Helpful Score: 5
I normally love to read Maeve Binchy's work, but this one disappointed me. While it started off well, there were just too many characters. She was still introducing new characters by the time I got to the middle of the book, and there were crossover characters from several of her recent novels. It never got off the ground and I felt like I was reading several different books at once. Not a cohesive effort. Recommended for diehard Binchy fans only.
Helpful Score: 4
I absolutely galloped through this wise, wonderful and witty novel. An outstanding Binchy book. A cast of thousands, including characters from her last three or four books, are woven into this tale with many storylines, but all radiating from Dublin's St. Brigid's Heart Care Center. The action ranges from Dublin, to Poland and Greece, and back to Dublin and it's surrounding suburbs and countryside and comes to a wonderfully satisfying conclusion that leaves you wanting the book to go on and on. If you have ever enjoyed a Maeve Binchy tale, latch on to this one, it's a thumping good read!
Helpful Score: 3
Different from most of her books, we're hit with all the characters at the beginning. If you're a regular reader of this author, you'll recognize many of the characters and settings. As usual, this book is set in Ireland, more in Dublin than usual.
As a person who enjoys this author's books, this one does not disappoint. A fellow reader read this as a first by this author and she found it very confusing.
As a person who enjoys this author's books, this one does not disappoint. A fellow reader read this as a first by this author and she found it very confusing.
Helpful Score: 1
Good read.
Helpful Score: 1
Maeve Binchy is a master at writing interesting characters. In Heart and Soul she deals with Dr. Clara Casey's conflict of trying to save her career and her human need to contact to her world. I've read most of Binchy's books and this is true to her style--interesting, never contrite and leaves the reader with feeling connected to the characters.
Helpful Score: 1
Maeve Binchy is hands down my favorite author!!
Light reading as a diversion.
I find Binchy's books easy to read.
I read this for the February "Heart" theme in my online book club The Reading Cove. Overall I enjoyed it, but it felt about 5 fully developed characters too much, and 100 pages too long.
That aside, I enjoyed the rich Irish setting I've grown to love about Maeve Binchy's books, and we even had a jaunt to Greece, which was nice.
I also enjoyed the heart clinic as the heart of the story, the hub that connects them all.
Recommended for die-hard Binchy fans, and readers who love a nice, easy stroll with characters you come to know and love...with a few curve balls thrown in to keep it interesting. :- ) Solid B.
That aside, I enjoyed the rich Irish setting I've grown to love about Maeve Binchy's books, and we even had a jaunt to Greece, which was nice.
I also enjoyed the heart clinic as the heart of the story, the hub that connects them all.
Recommended for die-hard Binchy fans, and readers who love a nice, easy stroll with characters you come to know and love...with a few curve balls thrown in to keep it interesting. :- ) Solid B.
Really enjoyed this book. I liked how the author pulled characters from several of her books to gather together as she added new people to meet. I thought it was so interesting to see what has happened and who's changed from previous books.
I usually don't like books that take place in foreign countries, but this one kept my interest. I fond myself getting involved with all the characters and kept reading to find out what was going to happen to them.
This is the first Maeve Binchy audiobook that I have listened to.... and I really liked it. The narrator did a great job and the story kept my interest.
The women in the story had their problems, but many of the women also had a lot of self confidence and so they didn't let people push them around. Another one of those books that are "a slice of life". I know I will listen to more of Maeve's stories in the future.
The women in the story had their problems, but many of the women also had a lot of self confidence and so they didn't let people push them around. Another one of those books that are "a slice of life". I know I will listen to more of Maeve's stories in the future.
This was just as good as other books that I have read by Maeve Binchy. I now have to go back and reread the other books these characters were in. She is such a good story teller and she weaves in all that is happening at a surprising speed. A VERY GOOD READ!!
A heartwarming book, as most Maeve Binchy's are. Easy read, but I found the several storylines incorporated in the book easily figured out as to their conclusions. No surprises here.
I used to love Maeve Binchy's books. It's been a while since I read one. Not sure what happened, but this was terrible. So many people keep getting 'introduced' during the book, I'm not sure who was who. I was disappointed, as I enjoyed previous books. This could have been turned into 5 for 6 different Harlequin Romances and no-one would be the wiser.
Dr.Clara Casey has been offered the thankless job of establishing an underfunded heart clinic in Ireland. She has quite enough on her plate already with two difficult adult daughters and the unwanted attentions of her ex-husband, but she assembles a wonderfully diverse staff devoted to helping their often difficult patients. There is the infectiously cheerful nurse, the indispensable office manager who can't quite manage her own life, the young Polish girl who came to Ireland to escape a bad love affair, the young doctor who has a special touch with his patients and the physical therapist who takes on a different sort of therapy to deal with a stalker and the local priest. Together they make the clinic an essential part of the community, and Clara must eventually decide whether or not to leave the heart clinic where lives are saved, courage is rewarded and humor and optimism triumph over greed and self-pity. I truly enjoyed this story and give it an A!
Mauve Binchy retired a couple of years ago and said she was done with the loneliness of writing and had no other tales to tell. I have always been quite an ardent fan of Ms. Binchy's and this book was a nice read but not a patch on some of her earlier works - The Copper Beech, Tara Road, etc. She may have been right and she doesn't have any more tales to tell. I do wish however she would go back to the stories of village life in Ireland and hopes and dreams of the villages. She really knows that material and I've had enough of the "town" stories. They become all alike.
Absolutely loved it!!!
All her books make me want more!!
All her books make me want more!!
I usually love Maeve Binchy but this book is boring- slow moving and dull, not up to her usual standards
Had a little trouble with all the characters, but love her writing, and wished it were longer!
Great book!! Hadn't read a Maeve Binchy in a long time and had forgotten how much I enjoyed her writing. This is not just one story, it encompasses a number of characters in the book, very uplifting.
Another wonderfully rich character development story from Maeve Binchy! A good read - makes one think about consequences, life choices and courage....
Lovely book - set in Dublin you meet and get to know a host of characters who go about their daily lives interacting and caring for others.
Another great Binchy book. She weaves a wonderful story and you feel like you are there in the story with the characters. This is book includes some very up to date issues in a very satisfying way.
I love Maeve Binchy's novels and this one did not disappoint. It has a great plot and great development of characters. It is a very easy read and should not be missed if you are a Binchy fan. I'm looking forward to reading another of her novels very soon.
Read for the second time in 2019. Recognize a lot of the characters from her other books. A definite favorite and looking forward to reading Minding Frankie next week.
Read for the second time in 2019. Recognize a lot of the characters from her other books. A definite favorite and looking forward to reading Minding Frankie next week.
A delightful book which captivates the reader's attention by weaving together the lives of a group of people who work at a heart-healthy clinic.
