Sophie King

I received this book as part as a book ring. I have never read Sophie King before and I was not let down by Mums@Home. I would describe this is as chick-lit, very good chick-lit.

Here is the Amazon synopsis:

Love, laughter, and logging on...Calling all mums! What would you do if your husband had a fling? Have you ever had to keep a terrible secret from your kids? Do you sometimes wish you had a life outside being a mum? Are you pregnant and alone? Caroline, Mark, Susan and Lisa are as show more different as the parenting problems they face and each has their own reasons for logging on to the Mums@Home website for the very first time. At first they are cynical about the site - how can faceless people possibly help or understand what they are going through? But as the weeks pass and their family problems escalate, each of them begins to realise that Mums@Home has become a lifeline - somewhere to go for advice, to be heard, to escape, or to belong...Sophie King captures the zeitgeist once again with this warm, moving and engaging look at modern parenting and finding friends.

This was very well written, I managed to read 200 pages in one sitting. I wanted to get to the end to see how everything would turn out, but when the book ended I wanted there to be more so I could see what was happening in their lives. King put in twists which I did not see coming, which added to the enjoyment of the read.

My favourite characters were in fact the children. Although I loved all the characters and engaged with them all, I found myself forming a soft spot for the children as they had to face difficulties in their adolescent as well as baring the problems their parents were facing.

The site seemed cool, just like this one! I like the idea of making new friends and coming for advice, a chat and friendship, which is why I'm on here, and one of the things I just loved about the book.

My only complaint was at the end of every chapter there were extracts from emails to people which were fragmented and sometimes unclear who they were aimed at and from.

A really enjoyable, fun, quick read.

9/10 show less

Four rather different people register at an online community offering advice to mothers. The number of characters is quite confusing at first, but although they're all a bit two-dimensional, their circumstances are distinct enough for me to keep them separate in my mind, at least most of the time. The writing is good, the story quite nicely paced, with regular switches between each of the viewpoint characters.

Some quite serious issues are covered in the course of this book, and I found it show more quite difficult to put down at times, despite not finding any of the people particularly sympathetic.

Worth reading once if you like women's fiction. Apparently updated since it was first published in 2006 with the new title 'Love is a Secret'.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2022/05/mumshome-by-sophie-king.html show less

Supper Club is the engaging story of a group of friends who get together once a month for dinner and socializing at a member's house. The story is less about the food and more about the intimate friendships and complicated relationships that arise.

I really enjoyed this entertaining, warm-hearted book. Sophie King has a real knack for developing intricate characters with many dimensions, making them more believable and likeable. By the end of the book I felt like I had made a whole new set show more of friends! Lucy, the main character was my favorite. She struggles through everyday life trying her best to take care of her family and friends, but when her sister revels a terrible secret everything falls apart. I loved all the little mysteries scattered throughout the book. What is Maggie's past with the mysterious bachelor Dan? Patsy is hiding something from Anthony, and what was the real cause of Luke's death? They really kept me turning the pages!

I would highly recommend this book to fans of Katie Fforde or Sophie Kinsella. I will be putting Sophie King's other books on my TBR list! show less

Sophie King is an author of romantic comedy. She also is 'an active creative writing tutor and attends many of the annual writing conferences as speaker throughout the UK and internationally'. This book reflects that: it is targeted mainly to complete beginners (who have no clue on how to start a writing project) and it's quite genre specific in its advices. Nothing wrong with it, far from that! It's limited but very straightforward, with clear chapters addressing from characterisation to show more plot, and dialogue to revision. In fact, it's so relevant it can be used as a blueprint in a writing group (an idea she herself suggests). The thing is, as far I am concerned (being an experienced reader and writer) there was nothing new for me here. So, if you are new to it all and are attracted to writing romance, then go for it; if not... show less