The book reads well, engagingly well, but it never drew me in. How could it? The main character, Fleur, is a shallow, pathetic, but stylish creature who sponges off of others. And, she dumps her daughter to focus on her own selfish, materialistic needs. Over the course of the book, the reader discovers that Fleur is not so bad as others, at least, she isn't mean. So, that's ok, right? Sorry, that's not enough for me. ( )

Sometimes you just need a book that's not too serious - especially when trying to write a million assignments. Of course it's not the most realistic read (it's Chick Lit, after all) but it's fun and does have some things to say about human nature. ( )

well, that ending came out of nowhere. ( )

I really enjoyed reading this. Even though most of the characters were unlikeable, they were realistic, and the story was interesting enough without being completely ridiculous. It moved quickly and had enough excitement to keep me reading until the end. And of the ending: it wasn't your typical wishy-washy romance book ending, which was incredibly refreshing. ( )

Written by the same author as Shopaholic and Can You Keep A Secret, this book is not too bad. However, I had a hard time liking the main characters in the book. A very fast read and at times amusing. It's not on the same level though as some of her other books. At times it almost felt like a different writer all together (though the book professes to be the same one). ( )

Fleur Daxeny is the title character in Madeleine Wickham's The Gatecrasher, but instead of sneaking into garden parties or weddings, Fleur is the uninvited guest at funerals. More specifically, she targets funerals of women with wealthy husbands and makes a living by charming her way into the lives - and bank accounts - of one unsuspecting widower after another.

Fleur's latest target is Richard Favour who finds that her bubbly personality and bright spirit are exactly what his dull life has been lacking. However, as Fleur is swept up into Richard's country club lifestyle and family problems she finds that maybe she is wanting more than just access to his gold card. Perhaps this will be the life that she finally settles into, until her own past catches up with her and threatens to ruin everything.

I actually enjoyed this book quite a bit. It has a much more serious tone than many of the books Madeleine Wickham wrote under her popular pen name Sophie Kinsella. It has a decidedly British feel to it and lacks the Americanization that seems to penetrate the Shopaholic books. Though Fleur is not the most likable heroine, her charm and carefree spirit are contagious to the reader as well as to the other characters in the book. Overall this was a interesting story that made for a fun quick book to read. ( )

Please see my review at: http://www.curledup.com/gatecrsh.htm ( )

I really like Sophie Kinsella's books normally. They are light, easy reads with very likable leading ladies as the main characters. However, this book, written under the pseudonym of Madeleine Wickham, was not as good as her other books. The main character just wasn't very likeable and didn't really have me pulling for her. The story was good and the other chararacters were likeable. The book just lacked that something that made it a good book. ( )

It took me so long to finish this book because there’s a lack of interest. I found out that Madeleine Wickham is actually Sophie Kinsella, the girl who wrote the Shopaholic series.

There’s nothing much to expect from this book. The level of vocabulary quality is poor. Whereas in grammatical aspect, nothing really different. As for story line…I would give 3 out of 10.

WARNING: Spoiler review ahead. Continue at your own risk!

It is about a woman named Fleur who made Richard fell in love with her. Richard’s wife just passed away, he immediately fell for the charming Fleur who’s going after his money. She moved into Richard’s house, eventually became part of the family. She’s welcomed by his entire family because of her skill in socializing. Out of the blue, Fleur’s daughter appeared. She made up a lot of stories to hide their identity. Unknown to everybody, Richard’s son-in-law also going after his money. However, his secret revealed and his daughter successfully divorced. After she managed to get what she wanted from Richard, Fleur planned to drift to another rich man. She was convinced by her daughter to stay and she fell in love with Richard at the end of the line.

So, what did I learnt from this book? Nothing.

http://reading-now.blogspot.com/2007/... ( )

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/3... ( )