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Bad Behaviour
Darcey and Nieve were best friends for life. Until Nieve stole the heart of Aidan, the boy Darcey had fallen in love with while Nieve was travelling. Aidan was going to propose the very night Nieve caught his eye, and Darcey had seen the ring. For the next ten years she's haunted by the memory of her humiliation. No career success, no comfort her eccentric but loving family can offer, not even (short-lived) marriage to Neil, can console her. And then the invitation comes: to the wedding of Aidan and Nieve, neither of whom she's seen since they left Ireland for life in the USA. They're coming home to have the wedding of a lifetime at Ireland's most expensive hotel. Will Darcey be there? Will there be fireworks? And can the past be put to rest at last?
598 pages, Paperback
First published August 23, 2007
293 people are currently reading
1313 people want to read
About the author
Sheila O'Flanagan
95 books1,198 followersAs you can see, a Dubliner all my life. My parents owned a grocery shop in the Iveagh Markets, in the Liberties area of the city and I guess city blood runs through my veins.
As a child I enjoyed reading and telling stories and everyone thought that I end up in a job which had something to do with books and literature. But though I applied for a job in the library all of the job offers I got were in commerce.
I turned down lots of them before my mother accepted one for me (I was on holiday at the time). It was in the Central Bank of Ireland and that’s how my career in financial services began.
I started out in administration and then moved jobs until finally I was working as a dealer in a commercial bank. Eventually I was promoted to Chief Dealer (the first female CD in the country). I traded lots of different things – foreign exchange, swaps, options, bonds…all of the kind of things you read about in the papers and that sound very technical and difficult. Of course once you’re doing it, it’s not half as technical as it sounds.
But I still loved reading and writing (which I did in my spare time) and I desperately wanted to write my own book. I guess I never quite got over the fact that I was never offered the library job! In my thirties I decided that it was now or never and I sat down, stuck Chapter 1 on a page, and started. I wrote the whole thing before sending it off.
I was offered a publishing deal (with no advance) by an Irish company but only if I wrote a different book! So back to the drawing board, I started again. It was another two years before it was published. It wasn’t until I’d written a few books and was offered a contract (this time with an advance!) from another publisher that I felt able to give up my trading job and write full time. So, even though it took a long time, I eventually realised my dream of being a full-time writer.
And now I also write a business column for the Irish Times.
When I’m writing a book I want to do three things:
* Tell a good story
* Make the reader feel like they know the characters
* Make each book better than the last
I don’t write for any particular audience but I suppose I must have people like me in mind – people who have busy lives and who like to escape into someone else’s for a while.
I love writing books. I hope you enjoy reading them.
As a child I enjoyed reading and telling stories and everyone thought that I end up in a job which had something to do with books and literature. But though I applied for a job in the library all of the job offers I got were in commerce.
I turned down lots of them before my mother accepted one for me (I was on holiday at the time). It was in the Central Bank of Ireland and that’s how my career in financial services began.
I started out in administration and then moved jobs until finally I was working as a dealer in a commercial bank. Eventually I was promoted to Chief Dealer (the first female CD in the country). I traded lots of different things – foreign exchange, swaps, options, bonds…all of the kind of things you read about in the papers and that sound very technical and difficult. Of course once you’re doing it, it’s not half as technical as it sounds.
But I still loved reading and writing (which I did in my spare time) and I desperately wanted to write my own book. I guess I never quite got over the fact that I was never offered the library job! In my thirties I decided that it was now or never and I sat down, stuck Chapter 1 on a page, and started. I wrote the whole thing before sending it off.
I was offered a publishing deal (with no advance) by an Irish company but only if I wrote a different book! So back to the drawing board, I started again. It was another two years before it was published. It wasn’t until I’d written a few books and was offered a contract (this time with an advance!) from another publisher that I felt able to give up my trading job and write full time. So, even though it took a long time, I eventually realised my dream of being a full-time writer.
And now I also write a business column for the Irish Times.
When I’m writing a book I want to do three things:
* Tell a good story
* Make the reader feel like they know the characters
* Make each book better than the last
I don’t write for any particular audience but I suppose I must have people like me in mind – people who have busy lives and who like to escape into someone else’s for a while.
