Apartment 3b

by Patricia Scanlan

In the tradition of Maeve Binchy, internationally bestselling author Patricia Scanlan takes readers on a dazzling ride where Dublin’s elite will stop at nothing to be the sole owner of the city’s most luxurious apartment.The best address in Dublin is for sale!Its owner, successful artist Liz Lacey, is set to make big changes in her life. She is selling the luxurious apartment that no longer feels like home.In great excitement, Dublin’s elite flock to view her sophisticated Lainey Conroy; plucky Claire Moran, who has triumphed over adversity; ambitious but tender-hearted Dominic Kent. And Cecily, sister-in-law to Lainey, who will stop at nothing in her plan for revenge.Who will emerge victorious? One thing is for certain; there will be many upsets along the way…Full of warmth and wit, Apartment 3B is an engrossing family drama from the bestselling author of With All My Love and A Time for Friends .

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, British Literature, Ireland

640 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Patricia Scanlan was born in Dublin, where she still lives. Her #1 bestsellers include Apartment 3B; Finishing Touches; Foreign Affairs; Promises, Promises; Mirror, Mirror; City Girl; City Woman; City Lives; and Francesca’s Party. She has sold millions of books worldwide and is translated into many languages. Patricia is the series editor and a contributing author to the award winning Open Door literacy series, which she developed for adult literacy.

Reviews

[Elaine and Tess the Springer. I won’t be on GR for a bit. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a brilliant book, certainly, for me one of the first that I read from this author and now I haven’t read hers for a while. Anyway she writes amazing books that are great on an afternoon lying on the couch with a cup of coffee.

[Jacqueline · Rating 3 out of 5]

yeah..this book really p*&%ed me off,i was really enjoying it and the conclusion made me really angry,it just seemed so unnecessary!anyone who has read it will know what i mean...but other than that i thought it was fairly ok,i was only really interested in one character,and ended up wanting her to get the apartment more than anyone else,i think the beauty of this book is that anyone reading it can get behind at least one character (but having said that theres more characters in this book that you'd rather give a swift kick up the arse too!)

all in all a fairly engaging book!

[Sue Roberts · Rating 2 out of 5]

Worst and laziest ending ever!

[Yvonne G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided not to make any notes or mark any particular pages for reference, when reading this book, as I just knew that it would be a first rate saga, full of many separate short stories, which would all be expertly gathered together in a final climax, in the style similar to so many of the other great writers in the genre

“Instead of seeing the rug being pulled from under us we can learn to dance on a shifting carpet” ….. Words taken from the book and attributed to: Thomas Crum.

These words apply so much to the six people who star centrally in this Irish saga.

Meet the vendor of the apartment Liz who, after much soul searching, has already won her prize and has decided to embark on a new life in Spain.

The other five, all potential purchasers of the apartment, where winning means something different to each of them, but for each winning is seen as the end of one dream and the beginning of another…..

Liz and Hugh go back a long way, now Liz is leaving and Hugh is planning on buying the apartment for his mother.

Claire, with a deeply troubled and tragic past, now seeking a new home for herself and her mother.

Lainey, still recovering from a long ago unrequited love, now her secret lover, Dominic, wants her close to him.

Lainey’s brother Simon and his wife Cecily, professional social climbers of the worst kind. The antagonism between Cecily and Lainey is palpable.


“Behind the dreams, behind the ambitions of those who have their hearts set on Apartment 3B lies a hidden landscape: of girlhood rivalries; of local daughters made good; of being the talk of the bay; and, all too often, of disappointment … and exciting new beginnings.”

….. These words are also taken from the back jacket of the book, so I’m not spoiling any surprises!! They are certainly true words, which become prophetically accurate as the story progresses.


I enjoyed the time frame transitions of the various characters, it was good to follow them through their ever changing lives and emotions, over some 25 years.

I did not think that there were too many characters to make this a viable format for the book, and found it relatively easy to keep up with who was who. The individual stories did overlap and converge from time to time, but on the whole, were played out separately, until close to the climax.

Patricia has an easy style of writing, which evokes instant empathy with each of the characters, giving a complete insight into the deepest thoughts and aspirations of each, as they all struggle with their own personal battles and tragedies, each trying to find answers and closure, so that they can move on with their lives.

Each of them is willing to pay the price for the prize they all covet, but only one can ultimately win and possess …… and that is where it all came a little unstuck for me …..

Whilst there can only be one winner in the bidding for ‘Apartment 3B’ and, of course, we need to know the identity of the successful bidder, the book ends with just that single and from my perspective, unexpected, name.

With no explanations about the ultimate decision, or any idea of the consequences for the unsuccessful bidders, the ending seemed almost rushed, as if the author could not wait to move on to her next project, or had been placed on a tight time-frame to finish the book. It’s like watching a film, which finishes suddenly, making you wait for the sequel to discover the outcome….. this book almost needs a follow-up chapter, as final closure.

As a stand alone piece however, it still managed to tick all the boxes for me. It has a great storyline and insightful, well thought out writing, characters that grow and develop as the book progresses and is definitely well worthy of a 4 star rating.

