Isabel Wolff's ten bestselling novels are published worldwide. 'Ghostwritten', set in present day Cornwall and on wartime Java, was published in the UK in March 2014 and will be published in the US in February 2015 as 'Shadows Over Paradise'. 'The Very Picture of You' was published in the UK and the US in October 2011. 'A Vintage Affair', was an Amazon.co.uk 'Best of 2009' title and was shortlisted by the American Library Assocation for their Reading List awards (Women's Fiction). Isabel lives in west London with her family. Visit her 'Isabel Wolff Author' Page on Facebook, follow her on Twitter @IsabelWolff or visit her website, IsabelWolff.com. Thank you...
Couldn't finish it. I just think that I've grown out of chick lit -- even though the character was in her mid-30s, she had the personality of a very young and silly 20-something.
It was good for the first dozens of pages but then it dragged and dragged but while others have perservered to Chapter 9 (as they said in reviews), I just couldn't.
The main character Rose is a likeable person but I just felt that some of the plot was contrived and the humor forced.
I LOVED A Vintage Affair so I will read any future books Wolff comes out with but I won't go back and reread her earlier works.
The end of this book will make you cry. Before that you laugh, gasp, hold your breath, and learn a bit about astronomy - how cool is that! There is lots going on and there aren't any boring bits. Rose is a likable character with many problems - cheating husband, no personal history, stalker - trust me, you will NEVER guess who it is. Throw in a dog and a bird and you have a book you do not want to put down. I recommend this book.
My dad bought this book for me years and years ago to try and get me into reading, so when my laptop died a few weeks ago I just picked this up from my bookshelf and started reading. I haven't regretted it.
I haven't read many chick-lit books, only one to be precise which was Confessions of a Shopaholic which was good, but I found this to be even better.
The story begins with Rose who loves other people's problems and solves them for a living. Her new marriage is in tatters and she had to move house. The bills are piling up so her to eccentric friends, twins Bella and Bea suggest that she lets her spare room. Theo seems to be the perfect candidate.
I guess you could guess that the ending was pretty predictable, but there are so many heart wrenching comments in the book and the main protagonist, Rose was one of the best characters I've read in a long time. She's the perfect protagonist.
Do not let your hate for chick-lit and the bright pink cover put you off it is truely brilliant. Hats off to Isabel Wolff.
I agree with another reviewer who said this novel was a slow starter - it took me to about chapter 9 to get into it! I persevered because I have loved all of Wolff's other books but this is the earliest one I've read. I had little empathy with the main character Rose at first but suddenly everything shifted and it was as compelling and interesting as all her later books. It's a common thread in all Wolff's stories - the facades of life, the masks we wear, the things we hide from people we're supposedly close to. Rose is such a tragic character in many ways but she is a fighter as well - and we are rewarded with her happy ending :)
I like her later stuff better. Vintage Affair is still my favorite. I did still enjoy 'experiencing' some of the differences of a modern English story as opposed to one set in America. They sure like to use the F word though and I wasn't a fan of that.
Well, it was an ok book, but nothing more. It took me a long time to get into it and I even thought I might not finish it. I don't really know why, maybe I read too much chick lit lately... The characters are nice, but it's a bit slow and you can guess the end long before you reach it
L'histoire est simple oui mais les livres d'Isabel Wolff ont un charme évident pour moi. Je les lis à chaque fois dans l'optique de passer un bon moment et ça me réussit bien pour le moment.
This is the second book by Isabel Wolff which I have read. The first was "The Making of Minty Malone". Both are different in style. "The Making of Minty Malone" was funnier. I feel "Rescuing Rose" is quite a touching tale although initially there is a bit of humour.
