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E for England
From the author of The Ripple Effect comes a poignant novel about a mother who has given up everything for her kids, and her opportunity to take a risk on something for herself. Annie never thought to use underwear to meet a man, but the trick works on her downstairs neighbour, Hugh. Though he's a handsome English doctor, Annie wants nothing more than friendship. Luckily, neither does Hugh. But their friendship is shaken and their resolve tested when Annie's flatmate, sexy and voracious Leonie, meets Hugh. Annie has no claim on Hugh's nights, but can she bear to lose him to Leonie? And when Annie's husband suddenly reappears, will Hugh fight for the family he didn't know he needed?
412 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2013
7 people want to read
About the author
Elisabeth Rose
25 books69 followersElisabeth has been an avid reader all her life. She dabbled in writing as a teenager but gave it away to study music which has also been a life long passion and is why musicians are often, but not always, her main characters. She plays clarinet in a community orchestra.
Tai Chi is a part of Elisabeth's life and has been since 1987. She and her husband travel a lot and she also plays tennis on a regular basis for social and exercise enjoyment.
Tai Chi is a part of Elisabeth's life and has been since 1987. She and her husband travel a lot and she also plays tennis on a regular basis for social and exercise enjoyment.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 20, 2013
Originally reviewed at Novel Escapes
I had really high expectations for this novel, not quite sure why but I think it’s because I haven’t read an Australian Chick Lit book that I haven’t liked yet. I find them just a bit edgier than the norm and am always intrigued to read about new cities and intricacies of life in other countries.
E for England had some good points - I actually really liked the game-plan behind the title and thought it was both quirky and unique. I enjoyed the children in the novel - they were personable and true to life, especially given their circumstances. Rose gave them such warmth that you could feel it through the pages. I think my heart wanted to love the book more than I did. Much as I appreciated Annie’s circumstances and how much pressure she was under I found the connection between herself and her roommate/co-worker to be hard to grasp. We’re told a few times that an office email went out stating Annie’s need for a roommate and there are some hints that she and Leonie are friends enough to have Friday drinks together before they lived together - but their closeness wasn’t really plausible for me. I think it would be very odd indeed to move yourself and your two small children into an apartment with someone you’d only shared beverages with. I wish Rose had developed their closeness more or outlined it at some point. They are at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of life points, and although Leonie is obviously lovely to the children it felt completely strange for them to be so close.
Annie’s friendship and possible love interest Hugh was challenging at times for me, too. I appreciated that they weren’t on the same page about their needs and therefore couldn’t open up to each other about their feelings, but they actually did both state or show at some point that they were into each other. And yet the internal dialogue for each of them kept expressing their doubts about the others interest? I loved Hugh’s burgeoning attachment to Annie’s children - his reading of the bedtime stories was sweet enough to make me love him. I also think that Rose did him a great service by giving him a career we were privy to because otherwise he may have come across as a bit stiff.
I wish E for England had lived up to my high hopes and hadn’t ended so abruptly (I even flipped the pages to see if I’d missed something). There was more to be made of both the characters and the story line. I liked Rose’s writing though and would be tempted to try another novel in the future.
Thank you to Escape Publishing for our review copy. All opinions are our own.
I had really high expectations for this novel, not quite sure why but I think it’s because I haven’t read an Australian Chick Lit book that I haven’t liked yet. I find them just a bit edgier than the norm and am always intrigued to read about new cities and intricacies of life in other countries.
E for England had some good points - I actually really liked the game-plan behind the title and thought it was both quirky and unique. I enjoyed the children in the novel - they were personable and true to life, especially given their circumstances. Rose gave them such warmth that you could feel it through the pages. I think my heart wanted to love the book more than I did. Much as I appreciated Annie’s circumstances and how much pressure she was under I found the connection between herself and her roommate/co-worker to be hard to grasp. We’re told a few times that an office email went out stating Annie’s need for a roommate and there are some hints that she and Leonie are friends enough to have Friday drinks together before they lived together - but their closeness wasn’t really plausible for me. I think it would be very odd indeed to move yourself and your two small children into an apartment with someone you’d only shared beverages with. I wish Rose had developed their closeness more or outlined it at some point. They are at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of life points, and although Leonie is obviously lovely to the children it felt completely strange for them to be so close.
