The Life and Soul of the Party (Charnwood) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Mike Gayle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2009 | Series: Charnwood

Six friends, three couples...and the year that changes their lives forever. Melissa and Paul: Five years after they split he's still looking for love in all the wrong places while all she wants is him. Chris and Vicky: They are deliriously happy, so why is Chris risking it all for an affair? Cooper and Laura: He wants to settle down, she wants to take a gap year - can their relationship survive a year apart? This recording is unabridged. Typically abridged audiobooks are not more than 60 per cent of the author's work and as low as 30 per cent with characters and plotlines removed.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Packed with drama, friendship, love and tragedy, this is a brilliant touching tale of what happens when real life catches up with us." Heat "Moving and powerful." The Daily Mirror" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Ulverscroft Large Print Books Ltd (June 2009)
• ISBN-10: 1847826881
• ISBN-13: 978-1847826886
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,771,525 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Party on!, August 10, 2009

By 

H. van Loon "Hermen van Loon" (The Hague, The Netherlands.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Life and Soul of the Party (Charnwood) (Hardcover)

Like "His N Hers" the latest Mike Gayle "Life & Soul Of The Party" (paperback version from Hodder) starts with a major flashback right after chapter 1, or rather, after the introduction. It's all about Melissa and Paul, Vicky and Chris, Laura and Cooper. Three couples, six friends. Mike Gayle tells the story from six different first person viewpoints. (Excluding Paul and Laura, including Billy and Hannah). I did like this idea when I first experienced it with William Sutcliffe's
"The Lover Hexagon." But with both books I found it to be pretty confusing at first. Getting to know the characters in "Life & Soul of the Party" took me about one third of the book. After that, surprising enough, it became an easy ride. I think a longer introduction of characters would have benefit this book greatly.
I also liked the idea of going from party tot party to describe what happens in the life of the main characters (for me really original) but at times I wished Gayle would have used a few more different settings for the story.
I found the dialogue to be top notch. It's easy to relate to the love and hurt of the characters. The only exception being Paul. He seemed distant and a bit of a mystery and it makes you wonder why Melissa keeps loving him. I wanted to shout:"Loose the guy" and so Gayle draw me into his book.
Although the book was an entertaining read laughs didn't "flow thick and fast" as apparently happened for the Glamour reviewer. But is did put a nice smile on my face and I appreciated the well written dialogue.