A Love of Two Halves

by P.J. Whiteley

'An uplifting Northern novel that will warm your heart and restore your faith in humanity' - S.J. Bradley George Mowatt, an entrepreneur, is one of the wealthiest people in Britain. Karen Barnes, a single mum living in a terraced house in south Leeds, is not. When George decides that his third home should be close to the stadium of his beloved football team, they become neighbours. Both George and Karen have been unlucky in love, and the chemistry between them is instant. Yet their lives are a world apart, and their hearts keep missing each other's beat. Just as they begin to chart a route to happiness, someone from Karen's past reappears, and she is forced to reveal a secret she has kept from them both. A Love of Two Halves is a funny, heartfelt tale of missed opportunities, unlikely romance and a love that seems to be forever out of reach.

Genres: Fiction, Romance

272 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 3, 2019

Reviews

[Pheadra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started out gently in the romantic genre but quickly lost its appeal with contrived outcomes and a predictable ending.

[Bridget · Rating 5 out of 5]

If your favoured reading material is a compelling tale with a good sprinkling of relationships, imperfection, love, misunderstandings and humour then A Love of Two Halves by P. J. Whiteley is a must-read for you!

From the get-go there was so much happening in this wonderful tale of love and romance! The story was told from two different perspectives: those of Karen Barnes and George Mowatt. Before I started reading, I did have some concerns about the amount of football related references but this turned out to be negligible, so I need not have been bothered or troubled.

As it turned out I was totally smitten with both protagonists. Karen was mostly very direct, wore her heart on her sleeve and she had an amazing zest for life. On the other hand, George was reserved, awkward in social situations, but was well-meaning. However, both were inclined to presupposition and misunderstanding. Author, P. J. Whiteley had really worked wonders with all of the characters in this fabulous story and I was very fond of most of them: Karen’s teenage daughter, Bronte; her ex, Terry; George’s Dad, to name only a few. Even the less personable ones, George’s sister, Joy in particular, still had very good parts to play and did not dampen my enthusiasm for this fascinating tale.

Aside from the brilliant cast of characters, another selling point of A Love of Two Halves for me was its fabulous setting; Leeds, a West Yorkshire town in Northern England. Although I have never stayed there, I have visited a few times and P. J. Whitley had a wonderful way of articulating the ambience of the place, the surrounding area, the general way of life and the dialect of the townsfolk.

The plot was awesome and moved along at a really wicked pace and I loved the author’s general writing-style. There was no room for repetitiveness or boredom here! The story was, in part, funny and witty and there were many laugh-out-loud moments. There were some serious issues as well, such as coping with with absent parents, loneliness and single parenthood.

I was rooting all the way through for Karen and George and P. J Whiteley rounded things off so masterfully which I fully appreciated. It was very hard to say goodbye to them and I found myself wishing them well for the future.

I think this author is a force to be reckoned with and I am eagerly awaiting his next contribution. I recommend A Love of Two Halves without a flicker of hesitation, so don’t miss out!

Thank you to P. J. Whiteley and Pigeonhole for giving me the opportunity to read this book. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

[Monica · Rating 1 out of 5]

*** Thank you to ‘The Pigeonhole’ for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.***

I give this book 1.5 stars - Half a star for writing a book which is hard and takes dedication + Half a star for some of the well written descriptions eg. the flock of egrets in Brazil and the initial house in Karen's dream + Half a star for attempting to write dialogue with an accent which was generally well done, though occasionally Karen’s accent (for me personally) bordered on ‘scrubber’ from a Dicken’s novel.

Okay so with a lot of romance novels there’s a certain degree of fantasy and check reality at the door, but for me this book went way beyond that and became firmly entrenched in the contrived and unbelievable: For starters, the main character Karen is a struggling single mother of two who dreams of moving to a huge house - which is fine and believable. Her daughter is so in-tune with her mother that she paints her mother’s dreams - ok this is weird and not sure why but maybe? Karen secretly wishes for (Chapter 3, direct quote) “...a millionaire moving in next door, falling madly in love with me and taking us all off to his mansion.” - oddly specific and weird, like why would you think a millionaire would move next door when you live in a crappy neighbourhood... but low and behold that’s exactly what happens... And so starts the contrived plotline and the strange plot holes that follow.

A quick run down: The first 75% is basically smooth sailing, with everything conveniently falling into place. Though I must say the old high school ‘does she/he like me’ cliché dragged on for way too long. Then in the last 25% a character who gets mentioned twice previously suddenly turns up and through much oddness and misunderstanding - eg. Karen kissing her ex, whom she hasn’t been in contact with for 16 years, gets explained away as “an old habit”- wreaks havoc on George and Karen’s perfect relationship as they both start imagining wild scenario’s regarding the real ex and an absurd imaginary “love rival Jessica”. I won’t give away the ending but let's just say it’s predictable.

