Waterstones Synopsis:

Ben is, at last, leaving home. At twenty-two, he’s the youngest of the family. His mother, Edie, an actress, is distraught. His father, Russell, a theatrical agent, is rather hoping to get his wife back. His brother, Matthew, is struggling in a relationship in which he achieves and earns less than his girlfriend. And his sister, Rosa, is wrestling with debt and the end of a turbulent love affair. Meet the Boyd family and the empty nest, twenty-first-century style.

This is the first book by Joanna Trollope I have read, and I thought it was OK, just an average chick-lit book. The story follows the Boyd family as the children leave the family home, struggle in the real world and have to face moving home.

I found this quite a depressing read actually. Everyone seemed to have problems that they dwelt on for most of the book. I know that the point of the book was the struggle with life and the need to return home but I felt that everyone was just whinging all the time. When I sit here and think back to the book that is what stands out the most.

It was not all bad. Trollope wrote characters that I developed feelings for. Edie I couldn’t stand. Everything had to be about her and she drove me mad. Russell on the other hand I felt sorry for. He just wanted his wife back, and what he got was his children and a stranger in the house.

This is what I’d called “grown up” chick-lit. It was easy to read and had a satisfactory ending. It felt more mature than other chick-lit work, but essentially that is what it was. I would like to read another of her books before I make a decision about Trollope.

7/10