Babymoon

Love Struck #2

by Melanie La'Brooy

'Sharp, witty and not a word out of place . . . think David Sedaris on folic acid.' READINGS MONTHLYShe's back. And this time, she's not alone . . .Now living in Melbourne, Isabelle and Dr Jack are expecting their first child. And, naturally, Isabelle is the very model of a calm Earth Mother-to-be . . .Or she would be if she wasn't consumed with anxiety about finding her pelvic floor, giving birth to a human-eel hybrid or the horrifying prospect of having a child named Leroy Marvin. Even worse, as Isabelle's tummy grows, so does the distance between her and her adored Dr Jack who, it seems, has quite different priorities . . .But with support from a host of new mothers including her friend Fran and her sister Audrey, as well as her fellow gallerina Doug, just maybe Isabelle can make it through pregnancy and childbirth with her dignity, her relationship and some other more private bits intact.Then again, maybe not.'You'll love their journey to parenthood, told with the author's famous sense of humour and style.'WOMAN'S DAY'Her insights into the emotions of a soon-to-be mother are spot on.'CANBERRA TIMES'You can expect lot of laughs with La'Brooy's latest.'FAMOUS

Genres: Chick Lit, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction

372 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2005

About the author

Melanie La’Brooy is the author of five novels: Love Struck, The Wish List, Serendipity, The Babymoon and Bittersweet. For several years, Melanie worked for the art auction house Christie’s, in both Sydney and Melbourne, where she trained as a specialist in Australian paintings. Following the success of her debut novel she gave up her career in the art world to become a full-time writer. Melanie is very happily married and has two young sons. She usually lives in Melbourne but is currently residing in South Africa, where she is hoping to fulfill a long-term dream by finally having a genuine reason to wear a safari suit and pith helmet.

Reviews

[Carolyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a story following Bella and her partner Jack as they live through the months of pregnancy. I expected humour, scenarios of funny situations that pregnancy and childbirth puts you in. Although this books tries very hard to do these things, it fails miserably. This book is neither funny nor heart-warming.

Bella is a very irritating and unlikable character. In the first chapter we find that she had a one night stand while in a long term relationship. I had no sympathy for her after this and it set the tone for the rest of the book. This woman panicks over everything in an over-the-top manner and winges far too much. And as a grown woman trying to get pregnant, she should know a few things about her body and how it functions. Unfortunately, she does not and instead of it being funny it made the character look completely stupid and uneducated.

"What does the placenta do again?"

And

"The pregnancy test shows three stripes. Does that mean I'm having triplets?

And her answer to the question:

"Would you like a DVD?" (asked by the nurse when having an ultrasound)

Was:

"...but what's the DVD?" I floundered.
The receptionist looked at me as though I was mad.
"Your baby," she enunciated very slowly.
"Yes, I realise that, but it won't actually be doing anything will it?" I mean it's not like the foetus was skulking around the womb carrying on like Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver.

And after the relentless ultrasound appointments, doctor appointments, reading about pregnancy, Belle stills asks the question:

"What does my cervix do again?"

Sadly, there are many quotes such as these as this is how the book continued until the very. bitter. end. There is nothing likable about this book. If it irritated me as much as it did, then I can only imagine what it will do to someone thinking about getting pregnant, is pregnant or has been pregnant and given birth.

Belle also meets up with her ex-boyfriend Charlie, after not seeing each other for years and while she is six months pregnant with Jack's baby. There is nothing in the story, other than Jack having to work a lot of hours as he's a doctor, that really made me understand why Belle would start looking to Charlie for comfort and support. This just rang warning bells for me as I knew she had already been unfaithful. It added to my feelings of indifference to this character and really didn't help me connect with her at all.

Jack, the boyfriend, is okay, but he isn't a particularly strong character. He isn't really featured much in the story other than to argue with about names to call the baby and the fact that he isn't at any of the birthing classes due to working all the time. A valuable point at a vulnerable time, but not enough to secretly see your ex-boyfriend and to question your current relationship.

Verdict:

I'm sure many of the situations in this book do happen, especially with the stress that pregnancy brings but it just wasn't executed in the right way. Unfortunately, I wouldn't recommend this book.

I actually gave this 3/10 on my blog

[Reene's Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

My new read

I loved this book mostly because I was pregnant while reading this. Plus I found our baby girls name "Phoebe" inside this book which made it so extra special.

I could relate to a lot of how Bella was feeling about pregnancy and how scared she would be after all it's her first baby.

"The Babymoon" by @melanielabrooyauthor

🤰💕🍼💙


⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

@reenes_library

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[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

So many chuckles as I read page after page.
“Isabelle, you’re not the first woman to panic about losing her identity as you become a mother, and you certainly won’t be the last. It’s completely natural...you might be a good mother’. Surprisingly reassuring. At times, over dramatic for my taste but I enjoyed it.

