The Name Game

The Isle of Ormer seems like an idyllic place to live. It has been on Charlie Jones‘s Pinterest board for years. When she reads about a position available as the farm shop manager this, and other personal matters, make Charlie think that now is the time to start living her dream. But when she arrives on the isle to start, she is shocked to find there is another Charlie Jones there for the job. Until they can figure out what is going on, they both agree to work at the shop. However, it is too much of a coincidence and in the end the isle only has room for one.

I’ve read most all of Beth O’Leary’s previous books and there is usually some out-of-the-ordinary situation that occurs. The Name Game, I think, takes the cake.

I think show more it’s safe to say that it’s very apparent, right away, that all is not right. The unavoidable giveaway being that there are 2 Charlie Jones’s floating around a small island applying for and working at the same job. There are also various hints - some more subtle than others - that there’s more to both Charlies' stories than they’re willing to give up. It’s perfectly clear that both of them are coming from some really tough life situations and both desperately need this job.

The story is told from both Charlies’ points of view in alternating chapters. One Charlie telling her side through diary entries and the other Charlie telling his side through emails he sends to himself. It’s easy to point out the parts where they’re willfully withholding information, it’s just that nothing really makes sense or comes together until the “big reveal”.

I will not speak of the big reveal, but as soon as we hit that point all I wanted to do was go back and see if the clues were actually there and interpretable the entire time or if Beth O’Leary was playing an unfair game with all of us (I suspect the latter - but I’m not mad about it).

Regardless of feeling a little caught unawares, it was a very satisfying read. I found it to be a cleverly built story about people dealing with the difficulties of life and finding that they may only need to take a leap of faith for happiness - that and move to an idyllic island. show less

Beth O'Leary writes great romances. All of her romances have some kind of fun setup gimmick, or late-book twist, that is generally well thought out, a lot of fun, and really makes the book shine. This book is no exception, with a setup involving two people, with the same name, arriving on an isolated island for the same job. And there are a lot of twists piled on top from there! It's funny, intriguing, and moving, although by the end, following everything is also a bit confusing.

I enjoyed this until the twist. I was not expecting it and kudos to O'Leary for pulling it off, but it left me feeling like I didn't really know any of the characters. And I didn't enjoy the book to go back and reread the various backgrounds to match them to different characters.

Something about the way this was constructed felt distant, which was odd considering the journal-entry style. Then at about 3/4 through, there was a LOOP thrown. In retrospect I can see the hints but it was still pretty confusing. The book wrapped sweetly, but I wouldn't say I enjoyed my read.

The Name Game by Beth O’Leary
Contemporary romance. Dual 1st person POV. Much of the book in diary / email format.
Charlie Jones, male, and Charlie Jones, female, both show up on Ormer Island to accept the job offer as retail manager at the farm shop. Not knowing how two people show up for the job, the owner lets them share the job for two months as a test. There is only one available place to stay on the island, so they end up sharing the one bedroom and trying to modernize the farm shop separately.
Needless to say, the process wasn’t smooth.
Because there is a lot more going on beyond the job. Jones is one day sober and while he doesn’t feel great the first week, he’s determined to make this work. Charlie has secrets too but show more has wanted this island life for awhile.
Who is the real Charlie Jones?

From the premise, I expected a comedy. There is humor in the story, but it’s more life assessment while the two do their best to make the store successful.
Huge reveals around the third quarter mark.
Much confusion, explaining, assessment and more self analysis. Romance too, which is happy as all the explanations settle. Life on the little island improves and grows.
Hard won romance after grief, renewal, and connections. Gratifying. show less

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Beth O’Leary - The Name Game: O’Leary wins the (lifetime) prize for Most Convoluted Romance Plot. #cursorybookreviews #cursoryreviews