A Common Life : The Wedding Story (The Mitford Years)

Rating:
Summary: WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT!
Review: I couldn't wait to receive my latest Mitford book. What a major disappointment it turned out to be. The book takes no time to read and nothing new is revealed about our beloved friends. Jan, PLEASE get back on track and return us to the Mitford we know and love!

Rating:
Summary: Don't bother
Review: What a waste of time. Pressure to publish? Can't think of any other reason for this volume.

Rating:
Summary: A Common Life: The Wedding Story
Review: I was so excited to see a new Mitford book and expected it to take up where we left off at the beach. As I started reading, I thought I've already got this book. The characters are the same wonderful ones, but we need to move on. Quite disappointing I must say. I'll keep it just to say it's part of my Mitford Series, but again, I'm disappointed at the lack of imagination and rush in publishing a book just to say another one has been published. I don't want to rule out purchasing the next Mitford book, but I will think about it before buying it.

Rating:
Summary: A Common Life: The Wedding Story
Review: I was so disappointed! Why is the author going backwards instead of forwards?? I was so excited when the new book came that I bought a copy for my daughter too. This was not money well spent on my part.

Rating:
Summary: We got what we asked for!
Review: Jan Karon is a fabulous writer, and has given all of us such a wonderful gift in creating Mitford. We all love Father Tim, Sadie, Louella, Dooley, Cynthia... But she chose to let us dream about their engagement and wedding, and we chose to believe that we could not! Karon was continually deluged by Mitford fans with requests for the wedding story, and now that she has written it, we have got to admit that even she could not do justice to the sweetness of the Timothy/Cynthia story! So we need to quit whining! A Common Life is a retrospective story about their wedding, it is a short read, and it is not a continuation of the Mitford series. But then, it was never promoted as one!

Rating:
Summary: Ripped Off!
Review: I am very saddened that Jan Karon would write a book so far below the standards of her previous books. I have read all the other books in the Mitford series and waited anxiously for the next one to be published. I do not think it will be the same in the future. I have lost my trust in Karon, the trust that I could blindly buy whatever she wrote. I will not take that for granted in the future. Rather I will really scrutinize her books as I do all others before I purchase them. I honestly feel ripped off and feel that the publisher should refund the money to everyone who has bought this book and write it off as a serious mistake.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointment!!!!
Review: Clearly Jan Karon was trying to satisfy Mitford followers with a new book. I feel ripped off! She should continue the story lines instead of looking back on a given event.I hope she will see fit to honor her loyal followers with a good #7 book picking up where #5 ended. I'm still trying to understand the Hallmark hype with snowmen, even names Murphy, Bucket Head etc. when no such things ever existed in the books.

Rating:
Summary: A Common Life
Review: I've been waiting for this book for 2 years, and was a bit disappointed at its content. It didn't have nearly the depth of Jan's earlier books, and I wish it had been written in sequence. But -- all the lovable characters are there, and it was a pleasure reading their thoughts about the upcoming wedding. It was as if Jan felt she needed a "filler" to keep her readers happy. I didn't get full enough! I hope the next 2 anticipated books (Father Tim's quotes and Mitford Christmas) give us a little more to chew on! Keep writing!!

Rating:
Summary: Your expectations make this book. Be delighted!
Review: I expected the same whimsical, interesting characters at a very special time in the history of Mitford...and was not disappointed. Had it come out as book "2A" in the sequence, it would have been accepted as wonderful as all the rest. In that light, readers pretending not to know anything from books 3-6, will enjoy it greatly. Also, we finally look at things from another view than just Father Tim. Most interestingly, I believe this book would be good for engaged couples to read. The emotions are real. Giving those emotions to the Lord brings real results. Due to it's length, it should have been a smaller, less expensive version. Time to go back and read the first two again....

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful addition to the series
Review: I enjoyed this book very much. I appreciated seeing events through other characters' eyes for a change (instead of only through Father Tim's). This book deepens all the characters in a series that's not exactly known for its profound character development. The only negative is that the book is shorter than the others. I don't blame the author, who said in interviews last year that she would be writing a mini book about the wedding. What I see is the publisher's greed in trying to publish a small book in a large book format and at a large book price. Shame on the publisher! However, the book IS STILL WORTH IT IF YOU LOVE THE MITFORD SERIES.Or, wait a few months, and you can buy a softcover version at the right price!