Customer Reviews

Just Between Us

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you enjoy reading Rosamund Pilcher and Maeve Binchy, you will enjoy this book. Unlike Pilcher and Binchy's books, this story is set in present day Ireland. In the Irish country town of Kinvarra, Rose and Hugh are preparing to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. We meet their children, Stella, single mother, Tara, newly married and Holly, youngest of the three daughters. We also meet a number of other people, both "straight laced" and very modern. Characters in this book are enjoyable and most important believable. The plot flows smoothly. I am looking forward to reading more books by Cathy Kelly.

I love this book! All of Cathy Kelly's books give the point of view of a few different people and it keeps you so interested. The main characters this time were that of a well known family in a small town. Rose, the matriarch is just approaching her 40th wedding anniversary and has kept the fact that her husband unfaithful to herself for almost all of the 40 years. Her oldest daughter, Stella, is raising her young daughter on her own and is just falling in love for the first time since the birth of her daughter. Rose's middle daughter, Tara, is blissfully newly married, or so she thought. Tara is struggling through her whirlwind marriage and learning her husband has a few secrets of his own. And Rose's poor youngest daughter, Holly, has a lack of self confidence all stemming from Rose's own problems when Holly was a baby.

It's such a good book that takes you into the minds of each of the woman and they gain control of their lives.

Cathy Kelly is someone I had never read before, and I'm anxious to see what else she has written. She started with a funny and self-deprecating dedication to all the people who kept her going and helped her to keep on track in finishing the book, and you would never know it, because it held my complete interest for well over 400 pages.

The story of a modern Irish family of three grown women and their parents, Just Between Us is as contemporary as it is heartwarming. Rose and Hugh Miller are about to celebrate their 40th anniversary. Rose is still lovely and a pillar of her circle: charity work, gracious parties, committee attendance, and all the rest. Affable Hugh, well-off and from an old monied family, is equally charming. But is something wrong beneath the surface?

Daughter Stella is divorced with one winsome daughter, Amelia. A successful attorney, Stella shuns all men, preferring to give her daughter a stable life instead. But Stella is young and beautiful--can this last? Middle daughter Tara is a writer on one of Ireland's most successful soap operas. She is madly in love with her husband Finn, whom she married after only 6 months of courtship. Now, she is learning things about Finn that could tear them apart. Youngest daughter Holly sees herself as fat and unattractive, not realizing her beauty and appeal. A sweet, funny and smart woman, she lives in a flat with two fun friends (funky designer and gay fashionista) right across the hall. They cook, hang out, and confide. Until a handsome male stranger moves into the flat one floor above...

Told with compassion, humor and a bit of sass, Just Between Us is a great book to read on a weekend day when it's too cold outside to rake the leaves. Yes, it has a happy ending, and no, I won't apologize for loving the heck out of it.

Highly recommended!

Set in present day Ireland, Just Between Us weaves a tale of three sisters and their loving parents. As the story opens, the family seems to have it all: the parents are celebrating 40 years together, eldest daughter Stella is successfully raising her daughter while practicing law, middle daughter Tara is a script writer who has married the man of her dreams, and youngest daughter Holly has taken a job in a department store that promises her a bright future. But is this what is really going on? Kelly masterfully peels back the layers until we see beneath the careful facades and can get to know each of these characters on different levels.

Evocative of Rosamund Pilcher, Kelly writes a strong family drama that entertains and engages. I became entangled with these characters; I could feel the torn feelings of the parents as they faced life-altering decisions, as well as feeling gripped by the traumas each of the girls encountered. If at times the author could have used a better editor to keep the story more focused, overall this book is very well written and pulls you in easily and fully. Not normally the type of book I read, I found myself wondering about the characters' lives during free moments and I am sure I will continue to wonder how their lives have gone now that I've closed the last page. I certainly will seek out more by this author. Recommended reading!

Cathy Kelly's novel, Just Between Us, is as warm and satisfying as a bowl of Irish Oats. Set in the Emerald Isle, Just Between Us tells the story of three sisters. Stella, the oldest, is a hard-working, lonely single mother. Although she adores her daughter and enjoys being a mother, she yearns for something more. She does not realize it, but she is looking for love. Her feelings of longing, lonliness, and hopefulness are feelings we can all identify with...and that's the brilliance of Kelly's novel. Each sister experiences feelings and challenges that the average reader can identify with. Tara, the middle sister, is newly married and still caught up in the whirlwind of her romance. So caught up, in fact, that she does not see her new husband for what he is: a sad, conflicted soul who indulges in destructive activities to cope with his pain. Holly, the youngest sister, is a twenty-something with a whole trunkload of baggage. She is swan who is gliding along, believing she is the ugliest duckling in the pond. These feelings of inadequacy keep her (for a time) from reaching her potential, from succeeding professionally and personally.

