River Deep

by Rowan Coleman

Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes, Dorothy Koomson and Liane Moriarty, this is an uplifting and heartfelt novel from the author of The Memory Book, which was featured in the Richard & Judy book club 2014'I immediately read The Memory Book and it's WONDERFUL ... I'm so happy because she's written other books and its so lovely to find a writer you love who has a backlist' Marian KeyesFor five years, Maggie has known what her life is all her satisfying job in a small catering company, her boyfriend (and boss) Christian, and the future they're building together. Christian is the man Maggie's destined to be with forever, she fell in love with him the moment they met, their love runs River Deep, Mountain High - until Christian comes home one night and says the terrible words 'it's over'. Numb, shocked and disbelieving, Maggie moves home to her parents' pub. Jobless and single, living in a bedroom still papered with A-ha and Take That posters, she's back to square one. The life she spent five years building is over. Or is it? Convinced she knows Christian better than he knows himself, Maggie sets out to win him back. But when she enlists the help of Pete, temporarily abandoned by his fiancé, she starts to wonder just how broken her heart really is...

Genres: Chick Lit

418 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Rowan Coleman lives with her husband, and five children in a very full house in Hertfordshire. She juggles writing novels with raising her family which includes a very lively set of toddler twins whose main hobby is going in the opposite directions. When she gets the chance, Rowan enjoys sleeping, sitting and loves watching films; she is also attempting to learn how to bake.

Rowan would like to live every day as if she were starring in a musical, although her daughter no longer allows her to sing in public. Despite being dyslexic, Rowan loves writing, and The Memory Book is her eleventh novel. Others include The Accidental Mother, Lessons in Laughing Out Loud and the award-winning Dearest Rose, a novel which lead Rowan to become an active supporter of domestic abuse charity Refuge, donating 100% of royalties from the ebook publication of her novella, Woman Walks Into a Bar, to the charity. Rowan does not have time for ironing.

Reviews

[AdiTurbo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dragged a bit in the middle, and I was really upset by the writer deciding at some point to stress how gorgeously stunning everyone was, as if average-looking people don't deserve love or are never attracted to each other. But a nice read that gives hope and comfort nonetheless.

[Preet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book. Maggie was a likable character. It was easy to relate to her and at time you wanted to smack her too. Pete was also really likable and lovable, but I wanted to smack him too. It was because they were both making silly mistakes not only in regards to each other, but also their partners. Lottie was interesting. Especially since Maggie was able to become kind of friendly with her, even if it was under false pretenses. The only reaction Christen evoked from me was "meh". I do wish we had a little more in there about Sarah and Sheila. They both were very important to Maggie, yet it seemed like, they weren't done complete justice.

Anyhow, Rowan Coleman did a great job with this book. I was hooked and rooting for Maggie and Pete all the way.

[Lucy McLaurin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really nice and funny! A good girlie read!

The reviews going back this far are copied out of a notebook I kept with records of the books read...

[Kezza22 · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok.... Just found the main character a bit desperate really. Her boyfriend gas met someone else and dumps her and she believes he still loves her and wants her still.

She mets Pete one night who has a girlfriend who uses him until someone better cones sling then she dumps him again... He proposes to her to make her stay with him but she swans off to Australia whilst engaged to him for a year....

All just a little bit too desperate for me to really enjoy the book

[Clo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good. Loved Maggie especially when she pretended to be Carmen! Glad that she and Pete got together, they were made for each other.
Wasn't sure what to make of Sarah - bit of an ice queen.
Maggie puzzled me when it came to her mum and dad, she seemed to resent them for no real reason.

[Lesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just read it over the weekend and it was fantastic! It's Rowan Coleman's first novel and was a little tough to find...;-)

[Aileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did eventually enjoy this book, I did find it a bit hard to get into, but I would recomend.

[Ashton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm usually into stuff like this, but I found the narrative to be boring, and the characters desperate, one dimensional and hugely unlikeable.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Drivel.

[Natasha du Plessis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Rowan Coleman's books. This book had some funny pieces in and I woud recommend this if you are a Rowan Coleman fan