I love writing books. I hope you enjoy reading them.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 127 reviews
June 17, 2017
An enjoyable read with great insight into the dangers of how holding on to the past can blind you to what you have.
Main characters are Darcey, who sees herself as a bit of an uncoordinated dope, a divorced wage slave with a messed up life; and Neive who stole Darcey's almost fiance and regards money as the most important thing in life.
Probably a little predictable but it kept a smile on my face throughout.
Main characters are Darcey, who sees herself as a bit of an uncoordinated dope, a divorced wage slave with a messed up life; and Neive who stole Darcey's almost fiance and regards money as the most important thing in life.
Probably a little predictable but it kept a smile on my face throughout.
February 13, 2016
Ik heb genoten van Bad behaviour. Je hebt van die boeken die moeilijk weg te leggen zijn, omdat ze zo vlot lezen. Dit is er een van. Toch heb ik soms wat bedenkingen om aan een boek van Sheila O'Flanagan te beginnen. Dat komt met name doordat ze redelijk dikke boeken schrijft. Deze is bijvoorbeeld 598 pagina's dik. Ik lees liever iets minder dikke boeken. Toch ben ik blij dat ik het gelezen heb. Nu ik het uit heb, weet ik weer waarom ik zo'n fan ben van Sheila O'Flanagans werk. Bad behaviour is een chicklit, maar het draait niet alleen om het vinden van Mr. Right. Het gaat ook over vriendschap en wat nu echt belangrijk is in het leven: succes en geld of happiness. Ook gaat het over of je iemand kunt vergeven voor iets wat hij of zij heeft gedaan. Het verhaal wordt grotendeels verteld vanuit het perspectief van Darcey, al switch het soms naar dat van Nieve, een schoolvriendin van Darcey. Omdat Nieve er met Darcey's vriend vandoor is gegaan, hebben ze geen contact meer. Tot Nieve gaat trouwen en besluit haar oude vriendin uit te nodigen. Hoewel het op sommige punten iets voorspelbaar is, is het ook een grappig en hartverwarmend verhaal en zeker de moeite waard om te lezen.
April 5, 2015
I admit to being a big fan of Sheila O'Flanagan's, and this was no disappointment. Thoroughly enjoyable, a cut above the ditzy chic-lit. Good bit of substance to the story, excellent characterisation and a damn good read. Keep 'em coming!
January 22, 2023
Such bland dialogue, and characters with no discernable personalities other than what we're explicitly told, i.e., 'this one is ruthless', 'this one is smart but we'll make her fall over a lot to help her seem endearing'. And so, so long!
Also, are we expected to believe that a group of schoolgirls in Ireland in the 90s would be nicknamed "the brainy broads"? I think not! Weird, old ladyish language too, "Heaven knows!" exclaimed one young woman; and so much - again, from 20-somethings in Galway? - "lovemaking"... "but you made love to me"... etc 🤢
2 stars because it must have taken the author a long time to write down all the words, and to be fair, she didn't give up.
Oh, special mention for all the contrived 'perilous' situations that the main character had to find herself in, in order for the "hunk" (yes, they called him a HUNK, more than once) to be all protective towards her, even though she's a high-flying financial whizz of a businesswoman (although, at heart, her secret dream is to own a farmhouse in Tuscany, naturally, because as a businesswomen she'd be horrid like that other ruthless one, who doesnt have dreams of country living and making babies, otherwise), I.e. trapped in a lift, turbulence on a plane, breaking her wrist by falling down stairs in Singapore while on a high flying financial whizzy business trip. And oh my god, every single chapter had a female character, her family members or friends refer to their own or each others' weight and/or looks in general. Size 14 is too chunky for this book, btw. So vapid!
Rubbish.
Also, are we expected to believe that a group of schoolgirls in Ireland in the 90s would be nicknamed "the brainy broads"? I think not! Weird, old ladyish language too, "Heaven knows!" exclaimed one young woman; and so much - again, from 20-somethings in Galway? - "lovemaking"... "but you made love to me"... etc 🤢
2 stars because it must have taken the author a long time to write down all the words, and to be fair, she didn't give up.
