Customer Reviews
Delivering the goods - By: Tony Kavanagh, 29 Jun 2008 
One of Scanlan's greatest attributes is her determination to humanise her characters. And we're not just talking about the central heroine. The ostensible "bad guys" are presented as fully fleshed-out people too. While popular fiction is often presented/dismissed merely as 'good, clean fun' this book is the kind of proper storytelling that manages to transcend the genre.
For me, Scanlan's career high has always been "Promises, Promises." That position has now been usurped by "Forgive & Forget." These books share a certain dark realism & a real humanity that makes them more compelling. To very loosely paraphrase Lisa Stansfield, Connie Adams may not be a surgically-enhanced Jackie Collinsesque powerbabe, but she's all woman. Elsewhere, the woman we'd all hate to work with, Judith - bitterly encumbered by responsibilities - is a heartbreaking, three-dimensional soul. The banein her life, her scared & frail mother, is also sensitively realised. There are momentsin the book (I won't spoil it for you!) when you find yourself groaning "No! Don't do it" but, true to real life, the character goes ahead & does it because they are too likeably human, too realistically weak to resist.
Given the paths the protagonists have been following, I think the sequel will be just as dark & beguiling. Unlike the reviewer 'chic lit', I am pleased that there is more to come from these characters. Hurry up, Ms. Scanlan, your readers await!
FANTASTIC - By: Mrs. A. nash, 23 Apr 2008 I bought Patricia Scanlan's new book at the airport & didn't put it down, as a child whose parents also split up when I was very young I could totally sympathise with what Debbie was going through coming up to her wedding. A brilliant read & I would recommend it to everyone.
Better than ever! - By: Sissel M. Østdahl, 15 Apr 2008 Dare I say that this is Patricia Scanlan's best book to date? I think so. From page one I was drawn into the story & completely hooked. Not a dull moment. Pure joy all the way.
Not that the story itself is all bliss. Connie & Barry have been divorced for years. Barry is married again to Aimee & has 13 year old daughter Melissain this marriage. Now Connie & Barrie's daughter Debbie is getting married & the event leads to a myriad of complicationsin the two families. One of them being Barry's renewed interestin his first wife, whom he left so many years ago...
Aimee is a tough, self-sentered career woman, with business trips abroad, designer clothes & no time for cosy family life.
First wife, Connie, is her opposite. A nurse, she has raised Debbie single-handedly & created a nice little home with a heavenly flower garden for the two of them. Neither money nor time has allowed for fancy clothes & pursuing a svelte body over the years. Connie appears a bit frumpyish & middle aged, & has seemingly livedin contented celibacy, until now!
There are other people & destinies to be metin this rich & fulfilling tale, which is not your regular chick lit but a wise story about life & love, regrets & new hope.
The book is excellently written & filled with humour. Always a bliss. A golden moment is young Melissa & her best friend Sarah's participationin Debbie's wedding, described with much insight & tenderness. Ah, to be 13 again, with your whole life ahead of you (and posters of Johnnie Depp over your bed...).
The book is not neatly wrapped upin a happy ending. Expertly, new threads are being wovenin & create expectations for joys to come. Joys we are invited to share, the last sentence being - To be continued.
I can't wait.
Really enjoyed it! - By: Zara, 07 Apr 2008 
I have to agree with another reviewer here - this is Patricia's best book so far. I read it on holiday & could hardly put it down. She deals with the subject of weddings & families really well & also she depicts older female characters very well too. I felt really sorry for poor Judith who at fifty is spiteful, resentful & discontent because she feels life has passed her by while she's been taking care of her mother Lily & has no help from either of her siblings. You really understand why she is the way she is by the end of the book. I also really liked Connie, first wife & mother-of-the bride & I liked melissa, the teenage step sister of the bride for all her naivety & rebellious teenage ways. The run up to the wedding was narrated really well & I enjoyed reading about the actual day. I would give this 5 stars but because it 'is to be continued' I removed a star. How can I wait a whole year to find out what happens next??? It's so frustrating!!!
Best Patricia Scanlan so far... - By: Rosa- Maeve, 12 Mar 2008 I have read almost all of Patricia Scanlan's books & enjoyed this the most. She manages to engage with the charactersin a manner that moves the plot along but doesn't delve into superfluous detail, as is an unfortunate habit of many writers of this genre. An enjoyable read!
One criticism, however, the theme of age is prevalentin the book, but without the writer explicitly telling us the ages of the various characters I would have had no idea at all. More attention to this detail would have aided the character development.
