This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper

Synopsis :

The death of Judd Foxman’s father marks the first time that the entire Foxman family—including Judd’s mother, brothers, and sister—have been together in years. Conspicuously absent: Judd’s wife, Jen, whose fourteen-month affair with Judd’s radio-shock-jock boss has recently become painfully public.

Simultaneously mourning the death of his father and the demise of his marriage, Judd joins the rest of the Foxmans as they reluctantly submit to their patriarch’s dying request: to spend the seven days following the funeral together. In the same house. Like a family.

As the week quickly spins out of control, longstanding grudges resurface, secrets are revealed, and old passions reawakened. For Judd, it’s a weeklong attempt to make sense of the mess his life has become while trying in vain not to get sucked into the regressive battles of his madly dysfunctional family. All of which would be hard enough without the bomb Jen dropped the day Judd’s father died: She’s pregnant.

This book is both funny and sad...I can even go so far as to say it's funnily sad and sadly funny at the same time.  There are moments of near heartbreak but the next moment you will be ROTFLOL (rolling on the floor laughing out loud) ...er...did I get that right?

I felt for Judd throughout the book as he tries to come to term with all that happens and although he didn't say much, readers can sense that he missed his dad too and in a way, he missed is siblings.  There's a lot of stories that developed from this especially involving other siblings like Wendy and Philip.

It's quite like a chic lite but the main focus is a guy so what's the term for a male version of chic lite? 

I enjoyed this book and am happy with it. :)
 

Breaking the Rules by Barbara Taylor Bradford

Synopsis :

Following a terrifying encounter in the quiet English countryside, a young woman flees to New York in search of a new life. Adopting the initial M as her name, and reinventing herself, she embarks on a journey that will lead her to the catwalks of Paris, where she becomes the muse and star model to France’s iconic designer Jean-Louis Tremont. When M meets the charming and handsome actor, Larry Vaughan in New York they fall instantly in love and marry. Soon, they become the most desired couple on the international scene, appearing on the cover of every celebrity magazine, adored by millions. With a successful career and a happy marriage, M believes she has truly put the demons of her past behind her. But M’s fortunes are about to take another dramatic twist. A series of bizarre events turn out not to be accidents at all, but assaults on M and her family. The dark figure from M’s past, a psychopath with deadly intent, has made a vow: to shatter M’s world forever. But M also makes a vow: she will do everything to keep them all safe. When those you love are threatened and at risk, there’s nothing you won’t do to protect them… you’ll even resort to breaking the rules! Moving from New York to the chic fashion capitals of London and Paris, to the exotic locations of Istanbul and Hong Kong, this new tale from a renowned storyteller is a genuine page turner.

I am pretty disappointed in this book.  For a book that's about the great-grand daughters of Emma Harte, there's no substance and certainly no depth in any of the characters and in the storyline. 

I quite double of Barbara Taylor Bradford actually wrote this book because if she did, then she has very most lost it.

There's nothing much I can say except I will never read another book by Barbara Taylor Bradford again.

 

Certainty by Madeleine Thien

Synopsis :

Madeleine Thien's stunning debut novel hauntingly retells a crucial moment in history, through two unforgettable love stories. Gail Lim, a producer of radio documentaries, is haunted by the mystery of her father's Asian past. As a child, Gail's father, Matthew Lim, lived in a Malaysian village occupied by the Japanese. He and his beloved Ani wandered the jungle fringe under the terrifying shadow of war. The war shattered their families, splitting the two apart until a brief reunion years later. Matthew's profound connection to Ani and the life-changing secrets they shared cast a shadow that, later still, Matthew's wife, Clara, desperately sought to understand. Gail's journey to unravel the mystery of her parents' lives takes her to Amsterdam, where she unearths more about this mysterious other woman. But as Gail approaches the truth, Ani's story will bring Gail face-to-face, with the untold mysteries of her own life. Vivid, poignant, and written in understated yet powerful prose, CERTAINTY is a novel about the legacies of loss, the dislocations of war, and the timeless redemption afforded by love.

Madeleine Thien is an Asian Canadian author. I was given this book by a friend who's migrating to another contry and I kept and read this book most in my car and while waiting for traffic.

It' s a rather sad book and has lots of flash back.  I didn't quite like as I find the flow of the story wasn't really connecting but yet at the same time I was much intrigued by the story of Matthew and Ani.  That, to me, should be the focus of the book and in my opinion, if only it was developed that way, it would have been a great book.  

As it is, it's only a rather good book.