The Woman Who Stole My Life – Book review

I just finished reading the latest Marian Keyes book, The Woman Who Stole My Life. First up, I do like Marian Keyes, I loved her earlier books but sadly struggle with the most recent ones. Nevertheless I do always give it a go when she brings out a new book in the hope that she is back to her witty beloved way of writing. I have read all her books and found that I really prefer her earlier books.

On a separate little note I would like to say that I am reviewing books that I am currently reading and since not all of them are a hit you will find me sharing my honest opinion. I do welcome any comments of yours of course. So just to say that if I don’t like a book then I will say so. I don’t want to come off as difficult or mean but I also don’t want to limit myself to just reviewing books which I deem as good reads.

So on we go back to the actual review…..shall we?

The woman who stole my life is about Stella Sweeney, an Irish mom who works at her sister’s beauty salon and is married to her artsy husband Ryan. Life seems normal until Stella gets sick. Not just sick, very sick which leaves her spending a year in hospital. She ultimately recovers but everything in her life will change and the book is taking us on Stella’s journey through major life changes.

The characters in the book are relatable and I did find that I do care about them. I would say that the book altogether is definitely split in quite a few parts….too many if you ask me. First you read about her normal life, the life she built before she got sick. So it gives a pretty good background and I found it relatable and cared about what’s going to happen to her. When she gets sick, it’s all about the time spent in hospital, of course. I found that the book does a bit of a dip there, it’s not very interesting but crucial to the storyline, so I get it. Finally recovered, the book then focuses on Stella trying to resume her normal life but obviously there are major changes involved. By that time it starts getting slightly off pace because all of a sudden there is a book deal and New York, fancy apartment and a personal trainer. I don’t know….but it seemed like a different story. It was actually only 100 pages before the end of the book that the actual title came into play. I must admit that I only speed read the last 80 pages as I really wasn’t engaged in the story line anymore. Maybe there is a lot happening or some parts are just not necessary but I didn’t feel it was a very rounded storyline.

I do like Marian Keyes’ writing, it seems effortless and is a very good flow when reading. However, the storyline itself or build of it just didn’t entice me as much as previous books.

My favourite Marian Keyes books are “Sushi for Beginners” and “The Other Side of the Story”.

Worst one for sure was “The Mystery of Mercy Close” where I couldn’t even get to slightly like the main character and the storyline was too far fetched.

 

To really laugh out loud I would definitely recommend her collection of short stories. I read “Under the Duvet” which has some hilarious stories that are truly from the laugh-out-loud type. Definitely worth reading and highly recommendable to those of you who can’t face 500+ pages which her books are like.

 

Have you read any good books lately?