Helpful Score: 5
If you like Jane Green's style, you will like this. You will also be infuriated at the workings of the main character's in-laws and their family! Entertaining read.
Helpful Score: 3
A fun easy read about the complex relationship with in-laws. I have always enjoyed Jane Green's books and anxiously await the next one.
Helpful Score: 2
...okay. To all those Jane Green fans out there. I promise that I'll give her another shot. This book was good but it wasn't great. I had a hard time getting through it actually. I know a lot of Jane Green fans that would smack me right now but maybe I just picked the wrong book. I'm going to try another one and get back to ya!
Helpful Score: 2
Very fun, compelling British chick lit. As soon as Dan proposes, Ellie discovers more and more how close-knit his family is. At first she loves it, then it begins to work against her as she and Dan start a family and his mother becomes far too involved. Lots of humor but plenty of heart-rending struggles, too -- like real life.
Helpful Score: 1
A lot of married women can relate to this book. It has humor, heartbreak and rage. It takes twists and turns that makes you keep turning the page and makes you want to keep reading!
Helpful Score: 1
Great story about in-laws- mother and daughter in laws!
Ellen
Ellen
Helpful Score: 1
A fast chick lit read. Satisfying ending for a story with 2 difficult to like characters.
Helpful Score: 1
This was a good book about the mother in law from hell. I thought I knew what would happen in this story but it took many plesant turn.
Good read.
Good read.
For anyone with an interfering mother in law, this is for you! Fun!
Ellie starts out in her relationship with Linda Cooper as friends, and is so excited that she is finally having a mother figure in her life. However, the more she gets to know Linda, the worse things get. Linda is a very controlling woman, and this becomes very apparent during the wedding preparations. And if that wasn't bad enough, things get worse when Ellie becomes pregnant with her first child. Ellie feels that if only Dan supported her, she could deal with his mother, but Dan in fact thinks that Ellie is being childish and is overreacting.
While the book starts off on a very humorous note, as things get worse for Ellie and Dan, the tone turns quite different. Ellie and Dan's marriage is now on the rocks and it doesn't look like anything can save their marriage.
I really loved this book, as I have with most of the books by Jane Green. With the exception of BOOKENDS, I think Jane Green's novels are worth reading and will make fan out of anyone.
While the book starts off on a very humorous note, as things get worse for Ellie and Dan, the tone turns quite different. Ellie and Dan's marriage is now on the rocks and it doesn't look like anything can save their marriage.
I really loved this book, as I have with most of the books by Jane Green. With the exception of BOOKENDS, I think Jane Green's novels are worth reading and will make fan out of anyone.
Nicely written with "many" other women - dependng on how one defines them.
Very entertaining read...
It was very entertaining and a quick read. Deals well with an issue all married women experience.
I loved this book. Its something for both mother in laws, and daughter in laws to enjoy. I'm engaged, so it hit a little close to home, but it was very well written and a very good read.
Another great story by Jane Green
I thought this book was cute. It had alot of funny parts.
Anonymous reviewed The Other Woman on
Ellie's found her Mr. Rightâtoo bad his mom's got him all wrapped up in her apron strings. Bestseller Green (Bookends; Jemima J; etc.) saddles her heroine with the mother-in-law from hell in her latest bit of comic frippery. Ellie's mom was an alcoholic who died when Ellie was 13, so it's understandable that at first she's "over the moon" about being embraced by Dan's entire family. But poor Ellie never saw the meddlesome Mrs. Cooper coming. Mrs. Cooper calls her three times a day at work, plays devoted son against desperate daughter-in-law, takes control of the wedding plans and then, after the wedding and then birth of Ellie's son, Tom, seems to forget that Ellie even exists ("Hello, my gorgeous boys," she croons into the answering machine). More and more significant troubles loom: having a baby is hard! Marriage is hard! Green offers scenes of real pathos. ("We've become one of those couples that I used to dread becoming: the couples that sit in restaurants all night and don't say a word to each other"). The setup is solid, but the prose is flat: Ellie narrates with all the energy and élan of a bored, middle-aged housewife. She perks up, though, at the requisite happy ending.
