Rose didn't mad to Peter or Lucy. She kept her normal life on. She try not to bother Peter's new family. She perform as a good mum. She never break the rules for her sons, such as time together with their dad, Peter. Rose loved children and good in every housework. She make her own meal, instead of buy from store like Lucy always did. I know there is a point in the life of a reader (especially female readers) when you have babies and toddlers and you still want to read. But your mommy brain is not really up to anything. I totally get that. I read Mills and Boon and dumb-dumb thrillers for around five years because my post-baby brain and schedule could not handle anything more taxing. Even my beloved Stephen King was beyond me at certain points...

But in those days, parents paid little heed to the activities of their children. Adele eventually attended Leicester University where she studied English and Literature. Writing has been on the author’s mind for as long as she can remember. I was amused, touched, romanced, saddened and thrilled by the story from start to finish. Totally unputdownable!' Not having read any of Adele Parks' other novels, I'm not sure if this is just a really poor choice from her books or if this really is as good as she gets. Needless to say, she's not an author I shall be reading anything more of, as I'd much rather read something I'd enjoy.I'd decided before I was more than two chapters in to "Playing Away" that I hated it. I'm not sure quite what prompted me to keep going. Probably one part stubbornness and one part blind optimism that it might improve. It didn't.

I wanted to become a writer when I was a little girl. I used to visit our local library with my mother and sister on the way home from school. We were allowed to choose three books each and I would read them in a day and return them the following afternoon. A librarian said to me, “Goodness, you read so much, would you like to be an author one day?” – that planted the seed. When I was a bit older, I went on to discover authors like Jane Austen and made my way through the romantic classics. Emma was one of my favourites, as Austen’s heroin is such a complex, flawed character – she has a devoted father, she’s going to inherit, she’s very beautiful, but she’s also very meddlesome. I loved the idea of a flawed heroin and thought there was some fun in that. I would have to say though that the only plot that actually kept me interested long enough to finish the book was Rose and Craig's storyline. It just drove me insane how each of the characters were absolute jerks! Especially Lucy and John. Yeah yeah, I'll probably get the whole "but they redeemed themselves at the end". Well, it was a little too late for me. 50 chapters, and I had to wait till chapter 46 for me to feel the least bit of sympathy and understanding for either of them? The characters weren't particularly well drawn and it's quite tough to sympathise with any of them, even when they are struggling with aspects of their lives. None of them seem particularly likeable and even when there comes a time where you are perhaps encouraged to sympathise with one character, or take sides after disagreements between them; I simply found that I couldn't be bothered. By that point, I was just too bored with the whole thing. Rose - the super PTA single mummy, bitter and slightly overweight, judgemental , wonders why nobody loves her and so dull it made me want to scream. Yawn

Publication Order of Adele Parks Audiobooks Books

Connie was pathetic and she was so annoying and stupid that i couldn't even enjoy her character growth, which was rushed compared to the rest of the story which seemed to crawl by. And when her boys begin to need her less, it becomes clear to Rose that Lucy’s life is devoid of real purpose or passion. There was nothing remotely exciting about Connie having an affair, there was nothing attractive about her lover nor was there anything attractive about the idea of adultery Adele Parks tries to bring that same drama and complexity to her books. She isn’t too keen on producing contemporary romance novels filled with desperate women engaging in catty exchanges. Rose doesn’t have the vocabulary to describe Lucy, she doesn’t like using expletives. A devoted single mum, she fills her life with labeling school uniforms, organic vegetables and car runs for extracurricular activities. She’s an exemplary mother but the boys seem to need her less and less and without them she wonders what she amounts to. Her friends are concerned that her life is devoid of passion, romance or even plans for the future.

I do! I was given A Poem Every Day of the Year last Christmas. I tried to read one every day and I try to find something in it – perhaps I put more significance to signs than I should. I love the fact that I get a range of works from four centuries. Aside from that, I love Philip Larkin’s poetry, which I studied at university – one of the few poets who I didn’t find hard understanding. The Whitsun Weddings is a lovely collection of his. What book would you give as a gift? I enjoy Adele Parks writing and recently finished Lies, Lies, Lies, so I was excited to see another new book so soon… turns out it’s not so new! First released 20 years ago you can definitely tell how Adele’s style has changed and her writing has improved over the years.As Peter’s interest diminishes and Lucy’s domestic responsibilities increase, Lucy wonders if the ‘happily ever after’ is all a big con. Without a maternal bone in her body she’s always playing catch-up in a game where she doesn’t know the rules and can’t understand what there is to win anyway.