Oh, special mention for all the contrived 'perilous' situations that the main character had to find herself in, in order for the "hunk" (yes, they called him a HUNK, more than once) to be all protective towards her, even though she's a high-flying financial whizz of a businesswoman (although, at heart, her secret dream is to own a farmhouse in Tuscany, naturally, because as a businesswomen she'd be horrid like that other ruthless one, who doesnt have dreams of country living and making babies, otherwise), I.e. trapped in a lift, turbulence on a plane, breaking her wrist by falling down stairs in Singapore while on a high flying financial whizzy business trip. And oh my god, every single chapter had a female character, her family members or friends refer to their own or each others' weight and/or looks in general. Size 14 is too chunky for this book, btw. So vapid!
Rubbish.
April 25, 2015
With the pink, girly cover you'd think this book was going to be about relationships right from the beginning. So I was pleasantly surprised to discover this book passing the Bechdel test (two women characters who talk about something other than men) for the first third of the book. And in the end this book is really about friendship between two women.
Yes, a woman steals a man from her best friend, but there is so much in here about women's ambition and career lives so I really enjoyed it. When it got to the backstabbing part, I recognized a lot of the "bad behaviour" I'd been subject to in my female friendships. It was realistic and the memories it brought up hurt like hell.
All in all, it was an enjoyable read. The audiobook author does a fantastic job with all the accents so check out that version if you can.
Yes, a woman steals a man from her best friend, but there is so much in here about women's ambition and career lives so I really enjoyed it. When it got to the backstabbing part, I recognized a lot of the "bad behaviour" I'd been subject to in my female friendships. It was realistic and the memories it brought up hurt like hell.
All in all, it was an enjoyable read. The audiobook author does a fantastic job with all the accents so check out that version if you can.
November 10, 2011
I think I may have read this book before? Because I found I could guess how certain things would end. I still enjoyed reading it though
I found it a quick to get into and easy to read book. Nieve stealing Aiden didn't sit well with me. Even though it worked out for the charachters in the end. Which, I guess was the whole point of the book.
I found it a quick to get into and easy to read book. Nieve stealing Aiden didn't sit well with me. Even though it worked out for the charachters in the end. Which, I guess was the whole point of the book.
May 31, 2014
Done reading this lovely story. Lots of lesson learned for me too. Enjoy the last chapter very much, but sometime a bit confusing or it's like a repeating kind of moment quite more than 2?
Anyway, glad to know that 2 best friend can get along again together and happy ending to know the conclusion that her ex husband love her again? And Darcey loves him too. Je t'aime ... She told her ex husband
Anyway, glad to know that 2 best friend can get along again together and happy ending to know the conclusion that her ex husband love her again? And Darcey loves him too. Je t'aime ... She told her ex husband
September 6, 2008
First of her books I have ever read, enjoyed it as a light read, will read more by her!
December 8, 2008
i learned from this book that by living in the past and holding on to a dream you once had you may miss out on whats in front of you.
January 13, 2010
I love Sheila O'Flanagan books, another great read, good story line, it was interesting to see how a man can come between two close friends and change everything, I couldnt put this book down.
December 27, 2012
This is the perfect book if you are looking for a cheesy read. I litterally could not put the book down. It was (for me at least) a pretty predictable story, but I still enjoyed reading it.
June 12, 2017
Loved this book! A fantastic easy read about love, miscommunication and friendships.
December 12, 2018
Een boek dat je in één ruk zou uit lezen. Dikwijls wist ik niet welke richting het verhaal zou uit gaan en dat houdt het spannend!
April 1, 2017
I have to say I enjoyed this book - not too taxing on ye olde brain but good escapism. It's worth noting that this was published in 2007 - pre the crash. Reading it now it is quite easy to guess what might happen with one of the characters - not specifically but generally.
December 9, 2018
Fancied a bit of chick lit for a bit of easy reading and that's what I got. However, in terms of easy reading and chick lit I've read better. This was a little dragged out and quite a long read for such a simple story line.
