Ralph's Party

Great quality book, quick shipping. Absolutely love this author and will keep buying :)

Ralph's party is a well-written, amusing, enjoyable story about a group of 20ish/30ish people who live near, or are somehow connected to, an apartment complex in London. Their stories are quite entertaining and told with a gentle wit. The main characters are Smith and Ralph, two roommates who add a third, Jem, a kooky and attractive young woman who believes that she is destined to marry one of them. This novel being a romantic comedy, she of course winds up with the wrong one at first, but ultimately sees the romantic truth (as do the other characters in the novel) at, you guessed it, Ralph's party. This book is a quick, non-taxing read, but I really enjoyed it. I kept thinking it would make a great movie, just as long as Hugh Grant somehow gets a part. If you are looking for a light, entertaining novel, Ralph's party is for you. Have fun.

For some reason I feel badly knocking this book because it is her first novel and she did write it because her friends encouraged her to follow her dream. For a first novel, it ain't bad. It doesn't have the same depth as the Shannon Olsen/Suzanne Finnamore/Anne Maxted novels of the world, but then I don't think it's supposed to (although that was my impression when I ordered it). It's a cute little tale about 6 twenty-something people in London who live in the same building whose lives only finally all intersect at the very end. It's sorta like Melrose place but with only one bad person (okay, maybe two), and not six. It's a quick read, there are some funny lines, and there are some cute little romances. One of my biggest irritations in novels is characters who do stupid things for no apparent reason and there is a little of that in this book, but I tend to attribute that more to Jewell's early development as a writer more than to anything else. It is a cute little story, I did enjoy it, but it's sorta intellectual cotton candy, if that makes sense- is great going down, but not terribly filling (but that's okay- cotton candy is still popular). I do think Jewell has great potential, and this really is a great first start. Keep it up!

I LOVED Ralph's Party. It was the story of the lives of people living on the 1st, 2nd, and basement level of an apartment building in London and how their lives were intertwined. In the basement were Ralph, the starving artist and womanizer, and Smith, the together businessman with a 5 year lust for the girl on the 2nd floor, Cheri. Cheri is a dancer who loves to get attention from men, and lots of them! She considers each man a conquest and loses interest quickly, including her interest in Karl, her conquest from the first floor. Karl has been in love and living with his girlfriend of 15 years, Siobhan. The new person in the apartment is Gem, who believes she was "destined" to fall in love with one of the guys in the basement with who she now lives. It's a very interesting story and keeps you guessing with what will happen next!I can't wait to read more of her books!

This novel is very funny and makes you cringe several times with what the spanish call "verguenza ajena" (when you feel deeply embarrassed for the behavior of somebody else - I am sure all the teens will know all too well what I am talking about). The story and most of the characters are not believable at all, they work more like archetypes, but it's only fun fiction, right? So we do not expect the magnificient prose of Ian Mc Ewan here. I liked the more serious One Hit Wonder, was very disappointed by Thirty Nothing, but I am glad that I gave Lisa Jewell another shot with this one.

Sometimes when I read reviews here, I wonder if we're talking about the same book. The one I read was great. I enjoyed all the drama and I enjoyed how the story went back and forth among the tenants of one house, and tying them all together at the end. I was rooting for Jem and Ralph the whole way through! Lisa Jewell is a truly gifted writer. I usually like to read an author's book in order of publication, but have already read One Hit Wonder (which was great). She started out great and kept on going!

This book didn't have enough plot really. Characters are not developed, nor are they descriptive, very predictable. I really expected more from this writer.

This is Lisa Jewell’s very first novel. I fell in love with her writing and her characters!

I can't think of anything else to say except this was an enjoyable read. There were a few one liners that made me laugh out loud in the middle of the night. Of course the characters are flawed and complex, each trying to figure out who they are and what they want out of life. But again, it was such an enjoyable read. Just read it, and you'll be smiling.

For a first novel this was a great book. The writing was excellent. A story about flat sharing and other people in the flats above and below. I really enjoyed this book I got through it very quickly as it kept my interest. It has a brilliant ending.

L'entrega i l'estat del llibre perfecte.L'argument està molt bé, fàcil de llegir i distret. M'ha agradat!

Produit conforme à la description, aucun soucis et trop chouette. Super produit vraiment ! Je le conseille vivement à tousLa suite de "After the party"

Ich lese beinahe nur englische Chick Literature, weil es sich dabei um leicht bekömmliche Kost handelt, die gut für's Herz ist. Meine Ausrede, weshalb ich mich nicht von Zeit zu Zeit auch mal der anspruchsvolleren Literatur widme, ist, dass das Lesen von englischen Büchern dem Spracherhalt dient und ich somit ständig meine Englischkenntnisse auf dem Laufenden halte .... das funktioniert natürlich besser mit einem leicht verständlichen Buch, als mit einem Stück Weltliteratur .... in Wahrheit, liebe ich die Chick Lit, weil sie mich noch nie um ein Happy End betrogen hat! Ralph's Party beglückt einen sogar mit einem extra-langen, besonders ausgedehnten Happy End, so dass man das Finale regelrecht auskosten kann :) Ich hoffe, ich verrate damit nicht zuviel, aber dass es ein Happy End geben wird, wird wohl jedem, der dieses Buch kauft, von vornherein klar sein, oder!?? Jedenfalls ist Lisa Jewell eine ganz besondere Schriftstellerin, die nie zu oberflächlich oder banal wird, sondern immer sehr klug und nachdenklich und rührend schreibt ... meine zwei anderen Lieblingsautorinnen sind Sophie Kinsella (sehr, sehr lustig, aber oft so übertrieben, dass man es kaum aushalten kann) und Cecilia Ahern (manchmal etwas schwerer und oft ein wenig märchenhaft). Ich habe seitdem alle Lisa Jewell-Bücher gelesen und fand sie alle toll, aber ihr erstes ist mir doch das liebste geblieben ... es handelt sich einfach um eine der schönsten Liebesgeschichten, die ich kenne!! Was auch noch sehr interessant ist, dass es eine Fortsetzung der Geschichte gibt. 11 Jahre später hat Lisa Jewell geschaut, wo es die beiden Hauptpersonen hingetrieben hat und wie es ihnen in ihrer Beziehung geht - eine sehr gute Idee, wie ich finde, denn normalerweise hört es ja mit dem happy ever after auf und in diesem Fall kann man schauen, was zwei Kinder, der Alltag und das Leben mit zwei Menschen, die füreinander bestimmt scheinen, machen kann und wie die Zeit nach dem Happy End aussieht. Auf jeden Fall kann ich das Buch jedem (auch Männern) empfehlen - es ist eine Wohltat für die Seele (und ob man dann wissen will, wie es 11 Jahre später weitergeht, bleibt ja jedem selbst überlassen ;-) !!!