I have taken a liking to Carole Matthew books over the last few months and the latest one I picked up in the library last week was “With or Without you”.
Lyssa and Jake have been together for four years and they are desperately trying for a baby, or so Lyssa thought until Jake decided to tell ... Read review
Rosie and Vincent Boyd want a baby. They've thrown away the condoms and redecorated the ... more
spare room. They've given up red meat, invested in loose fitting underwear and timed their sex to the second. But can they conceive? Not only is a baby extremely reluctant to come but their happy marriage is beginning to crack at the seems. Not a good time, you might think, for a charismatic Frenchman to re-enter Rosie's life or for Vincent to start up an affair with a hairdresser he once knew. Things can only get worse for Rosie and Vincent...a lot worse before they get better!
After her live-in boyfriend extraordinaire Jake dumps her for a type-A Angelina Jolie ... more
look-alike who climbs Mt. Everest Lyssa Allen decides maybe a little adventure of her own can win him back. Leaving hair dryer lattes and dreams of babies behind this funny neurotic and tougher-than-she '‚-thought London editor sets off for Nepal to the envy of her all-too-fertile sister. Her month long sojourn in the East teaches Lyssa that maybe her horizons are bigger than she knew-and the man of her dreams far different than she thought. Even her ideas about children undergo a change and she gains a new perspective on her former obsession with having a baby. As her eyes are opened by her handsome and serene American tour guide Lyssa wonders if she can ever return to her old life. When it's time to go home she has the chance to find out and faces the hardest decision of her life.
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Advantages: light read Disadvantages: no surprises
...too farfetched for the book. With the support of Jake’s friend Pip and her sister Elsa who can somehow pop out babies one after the other, Lyssa slowly comes to terms with the fact that Jake won’t be coming back and he’s moved on and in with the lovely Neve.
It’s time to do something drastic. Lyssa can’t face her job working for a baby magazine when she knows she is failing at even attempting to become a mother. She’s also slightly ... ...her life and is brave enough to go trekking in the mountains. What better way for Lyssa to get away than to go on an adventure of her own. To Nepal on a walking trek!
Everyone thinks Lyssa is mad, rightly so as she is very unfit, but she is determined that the break and the adventure will do her good.
Despite being scared out of her mind, she takes the plunge and travels to Nepal to meet her trekking companions and hunky tour ... more
I have taken a liking to Carole Matthew books over the last few months and the latest one I picked up in the library last week was “With or Without you”. Lyssa and Jake have been together for four years and they are desperately trying for a baby, or so Lyssa thought until Jake decided to tell her it was over one morning at breakfast. After several failed attempts at IVF it would seem that Jake has had enough of the boredom of trying for a baby that he’s not even sure he wants, and is hankering after a younger free spirited model at work.
Lyssa can’t quite believe Jake would just leave and she goes through a denial period where we see her do some daft things that are not altogether too farfetched for the book. With the support of Jake’s friend Pip and her sister Elsa who can somehow pop out babies one after the other, Lyssa slowly comes to terms with the fact that Jake won’t be coming back and he’s moved on and in with the lovely Neve.
It’s time to do something drastic. Lyssa can’t face her job working for a baby magazine when she knows she is failing at even attempting to become a mother. She’s also slightly jealous of the fact that Neve has the love of her life and is brave enough to go trekking in the mountains. What better way for Lyssa to get away than to go on an adventure of her own. To Nepal on a walking trek!
Everyone thinks Lyssa is mad, rightly so as she is very unfit, but she is determined that the break and the adventure will do her good. Despite being scared out of her mind, she takes the plunge and travels to Nepal to meet her trekking companions and hunky tour guide Dean.
As soon as Dean is entered into the pages, it’s obvious that he is going to be a love interest for Lyssa. Why not. I found that the Dean and Lyssa storyline was swept along quite quickly, and perhaps could have been shortened, but needless to say despite this it worked well for the book. The book is told from Lyssa’s point of view as well as Jakes. We learn as a reader that he is still going to be an active character in the book, and it’s almost just deserts as Jake’s life takes a turn for the worse as Lyssa’s starts to get better.