Basically, the story is about Rose Wright who married drop-dead attractive Ed. However, Ed is a stingy sort and is jealous of Rose's success as an Agony Aunt. He feels she is too obsessed with her work and with cleanliness. They married in a hurry and then Rose finds out Ed is having an affair with their marriage counsellor Marie Claire - Rose and her friends, twins Bea and Belle describe her as "Miss Grey", "Miss Conduct" "Miss Demeanor" "Miss Take" and Rose files for divorce from Ed and moves out and buys a new house in Camberwell. Because she is an Agony Aunt and doesn't have that much money, Rose takes in a tenant called "Theo". Theo is an astronomy expert and writer and he is also getting a divorce. Rose is a master at anagrams and she likes to slot all or most situations or people in anagrams. The love story is Rose 4 Theo. We find out the answer to Is Theo The One? We meet Bev (disabled in a horrible accident) and Trev (the dog who looks after Bev). We meet Narcissist Andrew and Henry the Guy Who Likes To Dress In Women's Outfits (who does he form a pair with?). Bea and Belle then become pregnant. Rose was adopted and Theo encourages her to find out her mother's whereabouts as she was abandoned when she was a baby. There is a surprise Australian angle which I love because I love all things Australian as I work for an Aussie firm. Rose then does some soul searching to decide does she want to be an Agony Aunt in order to help people or is it just ego. The most lovely and touching part of the book is the letter written by Rose's birth mother to her. Even I felt a lump in my throat.
All in all a good book, easy to read, I learnt what are anagrams and funny in parts. There were touching moments in the book especially with regard to Rose's birth mother.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ five star for this ! I greatly treasure this book now that its the first book i every finished , i always doubted that i can ever finish one and this book improved me alot in reading. I fell in love with the book especially the plot and the characters, its not a fast paced so i took my time to read and enjoy every page. I really love rose's character as i can somehow relate to her , the twins as well as i crave and fell in love with their relationship! Trevor and bev ( love her dog ) !!! And also henry And ofcourse theo sheen ( he's the one 😫 ) I remember how he and rose started having some moments and realize that they have a big big chemistry, although at first im so scared that nothing would develop between them as romance isn't the point of the book. I remember scrolling through here for spoiler if they end up w each other 😭 anyways i love love rose's character , i find her interesting and so is theo , i fell in love with his character and somehow got me into stars and astronomy as well. I love how the story ended and it made me shed some tear and I wouldn't deny that everytime theo appears in the scene or they would have this moments 😫 , i would scream and highlight everything ( looking forward to reading more isabel's book in the future , ty so much for creating this masterpiece and also for making rose and theo end up w each other , it made me scream everytime )
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I tried. I made it about 150 pages in and found myself dreading the fact that I still had nearly 300 pages to go... That's when I knew to stop. The overall story might be okay and there were some funny scenes, but it drags so much that I just didn't care anymore what happened with Rose or her friends. This probably would be a better book at half the length. I know I have another one of this author's books so I'll give her another shot at some point, but this book is moving on...
I really enjoyed this book. Isabel Wolff is adept at blending the light and fun with the serious and deep. There was a lot going on in this story, which made me want to keep reading. The characters were interesting. The main character is especially likable, even though there were times when I just wanted to shake her and make her see what was really going on. Here pet Rudy offered comic relief throughout the story.
If I'd read the other reviews before picking up the book, I probably wouldn't have read it. That would have been a shame as I quite enjoyed it. Yes , Rose is quite immature for her age, but isn't that the point? The twins are annoying, but again, they are supposed to be! Mind if Trevor could do all the things he claims , I need him! A fyn read.
Easy reading and a good story. Rose is an agony aunt for a newspaper. She also has a radio show. The problem is that she has let it take over her life. It breaks up her marriage and sets her off on a different path. It is charming and a feel good story!
Rose feels like a real person. Everyone feels so real no one feels overdramatised and could genuinely see this being a true story. The romance is beautiful and every couple adds something perfectly to the story.
On se prend vite dans les histoires. Je me suis retrouvé un peu dans l'héroïne de l'histoire. Son histoire est touchante, encore plus la découverte à la fin de l'histoire.
Patiesi priecīga grāmata. Humorīga, ar romantiku un sižets ik pa laikam rada un atklāj kādu nelielu intrigu. Jā, un neliela atsauce uz Latviju ar patrāpījusies.
A really good story It took a little while to get going but one all the characters were introduced it really got going Covers some difficult topics but written really well x