September 21, 2023
First of all extremely annoying how small the printing is! Beside that I really tried to keep going besides the fact I was straining my sight each time but eventually gave up cos I realized my eye sight was more important than this boring story.🙄
July 22, 2013
I don't know why this book really interested me and it turned out to be a very good book considering my age when I read it. I'm a strictly romance, fantasy and young adult genre type of reader right now but I did like the economy theme or was it something about bank and stocks stuff? Anyhow it turned out to be a no-no path in my life later on but still, maybe that was the reason why I kept re-reading it after the first time.
Since it has gone a few years since my last time reading this book, with vivid memories of the story, I can still come around and re-read the whole thing again. That is how good I think the book is. The friendship bond between Nieve and Darcey is sonething that can happen in real life but I somehow can't see if the reality version will turn to the same path as the story since it's a fiction but it gives us the chance to think about our friendships with the close ones of ourselves and really look at the two paths that our choices takes us on.
It is not only the two paths that O'Flanagan point out but also that we always turn blind over things like grudges, mistakes, missunderstandings and old feelings that we have not taken care off in order to move on. The characters tried by doing something they thought was right, super focus on their profession and finding other persons to like. Nevertheless, I think we need to do these things to find the right path, no scratch that, we just need to really deal with our problem right on spot and not procrastinate till a few years later when we have to deal with it again, this time with extra lugage.
Plus, why is the main culprit ignored?! Why all the hate between Nieve and Darcy? He was the one who caused the friendship to break and now his actions was just simply ignored in the book.
For a swedish version of this review, head over to my blog:
pilesofbooks
Since it has gone a few years since my last time reading this book, with vivid memories of the story, I can still come around and re-read the whole thing again. That is how good I think the book is. The friendship bond between Nieve and Darcey is sonething that can happen in real life but I somehow can't see if the reality version will turn to the same path as the story since it's a fiction but it gives us the chance to think about our friendships with the close ones of ourselves and really look at the two paths that our choices takes us on.
It is not only the two paths that O'Flanagan point out but also that we always turn blind over things like grudges, mistakes, missunderstandings and old feelings that we have not taken care off in order to move on. The characters tried by doing something they thought was right, super focus on their profession and finding other persons to like. Nevertheless, I think we need to do these things to find the right path, no scratch that, we just need to really deal with our problem right on spot and not procrastinate till a few years later when we have to deal with it again, this time with extra lugage.
Plus, why is the main culprit ignored?! Why all the hate between Nieve and Darcy? He was the one who caused the friendship to break and now his actions was just simply ignored in the book.
For a swedish version of this review, head over to my blog:
pilesofbooks
June 7, 2021
It turned out to be a romance! Didn't see that coming, Nieve got what she deserved, Darcy became a success! And she ended up with Neil Lomond! Anna was well... Anna! Aidan was scummmm! Minett is the perfect mother, Martin was and still is trash. The twins weren't noticeable, I didn't care for Nieve's family, and Max Christie deserved to crash. And Darcy changed soooo much!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 20, 2008
Darcey and Nieve were the closest and best of friends, through school, as neighbours, travelling round Europe: this was a friendship for life. Until Nieve, returning from Europe a little later than her friend, stole the heart of Aidan, the boy Darcey had fallen in love with in her absence. Aidan was going to propose the very night Nieve caught his eye, and Darcey knew it. For the next ten years she's haunted by the memory of her humiliation. No business success - and there are many - no comfort her warm if eccentric family can offer, not even marriage to Neil, can console her. And then the invitation comes: to the wedding of Aidan and Nieve, neither of whom she's seen since they left Ireland for life in the USA. They're coming home to have the wedding of a lifetime at Ireland's most expensive hotel. Will Darcey be there? Will there be fireworks? And can the past be put to rest at last?
I thought the story was a nice one from Sheila O'Flanagan. A story about the betrayal of friendship and those considered loved ones, yet it emphasizes on the greatness and importance of forgiveness and closure. I liked the ending where Darcey finally falls in love, with the man she used to think she did not love. Also the book goes to reiterate the thin line between being the career driven woman, and the simpleness of happiness of a family. I loved it. Oh, happy endings!
