I have not read a Lisa Jewell book for years and so when I
was asked to review her latest novel The Making Of Us I couldn’t wait to start
this as reading reviews on this book it seems opinions are straight down the
middle so I decided I needed to put my two pence worth in!
The story follows three characters, Lydia, Dean and Robyn
who all have something significant in common. They are all living their lives
and feel as though something is missing in their lives and one by one they all
find out that they were all conceived by sperm donation. As each of the
characters come to terms with the shocking news they all sign up to the Donor
sibling Registry to try and fill this gap in their lives.
I was worried when I first started reading this book. I loved the first chapter it was a great
start to the book but then after that the book took a bit of a worrying turn
for me. As we went chapter to chapter we were introduced to our characters and
it seemed each time we started to get to know a character it would then swap to
another one and it was a little overwhelming meeting so many significant
characters in such a short space of time I was worried that I was going to
forget who was who and I was contemplating putting the book down.
I am so glad I carried on reading this book because after
the introductions to each of the characters they all started to develop really
well and they each had very individual backgrounds which made it easy to
differentiate between them. I loved Lydia who seems to be the main feature of this
book she has what everyone would view as a perfect life but as we get to know
her we get to see her loneliness and her vulnerability which makes her such an
enjoyable character. Dean’s story really did tug at the heart strings when
first meeting him he just feels like a typical modern day layabout but when we
see all has had to go through he soon becomes a character you want to wrap up
in cotton wool. I found Robyn the only character I couldn’t take to she is
overly confident and vain but then she does bring something different to the
book.
The storyline is very fresh and unique, I have never read
any books featuring sperm donation! I did find it a little strange how well
each of the characters reacted when they found out the truth I think in reality
people wouldn’t have accepted the news so quickly but then this is the world of
fiction! I did fly through this book despite its hefty 470 pages but it was a
fast paced read.
I really enjoyed this book and I did feel the old heart
strings being pulled in certain parts of the book. I will definitely pick up
future books by Lisa Jewell.
Paperback
I enjoyed your review. We just did a review on Jill Shalvis’ Lucky in Love and the Lucky Harbor Series characters remind me of one of my favorite television shows, Gilmore Girls. It even has an inn and a diner, although in this case, it’s called the Eat Me Café. http://www.spunkybean.com/book-review-of-lucky-in-love-by-jill-shalvis/
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