Rating: 
Summary: Why Mess With Perfection?
Review: Over the past few years I have been introduced and submerged into the world of the witty author, Jane Green. Usually when reading her books I find myself completely involved, not being able to read fast enough to satisfy my curiosity. However, Green's latest novel, TO HAVE AND TO HOLD, left me in agony; finding myself perusing the finish only by my dedication as a fan.
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD was a rather disappointing display of Green's creativity and artistic edge. It seems as her professional status grows, her creative brilliance and sassy flare diminish. The pure attitude and originality of past books, such as JEMIMA J and MR.MAYBE, is fading away with an attempt to write more mature work.
I applaud Green for making the effort to expand her creative spectrum and grow as a writer, but her humorous spin on women's everyday problems was what made reading her work enjoyable.
In her latest novel, Green leaves her signature style behind and opts for a more bland narration of a young woman's turmoils in her life. The main character, Alice, is not described with the enduring qualities and descriptions of the past feminist heroines. Instead Alice is a meek woman who marries the man of her dreams but has to give up her happiness and dreams for love. In TO HAVE AND TO HOLD, Alice is the victim. Her husband, Joe, is constantly unfaithful and she is forced to completely change her appearance, clothing, home, and career.
It is not until the very end of the novel that the reader catches a glimpse of the old Green. The victim is saved, and once again there is the sense of female empowerment. One could only hope that Green does not completely lose sight of the importance of a feminist attitude and that humor and wit that has captured so many.
Rating: 
Summary: enjoyable, but.... jane green is slipping!
Review: Having read all of Jane Green's books, I was disapointed by this one. Rather than bringing creative and fresh characters to life, Green has fallen back on stereotypes. There is no one in this book I would *want* to know in real life, and the book's plot is entirely predictable. Of course, all chick lit books go in the same direction, but this one is just flat as day-old champagne. What happened, Jane? : (
Rating:
Summary: I love Jane Green, but this one was disapointing
Review: I absolutely love Jane Green's books, but I was disapointed with this one. The plot line seems great cheating husband in the suburbs fresh from London, although I must agree with some of the other reviews on the connection between the author/former owner of the house; All I can say is WHY? Some of it was just completely unbelievable. Alice has this great catering business and she gives it all up to stay at home and do absolutely nothing, on top of that she will agree to move to New York at the drop of a hat.
Another thing, what is up with the dog trainer just up and moving across the world, but not telling Alice he was there???
Jane Green has had much better books, this one is a quick and easy read, good for a slow saturday when you are out of fresh reading material. I do worry, at the end of the book Green seems to give the impression that she might continue with this story. I really hope she decides to start a new one.
Kim in Austin Texas
Rating:
Summary: Not Jane Green's best...
Review: I am a huge Jane Green fan since her Jemima J days. I've bought and devoured all of her books ever since. However, I've noticed a decline in her writing since Bookends. Though Green now writes novels centered on women that have bigger priorities than going to trendy clubs and searching for Mr. Right, her new material lacks the edge and sharpness of her earlier work. To Have and to Hold was a chore to read. As much as I love Jane Green, I just couldn't get into this novel. The main reason is that I couldn't empathize with the somewhat pathetic heroine. Alice sacrifices her dream of living in the country and having kids in the name of her love for Joe -- the man she has loved since she was a teenager. Not only does she have to give up on various lifelong dreams, she also changers her appearance to please her selfish husband. But blond highlights and trendy clothes don't keep Joe from having more than just a wandering eye. He has a thing for leggy blondes, something that gets him into trouble at work and is forced to transfer to Connecticut. Alice is excited about finally living in suburbia, but with Joe's constant infidelity and overall awful behavior Alice may well venture into a little indiscretion of her own... I know that a lot of women turn a blind eye on blatant bad behavior when they're in love, but Alice's conforming ways irritated me at times. The thing about the Connecticut home's so-called curse made Alice's denial all the more acute. I am aware of Green's message in the story, but it was still difficult to swallow. But the bigger picture is that this novel didn't enthrall me the way Green's earlier work did. I missed Jemima as I read about Alice. Perhaps Jane Green's earlier novels were lighter and more simplistic, but they had a naivete quality to them that is missing in her most recent novels. And, as mentioned earlier, this new novel lacks Green's sharp narrative and crisp dialogue. All in all, frustrating heroine aside, To Have and to Hold failed to spark my interest. I couldn't wait to finish it up. In a nutshell, this is a disappointing read from one of my favorite authors...
Rating:
Summary: Finally...decent writing
Review: I am a newcomer to chick-lit, and I must say by and large it has been a waste of money and dissapointing. However, I did enjoy this book. This is my first book by Jane Green and she is a good writer. The book wasn't perfect, though. I did like the main character; however, the last 100 or so pages are just kind of filler -- you can already guss how it will end. Not that much of the book is surprising, but it is worth the ride until those last 100 pages. Also, I feel like the main character, Alice, goes through an abrupt change near the end, as if Green realized the book was getting too long and neeeded to finish it off, or perhaps she just got tired of the story. My biggest complaint, though, about the book is Green's attitude towards the philandering husband. More than once she explains it away as him just not being able to help himself -- which is a load of bull and made me quite sad/incensed that this is an accepted worldview. To end, I enjoyed the book -- finished it in a weekend. From what I've read so far, I will definitely check out more of her books.
Rating:
Summary: I enjoyed it, but............
Review: I felt the story meandered towards the end, pretending it didn't know where it was going, although by then, it's more than clear to the reader, who has long since figured it out and is just eager for it to get there already!
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD is the story of handsome, wealthy businessman, Joe Chambers, who can't see the marriage for the blondes, and reserved, modest, but beautiful Alice Chambers, who can't see the philandering husband for the stupidity.
Joe loves Alice, but can't part with the thrill of the hunt, the chase, and most of all---the catch. He sleeps with any sexy blonde (or brunette if he must, because they can be just as good in bed) that crosses his path; and makes no bones about calling Alice nightly with a mouth full of lies about working late with clients, or flirting with women quite openly in her very presence.....uh, hello? Earth to Alice....?
Anyway---Joe meets Josie, a colleague at work and their affair results in Joe's mandatory and permanent transfer to New York, where he decides to use it as a fresh start, rejuvenating his commitment to Alice and their marriage, vowing to cease and desist all affairs and be the ever faithful husband.....shockingly enough, given his track record, this lasts nearly a year before their polar opposite passions drive Joe back into the ways of old. While Alice comes alive in their country home in Connecticut, Joe dreads his weekend visits there---hates playing the "country bumpkin" role, and yearns to return to the city....and the good-looking, Jimmy Choo wearing, bleach blonde dyed women who haven't "let themselves go" in favor of gardening and playing with the stupid dog.
For the most part, the storyline actually held my interest and I enjoyed the plot and the characters, but it became quite predictable and took too long to get to that inevitable point. And once it finally does, it's rather anti-climactic, to say the least. Alice's path leads somewhere that's a trifle unrealistic and hard to swallow---how she manages to maintain a friendship that would surely have crumbled in the face of reality is definitely fictional contrivance.......I also didn't feel Joe's character stayed true to his development; in the end, he simply carries on as nonchalantly as if he were simply immerging from a hangover. Throughout the story, Joe had shown sincerity in regret and asserted honest efforts to make his marriage work, yet after just a few days alone with assorted bottles of wines, he's simply over it---on to Josie, who had conveniently transferred to NYC in record time. No, no. Joe should've been far more crushed when all was said and done. With his years of betrayals and disgraceful behavior, the loss of Alice was worthy of more effect than if Joe had simply lost an old but comfortable and familiar piece of baggage.
Rating: 
Summary: Simply Fun to Read.. don't expect much more than that.
Review: I finished this book in less than 2 days. I read it in the morning, in the evening, while in the car.. It just kept me hooked. The book mainly deals with Joe and Alice - Joe is constanltly cheating on Alice, though he supposedly loves her. Since the day she got married to him, nothing was like she had in mind. Everything she does is to satisfy her husband, who uses her as more of a trophy girl than anything else. The marriage is headed for trouble as Joe continues with his infidelities and Alice learns that she can very well manage without him.
Out of all of Jane Green's books, I've read them all so far, This one would have to be pretty good I thought. My favorite Jane Green book was Jemima J, and this one would probably have to be number 3 on my list of her books. If you just want some fun -- pick up this book.
Rating:
Summary: Not Green's best......
Review: I have said it before and I will say it again.... I absolutely LOVE Jane Green! With this said I have to admit that 'TO HAVE AND TO HOLD' is my least favorite of her books. While the book started out strong as we delved into the lives of Alice, a plain Jane with aspirations to live a simple life in the country turned sophisticated city girl, and Joe, Alice's husband who loves the fast paced social scene of living amongst the rich and powerful in London. But as we soon find out Joe has a penchant for leggy blonds, which unbeknownst to Alice, he quite frequently acts on. The relationships between Alice and Joe, Alice and her quirky best friend Emily, and Joe and his mistresses held my attention for about half way through the book. But by the second half 'TO HAVE AND TO HOLD' really started to drag. There were long drawn out descriptions of Alice's dream home and too much talk of gardening. I also began to find myself frustrated with Alice for not seeing what was going on right underneath her nose. If this is the first Jane Green book that you have read or are thinking about reading, please try 'JEMIMA J.', 'MR. MAYBE' or 'BOOKENDS' any of which I guarantee you will love!
Rating:
Summary: Really 3 1/2
Review: I love Jane Green, but this book didn't entertain my as much as her others. From the beginning we know that she's mismatched with her husband and I kind of started to think she was just plain old dumb for staying with him. Luckily she's a nice person, but still - how come everyone knows he's cheating on her but her? Green is a wonderful writer, and that's what saved this for me. The characters weren't as funny or engaging as past Green books, but I managed to get through the story. Nothing unexpected here, but even a mediocre Green books beats a lot of what's out there today.
Rating:
Summary: Not my favorite
Review: I loved Babyville and couldn't wait to dive into this one but was somewhat disappointed. The first half of the book made me so angry at Joe, there were times when I wanted to question my own devoted husband or just throw the book across the room but it kept me reading. The third quarter of the book was somewhat dull. It was just describing Jane's new life which was crucial but could have been cut back. But I do love how Jane Green always concludes to a happy ending. Being a romantic, I have to have that in order for me to like the book. So it ended on a high note for me but in all I just didn't enjoy it as much as Babyville. But I've already started my next Jane Green book, Bookends and I can't wait to read Jemima J.
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