He's Got to Go

Rating:
Summary: entertaining relationship drama
Review: In Ireland, of the three Driscoll siblings, Nessa seems to be the one to have it all together. She has lived in comfort as a Riley with Adam for almost a decade and they have an eight year old child. Her sisters Cate and Bree are poster girls for failed relationships.

However, Nessa believes paradise may be lost as evidence mounts that Adam is cheating especially when she consults her horoscope. Nessa wonders what to do as economically she cannot just dump Adam. She has no one to turn to for advice as her mother lives on the other side of the once emerald isle; Cate the crabby one is having problems with her boyfriend radio host Finn over her pregnancy; and finally Bree the mechanic has a host of trouble as she can't get to work on time though Adam keeps her supplied with repairs and the father of her boyfriend is in love with her.

HE'S GOT TO GO is an entertaining relationship drama starring three solid female protagonists about a decade apart in age and even further distanced in how they see male partners. The story line effortlessly swings back and before between the three women though the concentration is more on Nessa, but does not neglect Cate and Bree. The characters are all well developed, not just the three Driscoll sisters. Though the ending ties up for the most part the lives of Nessa and Cate and to a lesser degree Bree, it feels much too crammed inside a short climax. Still the audience will enjoy this fine tale and want to seek more works by Sheila O'Flanagan.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: entertaining relationship drama
Review: In Ireland, of the three Driscoll siblings, Nessa seems to be the one to have it all together. She has lived in comfort as a Riley with Adam for almost a decade and they have an eight year old child. Her sisters Cate and Bree are poster girls for failed relationships.

However, Nessa believes paradise may be lost as evidence mounts that Adam is cheating especially when she consults her horoscope. Nessa wonders what to do as economically she cannot just dump Adam. She has no one to turn to for advice as her mother lives on the other side of the once emerald isle; Cate the crabby one is having problems with her boyfriend radio host Finn over her pregnancy; and finally Bree the mechanic has a host of trouble as she can't get to work on time though Adam keeps her supplied with repairs and the father of her boyfriend is in love with her.

HE'S GOT TO GO is an entertaining relationship drama starring three solid female protagonists about a decade apart in age and even further distanced in how they see male partners. The story line effortlessly swings back and before between the three women though the concentration is more on Nessa, but does not neglect Cate and Bree. The characters are all well developed, not just the three Driscoll sisters. Though the ending ties up for the most part the lives of Nessa and Cate and to a lesser degree Bree, it feels much too crammed inside a short climax. Still the audience will enjoy this fine tale and want to seek more works by Sheila O'Flanagan.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and true to life
Review: Keeping in mind European relationships are vastly different than American, I found this book to be extremely entertaining. The relationships between the sisters rang true, the narration rang true, the whole book rang true...

Rating:
Summary: Annoying Characters!
Review: This book was good- it would have been great if two out of the three main characters weren't so grating on the nerves. While older sister Nessa was portrayed very accurately as a nagging, uptight, meddlesome worrier...after a while I just wanted to scream!! Half of the nagging was unneccessary for the plot or character development- and it just left me aggitated.

However, the younger sister, Bree, is what really took away from this book. The lack of reality that went into developing this character is mind-blowing. O'Flanagan is almost partronizing any reader who attempts to learn about Bree....does O'Flanagan honestly think that Michael was ever Bree's "boyfriend?" Let me just say, the continuous referral to Bree's "ex-boyfriend" (whom she ALMOST, but never did kiss- at the age of 25....) left me wondering just how immature the writer, or the reader, was expected to be to believe this. At first I was able to dismiss it, thinking this continuous reference to the guy she "loved" after three dates, who was her "boyfriend" even though they never even kissed, was O'Flanagan's way of expressing Bree's immaturity and lack of experience. However, when the seemingly worldly sisters started referring to Michael as Bree's "ex-boyrfriend" I just about stopped reading this book altogether.

Aside from this, the only character that really did it for me was Cate. But unfortunately, the author only skims the surface with her, and we are left seeing her through other character's eyes, rather than directly into her.

The plot was great. I can only imagine how wonderful this book COULD have been with better characters.

Rating:
Summary: Fun book set in Ireland
Review: Three sisters in Ireland - Nessa, 34, Cate, 30 and Bree, 25 -- are all experiencing man problems of varying degrees.

Nessa is the homemaker with a loving husband of 10 years and a precocious young daughter. Cate is sales director for a major sports shoe company, living with her media-star boyfriend Finn. And Bree is an auto mechanic who travels the word, happy to be footloose and fancy-free.

Bree starts to mull over why she has so many guy friends but no real boyfriend, and decides to rectify the situation. Nessa starts to suspect that her husband is having an affair, despite all her efforts to be perfect. And Cate finds herself pregnant, which is sure to derail her and Finn's career plans.

Despite their differences, the sisters rely on each other --- but not without judging each other --- so they can all be happy at last.

This stands out from all the other chick-lit in that it has more heart, like the works of Marian Keyes. It is wonderful --- and makes you want to visit Dublin!