BOOK REVIEW: 40 Love
by Madeleine Wickham
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
ABOUT THE BOOK (from Amazon):
In 40 Love, Everyone wins this game of literary tennis, a comedy of manners about envy in which Wickham skewers the nouveau riche. At their country estate, Patrick Chance and his wife host a weekend tennis party. As four couples gather on the sunny terrace, it seems obvious who among them is succeeding, and who is falling behind. But by the end of the party, nothing will be quite as certain. While the couples’ children amuse themselves with pony rides and rehearsals for a play, the adults suffer a series of personal revelations and crises. Wickham’s nonstop action reveals at every turn that matters may not be as they seem, and in the end one thing is crystal clear: the weekend is about anything but tennis.
MY REVIEW:
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I started working my way through Sophie Kinsella’s standalone novels a few years ago. I’ve now read every one of them, except Love Your Life which just came out recently and I’m reading it right now! I am planning to work my way through all of the books she published under her real name (Madeleine Wickham) this year. There are a total of 7 and so far I’ve completed The Gatecrasher, Cocktails for Three, and, now, 40 Love.
I wasn’t sure about 40 Love at first. There seemed to be a lot of characters and I wasn’t sure if I was keeping everyone straight through about the first half of the book—which couples went together and which kids went with each couple. I forced myself to just keep reading without worrying about it, and eventually they did all come together, mostly.
About halfway through the book, though, I got hooked on the drama. We discover Patrick’s true motive for hosting this party, then witness Stephen’s hasty decision, Cressida’s shocking letter, a surprise guest arrives, and more! All that glitters is not gold with this crew. And the shocking ending is what got me! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
*Note: There is one thing that comes up in the book that I didn’t understand. It’s related to British events. After a quick Google search, I got the gist. Just FYI that if you’re not familiar with British history, you may need to do the same to fully understand what’s going on.