This was one of my favorite Jane Green books. Very easy to read and relate to the characters. I really enjoyed it.
This was my first Jane Green novel. I couldn't get through it! It was too slow and boring for me. Possibly because her mother in law is not nearly as bad as mine. I actually put it down 3/4 of the way through and have no desire to find out what happens. I guess I'm not a Jane Green kinda girl
I loved this book! It is a must read for anyone who has had issues with the Mother-in-law!
I wasn't very impressed with this book. I read Jane Green's other book, "Swapping Lives" and enjoyed it so I thought I'd try another one. Well, you can't love them all!
I was surprised at how good this book was. It gives an interesting viewpoint of what a married woman goes through with a mother in law.
The Other Woman isn't who you'd expect. An interesting take on relationships in a marriage. An enjoyable read.
Excellent book - about a women figuring out who she is -
I definately recommend this book - one of Greens best work
I definately recommend this book - one of Greens best work
The Other Woman of the title is not a mistress, but a mother in law. When Ellie Black marries Dan Cooper, she is thrilled to be part of the family that she never had. Soon it becomes apparent that her mother in law is actually a monster-in-law who cant let go of her son. When a terrible accident puts Ellie and Dans marriage at risk, Ellie realizes things must change if she wishes to stay married to Dan.
I am a huge Jane Green fan, but this book isnt one of her better outings. The main problem for me is that I found Ellie to be a bit whiny and without a backbone. Also she seemed to use a lot of passive-aggressive behavior to get her way. I wanted to shake her a couple of times and say just stand up for yourself and get over it already, but that moment is a long time coming. I also thought that the book lacked some of Jane Greens laugh out loud moments, and it could have used a few. Overall though, I tend to like her style of writing, and find her books to be an easy way to spend a couple of days.
I am a huge Jane Green fan, but this book isnt one of her better outings. The main problem for me is that I found Ellie to be a bit whiny and without a backbone. Also she seemed to use a lot of passive-aggressive behavior to get her way. I wanted to shake her a couple of times and say just stand up for yourself and get over it already, but that moment is a long time coming. I also thought that the book lacked some of Jane Greens laugh out loud moments, and it could have used a few. Overall though, I tend to like her style of writing, and find her books to be an easy way to spend a couple of days.
Not at all what I expected, but a home run by Green yet again. Ellie was such a complex and interesting character, and so was "The Other Woman," her mother in law. This book was an excellent read.
i love jane green books. wasn't impressed with the one before this one, but could not put this one down. was more reminiscent of here earlier works! definitely worth reading!
This is actually by Jane Green, not Greem, and although I love her books, this one is my least favorite. Still worth reading, but not as good as the others.
Anyone with a mother-in-law will find some moments in this book where they nod their head understandingly. I remember the time my mother-in-law visited and while I was at work, rearranged my kitchen cabinets so they'd be more efficient...
Pretty good, really covers a depth of human emotions from the view of all the characters. I enjoyed it!
A different type of book. Tale about the bridegroom and how his mother behaves. Entertaining
Jane Green is great at writing books that make you feel like it's an every-family kind of story. She did it again with this book and I like her style.
It is a thirty-something coming of age story. It is a light and easy read. At times it was hard to read through the dysfunction, jealousy, and other aspects of the unhealthy relationships, but some of the characters remind you of people in your own life. I was never so frustrated that I wanted to stop reading, but if it had continued with self-pity and human interactions that seemed so selfish and unkind, I am unsure I could have continued reading.
"This look at mothers-in-law and what they teach us about ourselves is "un-put-down-able" - Cosmopolitan
"Unexpectedly honest" - Entertainment Weekly
"Warm, convincing and eminently readable" - Booklist
"Unexpectedly honest" - Entertainment Weekly
"Warm, convincing and eminently readable" - Booklist
Great book, lovely story, light easy read.