I thought the story was a nice one from Sheila O'Flanagan. A story about the betrayal of friendship and those considered loved ones, yet it emphasizes on the greatness and importance of forgiveness and closure. I liked the ending where Darcey finally falls in love, with the man she used to think she did not love. Also the book goes to reiterate the thin line between being the career driven woman, and the simpleness of happiness of a family. I loved it. Oh, happy endings!
December 6, 2013
Bad Behaviour, come credo si capisca molto bene dalla copertina, è un romanzo chick lit (anche se poi a conti fatti lo definirei più un romance che un chick lit). Non è un genere con cui vado molto d'accordo, anche se un paio di anni fa ho cominciato ad interessarmene e ho letto molti romanzi di questo tipo. Il mio problema fondamentale è che le protagoniste dei chick lit normalmente sono dei disastri ambulanti. E' chiaro che in un romanzo di questo genere ci deve essere qualche drammatico evento amoroso a cui la protagonista reagisce in modo poco realistico, questo mi va bene. La maggior parte delle volte però la protagonista ha anche le mani bucate e spende soldi in cose assurde indebitandosi pesantemente o fa le scelte sentimentali più improbabili dell'universo (come uscire con il proprio capo sposato e convincersi che sia tutto ok) oppure si comporta come una bambina di cinque anni nei confronti di amici e famiglia, o è totalmente disorganizzata, o si comporta nel modo più irresponsabile sul luogo di lavoro. In alcuni - non rarissimi - casi una combinazione delle alternative qui sopra, se non addirittura tutte.
http://robertabookshelf.blogspot.it/2...
http://robertabookshelf.blogspot.it/2...
did-not-finish
January 4, 2017Boy, did I ever bounce off this author hard. I don't insist that "chick lit" books have to be beautifully written in order for me to enjoy them (though it's awesome when they are!), but I cannot cope with a writer whose writing philosophy seems to be "I guess I'll just throw four or five separate thoughts into a sentence in no particular order and let the reader untangle them".
Behold:
Obviously, she thought, as she stepped under the shower, gasped, and rapidly turned the dial to hot from the sub-zero temperature she’d somehow left it at the day before, nobody’s life turned out exactly the way they expected.
Or worse:
Bloody birthdays, she muttered, after she’d got out of the shower, dressed and spent ages taming the kinks that still plagued her hair (wrestling with her dryer, her GHD and copious quantities of anti-frizz serum to achieve her objective) they were just an excuse for multinational companies to rip people off by selling overpriced cards with crap rhymes.
I can imagine that there are readers who would find that this sort of thing adds to the humour value of the book, but I am not one of them. Running away.
Behold:
Obviously, she thought, as she stepped under the shower, gasped, and rapidly turned the dial to hot from the sub-zero temperature she’d somehow left it at the day before, nobody’s life turned out exactly the way they expected.
Or worse:
Bloody birthdays, she muttered, after she’d got out of the shower, dressed and spent ages taming the kinks that still plagued her hair (wrestling with her dryer, her GHD and copious quantities of anti-frizz serum to achieve her objective) they were just an excuse for multinational companies to rip people off by selling overpriced cards with crap rhymes.
I can imagine that there are readers who would find that this sort of thing adds to the humour value of the book, but I am not one of them. Running away.
August 28, 2016
The rating I wanted to give was 2.5.
This book is a long, long read, has a vaguely unsatisfactory ending (nobody gets the comeuppance they deserve and I am a sucker for things like that) and rather bleargh protagonists (one is likeable but too goody goody and the other is interesting but unpleasant ).
Yet, it isn't a bad book. You keep reading because you want to know what happens and how things pan out. Can you ever forgive a best friend who betrayed you in the worst possible way? Can you ever get things to go back to the way they were? And were things ever as good as you thought they were? The questions are interesting, certainly.
What this book has done is to make me interested in Flanagan's books - I may look for more of her works, because while it dragged in the middle, it wasn't too badly written.
This book is a long, long read, has a vaguely unsatisfactory ending (nobody gets the comeuppance they deserve and I am a sucker for things like that) and rather bleargh protagonists (one is likeable but too goody goody and the other is interesting but unpleasant ).
