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Lola's Secret (2011)

by Monica McInerney(Favorite Author)

3.51 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1921518758 (ISBN13: 9781921518751)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Penguin

review 1: Lola's Secret is somewhat of a sequel to McInerney's first book, The Alphabet Sisters. This book though focuses mostly on the grandmother of the girls and her life at 84 years of age. Parts of this book made me laugh out loud and other parts of it took on a more serious nature. Since there are no half-star ratings, I would actually rate it closer to a 4 than the 3 I gave it here. It was an enjoyable book to read, I liked the characters, and it dealt with a lot of topics. It was also a very quick read. I read it in two sittings. I am a fan of Monica McInerney and have read all her books and have enjoyed them all. I look forward to her next book.
review 2: Having just finished 'The Alphabet Sisters' I almost immediately picked up 'Lola's Secret' - to find... more out more about the Quinlan family, especially more enlightenment about Lola's past.I would highly recommend reading this after 'The Alphabet Sisters' as I am not sure whether some of the brief exposition to explain some of the previous issues (such as one sister winding up marrying the other's fiancé) is enough for it to make sense, or at least sound believable, to someone who hasn't read the first book.Lola is the matriarch of the Quinlan family, somehow able to pull strings and make things work out (in that particularly serendipitous way things do in most chick-lit where jobs are easily picked up, people who fancy other people aren't disappointed and intense decades-long family rifts can be solved with a simple chat and some gesture.)Being set around Christmas also might have got a few hackles up before even beginning - I can tolerate a certain amount of schmaltz, but sometimes this was a bit too much.I was a little disappointed some storylines weren't followed - but I kind of also appreciated them not going ahead with "And then Lola solved it all". The book follows very much what happens next with the Quinlan family, where I'd hoped the book would actually retell what happened before (as a big secret was revealed at the end of 'The Alphabet Sisters' and the title of the book led me to conclusions) - but it was still good.I also appreciate that the character of Geraldine, daughter-in-law to Lola and mother of the three Quinlan sisters, was redeemed in some ways - or at least given a second dimension. I didn't like her as a caricature in the first book. I also liked Lola just telling people to go solve their own problems - the whole fairy godmother thing was a bit too perfect. The reason I was kind of looking forward to spending some time with Lola (and the conclusion of various things in the first book) was I found the characters of Bett and Carrie grating. Unfortunately, they're still there, still whining and still fighting. Urgh.Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the book and devoured it in a short period of time, wanting to know what happens next - and it makes for very good cosy holiday reading. However, I do need to balance it with something that has a bit more depth. less

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