Completing the Puzzle

by Amanda Egan

Middle aged and middle-of-the-road, Fee Crawford has been drifting through life in a passionless marriage and hurtling towards the menopause.With her twin boys grown up and needing her less, why does she still feel incomplete?Coping with her elderly dad, increasingly distant husband and flighty best friend, Cordelia, her life seems to be spiralling out of control.Will a chance meeting with a handsome vet be the missing link to make everything fall into place?From the author of the 'Mummy Misfit' books comes ‘COMPLETING THE PUZZLE’ - A tale of families, love and mid-life crisis.

236 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 6, 2012

About the author

Born in London, Amanda trained professionally as an actress at 'Studio 68' and is now a prominent Indie women's fiction writer.

Her first two books, the 'Mummy Misfit' diaries, were enthusiastically received as a humorously perceptive insight into the easily recognised, self-obsessed mums found at prep school gates the world over.

Amanda moved on to romcom novels and has also released three Christmas novellas.

She has a passion for crafts and entertaining and enjoys actively engaging with her readers by sharing news and discussions on her 'Diary of a Mummy Misfit' blog. You can join in by following her on Facebook 'Mummy Misfit - Amanda Egan', Twitter @Mummy_Misfit or Instagram 'mummy_misfit'.

Her latest novel, 'Half as Good as You', is out now.

Reviews

[Samantha March · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of Completing the Puzzle in exchange for an honest review. I have read Amanda Egan’s two previous novels, Diary of a Mummy Misfit and The Darker Side of Mummy Misfit, and enjoyed them both. This book is not in the Mummy Misfit series, but introduces a new cast of characters. Fee Crawford, a middle-aged mom to twin boys and a faltering marriage, starts to feel her life is incomplete. When her husband Hugh finally confesses why he has been distant lately, Fee’s life is shaken up, and heading for change. When she meets the vet in town, things start to look up. But with her twin boys, her father living under roof and chasing the housecleaner, and an overly-dramatic best friend constantly popping in, Fee isn’t sure her puzzle will find that missing piece.

I enjoyed the quirky humor that Egan brought to her first two books, and though I might not always understand the dialect being a US reader, it still gives me a chuckle as I Google terms. I thought the first half of the book was very solid, and enjoyed getting to know Fee and her family. I thought her twin boys were charming each in their own way, and the twist with Hugh was an interesting one. Through the second half of the book, I actually felt like I was reading a different novel. There are lot of big storylines and plot twists written in, and sometimes I felt like I was being led in all different directions, and it got to be a bit much. There also started to be a lot of foreshadowing in the second half of the book that I didn’t find in the first, so that really made it seem like I was reading two different novels. Overall I still enjoyed the story and thought Fee was a fun MC, but I think the plot could have been a bit tighter.
*3.5 stars*

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, I bought this book the day it came out, I was not asked to review it for KBR.

Second of all.....SHE'S BAAAACCCKKKK!

Amanda Egan bounced back onto my Kindle this month with Book 3, which as a new book, was a definite departure from her previous two much loved books, The Mummy Misfit Diaries. This was a gamble, but was I worried? In a word, NO. I was justified too, as this book is a cracker. The main character Feeble Fee is as Amanda says herself, 'a woman of a certain age,' which was quite refreshing to me. (Especially as I have been reading a lot of YA teen angst lately, which I also love).

This book works, the cover and editing are as usual pretty professional and you get absorbed into the story pretty quickly. I don't like spoiler reviews but I will just say that Marcus is a total dream boat of a man, you ladies will find that out for yourselves. Oh, and you WILL want to punch Cordelia in the face (I am glad a picture of her was not added, as my Kindle would have taken a battering.) I seriously wanted to poke her in the eyes and tell her to bugger off for most of the book, but I quite liked her by the end, which is obviously the point.

Amanda is hard at work on Book 4, in between life and dealing with randoms on her blog, and I for one can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

[Ness · Rating 5 out of 5]

I waited with baited breath to find out the direction of Completing the Puzzle, I was NOT disappointed.

Fee is a strong character but living the everyday life we can all relate to. She copes amazing well when her marriage breaks down, but with everything else going on around her she rarely has time to wallow in her own problems.

I do like a certain assistant nurse in the book! Sir F is such a good sport. The twins are typical boys & well grandad, who couldn’t love him?

I felt I was right there with Fee through all the ups & downs, she had me laughing out loud so many times & even crying with her, which was a little bit embarrassing as I was on a plane at the time! But there’s nothing like a good laugh & a good blub, that in my opinion makes a good book worth reading, again & again!

Marcus is a guy I’d like in my life & I’m actually jealous of Fee having him!

Roll on book 4 ………….. hurry up Amanda & get it finished! No pressure!

[Pat Shouldice]

Light reading for midlife crisis

[Read In Colour · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not nearly as enjoyable as her other works.

[Carol Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was easy reading and I liked the characters. It was never dull or boring. Captivating.