Monday, August 15, 2011

Review: Ralph's Party by Lisa Jewell


Goodreads: Meet the residents of the London brownstone on 31 Almanac Road who together weave a tangeled web of romance. Ralph, a ne'er-do-well artist, suddenly realizes he's head over heels in love with his new flatmate Jem, the most fun and sensible girl he's ever encountered. Unfortunately, Ralph's best friend, Smith, has already won Jem's affections, although Smith has not entirely given up his passion for the femme fatale, Cheri, who lives upstairs. Across the hall, Karl and Siobhan have been happily unmarried for years, until Karl gets a smashing job as a London rush-hour DJ and momentarily gets tempted into Cheri's cozy lair. These six star-crossed tenants become more enamored, and more confused, as the story progresses - until their true destinies are revealed on one crucial night - the evening of the extravaganza that is . . . Ralph's party.


Kritters Thoughts:  A wonderful fun and girlie read from the beginning to the end.  I easily fell in love with each character and was able to keep their relationships to one another straight - made me fall in love with brit chick lit.  

Taking in place in one building in London, with a cast of characters that are so woven together it makes the stories smart and a pure joy to read.  As they intermix and mingle, it made for scenes that made me laugh completely out loud.  In the basement are two men who are looking for a third flatmate and in walks Jem, a female looking for her dream come true - man that is.  The first floor houses a couple who have been dating for more than 15 years with very little ups or downs.  Finally, on the second level a very beautiful woman lives who has her eyes on one of the men in the building, while another has been pinning after her since she arrived 5 years earlier.  

The book was definitely a journey and although there were times where I may have been able to guess the outcome, I still enjoyed the road the book took to get to the end.  As I can't spoil the book - I will have to say that the ending was abrupt and I can't believe that a sequel has just been released this year!  The review for After the Party will be posted tomorrow.  

A read that I would recommend to those who may not always read brit chick lit, as I completely enjoyed this one.   



Rating:  absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Pages: 289

July-Sept 2011 Challenge:  Rollin' In My

Off the Shelf 2011 Challenge: 17 out of 50

3 comments :

  1. I love a good chicklit of any variety! This sounds like a good one.

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  2. You're in luck! There is a sequel. I haven't read this one, but received After the Party for review. I'm looking forward to it and am told that it does work as a standalone. We shall see.

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  3. I see Teresa beat me to it, the sequel came out this year. I've read most her books but not been keeping up recently.

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