Tessa King is a 30-something single woman who has just returned to London after a hiatus in India. Her reason for the escape was to recover from an unfortunate stalking incident involved her married ex-boss. Tessa is returning home, jobless, to a life crowded with 30-something friends and their children. With countless best friends and many godchildren, Tessa prides herself on being the friend/godmother who is "there" in times of need or crisis, often neglecting her own endeavors as a result. When tragedy befalls Tessa and her tight-knit circle, she begins to reevaluate her motives and reconsider her life's direction.For chick lit, this wasn't a terrible book (high praise, indeed, I know!). Many people who've spent most of their grown-up years single (myself included) may be able to relate to aspects of Tessa's life as they read this book. For example, without a family of your own, as a single person your friends can become like family and give you a sense of belonging. However, there were parts of this story that were mildly grating and extremely unrealistic (you knew this was coming, right?). For example, in the beginning, the sheer number of Tessa's "best" friends was overwhelming and it was difficult for me to keep them all (not to mention, their kiddos) straight. Secondly, despite the fact Tessa is without a job for 95% of the novel, she is never without the money. (How does she manage that?) Finally, at times, I felt that Tessa's decisions where her godchildren were concerned lacked a certain maturity that a 30-something person would realistically have acquired.Toward the end of this novel, I was really beginning to roll my eyes and sigh in exasperation at the "happily-ever-after" direction I thought the novel was head. Luckily, Carrie Adams redeemed herself and Tessa's character (double entendre intended!) by taking the novel to a much more realistic and admirable ending.
This book was recommended to me and, all-in-all, I liked it. Nothing too earth shattering, but it was an interesting take on the "grass is greener" concept. Tessa King, an attorney in London, starts the book by returning from a five week vacation in India. Due to a mental breakdown of her boss, being stalked and harassed, she needed to get away. She's back and ready to be a part of her rather large group of friends and godchildren.Caspar, Cora and twins, Bobby and Tommy -- her godchildren, are different ages of different parents and friends. Each set of friends is married; Tessa is the only single person. She's not sure what she wants to do or how to live but she wants to have children and a life. There is a LOT of angst, self-doubt, anger, bad feelings and drama in this book -- some self-generated, some thrust upon Tessa. One would think that once you get to a certain age, you would stop behaving badly. Not so in real life, not so in this book. At times I think Tessa is a good person who means well and tries very hard to be a good friend and godmother, but there are times when she is so self-consumed that she cannot see past what she wants. It's a good chick lit book, if you are wanting to read a chick lit book.The big bow at the end kind of bugged me, as it does with most chick lit, but that's the genre.
Do You like book The Godmother (2007)?
Tessa Kinda is probably what most of us women are deep down. Always wondering about if the grass is greener on the side. Always wanting something that we can't have. Always being jealous of things that we shouldn't be jealous of, but can't help it. Tessa is a single, down to earth, fun loving, woman who has 7 best friends. All complied of some either married with kids or some divorced with kids, some trying to have kids and one single friend. She's trying to find her place in the world amongst all of this that it is going on around her. She's the Godmother to 4 of of her friends kids, and sometimes, Tessa might over step her boundaries with her friends and their lives. Always honest and ready to tell you how it is, sometimes, she just needs to realize when to say something and when to just along with things. Tessa's been through ups and downs with all of these friends and they all have a strong bond. She's in love with someone she can no longer have, or can she? When something so big and so life changing happens, Tessa needs to realize what she truly wants in life and what truly is important and what is not.I really liked this story a lot. It shows us that even though you seem to have it all together on the outside, it doesn't mean that you have it all together on the inside. You make mistakes, you do things without thinking, you try to figure things out, but all in all, you will always needs your friends by your side. No matter how many times you fight, disagree or get mad at one another, with the love of your friendships, your true friendships, you can pull together through anything and everything.I personally wanted the ending to go in a different direction, but when you sit back and think about it, the way it did end, makes more sense.
—Daniela
was hoping for better. found myself getting confused by the number of characters & their inordinate number of personal problems/tragedies that somehow "godmother" Tessa was able to turn around/rectify/improve. I readily identified with Tessa, well, except for the flat belly and legs that go on forever, in that I always wanted children. never having done so and now being menopausalI look back and wonder if that was something I truly wanted. the book had a great line "do you want a baby or do you want to be a parent?" that took me back a step - it's so very true. a fun read for the most part, kind of an eye opener for me...
—theresa
I really enjoyed this book. I picked it up thinking it would be a fun, British-wit, chick-lit read and got more than I was expecting, with a variety of plots and some heavy issues. Best of all, they weren't resolved all nice and neat, which gave it a good twist if you ask me. It left me wanting to find out more about what happened to the main character. Having gone through infertility/miscarriage, I thought that plot line was handled VERY well and in a very realistic manner. Not all infertility stories end happily, unfortunately. I felt that marriage was portrayed pretty realistically and raising children too. All in all, I enjoyed this book very much. It was an enjoyable read. I actually made time to sit and read it, which is something I rarely make time to do these days.
—Heidi Hertzog
