| Product: |
Charmer - Mandasue Heller |
| Date: |
13.06.07 (87 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: a good read
Disadvantages: not very in depth
The Charmer By Mandasue Heller
Being pregnant and pretty much housebound due to the extreme swelling of both my feet and ankles, has given me the time to try and relax and get through as many books as possible in my “to read” pile. This one book I have had for a little while and have been meaning to get around to reading it. Finally I have had the time and once I started it I just couldn’t put it down and finished it within a few days.
Mandasue Heller is a new writer to me and I have only this year started to read her works. I have been reading Martina Cole’s books for a long while now and have worked my way through each one of her books. These two authors are pretty similar in styles so I am sure if you enjoy reading Martina Cole then Mandasue Heller would be right up your street.
Admittedly Mandasue Heller is far easier to read, as her books are shorter and far less complicated. You can get through one of her books within days where as Martina Cole writes much more in-depth and really gets you to know her characters this is somewhat missing from Mandasue Heller’s writing style.
The book The Charmer is probably one of Mandasue Heller’s best in my opinion. It is set in the grimy estates of Manchester and seems to be very close to real life. The main character Maria Price who has grown up in care ever since her mum died when she was a small child comes across as a good strong character and Heller portrays her very well that you feel as though you really know her. One day she is luckily enough to inherit an old large house outside of the grimy estates she is so familiar with and truly cannot believe her luck.
Then she meets Joel Parry. He is indeed a real charmer good looking, kind and caring Maria really thinks her luck is in. She begins to form a relationship with Joel who seems to be well known among the right circles in Manchester. Maria finds herself falling head over heels for this fantastic man who is brilliant in bed and can seem to fulfil her every fantasy. Joel quickly moves in to Maria’s grand home and is forever grateful to Maria for helping him out when he finds himself in need of a new place to stay, albeit his choice. The money Maria acquired together with the house is eagerly spent by Joel and Maria believing he is spending it with her not for her is happy to go along with all Joel’s schemes.
But there is more to Joel than meets the eye and he is heavily into the dangerous world that is the Manchester drug scene. He has hidden a lot from Maria, things that even he wishes he could forget. Everyone knows however that the past has a funnyu way of catching up with you and for joel Parry this is no different. Maria is caught up in this world she has longed to miss her by and has done a good job at keeping it at bay so far.
I really don’t want to say too much more about the story line otherwise that will really give the whole book away. The plot is fairly basic boy meets girl with money, boy spends money, boy ends up hurting girl. Of course there is a lot of fluff around this plot and although a good read I never seemed to be drawn into the book as much as I would like. The characters are portrayed just enough but I really would of liked more. I think Mandasue Heller could go deeper with her storylines as they have the basics there for a fantastic book. However they really do not meet up to Martina Cole’s standards and I think Mandasue Heller has a long way to go before producing something of Cole’s quality.
The book was enjoyable to read even if it did only take a few days to get through. The story line is pretty memorable and fairly easy to get into and keep you interested. I enjoy reading Mandasue Heller’s style and would think most people could be drawn into her world even if she doesn’t bring it right up close.
A good book from Mandasue Heller and one I would recommend even if I wouldn’t read it again.
Summary: a fair book to read
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