Ellie's found her Mr. Right—too bad his mom's got him all wrapped up in her apron strings. Bestseller Green (Bookends; Jemima J; etc.) saddles her heroine with the mother-in-law from hell in her latest bit of comic frippery. Ellie's mom was an alcoholic who died when Ellie was 13, so it's understandable that at first she's "over the moon" about being embraced by Dan's entire family. But poor Ellie never saw the meddlesome Mrs. Cooper coming. Mrs. Cooper calls her three times a day at work, plays devoted son against desperate daughter-in-law, takes control of the wedding plans and then, after the wedding and then birth of Ellie's son, Tom, seems to forget that Ellie even exists ("Hello, my gorgeous boys," she croons into the answering machine). More and more significant troubles loom: having a baby is hard! Marriage is hard! Green offers scenes of real pathos. ("We've become one of those couples that I used to dread becoming: the couples that sit in restaurants all night and don't say a word to each other"). The setup is solid, but the prose is flat: Ellie narrates with all the energy and élan of a bored, middle-aged housewife. She perks up, though, at the requisite happy ending.

A lot of married women can relate to this book. It has humor, heartbreak and rage. It takes twists and turns that makes you keep turning the page and makes you want to keep reading!

I LOVED this book!! It was such a great read. I couldn't put it down!

Very fun, compelling British chick lit. As soon as Dan proposes, Ellie discovers more and more how close-knit his family is. At first she loves it, then it begins to work against her as she and Dan start a family and his mother becomes far too involved. Lots of humor but plenty of heart-rending struggles, too -- like real life.

This was such a good read. Jane Green is one of my favorites.

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Ellie starts out in her relationship with Linda Cooper as friends, and is so excited that she is finally having a mother figure in her life. However, the more she gets to know Linda, the worse things get. Linda is a very controlling woman, and this becomes very apparent during the wedding preparations. And if that wasn't bad enough, things get worse when Ellie becomes pregnant with her first child. Ellie feels that if only Dan supported her, she could deal with his mother, but Dan in fact thinks that Ellie is being childish and is overreacting.

While the book starts off on a very humorous note, as things get worse for Ellie and Dan, the tone turns quite different. Ellie and Dan's marriage is now on the rocks and it doesn't look like anything can save their marriage.

I really loved this book, as I have with most of the books by Jane Green. With the exception of BOOKENDS, I think Jane Green's novels are worth reading and will make fan out of anyone.

For anyone with an interfering mother in law, this is for you! Fun!

It is a thirty-something coming of age story. It is a light and easy read. At times it was hard to read through the dysfunction, jealousy, and other aspects of the unhealthy relationships, but some of the characters remind you of people in your own life. I was never so frustrated that I wanted to stop reading, but if it had continued with self-pity and human interactions that seemed so selfish and unkind, I am unsure I could have continued reading.

Great beach read!!!

I found this to be a quick easy read. I could totally understand Ellie's feelings in dealing with a monster mother in law. At first Ellie tries to please her MIL, since her own mother has died. But then her MIL starts controlling everything in her life & things get way out of hand.

This book was a great fast read...it really makes you think about how to treat your MIL. I loved this book and highly suggest it.

Great book, lovely story, light easy read.

Great story that anyone with a mother in law can relate to. This book kept me up many nights. I just couldn't put it down!

This book took some unexpected turns, but it's still classic chic lit by Jane Green, and an excellent read.

Couldn't put it down. The ending was a bit abrupt - a sequel would be very welcomed - maybe about Emma, the sister-in-law???????

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