No Strings Attached

by Clare Dowling

An Irish, contemporary, romantic comedy about relationships and what happens when the romance wears off.

Judy is getting married on Saturday and it's a military operation: the dress, the three-tiered cake, the uncle that nobody will sit beside at the reception. She knows it'll be worth it, though, because marriage is forever, right? But the night before, fiancé Barry mysteriously goes missing and, to add insult to injury, his credit card shows up two days later in a nightclub in the south of France. Has he just got cold feet? Fanning her fury and grief is Lenny, Barry's best man, and king of the one-night stand. Why let commitment ruin a perfectly good romance? Lenny argues. With the love of her life romping around France, Judy just might be in the mood for a little romance - with no strings attached, of course...

Genres: Chick Lit, Romance, Humor

480 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Clare Dowling is a screenwriter and bestselling author. She's had many jobs, including as an actress, a waitress and a legal secretary before turning to writing full-time. She's had eleven novels published, and she also writes scripts for television. She lives in Dublin with her family.

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Girl is about to get married and two days before the wedding, Dude leaves her. Girl ends up having a fling with Dude's mate, who is staying with them and she has a crush on him. Dude comes home and tries to win Girl back, but (thank god!) girl says no. Only because she likes Mate now! But Mate is from Australia, while the story takes place in Ireland. A few months later, when Dude finds out that Girl slept with Mate after Dude ran away, Dude, freaks out. Mate, who is a total player, comes back to Ireland to be with Girl. I thought that was kind of lame, as why would you want to be with a player? He's not going to change and why would you want him too? Blah.

Story was a bit to typical for me. Nothing interesting happened. Oh wait, no, Girl's brother, who used to go out with Girl's rich friend, but then he moved to America and came back for the wedding super successful with a girl, was interesting. Typical, but I still liked the bother a lot.

Grade: C

[Samira Salimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This books talks about making your mind & being honest with yourself before marriage. It recommends to be clear of your feelings & expectations. Marriage is all about love, commitment, & longevity...may be it is a good practice to re-new your vows & consider what you need to do to strengthen your promises.

[Kerrice · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not for me, unfortunately.
I wanted to DNF lots of times, but once I start something, I have to finish!

The characters never gripped me;
The main character (Judy) was far too stuck up.
Lenny was too sensitive.
Barry was a wet wipe (which I suppose is the point, so maybe I should praise that).
Annie/Ber were boring.
Rose and Mick did have their moments that I enjoyed.
Cheryls brakedown paragraph was funny tbh.

This is the first book I have read that wasn't 1st person, so I'm not sure if that set me off on the wrong foot to start with.

Definitely with the title of the book I thought it would have had a bit of spice, but with only one sex scene that was kind of mentioned in passing I was disappointed.

[Mireille Duval · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I read this in French and usually I review in French, but usually I also never read translations, so I'll review in English. I expected nothing of it and indeed, the translation was terrible, but I actually really got into the story.

It's more chick lit than romance, the nuance being that it's all about Judy and not so much about her love story with Lenny, though the under-developed parts of it we saw were great. (Hate turning into loooove! He calls her after six months with no contact to ask her to come to Australia, and then jumps into a plane when she says no!) I liked the whole ensemble, too, Ber freaking out at the domesticity, Biffo and Angie and their drama (which felt like it came from a very real place!), and Judy's parents. Barry was the only miss for me - and it's obvious why, I mean, it's right there in the title that he's going to dump her on their wedding day, so, hard to take a liking to him.

I could feel that there would have been big parts of the dialogue I would have enjoyed in English, so I'll try to pick up another book of Dowling's eventually. Once the book hunger games are done!

[Sabine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice story to read before bed. I've been thinking the same questions that the book had: How you know he's the right person? Why I'm so "old school" with the marriage thing etc. It didn't have surprising plots but the book was easy to read, adding a few witty comments here and there. The ending was also no surprise so I can't rate it with maximum stars cause it was very..average. But it's a nice read and I'm glad I read it as it gave me interesting thoughts and perspectives. Props for that.

[Sue Lilley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve enjoyed all this author’s books. They’re always so warm and cosy. This is another one with a big noisy family full of great characters. I liked Judy’s journey from buttoned-up librarian to someone happier and more free. Relaxing and entertaining.