Annie’s friendship and possible love interest Hugh was challenging at times for me, too. I appreciated that they weren’t on the same page about their needs and therefore couldn’t open up to each other about their feelings, but they actually did both state or show at some point that they were into each other. And yet the internal dialogue for each of them kept expressing their doubts about the others interest? I loved Hugh’s burgeoning attachment to Annie’s children - his reading of the bedtime stories was sweet enough to make me love him. I also think that Rose did him a great service by giving him a career we were privy to because otherwise he may have come across as a bit stiff.
I wish E for England had lived up to my high hopes and hadn’t ended so abruptly (I even flipped the pages to see if I’d missed something). There was more to be made of both the characters and the story line. I liked Rose’s writing though and would be tempted to try another novel in the future.
Thank you to Escape Publishing for our review copy. All opinions are our own.
August 11, 2013
I can tell you now that before last week I had never read any book where the hero and heroine meet while searching for a pair of knickers that blew off a balcony. But now I have – and that’s just how Hugh and Annie meet in E for England. This is a sweet but practical romance in amongst a messy breakup, two young children and a hero trying to atone for his previous sins.
Set in Sydney (I am loving all these Australia-based books I’m reading at the moment), Annie and her two children move in with a work colleague when her husband disappears to ‘find himself’. Living in a trendy city apartment with children is difficult for Annie, as is trying not to impinge on her flatmate Leonie’s love life. When her only ‘good’ undies fly off the drying rack one night, she has to go and find them in the bushes. That’s how she meets James and Hugh, a recently arrived English doctor. Annie and Hugh are attracted, but various internal and external forces keep them apart. Then there’s Leonie, who has started up an alphabet chart for her conquests with a blank spot for E…
Although Leonie’s chart of men sounds risqué, this book is definitely not. It’s quite sweet and more of a family drama with Annie and her kids in the starring role. There’s a little bit of medicine in Hugh’s work as a respiratory physician, but the focus is primarily on relationships. Not just the budding romantic one between Annie and Hugh, but Annie and Leonie and then there’s the return of Annie’s AWOL husband…
Even though Annie’s got a lot of troubles, she’s not a weak or melancholy character. She’s given up a lot for her children, but resolves not to dwell on that. (Some would say too much – occasionally a little of Doormat Annie sneaks out.) Hugh is a bit more of an enigma with some sad parts in his past to conceal, but generally he’s a nice bloke, who tries to take on a bit too much. Which makes him perfect for Annie really!
There are some funny moments in E for England – not just the knickers part, but a crazy dinner party and some funny child moments. I also liked how Rose made the children a part of the narrative – it was realistic Annie having children that needed lots of bedtime stories rather than children who instantly fell asleep when romance was in the air!
This is a realistic novel about both the crazy and good things that happen to everyday people. A lovely book.
Thank you to Net Galley and Escape Publishing for the eGalley.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
Set in Sydney (I am loving all these Australia-based books I’m reading at the moment), Annie and her two children move in with a work colleague when her husband disappears to ‘find himself’. Living in a trendy city apartment with children is difficult for Annie, as is trying not to impinge on her flatmate Leonie’s love life. When her only ‘good’ undies fly off the drying rack one night, she has to go and find them in the bushes. That’s how she meets James and Hugh, a recently arrived English doctor. Annie and Hugh are attracted, but various internal and external forces keep them apart. Then there’s Leonie, who has started up an alphabet chart for her conquests with a blank spot for E…
Although Leonie’s chart of men sounds risqué, this book is definitely not. It’s quite sweet and more of a family drama with Annie and her kids in the starring role. There’s a little bit of medicine in Hugh’s work as a respiratory physician, but the focus is primarily on relationships. Not just the budding romantic one between Annie and Hugh, but Annie and Leonie and then there’s the return of Annie’s AWOL husband…
Even though Annie’s got a lot of troubles, she’s not a weak or melancholy character. She’s given up a lot for her children, but resolves not to dwell on that. (Some would say too much – occasionally a little of Doormat Annie sneaks out.) Hugh is a bit more of an enigma with some sad parts in his past to conceal, but generally he’s a nice bloke, who tries to take on a bit too much. Which makes him perfect for Annie really!
There are some funny moments in E for England – not just the knickers part, but a crazy dinner party and some funny child moments. I also liked how Rose made the children a part of the narrative – it was realistic Annie having children that needed lots of bedtime stories rather than children who instantly fell asleep when romance was in the air!
This is a realistic novel about both the crazy and good things that happen to everyday people. A lovely book.
