Rating: 
Summary: Unusual and compelling
Review: I knew this would be a difficult review to write. Maggie O'Farrell's first novel, "After You'd Gone" is one of my all time favorite books, and I realized that it would be impossible not to make the inevitable comparisons. Like her previous work, this is a story about relationships, love, grief and the unknown. Ms O'Farrell has the enviable ability to interweave story lines in subtle and unique ways, "My Lover's Lover" is no exception.Lily meets Marcus at a party and he would seem to be the perfect man. A handsome, articulate architect, this man would seem to have no flaws. But things are not as they appear, and the mystery of what happened to Marcus' ex-girfriend Sinead begins to inflitrate their relationship. The lines between reality and imagination are very blurry in this novel, and it takes careful attention to the story to avoid some level of frustration. Overall this is an unusual and compelling read, that had me both confused and delighted. I can't say it ranks quite as high as "After you'd gone", but for fans of Maggie O'Farrell, a must read none the less.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as After You'd Gone..
Review: I loved the book After You'd Gone by the same author. I had high hopes for this one, but it didn't meet that expectation. I enjoyed O'Farrell's journey through Lily's mind and how she felt in her relationship with Marcus. Her obsession with Sinead was also interesting but none of the characters felt real to me. Lily's leap into a love affair with a man she knows nothing about just seemed a little strange and his avoidance of every question regarding his previous relationship only compounded the evidence of the fact that he was and still is deceptive. While wondering about a significant other's past relationships is natural, I think that Lily took her curiosity to the extreme at times, even tricking her subconscious into believing things that were not true. A good piece of fiction, but I would recommend her other novel before this one.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as After You'd Gone..
Review: I loved the book After You'd Gone by the same author. I had high hopes for this one, but it didn't meet that expectation. I enjoyed O'Farrell's journey through Lily's mind and how she felt in her relationship with Marcus. Her obsession with Sinead was also interesting but none of the characters felt real to me. Lily's leap into a love affair with a man she knows nothing about just seemed a little strange and his avoidance of every question regarding his previous relationship only compounded the evidence of the fact that he was and still is deceptive. While wondering about a significant other's past relationships is natural, I think that Lily took her curiosity to the extreme at times, even tricking her subconscious into believing things that were not true. A good piece of fiction, but I would recommend her other novel before this one.
Rating:
Summary: Another fine read from Maggie O'Farrell
Review: Let me state upfront that Maggie O'Farrell's first novel, "After You'd Gone", is one of my favorite books. I approached her second novel with both excitement and trepidation. Could her sophomore effort live up to the near perfection of her first book? This is the story of Lily, a twentysomething Londoner who beleives she may have just met the man of her dreams; a handsome, successful architect named Marcus. Lily learns that Marcus' relationship with an ex-girlfriend named Sinead has recently ended under tragic circumstances. Marcus' veiled comments about Sinead lead Lily to believe she has died, but has she? Lily begins to obsess about what happened to Sinead; when she starts to see her image on the street and in her dreams the lines between reality and fantasy become blurred. The truth of what happened between Marcus and Sinead makes for some gut-wrenching reading. Maggie O'Farrell once again shows her prowess with the pen, creating characters we feel we know intimately. This fascinating look at relationships past and present, and how the two are often intermingled is well worth your time to read. Did I love this novel as much as her first?....no, but that would be asking for a near impossibility. 4.5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Another fine read from Maggie O'Farrell
Review: Let me state upfront that Maggie O'Farrell's first novel, "After You'd Gone", is one of my favorite books. I approached her second novel with both excitement and trepidation. Could her sophomore effort live up to the near perfection of her first book? This is the story of Lily, a twentysomething Londoner who beleives she may have just met the man of her dreams; a handsome, successful architect named Marcus. Lily learns that Marcus' relationship with an ex-girlfriend named Sinead has recently ended under tragic circumstances. Marcus' veiled comments about Sinead lead Lily to believe she has died, but has she? Lily begins to obsess about what happened to Sinead; when she starts to see her image on the street and in her dreams the lines between reality and fantasy become blurred. The truth of what happened between Marcus and Sinead makes for some gut-wrenching reading. Maggie O'Farrell once again shows her prowess with the pen, creating characters we feel we know intimately. This fascinating look at relationships past and present, and how the two are often intermingled is well worth your time to read. Did I love this novel as much as her first?....no, but that would be asking for a near impossibility. 4.5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: A finely crafted psychological thriller!
