido que es

Way too long.

Okay so this made an interesting read with its ability to show how the world can sometimes starkly resemble a tightly knitted shawl all wrapped up in itself. The girls are like parallel mirrors reflecting each others stories but shedding an opposite light to its truth.

However, other than this the book is pretty shallow with its cliched romances and rather too childish when it comes to the reaction of most of its characters, especially with regards to Gemma. I was expecting a little more from it than what I got, however, I did enjoy it.

First off, this is the first Marian Keyes that I've read in a long time, and I love her style. She's warm and witty and there are moments of such complete identification I either smiled or hurt when I read them. The Dublin/London setting charms me, too. (This is the only novel I've ever read with characters named Aoife and Manoj.)

It's about three 30-something women: Gemma, Lily and JoJo. Brunette Gemma is an event planner whose life is upended when her father leaves her mother for another woman, and Mam is almost incapacitated by the shock and grief. Lily is a shy, blonde wanna be author whose career unexpectedly takes off after she's mugged. Redhaired JoJo is a high-powered London literary agent, a NY transplant who happened onto publishing and is determined to make a success of herself. I won't give away how their lives intersect, but they do. Yes, they have men, but this story centers on the women.

So why not 5 stars? The ending seems rushed. After 500 pages of a certain pace, the acceleration of events kinda rattled me. And then there's Lily. I'm clearly supposed to like her, she may even be meant to be my favorite. But she's too wishy-washy, too idiosyncratic. I admit that whenever I saw a Lily chapter begin, I toyed with skipping it. I didn't, which is good because they always moved the plot along. But she did bug me. (Now her baby, Ema! There's a charmer! Her favorite toy isn't a doll or a plush bear, it's a wrench named "Jessie.")