Note : This review was originally posted @ Readers'Muse

Having read Jane’s previous books, I really know what to expect from her and she has once again lived up to my expectations. Jane’s book are those which you might want to read when you are down in the dumps. Especially if you are a woman, it makes you feel good about yourself.

Like her previous books, in this book again the protagonist is a strong willed female. Or should I say the “protagonists” are a bunch of ladies from different walks of life with their own shortcomings and positives. A book club in the nearby bookstore binds these ladies together. The story is essentially about each character’s life and the difficulties that they face and how they help out each other.

One thing that is commonly found in this genere (Chic Lit) is the presence of this Ultra Male (or some “drool worthy” male) who makes our dear heroine go weak in her knees and then hurts her badly only to come back cajoling. It’s all nice to read, but then isn’t it too monotonous? At times I find such stories repulsive. Thankfully Jane has saved me that trouble by not bringing in such a twist of sorts.

Her characterisation as always speaks volumes about a woman. Women are always judged for expecting a happy ending. Jane has beautifully brought out a fact that a happy ending is always possible though the definition of “happy” might not fit in with our expectations. It’s like expect the unexpected to make you happy.

This book is a total mood lifter filled in with so much of positive energy inspite of the struggle that the characters endure.

My weeny bit complaint would be – I knew what to expect from Jane – A Happy ending.

Overall, I loved the book!

VERDICT: Go for it! Be Happy won’t hurt to have a Happy Ending!

RATING: 4 on 5
( )

Note : This review was originally posted @ Readers'Muse

Having read Jane’s previous books, I really know what to expect from her and she has once again lived up to my expectations. Jane’s book are those which you might want to read when you are down in the dumps. Especially if you are a woman, it makes you feel good about yourself.

Like her previous books, in this book again the protagonist is a strong willed female. Or should I say the “protagonists” are a bunch of ladies from different walks of life with their own shortcomings and positives. A book club in the nearby bookstore binds these ladies together. The story is essentially about each character’s life and the difficulties that they face and how they help out each other.

One thing that is commonly found in this genere (Chic Lit) is the presence of this Ultra Male (or some “drool worthy” male) who makes our dear heroine go weak in her knees and then hurts her badly only to come back cajoling. It’s all nice to read, but then isn’t it too monotonous? At times I find such stories repulsive. Thankfully Jane has saved me that trouble by not bringing in such a twist of sorts.

Her characterisation as always speaks volumes about a woman. Women are always judged for expecting a happy ending. Jane has beautifully brought out a fact that a happy ending is always possible though the definition of “happy” might not fit in with our expectations. It’s like expect the unexpected to make you happy.

This book is a total mood lifter filled in with so much of positive energy inspite of the struggle that the characters endure.

My weeny bit complaint would be – I knew what to expect from Jane – A Happy ending.

Overall, I loved the book!

VERDICT: Go for it! Be Happy won’t hurt to have a Happy Ending!

RATING: 4 on 5
( )

I was very disappointed in this book. Knowing how much I enjoy my book club, I was ready to read a book about other women enjoying their club. That is not what this book is about. Actually, most of the women never even talk to each other during the course of the book. We are told that they all go into the same book store, and belong to a book club that meets there – but that is the closest we get to an actual meeting.
The book takes place over one Christmas, and is written as a series of short stories about each of the members of the club. It is part realistic – part fantasy. I get the ideas the author is trying to get across to her readers, but I just wish she had used a different format. You just get a hint of each character – and then her story is done and we are on to a different story. If I was a fan of short story collections, I am sure I would have like this better – but I really would rather read one long story/novel about the women than 7 or 8 separate stories. ( )

When bookstore owner, Paige, first formed the Happy Endings Book Club she was somewhat apprehensive, but the seven single women, a mix of regular customers and local shopkeepers, bonded quickly. All yearning for their own happy ending, none could have imagined just how different their lives would be a year later.

After a brief introduction to the women of the Happy Ending Book Club in the first chapter, the narrative shifts time and place to follow each member as they confront their obstacles to finding the happiness they yearn for. I expected a touch of magic having read Jane Tara’s Trouble Brewing, so Paige’s startling discovery didn’t surprise me, nor did Eva’s otherworldly encounter. Tilda’s ‘affliction’ was unexpected, though I liked the message about ‘seeing’ yourself. Michi’s story was both funny and sad as she struggled with her parents unusual life style choice. Clementine’s story has a neat, unexpected twist, as does Amanda’s. Sadie’s story is perhaps the most traditional as she discovers beauty is more than skin deep.

While each story clearly reinforces the main theme of the book, best summed up by a single line in the last pages of the novel: “Happy endings come not through events but through a shift in perception”, this book seems more a collection of interlinked short stories that Tara has attempted to conform into a novel structure, but the format doesn’t quite work given the book’s brevity (less than 200 pages) and the large cast of characters. As such it feels disjointed and forced at times, emphasised I think, by the contrast between the fantastical and mundane elements, which I didn’t feel really worked with one another.

I know that this book has special meaning for the author from reading her blog, earlier this year Jane Tara was told she was at risk of losing her sight and, as she waited for further results, many of the issues her characters face in The Happy Endings Book Club, are ones she grappled with. At the end of her post about her real life experience Jane writes, “I hope my new novel The Happy Endings Book Club entertains you. But more than that … I hope you come away from it asking yourself, how do I see myself? How do I see the world? How do I see?” and despite my opinions about the flaws in the execution of this novel, I do think The Happy Endings Book Club was an enjoyable and thought provoking read. ( )