Customer Reviews

The Last Year of Being Single

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

It's hard to muster much sympathy for Sarah Giles, a woman with a caring boyfriend, an exciting lover and the world at her feet. Sarah is engaged to a Catholic banker named Paul, who is repressed in more ways than one. At the same time, she embarks on an affair with notorious womanizer, John Wayne, who is never quite developed. We see most of Sarah's relationships develop via text messaging, and if this is realistic, the state of romance today is in peril.

The title itself focuses on the fact that Sarah is engaged to be married, although the details of the actual event are sketchy. Sarah's wedding comes and goes with little fanfare or drama, and the love triangle is poorly developed. Perhaps this is indicative of Sarah's character? I can't be sure.

I found the story to be slow and annoying at times. There are several issues that could have been developed that would have made this story more poignant, but the plot falls a bit short. There are much better books in the Red Dress Ink series.

Sarah Giles chronicles her last year as a single woman. After five years of ups and downs, Paul proposes marriage. Sarah accepts. After all, Paul is lovely, affectionate and perfect. But why is she having an affair with an eccentric womanizer named John Wayne? She drives from one side of London to another to meet her oversexed lover. Things aren't as well in the home front as others think. And she doesn't know which road to take...

The Last Year of Being Single is one of those rare chick-lit novels that showcase flawless character study. The heroine delves into some rather profound questions regarding love and infidelity (is it just me, or do most recent Brit-chick novels center on infidelity?). Ms. Tucker's takes on relationships are insightful, ironic and poignant. The writing style is different and interesting, though disjointed at times. However, the storytelling is great. The Last Year of Being Single is one of the best British novels released this year. RDI has scored big again. Highly recommended...

Everyone who knows Sarah Giles believes her boyfriend, investment banker Paul O'Brien is Mr. Perfect. Everyone believes that except Sarah. She knows he is handsome, nice, has a good job, and will spend money on her. However, she feels their relationship lacks passion.

Sarah meets the Regional Director of Rogerson Railways John (that is his name, honest cowboy) Wayne. Though he is a womanizer, she finds the double entendre emails exciting and the secret lunches even more so. While Paul wants to become engaged, John also wants to move to the next level of passionate lovemaking. Sarah must choose between bland, faithful, and steady or exciting, undependable, and wild. Will she select a person who will never cheat on her or an individual who will probably make her a notch on his belt?

THE LAST YEAR OF BEING SINGLE is an amusing but at times serious look at modern day relationships. The story line focuses on Sarah torn between two lovers. Fans will empathize especially those about the same age as the heroine (twenty to thirty something) while those geriatric boomers will tell her to make up her mind based on the one the she feels the most spoons full of love. Though at times inane, Sarah Tucker's novel is a fun character study, but will she and to whom requires reading the novel.

Harriet Klausner

I could barely skim this book. It is written in a diary format a la Bridget Jones, but it doesn't contain the humor or plot; it does, however, consist mainly of sentence fragments. I got very tired of reading about oral and anal sex, infidelity, and ripped knickers. Why anyone would want a relationship with this woman is a mystery to me. Read Good In Bed by Jennifer Weiner instead-it is much funnier and better written.

I have never knowingly read a "Chick Lit" book before; I am a guy. I picked this book up in my local library unaware that it I was probably not a member of the target audience for this particular genre. I disliked the writing style but I did get caught up in the "story". I liked the way intimate communication between Sarah Giles, her boyfriend,and her lover, were reduced to absurd instantaneous "text messages". It was also used as a way to both keep in touch and keep them at a distance so she could pursue her affairs. U can nishe8 lsit sxul afrs ezle with ur Blackberry...
As probably one of the few men who will ever read this book I guess I should object to the fact that we are not portrayed in a very favourable light.....nor is the Catholic Church....nor are the interpersonal relationship skills of Catholic men...nor are the the relationships between family members in Catholic families...
but we can take it. Hey I gave it a "3" out of 5.

Sooo many people stay in relationships because it's convenient. You love the person but you aren't IN LOVE and you don't know how to end it. Or worst of all your family or friends think you should stay with them regardless of if you're happy! All of what you just read describes Sarah Giles! She knows Paul, her long-term boyfriend turned fiancee, isn't who she wants to spend her life with but she can't seem to break his heart. Then she has a VERY STEAMY affair with John, but she doesn't want to be with him long-term either!

This great book takes place throughout the year before Sarah's wedding. I think many women will completely sympathize Sarah... It's a great look into a mind of someone who has doubts about their married future!

I did not want this book to end. I love the way this book was written from Sarah's point of view. Sarah was depicted so vividly - a great character any woman could relate to. Sarah's situation although unique was very enticing and fun to read about. The author kept me wanting to know what she was going to do next. The love scenes were hot, hot, hot! I liked it because it had a surprise ending - not the traditional happily ever after. This is a book you would be foolish to miss!

This is one of the worst chick-lit I have ever read. I have no idea how it got published. It is an imitation of Bridget Jones -but the similarity ends there. In every single way, this book has provided a sample of "not to do" list for the future writers.

1. The writing is so beyond bad you would think the book was written by a grade 9 student.
2. The storyline is flat. There is no substance, no intelligence and no energy. How can juggling between 2 men be so boring? There is more excitement flipping through a cookbook.
3. The main character, Sara, seems to have absolutely no self-respect. I cannot see how any woman can identify with her, except for the author herself I guess.
4. The author is an "award winning" travel journalist herself. I don't know how she can be a journalist with such poor writing and a "travelling" one if she didn't do any research before writing about her assignment in Canada in this "Last Year" book. In one chapter, she was travelling from Vancouver to Calgary to Banff to Quebec to Toronto to Montreal to Nova Scotia. You can't go to Banff (town) from Calgary (Province) since Banff is in Calgary and you can't go from Quebec (Province) to Montreal (city) since Montreal is in Quebec. May be she manages to go from San Francisco to California too.

Anyway, please do not waste time to read it. It shouldn't be in the genre of "chick-lit". It should be under the genre of "junk".

After reading Something Borrowed (Emily Giffin), this one just didn't seem to compare. I didn't like the short, choppy, incomplete sentences and I didn't feel like any of the characters were really developed. It was predictable and just not my type of book...

I don't usually give less than 3 stars to a book, but this novel was poorly written, the characters weren't well developed, there were too many unnecessary sex scenes (if I wanted a romance novel I'd get one) and finally the main character is not likeable. I could not muster any sympathy for the protagonist because she made poor choices for herself time and time again throughout the book. BYPASS this chick lit read and buy something like the book 'You Have to Kiss a lot of Frogs' or 'Slightly Single'. Those novels will quench your thirst for a good read. 'Last Year of Being Single' will not.