But, like a bowl of Irish Oats, this hearty tale ends deliciously and satisfyingly. The sisters find peace and happiness in their lives and learn that familial love is the strongest bond of all.

Cathy Kelly tells an empathetic tale about a family that at first seems to have it all, until one day everything begins to unravel, strand by strand. She does this using very well-written humor we can all identify with, never falling into anything trite or melodramatic. That she's already a bestselling author in Britain comes to no surprise to me, as all the elements of bestseller status are represented in this book.

This is a light, easy read that's heavy with meaning. We can all identify with the characters; they're all three-dimensional and very sympathetic. The reader comes to care deeply about them by the end of the book. There are also plot twists and turns, and things that seem very simple to start out with soon become very complicated.

Each daughter, Stella, Tara and Holly, is completely distinct, and each is coming from a different place in life. Stella's a struggling single mother, Tara's a young married woman who soon realizes life isn't all wine and roses, and Holly's the less self-assured youngest sister, battling self esteem issues. Throw in their parents, who throw them for a loop, and you have a very interesting recipe for a bit of family dysfunction most people are familiar with, at least sometimes in life.

Just Between Us would be a great book to throw in your bag on vacation, or take to the cabin for that last vacation before the snow flies. If you're looking for a light read intelligently written, this would be a very good bet.

I haven't quite reached the end of this very long novel yet, but have enjoyed the developing story line. I enjoyed the concept that of this seemingly perfect family being far from flawless. The story line shows that once you delve under the surface, no one has the perfect life.

However, aside from the story line, I found the wording to be a little cheesy. The characters in the book would openly talk about feelings, when real-life situations would most likely not warrant the same reactions. It is, on the other hand, an easy read. So, if you can get past the cheesy lines, and are looking for something to quickly speed through, this is the book.

I haven't even finished the book yet but I'm so engrossed in the stories of these four women! I find it so believable and relatable that these women (3 sisters and mother) all see each other's lives as charmed when in fact they all have their own problems. It takes place in Ireland but could just as easily have taken place in my hometown! These women band together to help each other through divorces, single motherhood, adultery, alcoholism, and unrequited love. Their stories are touching and the characters are well-developed. I love Maeve Binchy and I feel this writer is on par with her.

Cathy Kelly's Just Between Us is a richly textured tale of a "perfect" family that begins to slowly reveal itself as one with all the ordinary flaws and foibles that plague most people; it is this probing beneath the surface that yields a peek into the intriguing aspects of each of the primary characters.

As the story begins, Rose and Hugh Miller are approaching their fortieth anniversary, and as the celebratory moment nears, we learn more about the two of them; Rose uncovers a secret, and while she's planning the party, she is also considering how to deal with it.

Meanwhile, the three adult daughters are each struggling with their own issues. Stella, the eldest, has a successful career as an attorney, and as the single mother to Amelia, believes that her life is just the way it will stay. She expects no romance or any surprises at all.

Tara, the middle child, writes for a successful soap opera, and as a newly-wed with a dream husband, she believes that all is just the way it should be.

While Holly, the youngest, is plagued by insecurities and longs for a love that seems to never arrive, the other two begin to find that their lives are not what they thought they were.

This is the heart of the story, but what sets it apart are the rich details that give us more than a peek into their lives--we almost feel as if we are walking alongside them. As if they are our friends and neighbors, with their struggles part of us. We root for them, and sometimes want to yell at them for making foolish choices or mistakes.

A rather long book (530 pages), I kept reading, because I truly wanted to partake of every eventful moment in the lives of the characters.

Definitely five stars!

Upon receiving this book, I recognized about 500 pages and immediately put it off, assuming I had no time to read such a long book. When I finally found the time in my schedule, I was pleasantly surprised. The book was very good and touching, sharing the stories of three Irish women who are facing hidden trials and tribulations for fear of damaging their reputation. When one of them finally makes a stand, the others' lives begin to unravel even faster leaving them all scrambling for the resolutions to their problems. The only problem I had with this book was Kelly's overuse of certain phrases ("solar plexus", "nineteen to the dozen", etc) which began to sound cliche page after page. However, the book is something I would definitely recommend to anyone wishing to look into four seemingly perfect lives to see everyone has imperfections.