[Bregje Pieters - Breg Blogt · Rating 3 out of 5]

vermakelijk verhaal

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Babymoon tells the story of Isabelle Beckett, who thought that she would never have children having never been the maternal type. But after she and boyfriend Jack discuss the idea, Isabelle is suddenly excited about becoming a family and quickly falls pregnant. Pregnancy is nothing like Isabelle would have imagined, and she has absolutely no idea what is happening to her and to her body. As her pregnancy progresses Isabelle gets more and more worried about giving birth and matters aren't helped when her relationship with Jack begins to suffer, in part due to the fact ex-boyfriend Charlie is suddenly on the scene again. Has Isabelle gotten over Charlie for good, or is she still hankering after her ex, despite being pregnant with someone else's child? And what of Dr Jack, how does Isabelle really feel about him and their baby?

I've heard such good things about Melanie La'Brooy's Babymoon, but I must admit I was a little disappointed with the audio-book. It was a fairly easy listen, don't get me wrong, and for a while there I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Isabelle, Jack and their friends as well as their baby. OK, so Isabelle was hardly likely to win Mastermind on the topic of pregnancies (in fact she would fail miserably), I thought Babymoon was a fairly realistic version of a first pregnancy despite having no previous experience myself. Because, truth is, how much does any person give to what it's like to be pregnant without truly knowing? TV and movies can only tell you so much so I liked Isabelle's naivety on the topic. However after a while, even I began to get annoyed with Isabelle because she just couldn't grasp the fact that whether she liked it or not, she would have to give birth eventually.

The really kicker though was when Charlie re-entered stage left. We know early on he and Belle has an acrimonious beak-up, but she got over it and ended up with Jack but when he comes back into her life - pregnant girlfriend in tow no less - she seems to just lose any respect I had for her, by having secret meetings with him and lying to Jack even though her relationship with Jack is already struggling. Overall though, Babymoon was a so-so read. I enjoyed it for the most part and found it hugely amusing, even laughing out loud at times, but there were a few niggles that stopped it from being a fantastic read.

[Katelin · Rating 5 out of 5]

i think this abbreviation is over used so i don't often use it but ROFL. (rolling on floor laughing, for those who like me take a while to figure out what they all mean, took me ages to figure out what LMAO meant, i thought it was lame with an o)
the story is set in Melbourne, (all my favourite books are set in Australia, i love knowing that i have been or know of the places they mention, and since i haven't been overseas except to Tasmania my geographical awareness is limited) and is about Isabelle (who is the heroine of the novel love struck) who becomes pregnant after copulating with her boyfriend while she is wearing his favourite footy team jumper. Isabelle is terrified of giving birth and decides to find self help books on the topic. instead of comforting her she becomes terrified that she will give birth to a eel-human hybrid baby. the story that follows is a hilarious series of events. defintely reccomend it, but maybe avoid it if you are pregnant unless you have very strong pelvic floor muscles or you will end up wetting yourself from laughing so hard.

[Elli Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Snort out loud funny

I loved this book so much. I’ve listened to it multiple times and enjoyed every one. It’s lighthearted, well -observed and above all, so funny it had me laughing out loud at even the most inappropriate times.

Soundbite

Federay Holmes performs brilliantly as Belle . She captures her dry, snarky wit and bemusement at the less glamorous aspects of pregnancy.

Shall I Compare Thee to…

The humour is very Tina Faye in its self deprecating, sardonic quality.

Find more bird’s eye audiobooks reviews at Audiobooks Nest.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious - Loved it.

The countdown to mummydom has started . . .IIsabelle Beckett and Jack Boyd are expecting their first child. And Isabelle is the very model of a calm Earth Mother-to-be.Or she would be if she wasn't consumed by anxiety about finding her pelvic floor, watching birthing videos or deciding upon an uber trendy or dreadfully practical pram. But with the support of a host of new mothers and friends all full of the worst possible advice, just maybe Isabelle can make it through pregnancy and childbirth with her dignity, her relationship and some more private bits intact. Then again, maybe not.

[Dinallissima · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice little funny book, about a woman who is too anxious of having birth. Maybe if I read it while younger and waiting for my baby I would have enjoyed it more. There were time where I did literally LOL , yet it took me ages to Dobson the book and kept it on the bedside table for a while. Was it the book itself or me? Don't know! Hence the three stars !

[Carla Caruso · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was the perfect accompaniment to my pregnancy. Reflected every quirky, funny thing I was going through as a first-timer. I loved it even more than Melanie's first book! Must-read for mums-to-be! Humorous and realistic

[Blanky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first novel, but it was still a fun, light, cute read. A great insight into being pregnant for a woman like me who is not interested in becoming a mother, but still has a curiosity about the process.

[Liz Young]

Light hearted chick lit. Easy to read. Nothing outstanding.

[Andrea]

I did enjoy this book, but found it a slow read, that's probably just me, so don't let it put you off, my daughter loved it and recommended it to me!

[Marissie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grappig maar je moet wel zwanger zijn!

[Jazzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I've read in a long time. Talk about laugh a minute. Seriously hilarious author will be reading her other books.

[Msdot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading her writing. She's witty and humorous. I do feel like sometimes it was abit forced though. I really enjoyed reading the character's experience of pregnancy.

[Elianne Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Melanie La'Brooy is my favourite author. I literally laugh out loud when reading her books. This one doesn't disappoint.

[Pip Coomes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really funny.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me laugh out loud, my family kept asking what I was giggling at all the time.

[Shallowreader VaVeros · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another La'Brooey gem. Funny and enjoyable.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun chick lit