Angels

Rating:
Summary: Maggie's plight...
Review: Author Keyes spins a tale of Maggie, a young woman who's lost her job and her marriage and flees Dublin for Hollywood. In addition to the usual laugh a minute that readers have come to expect from her novels, Keyes also provides compassion, insight, and sorrow. An okay addition to her bookshelf full of successes.

Rating:
Summary: NOT BAD BUT NOT THE BEST
Review: It was my first book...enjoyed it but found other books by her much better.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing effort
Review: Keyes ventured into formulaic territory in this novel. The usual complexity of characters and relationships in her past efforts (Watermelon, Rachel's Holiday) are lost in this book reminiscent of the Bridget Jones' Diary chick genre. Not funny or original - stick with her previous novels!

Rating:
Summary: boring
Review: I am a fan of Keyes and loved all her other books except this one. Her playing with words to give us an enjoyable book and her clever jokes do not exist in this one. big disappointment.

Rating:
Summary: A hilarious look at Hollywood
Review: Maggie Walsh-Garvan is yet another of the Walsh girls that Marian Keyes has written about (Claire in "Watermelon", Rachel in "Rachel's Holiday), so we already know much about her dysfunctional but entertaining family. Maggie, however, is the quietest one. When the girls sit down one lazy Xmas afternoon, they all decide what they would be if they were food. To Maggie's great dismay, her sister Helen dubs her "plain yogurt at room temperature". Ugh.

To make matters worse, Maggie can feel her marriage slipping, finally to the point where she discovers her husband Garv has had an affair. After he doesn't fight to make her stay, Maggie runs to Los Angeles, where her childhood friend Emily is a screenwriter. Emily was recently dumped by a studio for her last script, and is furiously trying to drum up business with another studio for her latest script. Maggie is introduced to Em's sparkling array of friends- all of whom are "in the business". She spends her days at the beach, feeling like the fattest person there; in fact, she's the only one who'll buy ice cream from the beach vendor, which she eats while two size 0 girls look at her longingly. It's Maggie's descriptions of these plastic people and their endless grooming habits that are the funniest.

Eventually, Maggie is introduced to handsome Troy, and in her quest to get over her husband, begins to quietly pursue him. She also has a brief fling with Emily's friend Lara, who keeps taking her from one expensive grooming ritual to another. And then there's Shay Delaney, high school boyfriend and Garv's rival for Maggie's attention, who is now married with kids. He owns a production copmpany and spends much time in L.A. Has Maggie followed him here? Things really go crazy when Maggie's family decides to visit L.A. too, "for a bit of Sun", Mammy Walsh tells her. It isn't all laughs, though, because during her hiatus from reality, Maggie tells of miscarriages and hurts that contributed to the demise of her marriage. Does she still love Garv? Or should she stay in L.A. with Emily?

I enjoyed "Angels" more that "Last Chance Saloon", mainly because Maggie is funnier than she gives herself credit for and I didn't laugh that much at LCS. An enjoyable book with some sad moments that add flavor to the overall novel.

Rating:
Summary: Second favorite Marian Keyes
Review: My favorite Marion Keyes book is, hands down, Rachel's Holiday. But Angels comes awfully close.

Angels chronicles Maggie Walsh (of the irresistible Walsh family) after she leaves her husband. Keyes uses her flashback style I've come to know and love to show us how Maggie's marriage became so horrible that she up and left her husband one day to visit her childhood friend now living in Los Angeles. Just as when I read Rachel in Rachel's holiday, I completely sympathized with the Maggie right off the bat, even though, like Rachel before her, she has certainly has made some less than stellar choices. Keyes gives Maggie, and the characters she comes to befriend, such warmth and wit that it is easy to spend every moment of free time with them, and I did, pretty much devouring the book in one setting.

This book is also a great read for anyone looking for a hilarious take on Los Angeles. Maggie's new friends are all involved with the entertainment industry in one way or another, and as Maggie navigates her way through Hollywood parties, phone calls from agents, and a meeting where her friend pitches her script to a Hollywood producer, you will definitely have several laughs at LA's expense

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: I found this book on a whim. I had heard a lot about Marian Keyes and decided to try "Angels" as my first read. I'm glad I did.
Although some of the scenes and the ending is predictable, you're kinda glad it is. By the end of the book and after all the adventures that Maggie goes through, you want it all to work out for her. The book keeps you at the edge of your toes, especially during the chapters that Maggie tells tales of her past and how she coped.
I did have one problem though. In my belief, Keyes version of Hollywood and L.A. were a bit souped up. I understand that stars get the "star treatment," but it's not that ridiculous. I have been in the area for 4 years and I haven't seen anything like it. Other than that, the book is a great read for any time of the year.
Keyes soars in the area of women's fiction and understanding the nature of a woman's mind.

Rating:
Summary: Not as good as other Marian Keyes
Review: I would stick to Keyes's other books. I am a big fan but this book was boring and the romance was subpar.

Rating:
Summary: Angels
Review: Pick up something else if you are looking for a fun and witty easy-read novel.

Rating:
Summary: A good summer read
Review: I read this book while I was in Ireland this summer. I knew it would be a light read, and I wasn't sure if I would like it, but I loved it. Now, I want to read all of Keyes books because I know I will enjoy them just as much. I live in L.A., and yes the Los Angeles in the book is cliche, but it is worth the read. So pick it up today!