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Lakeview #2
All Because of You
Tara Harrington's life seems perfect - a successful career as a life coach, the flashy sports car to match, and a happy home with Glenn. But when her difficult younger sister Emma announces she's pregnant, and refuses to divulge who the father is, suspicions are aroused all round. Tara's best friend Liz's fairytale husband, Eric, suddenly doesn't seem so Prince Charming any more, and their dream move from the city to the country isn't working out as planned. But can Tara help her friend through it?
Glamorous London PR girl Natalie has everything she ever wanted - except a husband. And when Tara agrees to coach her in landing the latest 'man of her dreams', the two women soon find they have more in common than either had imagined.
Can Tara make it on her own? Will Liz secure her family idyll in the country? And will Natalie finally find love with a man who deserves her?
Glamorous London PR girl Natalie has everything she ever wanted - except a husband. And when Tara agrees to coach her in landing the latest 'man of her dreams', the two women soon find they have more in common than either had imagined.
Can Tara make it on her own? Will Liz secure her family idyll in the country? And will Natalie finally find love with a man who deserves her?
464 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
1062 people are currently reading
1045 people want to read
About the author
Melissa Hill
129 books1,274 followersMelissa Hill is a USA Today bestselling author living in Ireland’s beautiful County Wicklow. Her page-turning contemporary novels of family, friendship and romance are published worldwide and have been translated into twenty-six languages.
A Hollywood adaptation of her international bestseller Something from Tiffany's, by Reese Witherspoon's production company Hello Sunshine and Amazon Studios, was released worldwide in Dec 2022.
Other novels including A Gift to Remember and The Charm Bracelet have been adapted for screen by Hallmark Channel USA, with multiple other titles currently also in development for film and TV.
For more info, visit her website at www.melissahill.info
Facebook: facebook.com/melissahillbooks
Instagram: @melissahillbooks
Melissa also co-writes forensic thrillers with her husband under the pseudonym Casey Hill. http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...
A Hollywood adaptation of her international bestseller Something from Tiffany's, by Reese Witherspoon's production company Hello Sunshine and Amazon Studios, was released worldwide in Dec 2022.
Other novels including A Gift to Remember and The Charm Bracelet have been adapted for screen by Hallmark Channel USA, with multiple other titles currently also in development for film and TV.
For more info, visit her website at www.melissahill.info
Facebook: facebook.com/melissahillbooks
Instagram: @melissahillbooks
Melissa also co-writes forensic thrillers with her husband under the pseudonym Casey Hill. http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
October 2, 2023
I normally enjoy a Melissa Hill book, but I felt this one was a bit predictable and didn't engage me as much as some of her other titles.
Two stars.
Two stars.
February 7, 2017
Cheesy... Check.
Drama... Check.
Corny... Check.
"Girly"... Check.
Unbelievable romances... Check.
Bitchiness... Check.
"Plot twists"... Check.
Weird ending that literally made me super angry and confused and annoyed and nearly made me take a star away... Check.
This is just a chick-lit through and through. There was nothing that wowed me or changed my life. It annoyed me that I actually sort of liked this book the tiniest bit because come on, this book is grrr.
The representation of women was terrible. Come on, for the love of God!!! These women were not developed at all and they make us women look bad. Of course I could relate to bits and bobs of some of the characters but the portrayal was not flattering. The men were just one-dimensional and only there to give us a better insight of the women. None of the characters were fleshed out at all.
The story... It was a little unbelievable. Of course things like that COULD happen but it COULD also start raining chocolate tomorrow. I believe anything can happen but back to the story... Nothing really happened. Oh, all these lives are intertwined.. Cool let's make it super cheesy and unbelievable. The twist about Tara and Glenn was just annoying. It wasn't genius or inventive, it was just plain annoying. Hill manipulated her readers into thinking one thing and it was done strategically but it just annoyed me. And that ending, OH MY GOD WHY. Hill should have ended it with him inviting her in because everything that happened after that was rubbish. Literal rubbish.
I would recommend this to people who read light chick-lit books religiously but I will not be reading anything else by Melissa Hill.
Drama... Check.
Corny... Check.
"Girly"... Check.
Unbelievable romances... Check.
Bitchiness... Check.
"Plot twists"... Check.
