I Thought You Said This Would Work: A Novel

Good

This book draws the reader into the folds of this story of friendship and tucks them in. I am sorry I finished it so quickly but I couldn't put it down. Last page turned, the journey is over, friendships are cemented and I feel happy I spent time in the characters company. Read it, you will love it.

A book for when you want to feel something, with a good ending that was satisfyingly emotional. I found the beginning to have too much exposition in a way that slowed the pacing and made the action a bit confusing in parts but this got better in the second half. A nice read when you just want to pick up a book and get stuck in - I managed to finish this in two days which hasn’t happened in a while!

I Thought You Said This Would Work is contemporary fiction and involves a fun road trip and a serious medical condition.Katie has called her best friends Samantha and Holly together; she needs them to fetch her dog Peanut, lost in her divorce suit, so that he can help her get through her second battle with cancer.Peanut’s unconditional love for Katie got her through her treatments the last time and she needs his support again. Samantha and Holly cannot deny their best friend her request, but it won’t be easy; neither has spoken to each other for almost twenty years and now they are going to have to spend hours together driving a dog half way across America.Although there was a sad undertone to this story with Katie’s cancer, this was also a fun book which had me chuckling several times. I’m sure you can guess that the trip wasn’t straightforward and I enjoyed the complications that occurred. There were also several non-human characters for animal fans to fall in love with.I chose to read this because I do enjoy a good road trip and this one was light enough to have a feel-good factor about it; ideal for a few hours of escapism.

I read *a lot* of books, and some I have reread without even realising...because whilst they were enjoyable they were also forgettable. Somehow I just know this won't be one of those! I loved this book and read it in two sittings (it would have been one, but darn it...sleep is just so necessary!).This is a story about friendship, communication, knowing oneself, self-acceptance, letting people in, coping strategies...which sometimes turn out to be less helpful than you had first imagined, and an adventure to rescue a much loved dog. The dog who had been won in the divorce with a narcissistic ex (taking the dog because he could, not because he loved it!); a dog much needed for a sick friend...but more so than that about a journey which was much needed for the friendship of the three women.I could have been sickly sweet, but it wasn't, there were nuggets of life wisdom, but not so many to feel like you were being told how to live.The best thing about this unusual story line was how many times I genuinely laughed out loud...the dynamic between the women in the car was brilliant, and you could just imagine their three completely different characters!I would thoroughly recommend this book, not just as a throw away summer holiday read, but as one to come back to, to lend, and to make you feel happy and remember what is important about life!

The story follows Sam, widow, and mother to a grown child about to leave home for college. Meanwhile, Sam sets out on a road trip with former friend, angry firecracker, Holly, in search of cancer-stricken best friend, Katie's dog.Having lost the dog in the divorce, Katie really needs her furry friend as she struggles through her latest round of bloodwork and treatment. But with Sam's sleep disorder and mixed emotional landscape, and the fact that Holly can barely stand being around her, will the intrepid pair find Peanut the dog? And will they heal their rift along the way?Unfortunately, I found the main character of Samantha distinctly unlikeable. She manages to make her best friend's cancer her personal tragedy, and is fiercely competitive with the former friend she probably wronged although she can't recall how, to the point of getting upset at the idea that the ailing Katie might have called Holly before herself.With her sleep disorder and her daughter being the only really interesting things about her, Sam comes across as selfish, childish, empty and small.The fact that the author made me feel so many things for her creation is, naturally, a mark of good storytelling, but there were a few too many jaunts down memory lane, some of which felt like unnecessary filler, and I found Sam exhausting company. Sam talks about her fear of conflict but what I think she really has, sadly, is a fear of growing up.I'm not a fan of the infantilising of grown women, so the fact that the protagonist likened herself and her friends as 'a child', 'a little kid', 'a small girl', 'a young sorority sister', etc. just put me on edge.

This is not the genre of books I would ever choose.But I found it interesting all the same.The characters grow on u..Over time you love them hate them and forgive them and love again....Some bits added are truly fictional...But it is fiction and while I can see the difference I didnt hate it....It is a chick flick through and through.Not exactly a book you cant put down..But you can read slowly and over a period....

What a ride! Loved taking this journey with such amazing women. A book to celebrate friendships and adventures. A story of tears & regret but also one of love & forgiveness- highly recommend this book.