I also didn’t connect with or like the main characters. I found George to be incredibly boring and juvenile while Karen started out realistic but then quickly dissolved into a male’s fantasy of a real woman who got “aroused” at the drop of a hat. However if, unlike me, you don't mind unrealistic romances mixed with football and business/political analysis you might enjoy reading this.

[Susan Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read, a bit of a Cinderella story really. George is a very successful business man. He is extremely wealthy, with a large house in Surrey and a luxury apartment in London. But he has not been successful in love, he has an ex-wife and a daughter, but he is not sure that he ever loved his wife. He was born and bought up near Leeds, and is a lifelong supporter of Leeds United football club. When he has time he tries to go to the home games, he enjoys driving so the lengthy journey doesn’t bother him. One day there are huge queues on the motor-way, so he tries a detour - his sat-nav directs him into a road he doesn’t know. He works out that he is not too far from the stadium, so he parks his car. A woman is watching him, and they have a short conversation before he sets off. She jokes with him that she will make sure the car thieves leave his Mercedes alone, and explains how to reach the football ground. She (Karen) is waiting when he gets back to give him the thumbs-up that his car is safe. They chat for a while, and her daughter Bronte comes up the road carrying a large painting, that George finds impressive. Karen looks out for him after the next home match, as he has left his car in the same place, and this time helps him to change a tire, which has punctured, he remembered running over something on the motorway.

George notices that the house next door is for sale, and on a whim buys it, so that he doesn’t have to hurry back to Surrey after every home match. He gives Karen a spare key so that she can keep an eye on it for him. And so begins an unlikely relationship between the wealthy business man and the part-time office cleaner. They suffer quite a few bumps in their road, George is a rather conservative man and quite nervous about embarking on a relationship, and Karen is convinced he will soon get tired of her. They both get affected by the wheel of fortune, George’s business partners try to depose him, and Karen is given a promotion, with a significant pay rise, which makes her life with her two children more comfortable. Plus the two fathers of her children re-appear in her life, prepared to pay child-support, which helps as well (makes George jealous, but you cannot have everything)!

A gentle story to while away a lazy afternoon.

[Lynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet little romance which would be perfect holiday reading. It is also well written and has a certain charm with a strong first half. However, I did find my attention waning toward the end as it all seemed very predictable and George the male love interest seemed to behave like a sulking teenager. Definitely a novel of two halves!

[Sue Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this with Pigeonhole over 10 days. It was an easy read but the storyline was quite predictable.... rather too “Mills & Boon” for me! The main characters needed their heads banging together at times and some of the language used by Karen was a little strong at times. Not really my type of book but I can see it appealing to others.

[Erica Hough · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 - this got totally unbelievable in the second half.

[Laurice · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good love story. I love the rich/poor trope. I enjoyed reading it but I did feel it was predictable. I would recommend it if you are looking for an easy, fun and enjoyable read.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an easy to read love story told from the perspectives of the two protagonists whose backgrounds are very different. Karen is a single mum living in a less than desirable part of Leeds. George is a self made millionaire who meets Karen when parking his Mercedes near her house so he can go watch the Leeds football team play. There are misunderstandings and miscommunication between these two people unlikely to meet in their regular lives - yet somehow they make progress. Some parts were odd, such as Karen's daughter supposedly painting her mother's dreams. George is socially awkward and somewhat lacking in confidence. Karen is financially struggling to a degree but manages despite having dreams of a big house. These are ordinary, flawed people who have to deal with life's problems yet somehow this story drew me in. It's a promising start for me from P. J. Whitely and I would read other books by him.

[Garry · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought the story line was a bit far fetched and not really believable. I wonder, if I were to dream of a rich widow buying the house next to me and me falling in love with her, whether it would miraculously come true. I would suggest this novel was the work of some love struck teenager. The attempts at using local dialogue were also disappointing. For someone who was born and lived?in Leeds as I have, I would have expected him to be able to have the main female character, who lives in a terrace house, speaking in the vernacular and certainly NEVER using the Americanism - Gotten. I have never heard anyone use that word in my 69 years living in Leeds.

[Bobbie Darbyshire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed P J Whiteley’s third novel, in which a rich, London-based businessman buys a back-to-back terraced house in Leeds, handy for the stadium of the football team he supports, and falls in love with the single mum next door. Will his money and politics come between them? Can she teach him a thing or two about how to be happy? Does her heart in the end belong to someone else? Told in alternating voices, a gentle, insightful romance to lift the spirits in these troubled times.

[Satish · Rating 3 out of 5]

A hear warming tale. The ending could be better.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predictable

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

A warm-hearted story of love second time round with an injection of football. Loved the back drop of Leeds, it made the story easier to imagine knowing the areas.

