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Summary: Great book, Excellent Reader
Review: I really enjoyed the reader. I think a good reader makes a huge difference in audio books.
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Summary: Another great one from Binchy
Review: Though this is the least memorable of the Binchy novels I've enjoyed, it's still terrific. Like many of her fans, I was introduced to the author by the popularity of Tara Road. This is just another one of her wonderful novels that I find captivating, funny, suspenseful and delightful even though I hadn't any intention of becoming hooked on a series of novels set in Ireland. The setting is more contemporary than in other Binchy novels, and the characters are almost as lovable. Any Binchy fan will be happy to put their time into reading this one.
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Summary: Good book again
Review: I enjoyed Scarlet Feather. I particularly enjoy Maeve Binchy's character development. In this book, I believe that a few of the characters could have been omitted and the others further developed. I also think the book could have given me one more chapter on Tom and Cathy. I would like to have had more insight into their sudden realization. Take the time to read this if you enjoy her other works.
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Summary: heartwarming irish tale
Review: Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather have always had a dream since they first met in college. That is to start their own catering business. But something has always gone wrong; either they don't have enough money or they can't find the right place. Cathy, daughter of a poor maid and is married to her mothers old bosses son, she wants desperately to please her mother in law. Tom desperately wants to be happy with his long time love, Marcella. When the novel opens on New years eve, Cathy is catering to her mother in laws New Years party and not having a very good time and Tom is with MArcella at a company party for a guy named Rick. Disaster results when two small children show up at Cathy's party abandoned because their father has left them and their mother is in a mental hospital. The children, which are twins are Maud and Simon baker, Cathys mother in laws husbands brothers children and they are looking for a place to stay. Disaster results when they wreck the house and the party is ruined.Tom, meanwhile, is walking home alone from his awful party and sees a abandoned house that he thinks will be perfect for their catering comapny. So begins the adventure of a lifetime. Spanning one whole year, from New Years to New Years, Maeve Binchy waeves a completely delightful yarn that will have everyone wanting more. The prose is as lush as irish tea, and the setting as comfy as a warm blanket. Scarlet feather is another old fashioned page turner from the master of heartwarming tales beloved around the world.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring. Such a disappointment.
Review: I had such high expectations from this book - first of all a book about a catering business. Reading about food is something I always enjoy. Second, the plot seemed to be interesting: two young people starting up a new business.... I even bought the hardcover edition. Such a waste of time and money! I had to struggle through the book and could hardly finish the reading. It was SO boring. I know that in real life you get the most unbelievable stories which are true - yes, the weirdest things do happen. But when you read about it in books you are not ready to accept everything - I mean, this family just about goes through everything... a drunk, a crazy mother, a thief, the rich guy marrying the maid's daughter and so on... drama with every character. It is just too much!. Also, there are so many subplots that you loose your focus. The only good thing I can say about this book is that the characters are very vividly portrayed and as a reader they get your sympathy (although you get to see only one dimension of most of them - "bad" is bad and "good" is good...) .Very disappointing.
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Summary: Another wonderful Maeve Binchy book
Review: Scarlet Feather by Maeve Binchy Another wonderful book by Maeve Binchy, SCARLET FEATHER is about Cathy Scarlet and her friend Tom Feather, who met in culinary school and are now about to embark on their greatest dream: to open up a catering business of their own. While the main plot revolves around the crazy adventures of Tom and Cathy and the new business, there are also various subplots. Cathy is married to a successful lawyer, who also happens to be the son of her mother's former employer, The Mitchell's. Her mother-in-law hasn't quite recovered from her son Neil's marriage to the maid's daughter, but Neil and Cathy seem to be very happy, at least in the beginning. Both are focused on their busy careers and their lives couldn't be more full. Tom Feather lives with his beautiful girlfriend Marcella, who is aspiring to become a successful model. They seem oddly matched, but love is blind and opposites attract, or so it seems. One of Tom's complaints is that Marcella continues to put on hold any plans of getting married. Her career comes first, and Tom respects her wishes. But, deep down Tom is wondering when Marcella will ever change her mind? Another subplot involves Neil's niece and nephew, the young twins Maud and Simon. Their parents are unable to care for the twins, due to one parent being on a drinking binge, and the other being mentally unstable, so Cathy's parents Muttie and Lizzie take on the job of being foster parents, and to everyone's surprise the arrangement works out. Maud and Simon bring a lot of love and laughter to the household, along with some adventures too. Tom and Cathy's lives are not easy while they work out the problems with their new business. With no emotional support coming from Neil and the business becoming very successful, Cathy starts to fall apart. Tom begins to have problems with his own relationship too, and things come to a head at the end of the book. We do have a happy ending with SCARLET FEATHER, and needless to say, I enjoyed every page. I love getting to know the characters of a Maeve Binchy book, and with SCARLET FEATHER this was no exception. Binchy is the master at creating well-developed and interesting characters, whether they are main characters or supporting ones. This being only my second book written by her, I have a lot more of her books to look forward to. SCARLET FEATHER gets two thumbs up!
