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Loved this book!

Humorous story of the British girl-next-door

I picked this one up based on the recommendation of the trusty Emily of Emily and Her Little Pink Notes (may she blog again soon). Prior to Emily's review I'd never heard of Kate Saunders before and so went in knowing next to nothing but that it was a rather obscure British chick lit and Emily was awfully fond of it. And that's essentially enough in my book. I had a little trouble finding a copy, but then my Christmas elves came through for me once more and I received a copy of BACHELOR BOYS as a gift this year. I'll tell you, I've just been in the mood for these kinds of books lately. And by lately, I really mean since the beginning of the year. Smart, sassy, beleaguered women, up to their eyeballs in the competing forces of work, family, dating--or the extreme lack thereof. I don't know what it is. But these witty, artful, and sometimes emotionally wringing British stories have just been doing it for me in spades.

Cassie grew up next door to a home. Her mother was a psychiatrist deeply involved in her work and inclined to view her only child more as a specimen to be studied than an actual, you know, daughter. Her father was . . . well, a real piece of work is about the only way to describe him. As parents they were less than desirable, presenting a united front of frigid indifference. But next door? Next door lived the Darling family. The big, teddy bear-like dad, the two boys Fritz and Ben, and the mother Phoebe. To Cassie, the Darlings represent everything that is warm and welcoming and good. When they spot her peeping over the fence one day, the Darlings immediately invite her over. And from that point on, Cassie has a home and a family. Real ones. Years later, now the editor of a lit mag, Cassie receives a phone call from Phoebe informing her that she has the most incandescent of plans. In short, she intends to marry off her two bachelor boys and it is up to Cassie (who knows them better than anyone) to find them suitable women. And fast. You see, Phoebe would like to see them both safely married. And she has a limited amount of time left before the leukemia that's eating away at her. And so, despite her myriad misgivings, Cassie promises to help. Quite simply, she would do anything for the woman who was her mother in every way that counted. The problem is, of course, the boys. Charming as hell, insanely talented, and rakes to the core, how will she ever whip them into shape in order to be married off in time?

Let me just start by saying it was the writing that impressed me first with this book. It was unexpectedly layered and leisurely. Kate Saunders certainly understands how to take her time telling the story, in order to give the reader enough space to absorb the wealth of history that lies between Cassie and the Darling family. The luminous relationship between Cassie and Phoebe is what comes out first and most startlingly. And, wow, is it lovely. The book is worth the read just for that dynamic alone. Phoebe is artful and elegant and full of love and style and a heart big enough to encompass any and all who come across her path. She reminded me a fair bit of my own mother-in-law, and I understood Cassie's enchantment and love for this woman who put her arms around her as a child and never let go. Of course, no one in this book is perfect. Not even Phoebe. Some of them are more woefully flawed than others (why, yes, Fritz ole boy, I am looking at you), but they all occupy the gray areas when it comes to their insecurities, vices, and motivations. Cassie herself is charming and a worthy heroine, despite her blind spots when it comes to the proper men to date. But you can't help but sympathize with each and every one of them. We none of us cope perfectly when love, ambition, and our dratted pasts get in the way. It was a delight to trace their winding course toward the finish. The ending was hard-won and came at a price for all of them. But the journey was decidedly worth it. Highly recommended for readers who like their chick lit with a hearty dose of depth, emotion, and exquisitely drawn family interactions.

I thought this might be more intelligent than some of the American "chick lit", but it wasn't much. Maybe it was a little interesting to read about London for a change, and at least there were proper sentences and dialogue. The problem was the main character was extremely neurotic and lets herself be walked all over by one of the main male characters and yet she perpetually forgives him and claims to love him. It was nauseating, the man treated her like dirt and she just keeps putting up with it. This book is a very very bad example for women as to what is acceptable behavior, I don't know what the author is thinking. Actually, two men treat her like dirt, but the first was her regular boyfriend/fiance and then that ended. The second one there is no excuse, as he would dump her for some other woman and tell her what great sex he was having with the other one. And the main character just keeps putting up with this and ends up claiming they are so in love. ugh, made me sick. Thank goodness I didn't pay for this but got it at the library.

Yeah, this book was OK. There were things that I loved and things that I hated. Cassie, the main character was kind of annoying sometimes because she was really too blind to her own feelings. The author would continually have Cassie going on and on about Fritz and then always have her say "but, oh man, I do not have a crush on him anymore...that was done with years ago." This happened probably near 30 times in the book, so it's just hard to believe that she could be that oblivious to her own feelings.

The main romance was a little ridiculous. Cassie is with a guy who makes her feel uncomfortable and uptight about herself. Ok, yes, we want her to leave him. But then she dates a guy who pretty much uses her when he is feeling emotional and then also breaks tons of promises to her and, just, he really kind of sounds like the typical "villain" boyfriend in these types of novels.

So, while the main romance wasn't too fantastic, the side characters in this book and their little romantic foibles I found myself enjoying quite a bit. They weren't overly complicated or troublesome just creative little bits about people falling in love in serendipitous and hardly typical ways.

Phoebe was also enjoyable. Yes, she was a character that has been seen many times before, but she definitely worked well in this novel and when the author wrote about her it was emotional and lovely. The best writing examples from this book are when Saunders is writing about Phoebe.

Definitely a good read for a lazy day or weekend.

This is one of the slowest books I have ever read. As the previous reviewer said, it started out promising and then let us down. The story drags for almost 200 pages and then gets only semi-interesting when one of the bachelors finally finds his soul mate. And I'm going to add a spoiler just because this part just crawled under my skin. Cassie doesn't even get mad at her boyfriend when she finds him in bed with one of her friends. And doesn't even say two words to him when they talk about it later on. Maybe British women don't get mad at something like that. But, we American women do! Maybe she felt like it was over, but still. Readers need to get a more emotional response than that. Please don't read this book unless you want to be disappointed.