Thank you to Net Galley and Escape Publishing for the eGalley.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
August 9, 2013
At First Sight: After almost a year of separation (and at least six months since she last heard of her soon to be ex-husband), newly single mom Annie is still quite pissed off at said ex, but trying to make ends met the best she can while caring for her two young children.
Her situation is far from ideal, though. She's barely making enough at her job, she hasn't been able to save enough to go back to school and she's currently crashing at a co-worker's apartment. The last thing she wants to do is date... until she meets her downstairs neighbor Hugh.
Hugh is a doctor who just moved from London to Sydney, and he isn't particularly interested in dating either, let along a single mother with 2 kids - which complicates things a bit since he doesn't want to have kids ever, even if he does seem to enjoy being around Annie's kids just fine.
Slowly, Hugh and Annie form a friendship that might possibly grow into more... just when Annie's husband decides to show up again.
Second Glance: E for England was a fun contemporary read, but I still had plenty of ups and downs with it. Annie and Hugh - and their friends - were pretty fun, Annie's kids weren't annoying and they all had a good chemistry together, that was definitely a plus.
But other stuff was a bit irregular. Annie's husband is a major douche bag, and the amount of time that takes her to come to her senses about him bothered me... a lot. The whole E for England thing was a bit too crazy (basically, Annie's roommate is trying to sleep her way through the alphabet of countries) and I felt like it was just thrown in to give the book a cute title.
Annie herself is pretty high strung, and sometimes overreacts a lot about simple things. I wished they had explored Hugh's background a little more, there was potential from some awesome storytelling there.
But still, the story was pretty fun and the ending was sweet. No sexy times though, in case that's a deal breaker for you, either way.
Bottom Line: I do recommend E for England if you're looking for a quick read. I do like the Australian setting a lot and the story was pretty good all around. There were some really refreshing things about the story, like the fact Annie and Hugh become really good friends first.
Her situation is far from ideal, though. She's barely making enough at her job, she hasn't been able to save enough to go back to school and she's currently crashing at a co-worker's apartment. The last thing she wants to do is date... until she meets her downstairs neighbor Hugh.
Hugh is a doctor who just moved from London to Sydney, and he isn't particularly interested in dating either, let along a single mother with 2 kids - which complicates things a bit since he doesn't want to have kids ever, even if he does seem to enjoy being around Annie's kids just fine.
Slowly, Hugh and Annie form a friendship that might possibly grow into more... just when Annie's husband decides to show up again.
Second Glance: E for England was a fun contemporary read, but I still had plenty of ups and downs with it. Annie and Hugh - and their friends - were pretty fun, Annie's kids weren't annoying and they all had a good chemistry together, that was definitely a plus.
But other stuff was a bit irregular. Annie's husband is a major douche bag, and the amount of time that takes her to come to her senses about him bothered me... a lot. The whole E for England thing was a bit too crazy (basically, Annie's roommate is trying to sleep her way through the alphabet of countries) and I felt like it was just thrown in to give the book a cute title.
Annie herself is pretty high strung, and sometimes overreacts a lot about simple things. I wished they had explored Hugh's background a little more, there was potential from some awesome storytelling there.
But still, the story was pretty fun and the ending was sweet. No sexy times though, in case that's a deal breaker for you, either way.
Bottom Line: I do recommend E for England if you're looking for a quick read. I do like the Australian setting a lot and the story was pretty good all around. There were some really refreshing things about the story, like the fact Annie and Hugh become really good friends first.
August 15, 2013
E for England is a sweet contemporary romance with memorable characters.
Annie and Hugh create an instant bond with the reader which intensifies as the story progresses. If like me you enjoy character driven romance this is for you. The secondary characters particularly the children enhance the story and provide reality based humour that every parent will recognise and enjoy.
The plot is reality based and doesn't provide the escapism I usually seek in a romantic novel but the depth and authenticity of the characters made it a worthwhile read. The issues explored in the book are contemporary and sensitively handled by the author and it is impossible not to feel empathy for the mismatched pair as the story progresses.
I would recommend this easy read to all fans of sweet contemporary romance.
'I received this book from Harlequin Enterprises Australia via NetGalley in return for an honest review'
Elisabeth Rose
November 26, 2013
This book was an entertaining book.
The characters were amazing.
I love that this book took place in Australia I wish more books did.
The relationships between the characters were real explosive.
It was real it is something that the reader could relate to.
It was a cute romance.
The characters were amazing.
I love that this book took place in Australia I wish more books did.
The relationships between the characters were real explosive.
It was real it is something that the reader could relate to.
It was a cute romance.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews