Rating: 
Summary: Life Goes On...
Review: This was an excellent book, not your ordinary
run-of-the-mill romance. The topic is unique. How many novels are there out there that focus on catering? And by the way,yes it
did include my two favorite things;children, and animals:)
Tom and Cathy had met in catering school, and always dreamed of one day opening their own catering business. This is the story of how the two of them built this business from the
ground up.
While life goes on around them, they work together to get their business up and running. Even through many pitfalls,
they end up with a place they can be proud of.
I loved the writing of this book and feel that Maeve Binchy is one in a million. I like the way that all of their
family were included in the book, and each paragraph was devoted to a specific story. It seemed sort of like a soap opera that I really got into.
I WANT MORE!!!
(please Maeve)
I adored this book, and give it 5 stars:)
Rating: 
Summary: A nice story, again
Review: Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather met in catering school and, apart from being good friends, share a dream: owning their own catering business. On one New Year's Eve, Tom happens on the perfect location. And so begins their first year as entrepreneurs.Binchy, renown for her character development, presents her readers with a full serving of interesting people, some new and some you will remember from previous novels. What I do find about her books, however, is that they are all very similar. The cast is interesting and you do get attached to them, the pace is good, but they read like a good soap opera that has very low-level drama. I for one would like to see Binchy try something different. If you are a devoted Binchy fan, or are looking for a nice, well-written story, then pick up this book, curl up in your favourite chair with a cup of tea, and enjoy. If you are ambivalent about her previous works, then you should pass on this one, as it is a continuation of her last novels.
Rating:
Summary: Sorrows of Seeking Joy
Review: Cooking school classmates Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather have dreamed of offering gourmet meals in peoples' homes at moderate cost. In Scarlet Feather, you will learn about their first year in business, and how their entrepreneurship affects them and those they love. The book captures the rapidly changing contemporary scene in Dublin, and will make anyone want to visit . . . and have a wonderful meal at Quentin's. Like Tara Road, the book is filled with an enormous number of characters, most of whom are related to one another in either the Mitchell, Scarlet or Feather families. As you read the book, jot down who's who. It will help you keep the characters straight. A number of them only appear every two hundred pages or so. The book deals with a number of appealing themes. Among them are what makes for a loving relationship, our responsibility to the less fortunate, the reasonable boundaries for one's own career aspirations, what noble behavior is, the need for personal responsibility, the dangers of allowing hope or despair to overwhelm an objective view of oneself, and how abused children should be cared for. The messages that come out of the book are sort of a downer though. Almost all men unreliable, parents should be watched lest they do harm to their children, you don't really know the people you love until you try to rely on them . . . and then you will be disappointed, upper class people have no class, poor people are their own worst enemies, most peoples' dreams are pretty silly, ambitious people will pay an enormous price, family law is filled with stupidity, and almost everyone puts their own interests ahead of everyone else's no matter what the cost. Ms. Binchy's strength is that she can take a character, bring that character to life, and evolve that character into a different person by the end of the novel. When she succeeds in those dimensions, you will love the book. The characters of Cathy Feather, Maud Mitchell, Simon Mitchell, and Shona Burke will probably strike you as being very appealing in this dimension. Most of the other characters failed to make the transition into full Binchy development, however. The book's main weakness is that the plot is needlessly exaggerated in many dimensions, which makes the story awkward, extreme and unrealistic. The exaggerations reminded me of the sort of thing you see in a fairy tale, like Cinderella, rather than in a contemporary novel. I could not help consciously comparing the book to that wonderful novel, Tara Road by Ms. Binchy. Scarlet Feather is not nearly in the same class unfortunately, although the two books explore many of the same themes. Despite those weaknesses, I would have thoroughly enjoyed the book if its length had been briefer. But at 549 pages, I felt disappointed. People who will enjoy this book most are those who have been disappointed in love, in their families and in their efforts to start a new business. After you finish this novel, I suggest that you sit down with those you love and discuss how you can be more supportive of them . . . in ways that they need most.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the Time!
Review: I don't know why I bought Scarlet Feather in the first place, but something about it must have caught my attention. I am so very glad that I did buy it, though! It is a long book, but definitely worth the time it takes to read it. I only put the book down when I ABSOLUTELY had to. Maeve Binchy has a wonderful way of weaving you into the character's lives, and that's what makes the book so wonderful. Tom Feather and Cathy Scarlet are old friends from catering school. They have decided that they want to start a catering business with their own flair and personal touches. The book takes you over one year...from their finding the premises to their one year anniversary as a company. All of the character's lives are intertwined somehow and you just want to know more and more about them. They all have their own little quirks...some good and some just awful. It will make you laugh, cry, and probably scream at the injustice, but it really is a great read. This book just really makes you root for the underdog.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the Time!
Review: I don't know why I bought Scarlet Feather in the first place, but something about it must have caught my attention. I am so very glad that I did buy it, though! It is a long book, but definitely worth the time it takes to read it. I only put the book down when I ABSOLUTELY had to. Maeve Binchy has a wonderful way of weaving you into the character's lives, and that's what makes the book so wonderful. Tom Feather and Cathy Scarlet are old friends from catering school. They have decided that they want to start a catering business with their own flair and personal touches. The book takes you over one year...from their finding the premises to their one year anniversary as a company. All of the character's lives are intertwined somehow and you just want to know more and more about them. They all have their own little quirks...some good and some just awful. It will make you laugh, cry, and probably scream at the injustice, but it really is a great read. This book just really makes you root for the underdog.
Rating: 
Summary: Extremely Entertaining
Review: I don't know why I gravitate towards books that occur in the British Isles; any story that takes place in England, Scotland or Ireland finds it's way to me! SCARLET FEATHER, another novel by the renowned Irish author Maeve Binchy, takes place on the Emerald Isle, of course! Each character in this novel is so believable and has so much personality that the reader is actually transported into each little vignette. The main characters, Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather realize their dream of owning their own catering company. Every person who comes into their lives, whether it's Cathy's husband Neil, or Tom's girlfriend, Marcella, Simon and Maude, (nine year-olds who transform from evil twins into adorable little cherubs) or Muttie and his wife Lizzie all make this the most scrumptious novel. Even though starting their own business is definitely not smooth sailing and the young couple must prevail over money problems, relationship dramas, vandalism and theft, this book is still a tremendously fun read.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely Entertaining
Review: I don't know why I gravitate towards books that occur in the British Isles; any story that takes place in England, Scotland or Ireland finds it's way to me! SCARLET FEATHER, another novel by the renowned Irish author Maeve Binchy, takes place on the Emerald Isle, of course! Each character in this novel is so believable and has so much personality that the reader is actually transported into each little vignette. The main characters, Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather realize their dream of owning their own catering company. Every person who comes into their lives, whether it's Cathy's husband Neil, or Tom's girlfriend, Marcella, Simon and Maude, (nine year-olds who transform from evil twins into adorable little cherubs) or Muttie and his wife Lizzie all make this the most scrumptious novel. Even though starting their own business is definitely not smooth sailing and the young couple must prevail over money problems, relationship dramas, vandalism and theft, this book is still a tremendously fun read.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable and easy to relate to!
Review: I have been a fan of Maeve Binchy since I saw the film Circle of Friends in 1995. I had to read the book and was amazed that I enjoyed the novel even more than the film. Her books have rich detail, great story lines (which often interconnect, realistic and humorous dialogue. I had enjoyed her earlier novels whoch deal with young girls coming of age in 1950s rural Ireland. When she switched to more adult books (Evening Class, Tara Road) I wondered how I would like them. They are every bit as enjoyable and this is no exception. Scarlet Feather is entertaining, the characters are likable and have true depth. I enjoyed that the each chapter is a month in the first year of a fledging catering business. This story is told with more subtlety than some of her other novels and is wonderful. I couldn't put it down and I was sorry when it ended and hope that the story of Tom Feather and Cathy Scarlet continues in the future
Rating:
Summary: Completely engrossing
Review: I started this book on a Monday and finished it Tuesday..all 600 pages.
I have only ever read Circle of Friends out of curiousity as a fan of the film and enjoyed it well enough.
But Scarlet Feather was different, Maeve Binchy is excelent at her characters, I found every single character in this book real, and marvelous, even the bad ones had some redeming qualities.
As a confirmed fantasy and classics reader I don't read a lot of contempory fiction but I have to say this book as well as Circle were a complete delight. Everyone is so real and human it is marvelous to have such a writer and I plan to read more of her books. I can't judge this to any other of her books except Circle. And since I found this book even more wonderful than that I have to disagree, with my limited knowledge, with the reviews who think his book is lacking. If this is lacking then I wish there more writers who wrote at this level!
Rating:
Summary: An Entertaining Read
Review: I thought the beginning of "Scarlet Feather" was a little slow, I wasn't drawn into the story line right away. As I continued reading, I got more and more intriguied with all of the things going on within the Catering company, and within the personal lives of all involved. Cathy Scarlet (one of the founders of the business) is having trouble in her marriage to Neil Mitchell, a young barrister, and having to deal with his young cousins, Maud and Simon, who are living with her parents. Tom Feather (the other founder of the company), is constantly having trouble with is aspiring model girlfriend, Marcella, and his brother Joe, who is always avoiding their parents, and leaving the entire responsibility of visiting them to Tom. These are just a few of the many plots that kept me interested. I was slightly disappointed by the ending of the book. It left you hanging, like there should be one more chapter. But all in all, I enjoyed it, and would recommend it to anyone who needed a good book.
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