Rating: 
Summary: enjoyable
Review: I stayed up until 11:30 to finish this book because I was so engrossed. I felt this was better written than Tara Road the people in it were so whiny and didn't seem to take charge. In this book they are all in control of their fate and work very hard. AS usual, it is a large cast of characters and very hard to keep up with at times who is who. Ms. Binchy writes so that one second it is a paragraph from one point of view, the next it is someone else, and that made it difficult for me to follow at times. But overall it was an enjoyable book that kept you interested and hoping to see the end. The characters are well drawn and while you still wonder at some of the things they do, it is very enjoyable. I highly recommend this if you are a Binchy fan.
Rating: 
Summary: I found it hard to get into
Review: This is the first Maeve Binchy novel I have read. I was desperate for something to read and her name is always mentioned so I thought I would give it a try (I'm a big fan of early Danielle Steel and Cathy Kelly).I found this book really difficult to get into ... so many characters and it continually jumped around and I was getting confused as to who was related to who and what their role in the story was. But I perserved (as I'm the sort of person that always has to read something to get to sleep at night and it's the only book I had at the time) and I finally finished it. It all sort of came together in the end and I found myself quite involved in the story by the last couple of chapters. I'm going to try another of her books (Evening Class ... I hope I've picked a good one) and see how it goes .. I hope this one is an "easier" read as when I go to bed - I just want an enjoyable book and not have to worry about which character is which and who is related to who.
Rating: 
Summary: It's no Tara Road
Review: I really enjoyed Tara Road and I thought I would give more of Maeve Binchy's works a try. This was not one of her best pieces. No 8 year old children speak like that. Cathy said it was a shame for the children to go back to their parents when they were almost HUMAN! Cathy continued to drink knowing that she was pregnant. After going into detail with the children about the code for the shop and mentioning several times that the children had big mouths, how could it not occur to them that the children told someone the code? Does Maeve think we're all stupid or does she not care?
Rating:
Summary: Well done!
Review: I loved this book! Never mind that it was 14 cassettes and took 2 weeks to finish - I was literally on the edge of my seat the entire time! I highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a good story - even if you didn't like Tara Road. This book is not even a tenth as predictable. Where does she get all of these ideas? The dialog is so realistically clever, if I had them I'd give the book 3 thumbs up - I know it sounds corny, but it's true. Don't miss it - I almost did! By the way, I highly recommend the audio version for a completely painless way of enjoying the story. It's a little on the long side, but trust me, you will enjoy every minute of it!
Rating:
Summary: The story at the heart is worth the effort.
Review: Overall, I was satisfied with the main storylines in "Scarlet Feather". As soon as I got into the story, I was fascinated by Cathy and Tom's trials and tribulations with their new catering company. I was very pleased with the developing relationship between the two "poor little rich kids" and Cathy's parents. And I turned pages feverishly near the end to find out what was going to happen with Cathy and Neil's marriage. I think that this would have been a better book, however, if it had been streamlined to its essential elements. I felt that the beginning of the book was simply bewildering with new characters being introduced every few pages. I felt that there were characters that could have been saved for other stories, but were crammed in as additional scenery. I could have cared less about Amanda the lesbian sister and Geraldine's quest for her next sugar daddy. Regardless of these difficulties, I still recommend "Scarlet Feather" as a light and entertaining read.
Rating:
Summary: Boring boring boring
Review: I've read two other books of Maeve Binchy - Tara Road and Circle of Friends. I liked Tara Road a lot even though it didn't get to the point till over halfway through. Circle of Friends was just tolerable. I wanted to give Scarlet Feather a chance since it was newer like Tara Road. It was waste of time. The most interesting parts of this book were the scenes with Cathy and Neil. I'm so glad to be done with this book and on to something else. I've purchased other Maeve Binchy books because I thought I'd like them based on a friend but I think I am going to sell them back. Her books are too long and boring!
Rating:
Summary: Waste of Time
Review: Sorry, but even with the beautiful cover, this book was a waste of time. Now, if you have all sorts of time on your hands, read it. But if you only get moments to read, choose something more satisfying.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down.
Review: Another great novel by Maeve Binchy. I just completed this book and couldn't get a thing done till I finished the last 250 pages. This book is about the lives and families of Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather. They are working in a catering business, out of their homes. But they are looking for the perfect place to start their business. And on New Year's Eve, after Tom leaves a party where he doesn't feel he belongs, he finds the perfect place. That starts the book in motion. And it doesn't stop for many pages later. It talks about the relationship between Cathy and her husband, who is too involved in his career to really care what Cathy is trying to do. Will this marriage last? Then there is Cathy's family, her mother and father who live on the other side of the tracks. Her father who has a gambling problem, her mother who used to be the maid for her in-laws. Then there is her Aunt Geraldine who is single and very interested in the married men in town.
The best part of the story is of Cathy's cousin's by marriage, Maud and Simon. Two little nine year old's who create
havoc on everyone's lives. Their own family doesn't want them, so they become Cathy's responsibility. She asks her parents for help with them, and they end up falling in love with them.
There are the stories of the many catering jobs, and the antics that they do to make the job succeed. The many struggles, even after they think their business will go down the tubes. The biggest stress is Cathy's sister's wedding. There are many changes along the way in trying to create the perfect wedding for her sister, who now lives in America, who wants an "Irish wedding". And will it go off without a hitch in between all the other jobs they have, and trying to get their business back on it's feet?
The best thing about the book is the twists and turns of all the people in the book. Will the twins have a happy life? Will
Cathy and Tom find out who robbed them? With the relationship of Cathy and Neil workout? Will Tom and Marcella's relationship work out? Will Aunt Geraldine find happiness in her life? And when the doors shut on the people in the book, will they find another door to open, which will show them a whole different life?
I can't wait till her next book comes out. I've read Tara Road and do have to say, this was much better. Read it, you won't be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: not her best, but not bad
Review: That being said, I did enjoy Scarlet Feather. Her main characters were great, some of the peripheral ones a little one dimensional. Such as Neil, whom i found so irritating I wanted to throw him out from the beginning. I don't know why some people thought it had a sad ending...I thought the ending was perfect. which is probably obvious from my previous comment. also the back of my book (mass market paperback) dvertised Binchy's next book, Quentin's, so I don't know why everyone said that Scarlet Feather was her last one.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down!
Review: I don't like to give anything 5 stars, but I had to for this book. I literally could not put this book down. I stayed up to 3 in the morning reading it the night before I was taking a road trip. I wanted to go to sleep, but the book was too good! I still didn't finish it (it's really LONG) but it was totally worth it. The characters are really well defined and becoming a part of their lives for the year that the book takes place I felt like I had made new friends. You can't say that about alot of books. I would say something about the plot, but the reader needs to discover it on their own. And ENJOY!
| 