Weird ending that literally made me super angry and confused and annoyed and nearly made me take a star away... Check.
This is just a chick-lit through and through. There was nothing that wowed me or changed my life. It annoyed me that I actually sort of liked this book the tiniest bit because come on, this book is grrr.
The representation of women was terrible. Come on, for the love of God!!! These women were not developed at all and they make us women look bad. Of course I could relate to bits and bobs of some of the characters but the portrayal was not flattering. The men were just one-dimensional and only there to give us a better insight of the women. None of the characters were fleshed out at all.
The story... It was a little unbelievable. Of course things like that COULD happen but it COULD also start raining chocolate tomorrow. I believe anything can happen but back to the story... Nothing really happened. Oh, all these lives are intertwined.. Cool let's make it super cheesy and unbelievable. The twist about Tara and Glenn was just annoying. It wasn't genius or inventive, it was just plain annoying. Hill manipulated her readers into thinking one thing and it was done strategically but it just annoyed me. And that ending, OH MY GOD WHY. Hill should have ended it with him inviting her in because everything that happened after that was rubbish. Literal rubbish.
I would recommend this to people who read light chick-lit books religiously but I will not be reading anything else by Melissa Hill.
September 5, 2011
This was the first book I've read by this author, and I can't say I was impressed. The story line was boring - the plot just plodded along. I kept waiting for something exciting to happen, and it never did! This is a story of lives intertwined, and I had a hard time keeping the characters straight, because none of them were very memorable: the spoiled younger sister, the career girl who can't keep a man because she comes on too strong, the stay-at-home mum who thinks her husband is cheating on her. Yawn. [return[returnAs I was reading, I would catch myself mentally drifting off - I honestly think I finished this book only because by the time I figured out nothing was ever going to happen, I had invested too much time to NOT finish it. Even the twists at the end were not particularly shocking, and the characters reactions were not very believable.[return[returnThis book has received 4/5 star reviews on Amazon UK, but I can't see why. I was really disappointed in this book.
August 17, 2022
Perfectly executed!
The way Melissa Hill integrates everyone within each other’s lives and keeps it all so suspenseful is just something to admire. The fact that she has you believing, or better get assuming, one fact throughout the text only to find out towards the end what you’ve been believing is not even a factor. On top of the mystery man, who you contemplate and *think* you know who it is, until it slaps you and leaves you in disbelief. I enjoyed this book from start to finish, and I’m not one who typically enjoys love like novels. Although this is far from a saturated love filled novel, it is more of a realism and a show of how the World is full of coincidences.
The way Melissa Hill integrates everyone within each other’s lives and keeps it all so suspenseful is just something to admire. The fact that she has you believing, or better get assuming, one fact throughout the text only to find out towards the end what you’ve been believing is not even a factor. On top of the mystery man, who you contemplate and *think* you know who it is, until it slaps you and leaves you in disbelief. I enjoyed this book from start to finish, and I’m not one who typically enjoys love like novels. Although this is far from a saturated love filled novel, it is more of a realism and a show of how the World is full of coincidences.
July 23, 2020
Thoughts: Hhmm, there's quite a twist in here that I didn't see. Actually, the identity of one of the characters. I thought he was one thing when he was another, which made a HUGE difference in the story at that point. But I'm not sure if I just missed it or if the author really did mislead intentionally to add to the story. It certainly did. Recommended
December 22, 2020
THIS BOOK! So many twists and turns that I actually couldn’t believe I didn’t figure it out at the very start.. what an amazing, funny and emotional read.. will certainly be reading more of Melissa Hills books in the future.
November 1, 2011
Tara Harrington is a life coach whose life is going really well. She has got the great job, the flash car and a nice home that she shares with Glenn. When her younger sister the troublesome Emma becomes pregnant and decides to keep the baby’s father’s identity secret from all. It is a mystery to who the father can be. Then when Emma starts to spend a lot of time with Tara’s best friend Liz’s husband both Tara and Liz become suspicious.
Natalie is a successful PR girl who works in London. Although she has a brilliant career she does not have much luck with her love life and finding the perfect man to settle down with and marry is all she wants to do. So she turns to Tara to life coach her, so she can hopefully have better luck finding and keeping the man of her dreams. However Tara is going to find that she has much more in common with Natalie than she thought.
