How Will I Know?

by Sheila O'Flanagan

It was love at first sight for Claire and Bill Hudson. They met at Claire's fifth birthday party and they were destined to be together for the rest of their lives. When baby Georgia came along, it was the icing on the cake. So when a tragic accident snatched Bill away, Claire felt like she'd lost everything--except Georgia. In the three years since, Claire has devoted her life to Georgia; she knows no man could ever replace Bill, and the child needs her all her attention. Now Georgia's a teenager, though, and there's one thing Claire can't advise her on: dating. And so, purely to help her lovely young daughter in her journey through the teenage years, Claire sets out on some serial dating. And destiny is watching, again.

Genres: Chick Lit, Romance, Fiction, Relationships, Family, Drama, Womens Fiction

448 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

As you can see, a Dubliner all my life. My parents owned a grocery shop in the Iveagh Markets, in the Liberties area of the city and I guess city blood runs through my veins.

As a child I enjoyed reading and telling stories and everyone thought that I end up in a job which had something to do with books and literature. But though I applied for a job in the library all of the job offers I got were in commerce.

I turned down lots of them before my mother accepted one for me (I was on holiday at the time). It was in the Central Bank of Ireland and that’s how my career in financial services began.

I started out in administration and then moved jobs until finally I was working as a dealer in a commercial bank. Eventually I was promoted to Chief Dealer (the first female CD in the country). I traded lots of different things – foreign exchange, swaps, options, bonds…all of the kind of things you read about in the papers and that sound very technical and difficult. Of course once you’re doing it, it’s not half as technical as it sounds.

But I still loved reading and writing (which I did in my spare time) and I desperately wanted to write my own book. I guess I never quite got over the fact that I was never offered the library job! In my thirties I decided that it was now or never and I sat down, stuck Chapter 1 on a page, and started. I wrote the whole thing before sending it off.

I was offered a publishing deal (with no advance) by an Irish company but only if I wrote a different book! So back to the drawing board, I started again. It was another two years before it was published. It wasn’t until I’d written a few books and was offered a contract (this time with an advance!) from another publisher that I felt able to give up my trading job and write full time. So, even though it took a long time, I eventually realised my dream of being a full-time writer.

And now I also write a business column for the Irish Times.

When I’m writing a book I want to do three things:

* Tell a good story
* Make the reader feel like they know the characters
* Make each book better than the last

I don’t write for any particular audience but I suppose I must have people like me in mind – people who have busy lives and who like to escape into someone else’s for a while.

I love writing books. I hope you enjoy reading them.

Reviews

[The Cats’ Mother · Rating 3 out of 5]

How Will I Know? is a contemporary Irish romance about a woman in her late thirties, whose perfect husband died, contemplating starting over. I’ve read a few books by this author - the rest of my book club enjoy this sort of thing more than I do - and every now and again it’s good to comfort-read grownup chick lit (what I call chook lit) even if I always end up rolling my eyes at the predictability and feeling that I’ve wasted valuable reading time.

Claire Hudson lives with her fourteen year old daughter in Dublin, after her husband Bill died in a terrible accident three years earlier. She has no interest in finding anyone else, and gets angry at friends and family telling her it’s ok to start going out again. When Georgia goes off to camp and shows an interest in boys, Claire worries she won’t know enough about men to be able to counsel her, so decides to try an internet dating service, purely in the name of research…

I did quite enjoy this, although Claire was a bit annoying: how many times can you trip over before you learn to wear sensible shoes?! Why do you keep loudly proclaiming that you’re not going to do something, then go straight out and do it? And does everything have to be a competition? Nevertheless I liked her relationship with Georgia, a mercifully non-annoying teenager, and the parallel relationship dramas of Claire’s best friend and parents. The love interest was obvious from the first meeting, so the rest of the plot felt like padding until they inevitably get together. It wasn’t particularly humorous or thought-provoking, and the writing was fairly bland. I was going to round up from 3.5 but can’t think of any really good reason to, so 3 stars it is.

[Jaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

The nice men are ugly. The handsome men are not nice. The handsome and nice men are gay. The handsome, nice and heterosexual men are married. The men who are not so handsome, but are nice men, have no money. The men who are not so handsome, but are nice men with money, think we are only after their money. The handsome men without money are after our money. The handsome men who are not so nice and somewhat heterosexual don't think we are beautiful enough. The men who think we are beautiful, that are heterosexual, somewhat nice and have money are pigs. The men who are somewhat handsome, somewhat nice and have some money thank GOD are heterosexual are shy and NEVER MAKE THE FIRST MOVE! The men who never make the first move automatically lose the interest in us when we take the initiative. NOW, WHO IN THE WORLD UNDERSTAND MEN? Men are like afine wine.They all start out like grapes, and it's our job to stomp on them and keep them in the dark until they mature into something you'd like to have dinner with.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Predictable, but a decent enough book. What is it with Irish women though? If they really act like the characters in Irish authors books, I'm surprised anyone ever gets married or even into a relationship there.

