Rating: 
Summary: Painstakingly slow.
Review: This was another flop from Maeve Binchy. I promised myself after I read Tara Road, that I wouldn't read anymore of her books. But, I bought the book for friend for Christmas, and just flicked through it. So I ended up reading it. I feel that Maeve was realy desperate to write something and just gathered up as much as she could from previous books. I wrote in here after Tara Road saying that Maeve should just write short stories, and now I think that she should stop, completely.
Rating: 
Summary: Not one of her best
Review: I have read every Maeve Binchy book from Light A Penny Candle on, and like many best-selling authors with a demanding public, she seems to deteriorate as time goes on. Light A Penny Candle is still her best, as far as I am concerned, because of its freshness and charm and care she took with her characters to make them seem completely believable and real.
On the other hand, Quentins seems very formulaic. It is still a easy and pleasant read but I did not care very much about the characters. To be honest, I could barely remember which books the past characters had come from and so did not care very much that I was reintroduced to them. If she had explored in more detail the changes that come upon Ireland in the past few decades, perhaps through one family, that would have been a great story.
This book may be more enjoyable for those unfamiliar with Ms. Binchy's earlier work, but for the rest of us, it is sadly disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: Binchy Wallows in Schmaltz
Review: What a load of hooey! This is the incredible tale of Ella "Angel" Brady, a down-to-earth girl who just doesn't realize her beauty...even though every millionaire with whom she comes into contact certainly wants to bed this shy but gregarious saint with a heart-of-gold.Can Binchy make a more puke-inducing homey village out of Dublin, where even the town retard finds a beautiful soul-mate to marry and bare his exceptional children? The characters you loved from Scarlet Feather are surrounded by morons who, in Binchy's view, deserve more print time than the reason we all bought the second novel in her series...to read more about the characters we loved from her first! Cathy and Tom, Muddy and Lizzy, the twins are all replaced by the antics of some naive beauty queen uncovering espionage and bouncing from one millionaire's bed to another. Quite believable. And of course the novel ends with the birth of a child in a manger and everyone in perfect synchronization proclaiming their love unto each other. The end is the best part of course, because Binchy's total ruin of your beloved friends is mercifully over.
Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't finish it
Review: I love Binchey's earlier books but this one is such a disappointment. I really couldn't care about the characters at all.
Rating: 
Summary: A fun look at some favorite characters..
Review: The latest Binchy is the 'triumph over tragedy' tale of young Ella, who starts seeing a married man, and later begins to ask herself how much she really knows about him and his family. It was a bit slow at times, but did carry through somewhat to a satisfying ending. I really enjoyed the frequent reference to past Binchy characters such as Simon and Maude, Tom and Cathy, Ria Lynch, Brenda and Patrick, etc. The story leaves a little to be desired when compared to her earlier books, but it is written in true Maeve Binchy form, where even the worst can't be that bad.
Rating:
Summary: Characters, characters, everywhere, characters
Review: In Maeve Binchy's latest novel, Ella Brady is planning a documentary on Quentins Restaurant in Dublin. The documentary will show, through the many faces of the restaurant, the development of Dublin into a modern, cosmopolitan city. The book begins with how Ella came to do the documentary, which is a strange tale as this will be her first film ever and is only being done because of a tragedy that has occurred in her life. Interspersed throughout the tale are short stories of characters who have something to do with Quentins. Though as a general rule I am not a huge fan of short stories, I really enjoyed the format of Quentins because there were characters who continued throughout the short stories and thus brought a continuity to the whole book. Many have said that they thought Binchy should have just written a book of short stories if that is what she wanted to write, but I disagree. I thought this book was written in quite an interesting and entertaining style and I really enjoyed reading it. I did notice that there seemed to be some problems with the timeline of the stories (the baby that never grows up, for instance), but if you can ignore that, the book is simply an enjoyable read. Enough action and drama to satisfy most any reader and lots of wonderful characters!
Rating: 
Summary: Weaving her magic...time and again!
Review: Maeve Binchy's books do not run through my life in a hurry. Like a good friend, I treasure them....a little at a time. And I enjoy every delightful morsel. I love this book because all Binchy's quirky characters make appearances. I love them all. My mom didn't like the story of Ella and her married lover, but I thought it was pretty realistic. Who are they going to cast in the film? This is a great book for a cold, snowy night or week-end. It will make you feel warm all over. And, it will make you want to book the next flight out to Dublin. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I eagerly looked forward to this novel since I heard Maeve Binchy was coming out of retirement. The whole story line with Ella just bored me. However, in Part 2 the book becomes interesting. I loved the reading that there really was a Quentin as well as Brenda's background. It was great how Maeve brought so many of the characters from her other books into this one. If not for Ella, the short stories would have garnered another star. This is not one of Binchy's best work.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful
Review: I have been on a Binchy role this past month & this is the last of the group of her work related to Quentins. I loved it! I loved hearing the story of all the people like Quentin himself & the Brennans as well as the new characters. It's also nice to know what happened to the other characters from Tara Rd, Scarlet Feathers & of course Evening Class. My only concern is that now I want to keep hearing the tale of the new people. So I guess Ms. Binchy you hopefully will grace us with a new sequel. Maybe called the Kennedys' & I don't mean JFK.
Rating:
Summary: Maeve Redeems Herself
Review: I was so excited when I saw that Maeve had decided not to leave her career with Scarlet Feather, which I had not cared too much for. I was further pleased when I got just a few pages into this book and found that the old lively characterization that Maeve excells at had returned. Although it still doesn't top my all time favorite To Light a Penny Candle, it is truly worthy of the admiration we have all had for our favorite Irish Author.
| 