Yet, it isn't a bad book. You keep reading because you want to know what happens and how things pan out. Can you ever forgive a best friend who betrayed you in the worst possible way? Can you ever get things to go back to the way they were? And were things ever as good as you thought they were? The questions are interesting, certainly.
What this book has done is to make me interested in Flanagan's books - I may look for more of her works, because while it dragged in the middle, it wasn't too badly written.
September 13, 2013
This was a fun read. A mix of very different personalities, switching point of views… The storyline might not be very original, but it was well-written nevertheless. I liked that the financial and economical world was dragged into this. This book mainly follows Darcey throughout her life.
Best friends with Nieve in high school, travelling around Europe…but all of that falls apart when Nieve steals the heart of the boy Darcey was supposed to marry. For the next ten years, Darcey is struggling with trust, friendship and getting close to anyone in general. But what happens when ten years after the event, she gets a wedding invitation of her former best friend and the guy that was supposed to be hers? Sparks will fly.
Best friends with Nieve in high school, travelling around Europe…but all of that falls apart when Nieve steals the heart of the boy Darcey was supposed to marry. For the next ten years, Darcey is struggling with trust, friendship and getting close to anyone in general. But what happens when ten years after the event, she gets a wedding invitation of her former best friend and the guy that was supposed to be hers? Sparks will fly.
April 26, 2014
I had picked the book randomly...i mean who knew..it would be one of the books were u just have to know what's gonna happen next.. made me very much curious... i can say its a DEFINITE READ.. u can feel the complexity of women mind. the author really made me engross in the book for sure..
the story is refreshing and beautifully written..
Thanks to Shelia O'Flanagan for the story...
And thanks for the amazing quote which actually after reading the book makes more sense den ever..
' Maths is like love, a simple idea, but it can get complicated'- R. Drabek.
P.S. - Its my 1st review..please bear if i have written something wrong.
the story is refreshing and beautifully written..
Thanks to Shelia O'Flanagan for the story...
And thanks for the amazing quote which actually after reading the book makes more sense den ever..
' Maths is like love, a simple idea, but it can get complicated'- R. Drabek.
P.S. - Its my 1st review..please bear if i have written something wrong.
October 26, 2012
I loved the different characters and the right mixture of personalities in the book. Although the storyline does seem a bit familiar, I loved reading the book and it had me hooked on from page 1. The blurb at the back does not give out anything since I was fairly surprised at the ending of the book.
I could relate more with the character of Darcey than Nieve. Although the narration does shift to Nieve's pov at times, it does not gain her any brownie points. All in all, it was an enjoyable read. A big fat book to curl up with in the evening.
I could relate more with the character of Darcey than Nieve. Although the narration does shift to Nieve's pov at times, it does not gain her any brownie points. All in all, it was an enjoyable read. A big fat book to curl up with in the evening.
June 26, 2010
This was the thickest book I've ever read next to Eragon, Eldest & Brisingr and the Harry Potter Series. It was very interesting. A story about a long held grudge and lost love. I thought the plot was much to develop on but really enjoyable.
Great ending: letting bygones be bygones and finding a love once lost. Excellent read.
Great ending: letting bygones be bygones and finding a love once lost. Excellent read.
November 10, 2015
This was a really fun read, it kept me interested and like all Sheila O'Flanagan's book I read, this one did not disappoint. My only thought is that it was a bit too long. I love novels of real issues and daily life, this one deals with many true problems that we encounter in adulthood and in the corporate world, demanding jobs, good and not so good friends, difficult moms, etc. I recommend this book because it is entertaining but not stressful.
February 28, 2010
I thought the storyline was good, and I felt like I really got to know the charecters. But I did feel as though the story went on a bit too long, and could have ended earlier. I also found the ending to be a bit predictable. Even still, I do think it was a good book and i'm glad that I read it - but it's not a book I would reread
August 30, 2014
This was a fun read. I love how the financial world is included in the story. Though it was practically a mix of typical and not so atypical story, I loved how the ups and downs of economy and finance is also included in it. The end was pretty good considering Darcey ends up with her ex and she makes up with her ex bestfriend though they don't stay bestfriend after.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 127 reviews