englishrose

Challenge #1 here Challenge #2 here Challenge #3 here Challenge #4 finished 1 Dady 2 Scrapgarden 3 Terri M 4 scrapgran 5 Tracy 6 Celestine 7 Kristi M 8 Belle 9 Tamsin McAtee 10 AJsRandom 11 Laura 12 Jane in NZ 13 DixieLee 14 Mikelle

When we first meet Maggie and Angie, it’s hard to imagine that they will ever be friends as they are so very different to one another. Why do you think their friendship works? I guess they are complimentary characters, each fulfilling a missing "bit" in the other's personality. Also when people are thrown together and survive a major life event, such as studying for a degree, then the bonds that form are stronger than they might otherwise be. What at first seems exciting and Bohemian about Tiger’s life starts to tip over into something else. How appealing is a life with no roots? What do you think Tiger is running away from? Why does he stop? Not appealing to me one little bit! I'm not convinced that Tiger will settle down and continue baking profiteroles once Romany has gone to uni. (although Jax/Daniel went from eco-warrior to restaurant owner)! Leon choice of wife surprises Angie and threatens to drive them all apart. What do you think Leon is searching for? Safety I would say. He doesn't appear to be a very confident person, certainly not compared with angie and Maggie. Becky certainly "wears the trousers" in the relationship. Jax runs a mile when Angie falls pregnant and yet Angie seeks to arrange it so that he and Romany meet. Why do you think she does that? I struggled with this at first. Obviously the plot is building to this and the revelation that Daniel was Jax was no surprise. Personally I think Angie was taking a chance, especially with Romany being at such a crucial stage in her life - but this is a novel and we all like happy endings. Have you ever thought about appointing a guardian for someone? What did you take into consideration? How practical do you think Angie’s proposal actually is? We did think about it when our children were young but never took any practical steps. I would have appointed my brother and sister in law and their children are roughly the same ages as mine and I consider them good an loving parents to their own children. It's a diferent matter looking after someone else's children though. Not everyone is cut out for it. With regards to the Romany/Tiger situation I think it highly improbable and impractical. Especially putting Romany in the care of an unmarried male wanderer with no history of being committed to anywhere or anybody. I would have chosen Maggie. Ultimately, it seems that Angie knew her friends almost better than they knew themselves. Do you think their lives are improved by the end of the book? It's a bit of a fairytale ending I guess. I can't see Maggie and Leon staying together now that she has returned to the law and Leon has rediscovered his musical talent. tiger has discovered domestic security but without the day to day care of Romany, I think his feet might begin to itch. Hope comes off worst - her boyfriend suddenly has a teenage child and although theirs is a fairly open and relaxed relationship, I'm not sure she and Daniel can come through unscathed. On a scale of 1 to 5 stars (with 5 being the greatest), where did this book fall on your rating scale? I liked the book a lot for its depiction of college life. Sitting in the corridors in halls of residence drinking coffee could have been me in the early 1970s! I enjoyed imagining the characters moving about in cities I know quite well - Leeds, York and Durham. For me the book began to go a bit flat until the introduction of Hope and Daniel. I'm glad the author didn't dwell on angie's illness and death which she might have done. The ending was predicatable however. I give star ratings to all the books I read and I'm choosy about what I give 5 stars to. I think probably 3/5 just because I thought some of it improbable. I'm looking forward to your next choice!

I didn't quite make it last month but put me down again please April - it helps concentrate my mind.

Lovely LOs ladies - well done!

Gorgeous LOs of the natural world. congrats ladies!

Here is my Weekend Wildcard LO

Here is mine

A new author to me. I've managed to get a kindle version in the UK.

Monthly challenge #3 here

Challenge #3 here

So funny!

How did I not sign up for this?! Add me in please April. Here is my 1st - the Newsletter challenge

My 70th birthday celebration here