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Rowan Coleman

The Happy Home for Broken Hearts Paperback – Picture Book, January 1, 2010

by Rowan Coleman (Author)

4.1 26 ratings

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A wise and warm-hearted novel about fresh starts, from the author of The Memory Book . .
A wise and warm-hearted novel about fresh starts, from the author of The Memory Book .

Ellie Woods spends her days immersed in the escapist pages of the romantic novels she lovingly edits. But her reality is somewhat less rose-tinted. Once upon a time, Ellie had her 'happily ever after' moment when she married her beloved Nick, but fifteen years later her husband's tragic death leaves her alone with their soon-to-become-a-teenager son, faced with a mountain of debt, and on the verge of losing the family home.

On the brink of bankruptcy, Ellie finally succumbs to her sister's well-meant bullying and decides to rent out some rooms. And all too soon the indomitable Allegra with her love for all things lavender, Sabine on secondment from Berlin and estranged from her two-timing husband, and unreconstructed lads' mag aficionado Matt enter her ordered but fragile existence - each with their own messy life in tow. And Ellie finds herself forced to step out of the pages of the romantic novels she hides behind, and learn to live - and love - again.

Maybe a new chapter is about to begin for them all...

Language

English
Publisher

Arrow
Publication date

January 1, 2010
Dimensions

5.08 x 0.98 x 7.8 inches
ISBN-10

9780099525226
ISBN-13

978-0099525226
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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0099525224
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Arrow (January 1, 2010)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780099525226
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0099525226
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.7 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.08 x 0.98 x 7.8 inches

Customer Reviews:
4.1 26 ratings

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Rowan Coleman

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I'm Rowan Coleman, and I live in England with my husband, 4 children and 2 dogs! The Girl at the Window is my 14th novel is my twelfth novel. I am also the author of the internationally bestselling THE MEMORY BOOK, the double award winning THE RUNAWAY WIFE, and the NYT bestseller THE ACCIDENTAL MOTHER and the Zoe Ball ITV Bookclub pick THE SUMMER OF IMPOSSIBLE THINGS. Growing up dyslexic made my dream of becoming a writer seem impossible, but I never gave up trying and in 2001 I won Young Writer of the Year competition in Company Magazine. This lead to the publication of my first novel, and I've never looked back since.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5

26 global ratings

5 star		54%
4 star		20%
3 star		11%
2 star		10%
1 star		6%

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Becky Steman

Good

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 30, 2018

Fine

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 12, 2011

I really enjoyed reading The Happy Home for Broken Hearts, and wanted it to go on for much longer than it actually did, but at the same time felt that it ended quite well and gave us the closure we needed as readers. Rowan Coleman was able to merge devastation, loss, grief, romance, love, humour and wit all into one book.

I kind of knew what was going to happen from the very beginning, and had it all figured out, so yes, it was predictable in that sense. However, Coleman managed to write it all in a way that shocked, and exhilarated us and it made me laugh out loud a few times.

The only loose end that I felt wasn't covered was the fact that Matt had to write an article about his landlady, and yet there was never a confrontation with Ellen about it (even though there kind of was one with Charlie). Then again, my interpretation was that he was going to leave the business he's currently in anyway and do something more worthwhile with his writing skill.

My favorite scenes were those of the Sword Erect, where I felt like Coleman created a parody of historical romance novels. It was hilarious, especially that I am actually a fan of those novels and have read so many of them and own so many of them that I understood exactly what she was referring to every time.

I also found it very interesting to see how the writing process goes for a well-established author. In fact, all the secondary characters were interesting and enjoyable to read about. Even Hannah, although I kind of hated her the same way Ellie did - which is to say, you hate her but love her at the same time. One of the most shocking scenes in the book involved Hannah, and I'm not talking about the obvious, predictable one - but I don't want to add any spoilers, so will leave it to you to find out which one I'm referring to.

All in all, a very solid book. Not sure if this was the author's first (as I've not heard of Rowan Coleman before), but it felt like it could have been. There were many mistakes throughout that it almost felt like it wasn't edited properly before it was published. That did get annoying at one point, as it gets a little distracting. However, it wasn't so bad that I wouldn't recommend this book.

This may look like a typical British chick-lit, but it isn't in the least. It is a book about loss and self-discovery, and the strength it takes to move on afterwards. It is a book worth reading.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Zoe

2 Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 26, 2017

Verified Purchase

In 'The Happy Home for Broken Hearts' we meet recently widowed Ellie and her 12 year old son Charlie. Both still grieving the loss of beloved husband & father a year previously. Ellie discovers that cash is tight and so, with her sister Hannah's help, rents our her remaining rooms to three lodgers. One of them Sabine - a German business woman, Matt - A handsome jack the lad and Allegra - Famous romance novelist.

As Ellie worked with Allegra, the romance novelist on her latest 17th century erotica plot - there was a lot of transcripts from that particular book which I found HIGHLY irritating. Especially the fact that all these samples featured a 'young damsel getting raped by big strong man on horseback'. ARGH. I found myself skipping the pages that featured these story transcripts written by Allegra. Irritating, boring and unnecessary. I understand it was 'for the sake of Allegra's book' but it was annoying.

I also found the majority of the plot a bit predictable and cringe-worthy. Especially the way Jack-the-lad tenant Matt would speak to Ellie's 12 year old son - constantly dropping swear words in so that we believe that they are 'mates'. Annoying, again.

This got slightly more gripping toward the end and the story a little more diverse - but nothing spectacular.

Leah

The Happy Home For Broken Hearts

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 31, 2011

Verified Purchase

Ellen Woods spends her days immersed in the escapist pages of the romantic novels she lovingly edits. But her reality is somewhat less rose-tinted. Once upon a time, Ellen had her `happily ever after' moment when she married her beloved Nick, but fifteen years later her husband's tragic death leaves her alone with their soon-to-become-a-teenager son, faced with a mountain of debt, and on the verge of losing the family home. On the brink of bankruptcy, Ellen finally succumbs to her sister's well-meant bullying and decides to rent out some rooms. And all too soon the indomitable Allegra with her love for all things lavender, Sabine on secondment from Berlin and estranged from her two-timing husband, and unreconstructed lads' mag aficionado Matt enter her ordered but fragile existence - each with their own messy life in tow. And Ellen finds herself forced to step out of the pages of the romantic novels she hides behind, and learn to live - and love - again. Maybe a new chapter is about to begin for them all...

The Happy Home For Broken Hearts seems to be a bit different to her The Accidental Mother/The Accidental Family double, but I could probably still tell it was the same writer, as the book is filled with the same warmth, realness and laughter of Rowan's previous novels. The book begins at a sad point in Ellen's life as she's burying her husband after he died in a car crash, we then skip forward to almost a year later and Ellen finds out that herself and her son Charlie, have got no money left. Her sister, Hannah, suggests she rents out the three spare rooms she has in her luxurious Hammersmith house. Cue romance novelist Allegra, German Sabine fleeing from her cheating husband, and lads mags aficionado Matt entering her house as her new lodgers. And as the weeks and months pass, she finds herself enjoying having the new lodgers in her house, and it seems she could be finally turning a new corner in her life.

I really enjoyed the plot of the novel, the lodgers moving in happens really quickly and I found that they really added to the book. They force Ellen to realise that, actually, ever since her husband died - maybe even before that - she was living the life of a hermit, not going out, not doing anything remotely sociable, and just essentially wasting away her life. Her only reason for living is her son Charlie, yet all Charlie is concerned about is the fact his mum isn't really the mum he knew before his dad died. I thought Coleman handled Ellen's situation really well, her grief, her lack of moving on, and the lodgers bring some added colour to the greyness of Ellen and Charlie's life. There are some twists and turns to the book, and Ellen's sister Hannah is a bit of a mystery, acting out and drinking a bit too much, and I guessed her secret fairly early on, which was mildly unfortunate but didn't make too much difference to the story to me.

I thought The Happy Home For Broken Hearts was incredibly well written, Rowan Coleman has done a stunning job in the writing of this novel. I was truly very impressed with the issues covered through the novel, and I raced through the book finishing it as quickly as I humanly could. It's warm, uplifting, and it shows that strangers really can impact on your life, and make it change for the better. I can't wait to see what Rowan brings out next, I absolutely adore her novels and this is definitely Rowan Coleman at her tip-top best!

8 people found this helpful

Mrs. Pamela S. Palmer

Brilliant Read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 28, 2011

Verified Purchase

This book is fabulous. A really great read and so different from the usual storylines of woman meets man who hate each other at the start and then fall in love. First Rowan Coleman book I have ever read but it absolutely wont be the last. Would absolutely recommend this.

carol sparks

Brilliant!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on July 14, 2013

Verified Purchase

I chose this book for something light hearted to read and have thoroughly enjoyed it. It is predictable in parts which was what I expected but it has been really good fun. About halfway through I just wanted to sit and read it to the end.

One person found this helpful

Amazon Customer

What a fabulous read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 20, 2013

Verified Purchase

I really enjoyed this book and the first I've read by Rowan Coleman. I'm glad there are plenty more to go at. A lovely light hearted read, great storyline and superbly written.

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