Author : Ella Griffin
Publication date : 15th September 2011
Publisher : Orion
Source : Bought
Rating : 4.5/5
Saffy works in a successful ad agency in Dublin, with a great job, she has the most gorgeous flat in Dublin’s trendiest neighbourhood and after six years with her boyfriend, Greg, it seems crystal clear that he will propose. Greg, being the next Hollywood big thing and also the next Colin Farrell is a heart-throb for a telly series. Then there’s Conor, Greg’s best mate who wakes up in the morning to teach school students and spends night after night writing his novel, which he hopes will change everything, including his girlfriend, Jess’s mind about marriage. Jess, burdened with twins and a pathetic writing job, has no intentions of marrying Conor as she doesn’t believe in a big, white wedding with five-course meals and all that glitzy stuff.
First of all, I was really attracted to the book because of the cover. It was pink with hearts and butterflies. It was soft pink, just the way I like it. But it was a large paperback and I was broke. Sob. That was in April, where the paperback has not been released. So I waited. And waited. Then September came and I saw it in MPH. Sorry to say, the paperback edition was pretty dull compared to the original one. But never judge a book by its cover, right? Right, sorry. I do. I do judge a book by its cover. It’s how we get attracted to books, isn’t it? The second thing that caught my eye was Marian Keyes’s praise; “A fresh, funny new voice. Ella Griffin can make you laugh and then cry in the turn of a page.”. Seeing that now EVERYONE can be a writer, I had to be cautious and really think it through, whether the book I like is really worth it. Sometimes, I depend on praises by other authors. You know, just to be on the safe side and not waste money on non-keepers.
Though it was written from a third person’s view, I kind of enjoyed Ella’s writing. It’s fun, fresh and laughable. Well, I would have laughed but my Mum would have thought I’m sick in the head. So throughout the book, I smiled a lot. You should know, I don’t laugh when I read unless it really is funny and I couldn’t help but crack up. There were a few lines which I found really amusing, especially Saffy’s big confrontation against her bitch of a boss, Marsh. Honestly, how can you be such a tart to the person who knows you shag male workers in the office? Exactly. I have to say, I really adored Saffy, well she’s confident, lovable and easy to relate to. She is also sensitive which is only human. I really envied her. She had such a fairytale life, perfect flat, boyfriend and job. The other thing is, I was really intrigued by her name, Saffy (Sadbh in full), I even had to tweet Ella to ask her the pronunciation. Turns out, it is pronounced as “SIVE” as in drive. Aside from Saffy, I really hated Greg, he’s really arrogant and stuck up and selfish. When his agent had news of auditions in LA, he never gave a toss about Saffy’s life in Dublin; her mother and job. He’s simple-minded and shallow, but as the story goes on, I feel less hatred towards him as he was really caring towards Jill, Saffy’s mother when she had to undergo chemotherapy. Conor and Jess, on the other hand were kind of the “everyday-life” family. They aren’t married, but she gave birth to his twins which is pretty weird seeing that they should be a family already. I didn’t really paid much attention to their lives as I was more intrigued to reading about Saffy and Greg’s.
As the theme of the story is love, Ella writes about how Saffy bonded with her mother, Jill when she has to be by her mother’s side throughout her chemotherapy. I actually felt really sad because I would be crushed to see my mother struggle when she has cancer. It was really heartbreaking and depressing to experience it with Saffy. Oh, I forgot about Joe and Liam! Well, after falling out with Greg, Saffy met Joe, an American ex-pat who is hired by Saffy’s company to fly a hot-air balloon for an ad. After first, when he was introduced, I thought he was just a minor. But at the end, it was really something. Yes, he fell for her and she him. Really lovely romance bits with a PG-13 restriction.
Overall, it was a really good novel by a début author, and promises more great books to come. I found it heart-warming and compelling, as it was well-written, not your average chick lit, but very well-crafted fiction. The characters were easy to follow, not too complex, just at the right level. This book has made me smile, laugh and close to tears. Ella’s next novel, The Heart Whisperer is due next year, fingers crossed for a fab cover!
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