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Summary: surprised that I didn't enjoy it
Review: I love Maeve Binchy, having read everything she's written since Light a Penny Candle. The Glass Lake is my favorite. In Scarlet Feather, I found myself thinking, "she's off her game" It seemed predictable, and, for me, just dragged on and on. The bits where each of the characters was touched on with a paragraph, switching from one to another was trying. It was like a repeated, "meanwhile back at the ranch".
Some things didn't make sense, mostly that neither Tom, Cathy or the police suspected the evil cousin for the robbery & vandalism. It would seem standard procedure for the police to suspect a recently fired employee, and Tom & Cathy were not so stupid that they'd never have thought of this-it was so obvious. This was irritating.
I'm now reading Quentins, which I find better than Scarlet Feather. Still, I think I enjoy Maeve Binchy more when she travels back in time, though I did like Tara Road.
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Summary: What's on the menu tonight you ask?
Review: Lots, I answer with a grin...Love this writer and her book! "Scarlet Feather" by master storyteller Maeve Binchy is one fun read. Loved it! The characters are fun. The dialogue easy to follow. And, the plot is a real page turner. This was my first Maeve Binchy book and she will perhaps be glad to learn it won't be my last. I've ordered two more since I read "Scarlet Feather" and I look forward to reading them.
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Summary: Food for your literary tastebuds
Review: Cathy Scarlet and her friend Tom Feather share a dream -- becoming Dublin's best caterer. As with most dreams, reality proves to be by far harsher than expected. Yet Cathy and Tom are determined to overcome all obstacles, trying to find a balance between work and private life with family and friends.
Irish author Maeve Binchy leads the reader through the most important year of her two main protagonists' lives -- a year during which Cathy and Tom learn more about themselves and what is really important for them. The reader is easily drawn into their world, getting to know Cathy's husband Neil, an ambitious lawyer, Tom's girlfriend Marcella, who wants to pursue a career as model, and many other family members and friends. Slowly but surely the different storylines entwine until the novel ends at Christmas.
Some dialogues seem unnatural and more like lines in a play, especially those of Neil's little cousins, the twins Maud and Simon. Binchy chose to divide the novel into 13 chapters -- New Year's Eve and the following 12 months. Each chapter has a lot of paragraphs, thus sometimes disturbing the story's flow. However, "Scarlet Feather" is an enjoyable read with believable characters and a satisfying ending.
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Summary: Definitey NOT Her Last Book!!
Review: How glorious!!! For the past few days, I've been transported to Ireland via BINCHY AIRLINES. That's truly what it feels like to read a Maeve Binchy book. You are taken away from your present life and dropped into the lives of a colorful cast of characters who will help you to forget all of your problems as you live through theirs. I was feeling a little low, having just sent my son off to college, and knew that I was in the mood for a certain kind of book -- a kinder, gentler kind of book. I had already read all the "buzz" books of the summer of 2002...The Lovely Bones, The Dive From Clausen's Pier, The Emperor of Ocean Park...and now I knew it was time for a Binchy "fix". SCARLET FEATHER definitely fit the bill. Scarlet Feather is the name of the upscale catering company owned by Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather. Upscale, however, does not mean that it doesn't come without life's ups and downs. It's a struggle to keep this business on its feet and Binchy is great at describing all the mundane intricacies involved in running a food related business as well as illustrating all the food that is being served so that you can almost taste it. While the business is handling its ups and downs, the main characters' personal lives will also be handling some of their own. Cathy and her attorney husband, Neil, definitely need to find some more private time together while Tom and his aspiring model girlfriend, Marcella, have to learn to trust each other a little more. There is no one better at character development than Binchy and SCARLET FEATHER is full of personalities you will remember for a long time. At the top of the list are the nine year old twins Maud and Simon. These two are so adorable you'll wish they were living with you. And you'll follow Cathy's parents, Muttie and "his wife" Lizzie, and hope that one day Muttie will bet on that one big race that will give them some monetary relief. This book follows the first year of Scarlet Feather's debut into the catering world and, when the New Year approaches, you'll wish you could hang around for another year. I know many of the reviewers here have stated that this is Binchy's "last" book. I am pleased to inform them that it certainly is NOT. Her new book, QUENTINS, will be out in October and, those of you who have read Evening Class, (my personal favorite of Binchy's), will recognize this as the name of Brenda and Patrick Brennan's renowned restaurant in Dublin. Many of my favorite Binchy characters will make an appearance in QUENTINS namely Ria from Tara Road, Signora from Evening Class and, my favorite twins from Scarlet Feather, Maud and Simon. Now that's something I really look forward to. My only disappointment is that I can't join them in person and share a meal with them at Quentins. I'll have to be content just reading about it.
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