2013 Book Review #37: While We Were Watching Downton Abbey

What a totally fun book!!

It's a light read, funny, amazing, witty, and full of wisdom regarding friendships, marriage, self-identity, and love.

If you are a Downton Abbey fan like my family is (why is it that BBC productions are so far superior to American television????!!), you might be drawn to this book.  I could see how the author was trying to put some Downton links to her fiction, but it falls short.

STORY SUMMARY

The main setting is in a historic Atlanta, Georgia apartment building called the Alexander.  It is in a trendy section of downtown and caters to all kinds of people.  The concierge, Edward Parker, is British and super attentive to all of the tenants.  He begins a Downton Abbey screening night that turns into a weekly viewing of the shows first 2 seasons.  Every tenant is invited to come to the clubroom on Sunday evenings to see the show before the new Season 3 begins in January.  It is September and we soon learn about some very special tenants.

Brooke, a single mother of 2 girls, Natalie and Ava, is recently divorced and living in the Alexander because her ex-husband insisted they move there.  He then left her for another woman named Sarah who soon becomes pregnant and engaged to Zachary.  She is in constant battle with him over the girls and his faithlessness and soon must learn that her life is not going to be the fairy tale she thought it was.

Claire is an empty nester who's only daughter Hailey is a freshman at a college up in Chicago. She has been a single mom, divorced for many years, and is used to doing life on her own.  She comes from the suburbs of Atlanta and decided to take a full year at the Alexander to write a 3rd novel.  She has published 2 historical romances set in Scotland but is having trouble starting this 3rd novel.  Can clinging to old dreams be more destructive than her new dreams??

Samantha, married to the very wealthy Johnathan at a young age, is facing some complications in her marriage.  She married for all the wrong reasons:  to be financially secure with an old Atlanta family's wealth, so she could have help in raising her younger sister, Meredith, and brother Hunter, because her parents were killed in a car accident leaving them penniless and alone.  She begins to realize she really does love Johnathan but it is complicated by a family betrayal.  Will her marriage last??

As the women meet at the first Downton Abbey viewing, they become friends. They have a bond that will get them through some difficult life moments.  And all of their stories are tied in with the unfolding drama of Downton Abbey.

MY THOUGHTS

I liked this story from the moment I picked up the book. My sister loaned it to me and said I would like it.  I was drawn to it because of the fact that I am a huge Downton Abbey fan.  It is a fun, light and easy read. But it is NOTHING like the British production. I think, and this is just my opinion, that the author is trying to reap on the success of the British series by creating a book centered around this very popular and extremely well done TV show. This book falls far short of being connected to Downton Abbey, other than in name and in the fact that she uses the idea of watching the series with a bunch of friends.  The only character who is at all British and could be construed as someone from/like the show, would be the concierge.

The characters are a little bit of "fluff" alhtough the story did make me want to know what is going to happen next in their lives. The author, though, should stop at this book.  I don't think a sequel would sell.

The four friends really resonated with me. I could see my self in all of the characters...bits of them....and although I have never been a single mom or a divorced woman, I could relate on a certain level to each character. I especially liked Claire.  She is a person who has many dreams and intentions and yet has fears of showing what and who she really is.  The character Brooke was my least favorite because I found my self getting impatient with her.  Yet, I also was rallying around her...wanting her to really step up and tell that ex-husband how she really feels! I think I was impatient with her because she was such a doormat at the beginning...and I've known a few women like her, who just keep their feelings buried. I am the opposite!  I tend to fly off at the mouth and then regret not stopping to take the time to think.

I liked this book because it showed the ups and downs of friendships.  It showed how marriage is work, how there really is nothing like a fairy tale life, and how difficult it is to raise children to be morally and ethically sound.  Samantha, in the story, takes on the raising of her 2 younger siblings but they turn out spoiled, selfish, and demanding.  Yet, she is not like that. I was so glad when she finally spoke up to her younger brother and gave him an ultimatum!  He needed to reap some consequences for his actions!!

The thing I did NOT like about the story is that not all of us can relate to life in a historic, trendy, for the wealthy, downtown apartment building. MOST of us readers can't relate to that.  It seemed a bit too perfect.  Too much fluff.

Although I love the Downton Abbey series, the book didn't really have anything to do with the actual British TV series like I was expecting.  The book itself is a light read...super easy to read....not a lot of depth other than the friendship aspects.  Most of the characters are predictable and yes the ending is a "feel-good" ending, but again, predictable.

I had never heard of this author until this book.  I probably won't be seeking out her other novels. 

In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 14 and older.

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 6.