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meganallenby's review against another edition
3.0
Not my favourite Katie Fforde book by any means. The writing is good but the plot isn’t my favourite. Also I didn’t love the main romance.
Julia quits her job and takes up a job on some hotel boats. It’s a lot of work and a huge change to her lifestyle. I did enjoy learning so much about boating!
Fergus is the man her mother has tried to set her up with since she was a kid. She runs into him again and rejects the thought of them together.
I felt like Julia was too angry at Fergus for too long. She kept rejecting him all the way til the end of the novel and I didn’t love that. He was so sweet to her. I think that was my biggest struggle with this novel.
Again, the writing was good. I just didn’t vibe with the main characters.
chills_multiply's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
melissa_who_reads's review against another edition
2.0
This remains my least favorite Katie Fforde novel, primarily because the heroine is so clueless and ridiculous. Its hard to see why she has two men in love with her, and why one persists despite her attempts to push him out of her life entirely (because she assumes a) he doesn't love her and b) they want completely different things in life). And somehow her "feminist" thinking just makes her a huge jerk to the men in her life. And they want her anyway.
woolardhe's review against another edition
2.0
Julia was such a frustrating character - for a 34 year old woman, she is super immature. I think this book could’ve been way shorter.
nickeal1's review against another edition
4.0
An easy read with canal boating in which makes it more interesting if you have been there done that.
It was good fluffy chick lit with a happy ending, perfect for a holiday read.
It was good fluffy chick lit with a happy ending, perfect for a holiday read.
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
2.0
Katie Fforde can write chick-lit beautifully; light, fluffy novels with humor and romance and quirky, interesting characters. It's a pity that with Life Skills she chose not to. This book is a disorganized mess, beginning with the premise that an organized career woman could, in chucking her job and her boyfriend, become instantly feckless and dithery and that this is the preferable state; helpless and in need of rescue. Then there's the plot, in which begins as one thing and two-thirds of the way through becomes something quite different. The romantic interest shows up now and again, but isn't a part of the heroine's life until the end of the book; they never get to know each other and so it's only clear that they'll ride off into the sunset together because the genre demands it. Life Skills reads like a rough first draft that Fforde lost interest in partway through and then finished writing without rereading the first half. There are some interesting ideas here, and every so often a well-turned phrase, but on the whole I would suggest choosing a different book.
readbooks_fightpatriarchy's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyable read, but some ideas/things the main character puts up with are a bit dated. Still a recommendation and makes me want to ride on a canal boat in England this summer!
mis_chievous's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
cthuwu's review against another edition
dnf @ 8% i'm so disappointed that this one didn't pan out because honestly i loved the premise. but i couldn't force myself to read an entire book full of unrealistic dialogue :/