I enjoyed reading about Lyssa’s adventures much more than the chapters about Jake and life in the UK. This was intended though as Lyssa is the main character and she is who we are to focus on. I thought the book was slightly too cheesy and it fits well into the chick lit category. There wasn’t a lot of suspense or twists to the plot in this book though, and whilst that didn’t spoil it for me it may do for some readers. It’s not one of Matthews’s strongest plots, but it’s definitely a light feel good read and still recommended. There is an almost dramatic ending but you won’t be surprised when you get to the last chapter to realise what is happening. What you will realise by the end of the book is that Lyssa deserves some luck after all she has been through.
Advantages: Amazing story, paints a great picture, believable characters! Disadvantages: None!!!!!!
== WITH OR WITHOUT YOU ==
=== CAROLE MATHEWS ===
Carole Matthews is one of my favourite authors. Since reading a couple of her books; A compromising position, and A whiff of scandal, I have really got into her writing. This is the most recent of all her books which I have read and I am looking forward to reading many more. Her books remind me of Belinda Jones work (I love Capri, Diva Las Vegas, The Love Acadamy), whose books I also love. Plot: ... ...been though and stressful recently with the IVF tretment but what had she doen to deserve this? Lyssa soon discovers Jakes real reason for the break up in the form of Everest climbing Neeve, his co-worker. Lyssa is determined to get him back but with everyone telling her she is "obsessed" with having a baby and blaming her for the break up, she cracks, and decides to ditch her normal ways and travel to Nepal for a months trecking through the Himalayas. ...
stephbond89 04.10.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of With Or Without You - Carole Matthews
Advantages: funny, readable and real Disadvantages: none
...he has actually moved in with another woman, his sexy co-worker Neve. A woman who loves her independence and is not interested in pro-creating. How on earth can she compete with that?
In an attempt to get over her break-up, she decides on impulse that she needs to get away. And where better to go than a walking holiday in the Himalayas? (Yes, I'm sure that this is something that has occurred to us all after a nasty break-up!)
The choice of holiday ... ...journey from being a woman with a furiously ticking biological clock who likes her luxuries, to becoming someone who realises that there is more to life and in fact begins to realise the irrelevance of material things in the grander scheme of things. So when she goes back to Britain to find Jake waiting for her with open arms, how will this new Lissa react?
In most similar stories the outcome would be immediately obvious, but this is not necessarily ...
Pmshack99 20.12.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of With Or Without You - Carole Matthews
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for an easy read.
CaroleMatthews has an easy style of writing, and despite some of her books having too much information in this one fits perfectly around the plot with just enough information to draw you in and be living the life of Anna.
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Advantages: a light easy read Disadvantages: some parts are unbelievable
On my recent trip to the library I didn?t have a lot of time to choose any books with my toddler in tow, so I went to some authors I could remember on the spot and grabbed a couple of books to keep me going. This particular choice was All you Need is Love by CaroleMatthews. I have read some of Matthews before and they have been hit and miss as to whether I have enjoyed them.
Sally Freeman is a single parent living with her ten year old son Charlie in a high rise block of flats in Liverpool. Sally hates her life that is going nowhere with no prospects unless she is able to do something about them.
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Advantages: I've finished it Disadvantages: Plot, Characters, Storyline
CaroleMatthews is the bestselling author of nine bestselling chick lit, romantic novels, and You Drive Me Crazy is the latest addition to her collection. Two of her books have been in the top five of the Sunday Times Bestseller fiction chart.
I have read a couple of Matthews' books, and enjoyed them for what they are, romantic and easy to read. This book was out on general release on Valentines Day, and it really does feel as though it was a 'churner' book to cater for a loved up audience. I do not feel that this book is anywhere near the normal standard of her books.
~~ The Plot and My Opinion~~
This book has a well worn plot. Boy meets girl. Boy and girl fall for each other. Ex partners get in the way, leaving you wondering whether boy and girl will get together until nearly the end of the book.
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