I had a copy of this book sent to me recently and after having a bit of a bad time recently I decided I needed something girly and easy to get into to escape from the real world so I picked this Cathy Kelly one off the shelf. The book is based around the lives of people involved with Irish Department store Kenny's and how even without realising it there is fine string of connection between many of them that goes further than the store. Firstly we have owner David and his wife Ingrid, who's two children Molly and Ethan have both left home but the worrying for Ingrid never stops especially over Ethan who is off travelling for a year. Ingrid is a high ...  Read the complete review

Once in a lifetime something happens that will change your life forever, and this book tells of those moments. It follows the lives of various different characters and is based around Kenny's department store - an independent store located in Ireland. David Kenny owns the store and most of the characters are people who work there. They all have different things to worry about in their lives, but as the book goes on, their lives becomes more intertwined. David and his wife Ingrid have been married for over 30 years and have 2 grown up children. Their marriage is very strong, or so Ingrid thinks until something happens in which she finds out a lot of things ...  Read the complete review

I do tend to stick to authors I know and love, but am always open to recommendations of new books and writers too. When my mum suggested a year ago I read a Cathy Kelly book, I tried her latest 2008 release and while I enjoyed it, I didn't think it was anything special. However, when I saw this being advertised as her "best-ever novel", I was intrigued to see if it'd live up to the hype and so set about getting a copy from the library. It arrived and started reading it, and was hoping that it was going to be a good read, but sadly I have to say I wasn't right. The town of Ardagh in Ireland loves its local department store, Kenny's, run by David ...  Read the complete review

***The Plot and Characters*** As this is one of those books that follows the lives of several interlinked characters, I'm going to outline the plot and characters together to try to make it less confusing! Ingrid - Ingrid is a television presenter whose world is turned upside down when her husband David dies. Ingrid is understandably devestated and as a likeable character, it's difficult not to feel lots of sympathy for her as she struggles to control her grief. David - The owner of Kenny's department store, David's death affects a lot of people. His death happens quite early on in the plot, so he's more of a background character who has a ...  Read the complete review

Being a Cathy Kelly fan I was really looking foward to her new book Once in a Lifetime. I was going to buy the book but it is quite a hefty hardback (the paperback not being out until September this year) so in the end I ordered the talking book (CD) from my local library. When it arrived I couldn't wait to get started. However, I was a little disappointed as it took me quite a long time to get into. There are a lot of characters and the first one introduced is Star Bluestone, who didn't really capture my imagination at first. This is very unusual for Cathy Kelly books as like, Maeve Binchy, she normally manages to grab my attention with the first couple of pages. .  Read the complete review