Beers, Beards, and Books is back for the second episode. Featuring a beer review from CJ Aggett and a book review by Chris Hooley. This week CJ reviewed Trooper IPA and Chris Hooley reviewed 10 Years by Pernille Hughes. You can read the review below and watch it. This weeks WCCS book club pick is The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley. Get the book, read along with Chris Hooley and chat about it with us on Twitter.
Beers, Beards and Books Review - Ten Years by Pernille Hughes. Buy it here.
Ten Years was an enjoyable and original Romantic Comedy that tackles a brave concept head on. Can enemies become lovers? And if so, how could that happen?
Charlie and Becca’s journey to happily ever after starts at the funeral of Ally. Charlie’s fiancé and Becca’s best friend. Even though I didn’t particularly warm to either character over the course of the novel, I could appreciate the self-improving journey they both experience and the grief in which they have towards losing a loved one.
I liked the structure of the novel. It was interesting to see what had happened to both characters as the years went by, but some of it felt contrived and too typical of the romance genre. Charlie getting married to a horrible person. Becca having poor luck with men. Sometimes it all felt a bit too predictable.
I think because Ally was such a focal point of the novel; it made it hard for me to accept them as lovers at any point, even by the end. There were two moments in the novel that annoyed me. Finding out that Becca and Charlie had ‘shagged’ one another before he fell head over heels with Becca felt like a strange and unnecessary plot twist. The second was Becca’s reluctance towards Charlie at the end. It felt like she was being a petulant child.
The sex scenes in this book were too animalistic for me. The references to the ‘noises’ (espically in their throats) made the scenes funny and not sexy, which, again, added to the un-believability of Charlie and Becca.
The side characters of this novel are brilliant and very realistic - I adored Valerie, and I thought her role in Charlie and Becca’s fate was expertly done. She was genuinely funny and the character I felt the most compassion for in the book. A mother losing her daughter but still mothering others. Chef’s kiss!
If you are a fan of the ‘will-they-won’t-they’ narrative, then this is definitely one for you. If you love romantic comedies with a bit of a twist to them… then again, this is one for you. I didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped I would, but it was still a pleasant read and I would recommend it to fans of the genre.
Ten Years - Four/Five Stars
Next week’s read: The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
If you wan't to read The Paris Apartment at the same time as us you can keep in touch with us on Twitter and let us know your thoughts.
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