To Have and To Hold : A Novel

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: Mildly enjoyable
Review: Like many other reviewers, I found this (my first book by Jane Green) to be a mildly entertaining beach read but ultimately disappointing. It was spoiled for me by Green's rather wooden style of writing, flat, unconvincing dialogue and one-dimensional characters. A pity, because I thought the author did an excellent job of creating a sense of place and I could tell - even though I didn't enjoy this book as much as I'd hoped - that she could do much better. I look forward to reading her other novels.