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The Happy Home For Broken Hearts (2010)

by Rowan Coleman(Favorite Author)

3.5 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0099525224 (ISBN13: 9780099525226)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Arrow

review 1: 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 ... morewas 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.
review 2: Compared to the three other books of a similar ilk I've read over the last week, this at least was enjoyable. The story of Ellen, who's a widow with a son trying to get her life back together was well drawn. I liked Charlie, the son, and the cast of characters who come to live in her house were different and interesting.I didn't like the long extracts of bodice ripper - I thought they were far too long and I stopped reading them. I did like the relationship between Ellen and her sister - I had guessed the big secret but it was still well done. I felt as though there were some unexplained elements though- maybe plot points that had been backed away from. Her 'bit-of-a-lad' lodger Matt's assignment to write about his landlady - what happened to that? I'd expected there to be a bit of bustup or for him to resign or something. But I like the links bewteen them and even though he did have a rather radical change of character, it worked for me.The gripe I have is with the blurb. The lead character is Ellen - she is only referred to as Ellie in the last 15 pages. This, I take it, is symbolic of her new life. So why does the blurb call her Ellie and not Ellen? I thought whoever had written it had made a mistake. I suspect not but I think it would have been better left as Ellen. Minor quibble I know, but it did annoy me. less

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