[Gabriela · Rating 5 out of 5]

brilliant!!! I loved every page of it!!

[Roisin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant!!
absolutely loved it :)

[Sefa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny and interesting book. I couldn't put it down. A bit sad in the beginning though

[Tea Leaves and Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always like grabbing a large book as it promises to be a good read sometimes, but this one was a fairly quick and easy book. No real ups and downs, just a good summery read.

[What to read next ....... · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such an uplifting, feel-good read 📚

I could not put this book down, 600 pages, and it just flew by .
It was captivating. It was believable, and the characters were there to fall in love with .

Claire and Bill were childhood sweethearts, soulmates, and the perfect marriage.

When a tragic accident 😪 takes Bill away, Claire feels she has lost everything except her daughter Georgia .

Now Georgia is a teenager, and there is one thing Claire can't advise her is dating.

So purely to help her lovely daughter in her journey through the teenage years , Claire sets out in the real world of dating, hopefully getting the opportunity to learn a tip or two

This was an emotional roller-coaster cheering and pushing Claire through each page .

This book was so good , l can not say enough👌😃💚💚

[Smitha Vasudevan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Claire has always known that she would marry Bill. From when she had been five, she had adored her best friend and when her childhood sweetheart marries her, it is all that she ever wanted. She lives her life around him and their daughter, Georgia. When a freak accident takes him away from her, so does her world crumble around her.

Three years on, Georgia goes on a month long Irish class, and Claire slowly starts letting life in. How will she clear Georgie's doubts on boyfriends, when she herself is clueless. From online dating to dinners in the dark, Claire tries it all. Finally, the question remains, is she ready to let anyone in?

An interesting and poignant read.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light, read. I enjoyed Claire's positive relationship with her daughter. Claire is recovering from the trauma of losing her beloved husband in a boating accident and three years later decides to start dating in order to support her teenage daughter as she starts to be interested in boys. The stories about her mother finding a new relationship and best friend's problems with her marriage were interesting too. I enjoyed the references to the garden.
I did find the book a little too long but overall a relaxing read.

[Adeline Kam · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is always very soothing reading her novels. This is one of them but I think this novel is a tad too long. Certain chapters of information can be removed. Nevertheless I enjoyed reading this book. It is down to earth and so true relating to our lives now. Great book. Nice storyline and characters. Took me about 3 weeks to finish it because I was busy watching Netflix too 😹.

[Mahmuda Jannath · Rating 5 out of 5]

heartbreaking but beautiful to read, keeps u on ur toes wanting to read all of it on one sitting (which i did ;)) love how Claire gets over her fear of being in a car and actually DRIVES Nate back to his house :)

[Katherin Juliana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro demaciado hermoso tiene una trama muy interesante y se puede llegar a conectar de verdad con el personaje principal, con sus miedos, vergüenzas y pasiones. La verdad lo recomiendo muchísimo, si quieres leer algo rápido bonito y que te conecta con la realidad

[Alison Hurt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this author's books, she seems to be able to transport me into the story and carry me away with her words. Another fantastic read, with teenagers, death, divorce and working out problems within a marriage. Another happy ending

[Pete Harmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely tale of unbearable pain and courage. Each day, a step forward toward hope and love. Beautifully written.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really very good , predictable of course but still enjoyed it a lot more than Bad Behaviour my previous encounter with Shelia

[RJC · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read. More substantial than regular chick lit.

[Lisette De · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lees lekker vlot, wel redelijk wat vertaalfouten. Zinnen die niet kloppen. Op een gegeven ogenblik zegt iemand iets, terwijl hij al 3 jaar overleden is....

[Jane Gammon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

In true form the author chooses a novel slant for her story. Generally prefer her stories set in foreign climes but good all the same.

[Mary Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although it was a very pleasant read with lovely characters, I felt it was at least 200 pages too long!

[Karen Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Great characters. New author to me but will definately read more.

[Angela Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book.

[Miriam Elliot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a nice read, very relaxing. It was just what i needed

[Catherine]

A tad boring

[Freddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was okay, pretty much predictable, I think, but still enjoyable.

[RG · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty interesting story, but a little bit dragged out. You need to wait the whole book for the extremely short and blurred culmination. And supporting characters don't help you, but only irritate

[Trish Speedie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very predictable but a pleasant enough read.

[Amandine Ferreira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely lite reading, not my favorite kind, but it's an easy and enjoyable story, even though the main character is so old school romantic.

[Sheila Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy reading Sheila O’Flanagan’s books, always good storylines.

[Rachel Graham · Rating 2 out of 5]

That was a very long book and not alot happened