To Have and to Hold

Another great book from Jane Green! I haven't read all of her books, but I've read enough to say that she is probably my favorite author. Her writing style is perfect, as far as I'm concerned. I'm most impressed with how no matter what social/relationship/family status her characters have, I can still relate to at least one aspect of their lives. I don't know how she does that! I find it very easy to care about the characters and at the end I find myself wishing there were more to find out. Only a couple of things I'd like to mention. One of the other readers mentioned they didn't feel the character of Josie was written very well. She didn't stay true to the character she was introduced as. My comment on this is that, no, she didn't stay true to the Josie she was introduced as. I didn't look at it as a flaw in the author's writing, though. I looked at it as the author proving a point. Josie was introduced as a `ball-breaker' in the office and a woman who was intent on her career and as someone who would never fall under the spell of a charming man like Joe Chambers. He was a well-known womanizer, and he was married. Josie however does fall for Joe and soon we find her wishing his marriage would end so he could be with her. She was going to be the woman Joe has been searching for all his life. She would be the woman to change his ways. I think Jane Green was trying to get two points across with the story line of Josie and Joe. The first one being that men like Joe do have this effect on women and will never change and the second one being that what goes around comes around. I thought this was very well written and should be equally well received. Also, at the end of the book, Jane Green does leave traces of the possibility of a sequel. I hope she does in fact write a sequel so we may find out what becomes of Alice and Harry, Emily, and to touch on what I said earlier, I'd like to see the relationship between Josie and Joe end. Or at least have Josie get pregnant! I think I'd like to see Joe choke on something like that! Or would that be too much like Babyville? I did really like that one, too!

Last night I finished To Have and to Hold, and all I have to say is what another great book by Jane Green. It was unlike anything else she has written - a whole new plot, great new characters, and a great story.I also had the chance to meet Jane last night at a book reading/signing. She was such a wonderful person - I thought she would be a bit snobbish or put off since she is a hugely successful writer, instead she was warm, sincere, and very greatful. It's just nice to know that the authors I love to read are "real" people with real problems and real lives. Go out and pick up any of her books - they're all fantastic!

Spellbound (the original British title) is a much more fitting title for this book. It's not the typical "brit chick lit" fluff despite first appearances...and I should know having basically read the entire genre during a stint in London a few years back.This is mainly a story about Alice, a fairly typical and recognizable woman for those "lucky" enough to live that lifestyle. On the surface, she has everything: the looks, clothes, house, invitations. But Alice has lost touch with herself and the qualities that truly make her unique, exciting, and enviable. Alice allows herself to become trapped in a life where her focus is a cheating, lying husband and maintaining her image. Of course she knows what is going on right underneath her nose...but that is not the point. The point to this story is her transformation - how she gathers the courage necessary to face the truth and re-invent a life that she has invested heavily in (both emotionally and financially) for years and years. And while the ending is not oh-so-neatly-tied like in many other books of this style, it is definitely the right ending...Where is the sequel already?This book helped me change my own life...repeating "I will not be Josie, I will be Alice" helped me face up to my own problems, end my own destructive relationship, and learn to be true to myself. And no, I am not a gardener. This book is a METAPHOR. Yes, the story is exaggerated at times, but the author was trying to make a point. Not everything is as it seems - in life and in this book. Which, incidentally, does not make it any less fine as a beach read.

I must say I disagree with the reviewers that deemed Green's latest book as predictable or boring for several reasons. First, the book is difficult to put down because it is funny and well-written. Second, Green (throughout all of her novels) has demonstrated how women (especially) grow mentally and emotionally from one's early 20's into one's 30's. So, yes, this book is much more "adult" than say, Jemima J, Bookends or Mr. Maybe, but To Have and To Hold, digs deeper to the relationships that many of us experience in our 30's. Even if you are skeptical, give the book a try. It's a great, fast read that will surely become one of your favorite Green Novels.

I read this entire book on a Sunday afternoon. I kept thinking I would only read another chapter and before I knew it I was done with the book. This is a great book about a woman who initially falls in love and then marries the wrong man. Throughout the book you realize that the man she married is nothing like she wanted and visa versa. The husband is a very wealthy man who wants a trophy wife to attend functions with him. The wife has always dreamed of a house in the country, kids, animals and most of all a FAITHFUL man, which her husband isn't. I would highly recommend this book as a matter of fact I'm passing my copy around my group of friends so they can all read it. All of Jane Green's books have been fantastic and impossible to put down until your finished, she's an unbelievable writer.