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The Year of Taking Chances

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The Year of Taking Chances

By: Lucy Diamond
Narrated by: Antonia Beamish
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Summary

It's New Year's Eve, and at a house party, three women bond over dodgy cocktails and fortune cookies, and vow to make this year their best one yet. But as the months unfold, Gemma, Saffron, and Caitlin find themselves tested to their limits. Under pressure, they are each forced to rethink their lives. But dare they take a chance on something new?

©2015 Lucy Diamond (P)2015 W F Howes Ltd Contemporary Family Life Genre Fiction Women's Fiction Feel-Good Heartfelt Funny

Critic reviews

Praise for the author: ‘Delicious, delightful, and warm, Lucy Diamond never fails to make you laugh out loud and cheer for her colourful cast of characters.’ (Rowan Coleman)
‘Charming, funny and as satisfying as a giant tiramisu. Loved it.’ (Milly Johnson)
All stars
Most relevant
Great characters and enjoyable story, a lovely read! Good narration and story telling. Would recommend as a nice relaxing read.

Enjoyable!

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Bought to listen in the car . The story line is simple and therefore not distracting but this doesn’t mean boring. It’s chick lit at its best , you are drawn into the lives of the three main characters in a sleepy Suffolk village and how chance brings them together .
The only slight irritation was the performance by the narrator , it didn’t quite work for me in places at first but I soon got used to her and only occasionally did it grate .

Easy listening

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Light and entertaining, feel good story. Have enjoyed a few of Lucy Diamond's books, I liked the narrator too

entertaining

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I struggled to finish this book. The plot moved along very slowly and as it jumped between characters it was very difficult to differentiate between whose plot line we were following. This could have been helped by the narrator creating different voices for the characters to help separate them but I imagine it was as difficult for her to read as it was to listen to.
I'm extremely distressed at the glamorised abusive relationship that has no consequences for the husband when he decides to change his behaviour right at the end of the book. Throughout the story his abuse of his wife and family grows, you see their distress and hurt which is particularly harrowing as the children are very young. His leaving his family with no warning and refusing to talk to any of them for months allowed the wife's character to grow, become more confident and independent which was a relief to see. She had transformed from an abused doormat to a strong independent woman but all of her character growth and development disappeared when her husband decided to come home and she welcomed him with open arms and said her life is not complete without him.
In this book Diamond has the perfect chance of showing that women and wives do not have to stay in abusive relationships for any reason and can be strong and self reliant. Instead she reinforces the attitude that if a man who has consistently hurt you and your children to the point of despair says sorry then it's all rainbows and sweets from then on. Such a missed opportunity. I found that plot development very difficult to listen to.

Slow plot, bit confusing, abusive relationship?

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One of the most awful narrations I've heard!! Thank goodness the story was very good!

Narration

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