Book review - 'All the Single Ladies' by Jane Costello

I'll admit it. The first thing that attracted me to this book was the title. Being an enormous Beyonce fan it caught my eye and when I read the back my first thought was I have to read this. My second thought was 'why didn't I think of this as a book title?' Genius! But alas, Jane Costello beat me to it.

From the back cover:

Samantha Brooks' boyfriend has made a mistake. One Sam isn't going to let him forget in a hurry.

Sam has been with Jamie for six incredible years and in her eyes he's been the perfect boyfriend - loving, intelligent and, until now, committed.

But after all this time in a job he despises, he finally gives in to his wanderlust and drps a bombshell: he's bought himself a one-way ticket to Sounth America, to start a new life. And Sam't not invited.

But Sam isn't giving up without a fight. With Jamie still in love with her, torn about whether to stay r go, she has five months to persuade him to do the right thing. So, with the help of her friends Ellie and Jen, she hatches a plant o win him back.

Only, by the time Jamie finally wakes up to what he's lost, a gorgeous new pretender has entered Sam's life. Which begs the question....will she still want him back?

-----------------------------------------------



I read a Jane Costello book a while ago and have read one this week since reading All the Single Ladies. All three have been easy reads and have had main female characters that I have liked and enjoyed reading about. What I think this book does in comparison to the other two I have read of hers is tackle some hard issues...I don't want to say too much in case I give too much away but I felt the book did this well and these storylines added alot to the book.

Sam's relationship with Jamie is the main focus of the book but the relationships she has with her family and friends are put under the microscope and as someone who finds human relationships fascinating I enjoyed this aspect of the book.

I could identify with Sam alot. Break ups are hard and it can make you feel like you don't know where you are heading as the plans you had before no longer stand. I enjoyed reading about her less rational moments, notably the facebook stalking she does of her ex but I also liked how she took action, moved forward and found her own feet. Yes there were times I wanted to shake Sam but I can relate to being in love and wanting desperately to be with someone. We have all done crazy things and break ups can bring out the irrational being in all of us.

Usually when I read a book I know exactly where I want it to go but with this one I wasn't sure. I liked Jamie initially but over time I started to feel he wasn't right for Sam and I wasn't sure if I wanted them back together or not. In the end I was happy with the ending and felt it was the right one for the story. The pace of the book is quick and chapters often only last for 2 or 3 pages which makes it hard to put down as I kept thinking 'just one more chapter....' then it would be an hour later.

I really enjoyed this book and will be keeping an eye out for Jane Costello books in the future.