Review & GIVEAWAY OF "After the Party" by Lisa Jewel

Review & GIVEAWAY!

"After the Party" by Lisa Jewel

Lisa Jewel catches the very essence of real, every day life with children and a relationship to a “T” in this sequel book to “Ralph’s Party”.  You do not need to have read the first book in order to read this book.  If I did not read that this book was a sequel, I would never have known it.  It is an excellent stand alone book.  Lisa Jewel has written a ‘jewel’ of a story!

We are introduced to Ralph and Jem in the beginning of this story by finding out they are now together for eleven years, and at this stage in Ralph and Jem’s relationship, life has changed so drastically for them that their relationship is drifting apart from each other.  Are they, or have they fallen ‘out of love’?

They have suffered two miscarriages, and now finally have two young, beautiful children.  Scarlett is three, and Blake is four months old, yet Ralph does not feel fulfilled the way Jem does.  Although Jem feels very happy and fulfilled and almost complete with her children, she has not been happy with her and Ralph’s relationship, as she does not feel Ralph has been pulling his weight around the house with her and the kids.

Jem is back to work part time as a Talent Agent, and trying to juggle everything, right down to taking Scarlett, her daughter, to nursery, and dropping Blake, her son, off at the sitters.  Ralph could help here.  Jem feels like she does everything and Ralph just sits up in his studio painting away, perhaps hiding, as if nothing has changed.  She feels disconnected from Ralph.  What is his problem?  Why doesn’t he help her more?  Can’t Ralph see all she goes through every day?

Jem does feel resentment towards Ralph for not doing more, and leaving it all to her to do, he feels resentment as well.  The children get all her attention and he is definitely last when it comes to anything, even when it comes to their non-existent sex life.  Blake now lays claim to Jem’s breasts, not Ralph.  They both bring issues to the table, and it seems Ralph, more so, than Jem.

Ralph decides, out of the blue, to take a vacation away from their home in London, and go to California to visit an old friend of his.  Jem is livid but tries not to let Ralph know how much.  Who does HE think he is?  Leaving her here at home with two young children?  If at anytime, why now?  Does he feel the need to capture his single life again?  Yet Ralph has his mind made up and he goes.

Jem.  Jem is left at home, alone, with the two children, all to fend for themselves.  Jem befriends a man, Joel, who is a single parent to a little girl the same age as Scarlett.  The two girls play together at the local playground, but things start to go a little bit further than the playground.  Just how far, and how the rest of this story turns out is left for you to find out.

Lisa Jewel’s writing is so engaging that you feel as if you know these characters, or even more, you may possibly relate to these characters in your own life.  Most of us in a relationship who eventually have children know what an impact children can have on our own relationships.  Children change the dynamics of relationships completely.  Some of us need to grow up a little more, while some may need to change the way we look at life and handle things differently now.  A relationship alone is not easy and needs tender loving care, let alone add children into the picture whether you think you are ready or not, and things can become even more complicated, as Jewel describes so very well.

Lisa Jewel’s writing is extraordinary and fluid.  It read so easily and smoothly I flew through the pages glued to the situations that arose.  It was pure enjoyment to read.  It is truly a book you don’t want to put down as her writing is truly very spectacular.

This IS one of the top 10 books of 2011 for me.  I “LOVED” this book!  I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who loves chic lit/contemporary romance.

One thing I do think this book needs is, and I have to laugh at myself about this part, is a little glossary in the ‘front’ of this book with the definition of some of the British slang that was used!  Lisa Jewel is a British author, and some of the British slang she used left me hanging!  I could not figure out what some of the words meant!  For the most part I caught on, as I have heard most of the terms before, but not all of them.  Even so, this did not detract from this story in any way, yet made it that much more interesting.

“5 stars” from me!

Interesting information about Lisa Jewell:

She has a website which is a riot of FUN!  Here is the address:   http://www.lisa-jewell.co.uk/  Just like Lisa’s writing, her website is just as great!  You must check it out!  Everything you ever want to know about her, her books, reviews, how to get published, and MORE, is there!

Visit Lisa Jewel on her FACEBOOK PAGE at http://www.facebook.com/lisajewellofficial

If you want to just BUY THE BOOK, in the UPPER RIGHT HAND CORNER, next to the title, THERE IS A LINK TO AMAZON!  CLICK ON IT AND PURCHASE IT!  “ALL” PROCEEDS GO TO SUPPORTING THIS BLOG AND FUTURE GIVEAWAYS LIKE THESE!  I sincerely thank you for your support!  Without it, I could not do these giveaways!

Okay!  I have “1” copy of this book to GIVEAWAY TO YOU!  All YOU need to do is SCROLL DOWN AFTER THE RULES AND ENTER THE FORM BY CLICKING ON THIS LINK!!!  http://lauriehere.blogspot.com/p/giveaways.html 

You have until Monday, September 19^th, till 11:59pm to ENTER!  Good luck, and to whoever wins this book, ENJOY IT!!! Make SURE you watch the following YouTube videos about the book as well!

YOU Tube Videos about AFTER THE PARTY by Lisa Jewel, Part 1!!! And, Part 2! And, one more video! Do we really want to call this Contemporary Romance 'Chic Lit'? Watch and listen to Lisa Jewel discuss this subject! AND, Lisa gives US advice on HOW TO WRITE A BOOK!!  
Hope you enjoyed these videos!
Laurie