A really enjoyable chick lit book that is full of twists and turns that add more drama and suspense to the story.
Natalie is a successful PR girl who works in London. Although she has a brilliant career she does not have much luck with her love life and finding the perfect man to settle down with and marry is all she wants to do. So she turns to Tara to life coach her, so she can hopefully have better luck finding and keeping the man of her dreams. However Tara is going to find that she has much more in common with Natalie than she thought.
A really enjoyable chick lit book that is full of twists and turns that add more drama and suspense to the story.
June 6, 2011
For a book I praised to my friends as being one of the better chick-lit’s I have read in a while, I kind of forgot what happened. There were a lot of characters, but they all had a point, but it took a while to get to it. It was like three different stories that all intertwined and overlapped. Some nice little twists at the end, some annoying characters in there (but thank god, not major characters, but one that was there to create havoc) and of course, predictability. Good: the twist and the token gay; Bad: a bit too long and too many characters. Grade: C+
September 25, 2011
This book was great! I am so glad that I mooched this on a lark. The story had so many twists and turns that now knowing the ending, I want to go back and read it all again so I can slap my head and say "how did I not catch that the first time!" I will be seeking out more of Melissa Hill's stories after reading this!
August 12, 2013
Really enjoyed this. The sort of book where you just want to dive under the duvet and read (which I did) and a great big twist that I did not see coming and which made me read previous pages going what the?......
July 13, 2012
Very good, started thinking it was a regular romance girly novel but there was quite a few twists towards the end!
February 21, 2013
Lovely story!
September 17, 2013
I enjoyed this story, it started out as a run of the mill chic lit but there is plenty of drama and a few twists to keep you interested.
June 16, 2014
Unexpected twist, light but funny. Would recommend to others.
October 14, 2025
Not a fan. Sorry to those who loved reading "The Wife Coach," by Melissa Hill. I loved the premise, but not the execution, though the book did get better in the later sections. There were a few good twists that caught me off guard (so that is a plus), but it all felt dreary and draggy to me. There were suspected betrayals and lies, secrets and revelations, but by the time they were laid out, I no longer cared.
I am not going to summarize the book. You can read hundreds of reviews if you so choose, but this one is not really worth my time. Was it the worst book ever? Definitely not. It was written well, technically, and it had great potential. I just was not moved by it in any way.
3 stars because there is nothing inherently wrong with it, just not a book I would recommend.
I am not going to summarize the book. You can read hundreds of reviews if you so choose, but this one is not really worth my time. Was it the worst book ever? Definitely not. It was written well, technically, and it had great potential. I just was not moved by it in any way.
3 stars because there is nothing inherently wrong with it, just not a book I would recommend.
June 21, 2020
I did finish this book in a day after getting it and I didn't hate it, but I don't think this is an author I'll revisit. Many of these "twists' weren't "twists" so much as the author gave vague information about this or that and clarified it only when she needed a dramatic moment. The worst offender was
July 15, 2025
3 stars for a very average book, with very average writing, but with two things specific things that made me enjoy it:
1) a plot that's a lot less predictable than expected
2) the three different POVs that works very well and is well balanced - each person gets the appropriate amount of space, and the perspective switches naturally between them and drives the story forward
I also appreciated the Irish-ness aspects as I'm in general a bit intrigued and excited about everything Irish.
Some key words (without spoiling anything)
* female friendships
* coaching
* love and relationships
* confronting past issues that's been buried
1) a plot that's a lot less predictable than expected
2) the three different POVs that works very well and is well balanced - each person gets the appropriate amount of space, and the perspective switches naturally between them and drives the story forward
I also appreciated the Irish-ness aspects as I'm in general a bit intrigued and excited about everything Irish.
Some key words (without spoiling anything)
* female friendships
* coaching
* love and relationships
* confronting past issues that's been buried
November 26, 2022
Loved this book. Fun absorbing chick-lit to a tee. The book found the balance between making me not be able to wait to pick it up again but not emotionally drained either. This book is fantastic for when you can’t cope with anything heavy but still want to enjoy something engaging full of twist and turns. I loved the twist - in fact I went back and read most of the book in a whole new light after the bombshell dropped. Yes some of the coincidences were unrealistic, but it’s a novel not a biography.