Review: My Lover's Lover is one engrossing erotic thriller! It enthralled me from beginning to end as it told the story of Lily and Marcus's bizarre love affair. Things start out promising between the couple. When Lily occupies the bedroom that was once Sinead's, Marcus's ex-girlfriend, strange things begin to happen. Lily is led to believe that Sinead is gone. However, her presence is palpable. There are some disarming twists as Sinead resurfaces... This novel's writing is deceptively simple. The suspense and darkness are subtle, albeit tangible. The building of tension is finely crafted. I disagree with most of the reviewers here. This is a fine piece of psychological thriller. Maggie O'Farrell is a talented British author and I look forward to reading her other books. Highly recommended...
Rating:
Summary: An interesting but somewhat disappointing second novel
Review: O'Farrell's first novel, AFTER YOU'D GONE, is one of my favorite suspense novels of all time. With that in mind, I looked forward to reading her second, MY LOVER'S LOVER, with great anticipation. The story that she has crafted here is psychologically complicated and intricate, and thus held my attention throughout. In addition, the dialogue is intense and realistic, given her thoughtful characterization. But in the end, this novel is ultimately unsatisfying, especially in comparison to the superb AFTER YOU'D GONE. Maggie O'Farrell is, however, an important new voice in contemporary fiction, one whose work deserves to be read.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting but somewhat disappointing second novel
Review: O'Farrell's first novel, AFTER YOU'D GONE, is one of my favorite suspense novels of all time. With that in mind, I looked forward to reading her second, MY LOVER'S LOVER, with great anticipation. The story that she has crafted here is psychologically complicated and intricate, and thus held my attention throughout. In addition, the dialogue is intense and realistic, given her thoughtful characterization. But in the end, this novel is ultimately unsatisfying, especially in comparison to the superb AFTER YOU'D GONE. Maggie O'Farrell is, however, an important new voice in contemporary fiction, one whose work deserves to be read.
Rating:
Summary: Slightly disappointing
Review: The novel starts as a gothic romance and ends somewhere completely different. Like some reviewers before, I found 'My Lover's Lover' a disappointment after reading 'After You'd Gone'. The book begins as homage to DuMaurier's 'Rebecca' - which is a far superior novel by all accounts - though O'Farrell makes some acknowledgement to this by having Hitchcock's film playing in the background. The novel then changes pace and moves away from its more accomplished counterpart. I like this method of O'Farrell's; she demonstrated it in her previous novel, but it doesn't work as well here. Similarly, O'Farrell's use of metaphor and simile in this novel appear forced at times, in contrast to the ease of language from her first work. Some other reviewers commented that she lacked the characterisation required in order to make it a more interesting novel - she did. I did not find any of the characters likeable and found myself unable to care what happened to them. It is as though mid-way through writing it, O'Farrell decided she, herself, did not like her protagonist and wanted to concentrate on another. I did see what O'Farrell had attempted to do with the haunting of the previous girlfriend, but thought she was capable of executing this in a far better way. Nevertheless, 'My Lover's Lover' is a worthy read and, perhaps, if I had not read 'After You'd Gone' beforehand, I would not be so critical of it.
Rating:
Summary: Good, not great.
Review: This is another fine effort from O'Farrell but unfortunately comes nowhere near her debut work. After You'd Gone is a spectacular read, full of passion, intensity, and inspiration. My Lover's Lover tries to do the same, but it tries too hard. In many places the story feels forced rather than flows as it does in After You'd Gone. Characers lack the depth of her earlier work and there is little to distingish the characters of Sinead and Lily so it is difficult to feel a real degree of empathy with either of them. Strangely, it is the men in this book who have all the depth of character. Having said all this, My Lover's lover is certainly worth a read simply because O'Farrell is such a talented writer. A worthy four stars.
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