Colleen

I haven't been enjoying romance books for some time. And it's not that I've never liked them, I used to enjoy them very much. I keep trying though. I thought that perhaps it's that I prefer stories where the main protagonist is an interesting woman and more of a plot than just falling in love. (chick-lit)

But now I realize, I'm looking for older people falling in love! (I'm 62.) I absolutely adored this book!

What is going on in the publishing industry? I know there was a ghost writer and probably multiple editors. So how did they allow such a heavily advertised, long awaited book be so boring? I know this is purported to be Harry's story. (Though so many times while listening all I could think of was Queen Elisabeth saying some recollections will vary.) It wasn't a shock that Harry is the star/hero in Spare. But where were the charming anecdotes? The only thing this man is known for is being one of Princess Diana's sons and son of the current King of England. Grandson of the longest reigning monarch of England. Obviously, Harry has issues with his family. But to present this as if there was never any good to these relationships, not any of them? No happy recollections for balance or even to make their issues more poignant? For me this just came across as enormously whiney. Poor little ol' me locked in the attic and half starved when we know, while there are issues within that rich and privileged group, they do lead extraordinary lives with experiences the rest of us can only dream of. I did enjoy hearing about trips to countries I won't get to see but was expecting more tales about what goes on within the royal palaces and estates. Only one whiney tale about Christmas? Nothing about life as Charles and Diana's son prior to her death? Obviously, Harry was traumatized by his mother's death when he was just 12 and I guess this is what arrested development can sound like. But I was really disappointed. He cannot remember his mummy or life with her but he managed to remember and refute every tabloid headline of his life? It read as if he has kept a scrapbook!
The stories of Harry's army service were somewhat better as obviously he was engaged there and this was his profession. And it was lovely to hear him recount his happiness with Meghan and joy in fatherhood. I was horrified by the tales of how invasive the British tabloid press and paparazzi are. I can see that they were undoubtably more tenacious in chasing Princess Diana's sons and their cohorts than the children of Anne, Andrew or Edward. I can even see where Meghan's background, being a biracial divorced American actress incited them to a greater and more dangerous frenzy. But many parts of Harry's “truth” simply don't add up. He was not poor. Harry inherited a bigger share from his mother to make up for the fact that he was not the “heir.” Charles paid a very large amount of money, that he needed to report publicly, to Harry and Meghan when they decided to separate from the royal family. Meghan had considerable net worth from her own work before her retirement from acting. Harry remarks that there are estates where they could have lived safely as long as they weren't trying to live public lives. But of course, that isn't what either wants, at least not yet, is it?

This is the 2nd book that I've read by Liane Moriarty and I throughly enjoyed this book also. (Previous was Apples Never Fall.) She created interesting characters that felt vivid and real to me. Then put them in a stressful, unpredictable situation over the course of ~a week. I didn't foresee all of the turns this took or the secrets spilled gradually over the course of the book but they were handled masterfully IMO. I especially enjoyed Frances but really, Ms. Moriarty found a way to mix it up with characters of varied ages, economic circumstances and POV. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of her novels.

I'd been wanting to read both of the stories in this series without actually knowing much about it. Just because of the covers and the buzz. I found this, book 2, in a library sale for $1 so I bought it and when I read that it stars seniors, I couldn't resist reading this without obtaining and reading book 1 first.

Major kudos to Mr. Osman for not including a major rehash of their previous exploits in this edition. I've stopped reading series for that sin. Looking at you in particular Daniel Silva. I am eagerly looking forward to reading the first tale even more now.

I'm a 62 year old American and I dearly wish I could live Cooper's Chase! Even if I'm not talented enough to join the Thursday Murder Club, I'd love to live in their thrall. Instead I might have to climb another mountain and find my own intimate circle of like friends to share adventures with. Obviously, I found all of the characters delightful for novel purposes, even the villains and those lie somewhere in-between. I felt the pace was good, personally I like a book that becomes a page turner that I can't put down in the later half. For me, the humor ranged from sly smiles to laughing out loud while kicking my heels! I'm not looking for realism in most novels, especially mysteries, so I found the twisty plot enthralling. This was an altogether smashing read!