Will definitely read more from this author.
Will definitely read more from this author.
August 11, 2018
Very well written with a few surprises that I didn't see coming.. it was enjoyable summer read that made it hard to put down. I would recommend this book to my friends
Very well written with a few surprises that I didn't see coming. It was an enjoyable summer read that I would recommend to my friends
Very well written with a few surprises that I didn't see coming. It was an enjoyable summer read that I would recommend to my friends
August 26, 2018
Amazing author.....I enjoyed reading this book so much. This is the 6th book that I have read by Melissa Hill, and none of her books are boring. This is a great story....interesting characters and a storyline that is suspenseful, with twist and turns. I couldn't wait to find out the mystery behind Emma's pregnancy. Thumbs up to the author!
January 15, 2021
Surprising
As I read this book, I thought I knew who everybody was and what the relationships were. I also thought I had the story all figured out. Was I wrong! As the story unraveled, things started to become clear and the relationships began to make sense. It's a terrific story with lots of surprises. I loved it.
As I read this book, I thought I knew who everybody was and what the relationships were. I also thought I had the story all figured out. Was I wrong! As the story unraveled, things started to become clear and the relationships began to make sense. It's a terrific story with lots of surprises. I loved it.
May 18, 2018
This is more a 3.5. I was a little disappointed in this book because I thought it would be a continuation of the previous book in this series. There were a couple of surprises in this book, another obsessive character, but an easy read.
July 25, 2019
Got me
Ok, I didn't get Tara's relationship until the reveal, along with Emma's baby's father. I had other men in mind, but was surprised at his identity. No murder, no bodies, no spoilers, but it was a mystery anyway. I loved it and can't wait to read book three!
Ok, I didn't get Tara's relationship until the reveal, along with Emma's baby's father. I had other men in mind, but was surprised at his identity. No murder, no bodies, no spoilers, but it was a mystery anyway. I loved it and can't wait to read book three!
May 29, 2020
Love it! Perfect summer “easy read” that’s hard to put down! Melissa Hill has a talent for telling a story with twists that you don’t see coming. Having never been to Ireland, I feel like I’ve seen Lakeside and Dublin after reading her books. Highly recommend this book!
May 30, 2020
Engaging
At first I wasn’t sure I would like this book, but when all of the girls were brought into the story it came together. The pieces came together different than I expected and I enjoyed the surprise.
At first I wasn’t sure I would like this book, but when all of the girls were brought into the story it came together. The pieces came together different than I expected and I enjoyed the surprise.
June 3, 2020
I enjoyed this novel with all of the twists and unexpected turnouts.
Ms Hill managed to flawlessly conceal identities of characters until the end.
The only reason I gave a four star review is because of the editing software for type-errors.
Ms Hill managed to flawlessly conceal identities of characters until the end.
The only reason I gave a four star review is because of the editing software for type-errors.
February 22, 2021
Love Story with lots of twists and turns
Tara, Liz and Natalie. Friends with more in common than even they knew. Eric, Glenn, Jay and Colm didn't know what they got themselves into either!
Tara, Liz and Natalie. Friends with more in common than even they knew. Eric, Glenn, Jay and Colm didn't know what they got themselves into either!
November 21, 2021
Recommend it
The story was easy to read. I enjoyed reading about the different types of relationships. I was surprised when I finally learned the kind of relationship Tara and Glenn had.
The story was easy to read. I enjoyed reading about the different types of relationships. I was surprised when I finally learned the kind of relationship Tara and Glenn had.
December 16, 2021
A Book That Reminds Us To Always Hope
This was an overall fun read with some heart twists. The characters could have been better developed, however the plot twists were most enjoyable. The overall theme of the book seemed to be never give up on hope.
This was an overall fun read with some heart twists. The characters could have been better developed, however the plot twists were most enjoyable. The overall theme of the book seemed to be never give up on hope.
April 18, 2024
I very nearly didn't bother with this book after reading some of the reviews, I'm so glad I ignored them and carried on.
I agree the plot wasn't so exciting, sometimes it's nice to read a book that's just nice, plods along. It was a lovely, easy going storyline.
I agree the plot wasn't so exciting, sometimes it's nice to read a book that's just nice, plods along. It was a lovely, easy going storyline.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews