Helpful Score: 2
I loved this book! It was entertaining and funny, and an easy read.
Helpful Score: 1
Lorna Landvik at her best. My favorite of her novels.
Author seems to be inside the story tellers / never misses any nuances of each character / just great
It was a very different format to read, but I did enjoy getting to know all the characters is this manner. Good, quick read.
Fun and surprising.
I really enjoy the writings of Lorna Landvik. Have enjoyed several books.
I tried, but absolutely could not get interested in this book. Landvik worked too hard at being funny--it didn't take.
I really love Lorna Landvik's style of writing. This was a good book. Each chapter is narrated by one of five people & it centers on two families who are good friends.
If you liked Angry Housewives Eating Bon-Bons...you'll enjoy this one! A touching and funny story of a group of middle-aged friends opening a nightclub!
Another GREAT Lorna Landvik!!
Landvik's characters are always fun and seem so real, like your own neighbor. This book is a nice read. (also includes a discussion group questions)
This is a very well-written saga of two families who have grown up in the same small town where everybody knows everybody and their business too!
I didn't enjoy this book near as much as some of Lorna Landvik's other titles. Written in 5 voices (the 5 main characters), which I think was too much because their points of view weren't real clear to me. With every page turn, I kept waiting for the story to get better...it never happened.
This is the third book I have read by this author. I did not like it as much as Patty Jane's House of Curl or Once In a Blue Moon Lodge, but still a good book.Â
The story is told by six different characters: Darcy, Devera (her mother), Dick (her father), BiDi (Devera's best friend from high school), Sergio (BiDi's second husband), and Franny (BiDi's teenage daughter).
Dick Lindstrom is an appliance and car salesman who has a secret dream to open a night club which he eventually does, naming it "Your Oasis On Flame Lake". He has a close relationship with Darcy, his youngest daughter.Â
Devera is nearing forty and struggling with displeasure in her life and marriage. Therefore, she starts having an affair with her night school history professor, Gerharg Ludwig. Unfortunately, Dick finds out about the affair on Halloween night.Â
Sergio is affectionately referred to as the "Ricky Ricardo of Minnesota". In addition, he owns a chain of successful gourmet cake shops and is an adoring stepfather to Francine (Franny). His dream of having a son with BiDi finally comes true near the end of the book.Â
BiDi (Beverly Diane), is quite self absorbed and her priorities for maintaining a perfect body and household causes her to neglect both her husband and daughter. As a result, Sergio has an ongoing affair with Noreen, who just happens to work at the cake shop.Â
Darcy, best friends with Frannie (even though Frannie is two years older). She is the only one (besides Dick) who appreciates the nightclub and loves to do celebrity imitations.
Franny, the only girl on the high school ice hockey team. Regrettably, two boys on the losing hockey team beat her up after she scores the winning goal. She decides to stay quiet regarding their identity, probably due to being afraid of retaliation from her attackers, embarrassment from her peers, and not feeling comfortable telling her mom due to their difficult and strained relationship.Â
Overall, I thought this was an enjoyable read. Darcy and Dick have such a cute and funny father-daughter relationship. I am definitely looking forward to reading more books by this author.Â
The story is told by six different characters: Darcy, Devera (her mother), Dick (her father), BiDi (Devera's best friend from high school), Sergio (BiDi's second husband), and Franny (BiDi's teenage daughter).
Dick Lindstrom is an appliance and car salesman who has a secret dream to open a night club which he eventually does, naming it "Your Oasis On Flame Lake". He has a close relationship with Darcy, his youngest daughter.Â
Devera is nearing forty and struggling with displeasure in her life and marriage. Therefore, she starts having an affair with her night school history professor, Gerharg Ludwig. Unfortunately, Dick finds out about the affair on Halloween night.Â
Sergio is affectionately referred to as the "Ricky Ricardo of Minnesota". In addition, he owns a chain of successful gourmet cake shops and is an adoring stepfather to Francine (Franny). His dream of having a son with BiDi finally comes true near the end of the book.Â
BiDi (Beverly Diane), is quite self absorbed and her priorities for maintaining a perfect body and household causes her to neglect both her husband and daughter. As a result, Sergio has an ongoing affair with Noreen, who just happens to work at the cake shop.Â
Darcy, best friends with Frannie (even though Frannie is two years older). She is the only one (besides Dick) who appreciates the nightclub and loves to do celebrity imitations.
Franny, the only girl on the high school ice hockey team. Regrettably, two boys on the losing hockey team beat her up after she scores the winning goal. She decides to stay quiet regarding their identity, probably due to being afraid of retaliation from her attackers, embarrassment from her peers, and not feeling comfortable telling her mom due to their difficult and strained relationship.Â
Overall, I thought this was an enjoyable read. Darcy and Dick have such a cute and funny father-daughter relationship. I am definitely looking forward to reading more books by this author.Â
I loved this book. It is the third of Landvik's I've read and I haven't been disappointed.
a great book - I really like this author - makes you think
I like this author, when i first read "Angry Housewives eating Bon Bons", I knew i would have read all of Landvik's books. This book surpised me, there were some unexpected events that kept me turning the pages.
FANTASTIC! Love all Lorna Landvik books!
fun, light read. Each chapter narrated by one of the main characters.
Author Landvik presents with humor another cast of all-too-believable small town characters who open a BYOB hang-out, and come to grips with the cracks in their relationships.
Lorna Landvik is a great author!
Every book she has written I have loved. This is no exception
Love, friendship, family. It's all here, and it's wonderful.
Each chapter of this book is being told by a different character, and it takes us through what is going on in each of their lives, and how they feel. It was better than I expected, after I got started. Not a bad read, not as boring as I thought it was going to be at first.
As always, Landvik nails her characters.
This was a good book, not the usual quirky characters as in Angry Wives or House of Curl, but I couldn't put it down.
An enjoyable read.
Another really enjoyable Landvik book.
best friends fast approaching forty in the small minnesota town of frlame lake. devera and BIDI were recently voted "Least changed" at their 20 yr school reunion. each craves a change in her life.devera wants a break from her humdrum marriage and bidi longs to connect with her distant 14 yr old daughter. so when devera's husband decides to fulfill his dream of opening a nightclub in his basement= your oasis on flme lake arrives not a moment too soon. an unexpected crisis throws both families into chaos, forcing them to take stock of their lives and learn the power of forgiveness.
from the back cover:
Best friends fast approaching 40 in the small MN town of Flame Lake,Devera & BiDi were recently voted "Least Changed" at the 20th H.S. reunion-a label neither one finds very appealing. For each craves a change in her life...
Best friends fast approaching 40 in the small MN town of Flame Lake,Devera & BiDi were recently voted "Least Changed" at the 20th H.S. reunion-a label neither one finds very appealing. For each craves a change in her life...
Best friends fast approaching forty in the small Minnesota town of Flame Lake, Devera and BiDi were recently voted "least changed" at their twentieth high school reunion---a label neither one finds very appealing. For each craves a change in her life: Devera desires a break from her humdrum marital routine; BiDi longs to connect with her distant fourteen-year-old daughter, the only girl on the high school hockey team---not to mention to jump-start a sex drive stuck in neutral. So when Devera's husband decides to fulfill his long time dream of opening a nightclub in his basement, Your Oasis on Flame Lake arrives not a moment too soon. Nothing fancy, it's just a BYOB joint to hang out in, sing, dance, tell jokes, and be yourself. But then an unexpected crisis throws both families into chaos, forcing them all to take stock of their lives---and learn the power of forgiveness.