[Heidi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Where to even start with this book? There was very little plot, you could see the ending coming from a million miles away, and the major relationship hurdle near the end was all down to a lack of communication, which is the most annoying romance trope ever and it wasn't even executed all that well here. Also the weirdest details get so much time on the page. I lost count of all the times we get to read about which route the characters take from and to Leeds. Why? It just adds to the boredom. And there is A LOT of boredom in this book. Not even the surprise baby-daddies at the end could provide enough excitement to keep me awake.

So maybe the characters can save it? Nope. On the one hand we have Karen, a poor single mum with two kids and a job that's probably underpaying her. She's a Good Woman, because she's poor and she has a Yorkshire accent. That's just how it works. She seems like a woman who has her head on straight. Sure, she falls stupidly in love with a guy she meets on the street in front of her house, but that's okay. She's sensible about the whole thing and wouldn't let her entire life get consumed by a stranger. Except she does. Whole chapters are spent dreaming about George, thinking about George, masturbating in George's empty house, talking about George, with barely a mention of anything else that's going on in her life.

On the other hand, we have George. George is rich enough that he can buy the house next to Karen's on a whim, in cash, just because he quite fancies the woman after meeting her twice. George has his own business, but is so overcome by love that he completely neglects his duties and then has the nerve to be upset when his partners in the business try to oust him. George doesn't think he's better than anyone else though. Except for when he does. He spends the entire novel undermining Karen, explaining to her all the things she apparently doesn't understand, but he does understand them because he's a very clever man and she's just a woman who's barely scraping by so what would she understand about a silly little thing like austerity and getting rid of tax credits? It's not like she's got actual lived experience and she might end up poorer because of decisions made by politicians who George could totally hang out with if he was a more sociable kind of guy, right?

To make the whole mess of a book even worse, the author then decided that it would be a good idea to mention Brexit. Except not really, because this book is set before the referendum. But they discuss the referendum, so Brexit gets a mention in the form of George's elderly father who doesn't like the European Union because of all those money-grabbing bastards in Brussels. This scene is merely used to position George as a Good Tory, because he does appreciate the importance of the EU. Isn't George just such a good guy? Such a nice guy?

This novel is a waste of paper. It is a waste of memory space on my ereader. The only good thing about this novel is the fact that I received a free copy of it via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Et voilà.

[L A King · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a delight to read. Very lighthearted romantic novel. George is a very wealthy man who supports his home team of Leeds. He travels to the matches from his various abodes. He decides to buy a house so he has somewhere to stay. Next door is a lonely lady, Karen, struggling to make ends meet, with two children and no input from either of the two fathers either financially or emotionally. Bang. There is plenty of electricity sparking between the two of them. George doesn't let on that he doesn't have to worry about money. As their romance develops, like all relationships, it has its blips. In some parts it is funny and in other parts I wanted to kick George up the backside. If you tell someone you need a break from them, who should be the one to contact the other. Yes, the one who said they needed a break. In this case it's George. If you would like a sit down with a great novel then this is the book to purchase. I would like to thank Pigeonhole for giving me the opportunity to read this novel and write an honest review.

[Terese · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this with Pigeonhole over ten instalments (staves). I really enjoyed the start and could relate to Karen. I absolutely loved the descriptions of her dreams, I have those dreams too! Karen meets George and a sweet romance starts. However, at about the midpoint it got a bit predictable and the plot became over contrived.
It’s a dual narrative with Karen and George and there were some clever segues between the two narratives that captured their different perspectives on events. It’s the second dual narrative I have read via Pigeonhole staves, and I think the daily delivery of a chunk of text works against continuity in this mode.

There are some great cameos - Karen’s parents and George’s Dad (a delicate touch regarding dementia) - and I would have to have seen more of these and less melodrama. Also we touched on Kevin’s brother a few times, but without explanation.
It’s a great holiday read, one that I would usually read quickly. There’s a lot to like. Thanks to Pigeonhole and P J Whiteley for the opportunity to review it.

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sweet romcom, telling the story of George and Karen. Karen is a single mum with two children, struggling to make ends meet, working a dead end, minimum wage job in Leeds. George owns a very successful business, lives and works in London and is a Leeds United fan. He decides after a particularly bad trip north to buy a terraced house near Elland Road - which coincidentally is right next door to Karen. They fall in love, and fun and games ensue.

It’s a bit of a predictable love story if I’m honest, but I liked it well enough. There were times when I would have happily knocked some sense in to George, but I’m sure that there are plenty of readers who would find his lack of experience and emotional clumsiness endearing (I did on the odd occasion!).

All in all, a pleasant read, perfect for a summer holiday lying on the beach, I should think!
Thanks to The Pigeonhole for the reading experience, yet again!