[Tory · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got this book at a garage sale, I think. Or Goodwill. There was a $.25 sticker on the front. The premise is an apartment is for sale, and the story of the woman selling, and the stories of the potential buyers. Set in Ireland.

I liked the idea of it, I absolutely love Maeve Binchy and her stories and character’s set in Ireland, and was hoping for something similar. It was hard for me to get into the characters at the start, and throughout the whole book I didn’t establish any special liking for any of them. Also, found it difficult to keep track of the multiple story lines, which I don’t usually have a problem with. I think that was due to the fact that I didn’t particularly care for them.

The very last line of the book pissed me off to no end. I usually read the last sentence (just the last sentence) before I start every book, but this time I didn’t, and I should have. I wouldn’t have bothered with the book had I done.

[Miles · Rating 3 out of 5]

i absolutely don't understand why it had to end that way :(

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great escapism. The characters' stories keep you gripped and wanting to find out what happens.

[Sharon Reeves · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like most of Patricia Scanlan's books, but this was not my favourite. Firstly I kept getting lost as to which character she was describing next, as there was alot of characters. Secondly, the ending had me annoyed, and asking "Why"? I wanted an explanation, a reason? I did feel a bit let down, after finally enjoying some of the characters descibed in the book! An OK read.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book. Wish it was longer!

I enjoyed the different characters and on the two occasions I had got lost with who was who it really is just as easy to look back on a Kindle as not is a book so don't be put off by some of the reviews.
Yes the end was in some ways abrupt but my only disappointment was a sequel would be great.
Apart from the latest book by the author I've read all of her novels and can honestly say this book and Foreign Affairs were my two favourites.

[Cat Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Struggled a little bit with all the jumping around in time periods and between character viewpoints. Eventually got there, came to like only a couple of the main characters then was absolutely gutted by the ending.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really enjoying this book, until the end. There were many characters and side characters and I was fully invested in each of their stories. But the ending, in which I thought everything would tie together, was just rushed with no explanation. Very disappointing.

[Marilynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you think you know the ending, you are in for a bumpy ride!

[Jan Schmidt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not like ending. Sometimes it was hard to follow...so much jumping around between dates and characters.

[Tracy Green · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't finish it!

This book is awful...long drawn out and with way too many!!!!! The characters are either weak or unlikable. The narratives way too long. Don't waste your time.

[Amber Sylvester · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read

I wanted this story to carry on! I was so involved with the characters I felt slightly deflated when the book ended.

[Denise Delaney · Rating 3 out of 5]

The storylines were sad and kept me interested but i found the amount of characters and different point of views so hard to keep up with and the ending lay flat and disappointing.

[Ian Hughes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Frivolous soapy novel with a dreadful ending.

[lin · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the first books that got me into reading it was recommended by my mam & I knew how to find it in the library I was a complete novice reader but I’m grateful that it got me into reading 😃

[ltmelt&read · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book a good few years ago it’s the book that got me into reading my mother recommended it so I have great memories of this book

[Rebecca Whelan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me awhile to get into this book and found the characters a bit hard to keep track of but got there in the end and really enjoyed it

[Nuala Livingstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ultimate comfort read.

[philomena barron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Apartment 3B but the ending I was rather disappointed with, the end of the story was rushed with a sharp ending .

[Phylota · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sellist tüüpi kirjandust vist nimetatakse ajaviitekirjanduseks. Mingit erilist sisu teosel polnud, sai tutvuda paari inimese elukäiguga, kelle teed lõpuks ühe korteri oksjonil kohtuvad.

Tegelased ise olid üsna magedad ning lugude pidev edasi-tagasi solgutamine tekitas pigem segadust kui andis teosele midagi juurde. Suur osa ajast läks iga kord loosse taas sisse elamiseks ning meenutamiseks, et kes on nüüd kes. Ja kõik kulmineerub sellega, et loo lõpp on suur pettumus ja tekitab tunde, et autor andis nüüd lihtsalt alla, ei viitsinud teosele lõpetust kirjutada ning lugudele lõpplahendusi pakkuda.

[Nicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like Patricia Scanlan, but this is my least favorite. There are too many characters and I really got confused trying to remember which story went with who. Worse, I only really warmed to one of them, Claire. I did admire where Patricia went with the Lainey character, though. Made a nice change than the usual chick lit heroine. Like most people who have reviewed this, I really didn't like the ending. At least you couldn't say it was predictable - I'll bet no one who read this saw that one coming!

[Jayne Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Structured to concentrate in turn on the various people interested in buying a flashy apartment. A light, undemanding read, but I was a little disappointed by the ending which was fairly straightforward whereas I had been expecting a clever twist.

[Maryzj · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were so many characters, it took a while to get into this book, but by the end I definitely had my favourite prospective buyer and was dying to know who would get the apartment, and what would happen to them all next.

[Charlene Sciberras · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the book but a bit disappointed by the ending,,,feel like there needs to be a sequel

[lynne lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable holiday read

Enjoyable holiday read .One her best .Would like a follow up.It would be nice to know what happened to the characters

[Debs Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took me a while to get into this, once I did I was hooked.
Like most I had my favourite characters.
I was also fairly disappointed with the ending.
I feel there should be a sequel.

[Tracy Munro]

Great Irish author, great family saga