The last of my holiday reads was a chick lit one which was a welcome relief after reading the Reluctant Prophet and Cats Eye! I first read a Bagshawe book back in 2004 whilst I was travelling, I picked up "The Devil You Know" and was immediately hooked reading it in a day.
I have never been a massive fan of chick lit although I do like alternating between my usual reads and stuff like this to give myself some easy enjoyable reading. I was hooked on that first book and I enjoyed several others after that. Bagshawes last couple of books however have been a bit of a disappointment, but still, I picked this up as it looked like the perfect beach read, and like many books in this genre, has a well worn plot that is both annoyingly predictable but satisfying too so I kind of new what I was getting!
** **The Plot** **
Venus, Athena, Diana and Juno Chambers are sisters and cousins who's lives are transformed during their teens when they are told by their rich and reclusive uncle that he will be giving them an allowance of £500,000 each a year to live on. The girls live an enviable life, full of parties, jewels and clothes, and as it's a Bagshawe book, all the woman are beautiful...obviously.
None of the women work so they live in ignorance of the real world - that is until one day they are summoned to their Uncles home in the Seychelles to be told that their inheritance will be cut off in one year because he has decided to marry a Thai woman that is at least 40 years younger than himself.
The women are angry that their rich spoilt lives are about to be taken away from them and immediately come together to hatch a plan to get rid of their soon to be gold digging Aunt. As a result, the woman all learn a lesson about life and the real world as they struggle to cope with their change in circumstances.
** ** My Thoughts** **
For me, this was a return to Louise Bagshawes best. The characters at first are self involved and not entirely likeable at all, but like her other characters, they slowly develop and you get to like all of the girls and urge them on in their quests to make it on their own. Possibly the best parts of Bagshawes books are the fantastic descriptions of the clothes and jewels that the characters wear, she always writes about this in such a detailed way describing the colours and textures which is really lovely reading.
As I've mentioned, most of Louise Bagshawes books follow the same pattern - a beautiful woman (or several women) is down on her luck - usually poor, without a husband/boyfriend/partner, and without a career to speak of, but with a hidden talent that she is yet to discover. Something sparks off some ambition in them and they climb slowly to success, getting everything they want and becoming a better person for it.
This story is no different and I didn't expect it to be. It followed her regular pattern, but I didn't find it less enjoyable for it, it was fast paced and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.
I cant say it is beautifully written like my other reviews so this will be short - it is what is - a very good beach read/chick lit. It kept me thoroughly entertained, and I did really get in to it during the latter chapters. Its easy reading, the characters are interesting and the plots are developed quickly. I always find reading about the women's blossoming careers and the success they make of their businesses, and this had some great examples. (These girls are just amazing, they ALL start their own businesses and make successes of it - haha!) Despite me taking the P, as a reader, I almost willed them to make a success of their new starts, even though it was just inevitable that everything would turn out peachy for them!
My only negatives - although these are small ones really - is that some of the plot threads just disappear half way through. Something is mentioned, someone vows to take revenge on the girls, but then nothing comes of it. However, I only thought of this after I had finished the book, so clearly it wasnt too important and didn't spoil my enjoyment of it!
I have to say that I really did enjoy it and I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys this types of books as being one of the better ones. I hope that this means a return to Bagshawes best.