[Ali Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this via The Pigeonhole app and initially I was really enjoying the sweet romance of it. However, I soon became frustrated with the two main characters, Karen and George.

I felt George was a bit of a stereotypical rich guy - obsessed with material things and emotionally immature. When there are misunderstandings in his relationship with Karen he doesn't simply talk like an adult but makes assumptions. Karen is almost as bad - creating fake love rivals in great detail and obsessing over the fact that he is rich and she doesn't want to be a gold digger.

There were too many 'perfect' events involving her ex-partners that I just didn't find believable.
It was a very sweet read, and I like the author's style as it was easy to fly through, but the plot just felt too unbelievable and perfect by the end, without the depth I felt it needed.

[Fay Flude · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is about two very different people from different social classes, one moneyed, with big properties, a thriving business and all the opportunities having plenty of income can give you, and the other, a single mum with two children by two different fathers who is earning a meagre living through cleaning. It is about how love can blossom between people in spite of such different backgrounds.
It started reasonably well but quickly became a non-story for me. It was slow, and with such uninspiring characters I found myself callously not caring whether their romantic relationship survived and thrived, or perished. A saccharine ending which just made me feel relieved to finally shut the book.
I will say though that the cover is attractive and had I seen this book on the library shelf and read the blurb I still would have picked it up to borrow. Just disappointed with the contents.

[Pam Owen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rom com, but not that funny!
A love story between a single mum who has 2 children with 2 different dads and George a northern boy made good in London who comes north to visit his dad and supports Leeds FC. He and Karen meet and he buys the house next door (as you do!)
A story full of misunderstandings between them, but because they don’t talk - they text like teenagers - all seemingly goes wrong.
This book seemed like an easy, gentle read to begin with but then became very childish and irritating because they don’t communicate.
Sorry, didn’t really enjoy, but plugged on to the end

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Karen and George never seemed to break out of the mundanity of everyday life in order to nurture that special spark ignited between them. George was obsessed with work and his favorite sports team. Karen just seemed to flit about. I had some difficulty getting into the flow of this text, heavy with extensive inner-monologue from each narrator. I really appreciated the opportunity to read this book, but in the end, it simply wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Unbound Digital, and P. J. Whiteley for an ARC of 'A Love of Two Halves' in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

[HayMax Limited · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. For the first third of the book, I thought it was OK - worth carrying on to read and finish the book, but nothing special. Then I got up this morning, picked it up again and couldn’t put it down till I’d finished it!
It’s really good. The characters are likeable, and there are times when you want to slap them and tell them not to be so stupid. Sounds like the author has brought them to life, eh? It’s also got some unusual themes which are very welcome.
Read it. You’ll enjoy it.

[Di Paterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoy this book. It's delightful. Maybe slightly formulaic, but what else can you expect from a romcom? I like the switch between perspectives, and the characters are well-rounded. The plot unfolds fairly well, with a few contrivances, but again, it's to be expected for the genre. Thanks to the Pigeonhole and PJ Whitely for the opportunity to read it.

[Vanessa Schelfhout · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this beautiful, funny, slightly predictable book. It’s a typical romcom and it completely fulfilled all my expectations. I loved how it switched POV’s between Karen and George.
Thank you so much Pigeonhole and author for giving me the opportunity to read this book. Edit was the first thing I did every morning, reading my new stave. I will miss it!

[Robert Welbourn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It's a classic love story that draws you in immediately - see the struggles of two people living in completely different worlds try to make a relationship work is inspiring.

Being a Leeds local it was great to read too - I loved being able to trace the locations as I read the story. I flew through this, and would definitely recommend it.

[Alex ALEXATTHELAKE · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t overly care for this book. I ended up deciding on 2 stars, as I’m a sucker for a happy ending and enjoyed the wrap up at the end. I found this book wildly repetitive, overly and unnecessarily descriptive and frankly a little boring. I found the characters childish and immature with their decision making and assumptions. The overuse of the word “deadpan” also annoyed me.

[Rebecca R F · Rating 5 out of 5]

It doesn't follow the predictible formula. The twists and turns are were so realistic! The characters go through the kind of miscommunication and assumptions we all make about someone else's behaviour that leads to relationship breakdowns. The characters are complex enough to be interesting and very real.

[Gail Wylde · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, I liked the main characters (although I could have shaken them both at times) and the football references resonated with me (I am a football "widow"). Overall a very nice read.
Thank you to Pigeonhole and PJ Whiteley for the chance to read this.

[Fionna Cairney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this with pigeonhole. It was an easy read and a good story but it kinda fell away in places but really enjoyed the way the story was told from both perspectives of George and Karen. Thanks to the author and pigeonhole for free access to this book