[Anita Pal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This gets a four star rating for depicting honesty and realism in long term relationships. Far too often, this aspect is either overlooked or gets bogged down by fluff.

[Nicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got through it, but pretty lame. Didn't really enjoy the characters, though at least Judy gained a bit of backbone by the end. Story is of how Judy is jilted the day before her wedding to Barry. There's then a dragged out "will she, won't she" with Barry's best friend who is promiscuous. It's obvious from the title where this one is going, but it takes a long time to get there and it's anti climatic (no pun intended) when it does. Judy is dull for most of this, Barry's not much better, and Lenny sleeps with any woman who moves. Wow. What a prize.
Readable light entertainment, but not sure it was worthwhile sticking with it. Unsubstantial rather than bad.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. Was it terribly original, no. Was is entirely predictable, yes. But was it a light fun read anyway, absolutely. It had your typical chick-lit character roster, but the supporting characters were interesting and more than just your standard cookie-cutter background filler. I liked the range of relationship problems she tackled, anyone reading this book could relate to at least one of the couples and the rough spots they tried to work through. The writing was witty and funny but still realistic and genuine. Overall it was a good book, this was my first Clare Dowling novel but it won't be my last.

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Judy is preparing to get married to Barry whom she has lived with for a number of years. But after Lenny arrives from Australia to be Barry's best man - Barry walks out (the day before the wedding). The book looks at the repercussions of this decision and Judy's realisation that she needs more from life. (also shows Bev and Vinnie's developing relationship (mistress becomes a 'wife'), and Angie and Biffo work through income differences)

[Melinda Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

There must be a reason why it took me close to two months to finish this book, and it can't be because it was so good I wanted to extend the joy.
There's not much to say about this, the characters were dull, or worse, irritating, and there's so many that just drop off halfway through the book and you never hear about them again!
It feels like many of the chapters in this book are rehashed over and over, and the conclusion isn't at all worth all the effort I invested in reading this.

[Teena in Toronto · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the writing style ... funny and a tad sarcastic.

Yes, it's predictable ... there are lots of subplots and everyone ends up living happily every after.

If you are looking for something light with a happy ending, I'd recommend it.

Though it's set in Ireland, I had John Hannah's accent in my head when they spoke. I know he's Scottish but I just saw Sliding Doors a couple nights ago.

[Aileen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The characters are not very likeable. I think we're supposed to sympathise with Judy, but I just found her hugely irritating. None of the characters are very well developed - we don't really get much insight to any of the relationships. If you're looking for some'fluff' that requires no thought, it's not a bad choice but you'll be thoroughly bored by the end.

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot was slow moving making it extremely hard to get into. Some parts of the story were quite laboured and dull. The subplots although were pretty good as far as subplots go and were well linked the the main plot. This book was ok but I have read better versions

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I needed a time out from the traumatic book I'm reading. This fit the bill; silly, light chick-lit and you just know that in the end they're all going to live happily ever after. Provided a few hours' escape from the real world.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't like Barry or even Judy very much. But I did like how the tale was spun. Even if some of it was rather predictable.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the 1st book I read of Clare's.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.
She told a good story and it was funny in places.
The only disadvantage was it had a predictable ending.

[Tanya Ansin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just love imperfect romance stories. Describes today's insecurities with relationships and the difficulties that come with marriage and exciting new flings.

[Lisa]

Brilliant, warm and funny story, really enjoyed it :)

[Haylee · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved this book and could not put it down.read it you will love it.

[Laila Rahman · Rating 4 out of 5]

typical, but still interesting

[Melody · Rating 1 out of 5]

Je me suis ennuyée et j'ai eu l'impression qu'il ne se passait rien de très intéressant.

[Lani · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn't amazing but it was funny.

[Heidi · Rating 2 out of 5]

ok

[Nicola]

Liked it, predictable at the end but laughed out loud more than once, worth a read!

[Lena Foster · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lite seg i början. Lite osammanhängande innan man fick kläm på namnen

[Catsalive · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/1...

[Serap · Rating 5 out of 5]

So funny! So close to real life :)

[Jennifer Hazlett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book! Great characters, unpredictable story, humourous and some romance - lots of fun.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it AAA++++