DOUBLE TROUBLE!! (Double Wedding - Patricia Scanlan)

Member Name: Wee_Jackie_163

Product:	Double Wedding - Patricia Scanlan
Date:	06/11/09 (50 review reads)
Rating:

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"Double Wedding" is a book by Patricia Scanlan, who is an Irish author, writing mainly in the 'Chick Lit' genre of books. Having read a few of her novels before, and always having enjoyed them, I picked up this paperback at a car boot sale recently for the sum of 30 pence.


** STORY **

Jessica and Carol are two young women who have been best friends since their childhood days. Both girls are engaged to be married, but are involved in very different relationships in terms of trust and commitment.

When Jessica announces a date for her upcoming nuptials, Carol panics and suggests the girls have a double wedding, to which her friend eventually agrees. The only problem is, Carol's fiancé has a wandering eye and a reluctance for commitment, so she knows she will have a battle ahead when it comes to getting him down the aisle...

Jessica is reluctant to share her big day with her friend, but feels guilty about Carol's unhappiness and eventually gives in to her requests. Sensing that trouble lies ahead in her friend's relationship, she can only hope that things settle down in time for the joint big day...

Each of the girl's families is not without its personal dramas, and Carol in particular is concerned about the fact her mother and father are separated and not on good terms - which one of her parents can she invite to her big day? And who is going to walk her down the aisle? Furthermore, Carol's sister is a wild teenager who drinks like a fish and displays disruptive behaviour, hardly the ideal wedding guest...

Will Carol's family come to blows? Can her relationship make it to the altar? And can her friendship with Jessica survive a Double Wedding?



** MY OPINION **

I found that this novel was a thoroughly enjoyable read from the start. I found that the main characters, in particular the two main girls had enough depth to them to make them believable and each of their personalities was described in enough detail by the author to stir a feeling of sympathy with me when I was reading about the difficulties each of the two girls was facing.

The writing style employed by the author made the book very easy to read in that the 'flow' of the story was enjoyable and entertaining. This surprised me given that the book is written from the different perspective of each of the characters, and so it jumps about from character to character quite a lot. I find that when reading books with this layout, from time to time they are difficult to follow and jump about far too much, but not so with 'Double Wedding'. The author has executed the story in such a way that we are able to follow the plot quite easily.

Having read many books by this author before, I find that she had a definite knack to have us grasped by the story from the very first chapter, and this book was no exception to this rule. The first chapter has us thrown right into the 'depths' of the story and as a result we are hooked, eagerly reading on to see what happens. A very clever tactic employed by the writer, but also an enjoyable experience for the reader, as there isn't too much time given in 'setting the scene' and instead the story unfolds before us quite quickly, making the book have a bit of an addictive flair to it.

I found that my opinion of one of the main characters, Carol changed quite a lot throughout the book. We are shown time and time again that the girl is very selfish, and she takes advantage of other people, manipulating them if necessary. I found it interesting how my opinion of these points didn't change, but I found I was starting to develop a bit of sympathy towards the girl, as more of the girl's background became evident. I think that this shows the writer's talents, as in my opinion, not every author would have been able to pull this off to the same extent.

There are a whole host of more minor characters throughout the book and whilst we don't get to read about them as often as the others, the author has cleverly brought each of them into the story enough, so that the whole plot is left without any 'holes' or unanswered queries. Even though some of these minor characters didn't feature in the main story all that much, we were left in no doubt as to their individual personalities, or the part they had to play in the whole storyline coming together. To me, this was done very effectively, and again shows the author's writing skills and talent.

I have to be honest and say that this book didn't have a huge impact on me personally, but to be fair I don't think it is really THAT type of book. In keeping with a lot of other books in the same genre, I felt that the author provided a bit of light-hearted reading, and the book certainly provided enough enjoyment to keep my attention until the end. As it is over 630 pages long, I think it is fair to say that other books would have been dumped long before the end if this wasn't the case.

All in all, I would recommend the book to anyone who is a fan of the Chick Lit genre, and any Patricia Scanlan fans wouldn't be disappointed by what 'Double Wedding' has to offer. I found it to be an enjoyable read all the way throughout the book, and I would award it five Dooyoo stars for its credible storyline and believable characters, and for the fact that the book kept me hooked until the last page.

ISBN: 0-553-81401-X
COVER PRICE: £6.99

The book is currently available for sale on www.amazon.co.uk for the price of £5.20 (new copy), and from £0.01 (used copy).

Summary: An enjoyable 'Chick Lit' book..