Great story that anyone with a mother in law can relate to. This book kept me up many nights. I just couldn't put it down!
Ellie's found her Mr. Right—too bad his mom's got him all wrapped up in her apron strings. Bestseller Green (Bookends; Jemima J; etc.) saddles her heroine with the mother-in-law from hell in her latest bit of comic frippery. Ellie's mom was an alcoholic who died when Ellie was 13, so it's understandable that at first she's "over the moon" about being embraced by Dan's entire family. But poor Ellie never saw the meddlesome Mrs. Cooper coming. Mrs. Cooper calls her three times a day at work, plays devoted son against desperate daughter-in-law, takes control of the wedding plans and then, after the wedding and then birth of Ellie's son, Tom, seems to forget that Ellie even exists ("Hello, my gorgeous boys," she croons into the answering machine). More and more significant troubles loom: having a baby is hard! Marriage is hard! Green offers scenes of real pathos. ("We've become one of those couples that I used to dread becoming: the couples that sit in restaurants all night and don't say a word to each other").
Another cute book by Jane Green, the other woman being her mother--in -law and how little things grew to great big fights between the two and the rest of her family.
This was such a good read. Jane Green is one of my favorites.
I found this to be a quick easy read. I could totally understand Ellie's feelings in dealing with a monster mother in law. At first Ellie tries to please her MIL, since her own mother has died. But then her MIL starts controlling everything in her life & things get way out of hand.
Great read - I enjoyed the depth of the characters.
Great book, I couldn't put it down. Classic Jane Green.
In Jane Green's delicious novel, the Other Woman is the mother-in-law. Ellie thinks she's found the perfect man in Dan, and she loves being accepted as part of his close-knit family. Until she begins to realize that Dan's mom, Linda, is a little too involved. Dan and Linda talk on the phone every day. Twice a day. And then, as Dan and Ellie's intimate civil wedding ceremony gets transformed into a black-tie affair. Ellie begins to wonder if it's possible to marry the man without marrying his mother.
As troubles mount. Ellie turns to her friends--glamorous Lisa and wonderfully frazzled Trish--and tries to rediscover the independence she once had, and the man she still loves. But it seems that having a child and saving a marriage means growing up in ways she'd never imagined...
As troubles mount. Ellie turns to her friends--glamorous Lisa and wonderfully frazzled Trish--and tries to rediscover the independence she once had, and the man she still loves. But it seems that having a child and saving a marriage means growing up in ways she'd never imagined...
Great, amusing read!
The charactes are very real and funny. Read it on sitting as it was so funny I couldn't put it down.
A great book by Jane Green.
The best book yet by this wonderful author. Jane Green has gone beyond being funny and topical into a book that is highly entertaining and yet also qualifies as a novel as it comments upon and exposes truths about the contemporary human condition.
This book was a great fast read...it really makes you think about how to treat your MIL. I loved this book and highly suggest it.
An interesting book which many women can relate to, in one way or another!!
Ellie finds the man of her dreams, has a beautiful son and is learning to cope with her mother-in-law's too-close-for-comfort relationship. Tragedy strikes and Ellie thinks she's better off alone, without family. A heart-warming book that reminds us that we should try to walk in someone else's shoes before making judgments.
Very enjoyable, true to life story about relationships with the in-laws.
This book took some unexpected turns, but it's still classic chic lit by Jane Green, and an excellent read.
Great beach read!!!
Couldn't put it down. The ending was a bit abrupt - a sequel would be very welcomed - maybe about Emma, the sister-in-law???????
I LOVED this book!! It was such a great read. I couldn't put it down!
Makes for a good read. As the cover indicates "What can a bride do when her mother-in-law becomes...the other woman"
I relly enjoyed this book. The mother-n-law is so terrible it makes you want to yell at her yourself.
Very Funny!
In Jane Green's delicious novel, the Other Woman is the motherinlaw. Ellie things shes found the perfect man in Dan, and she loves being accepted as part of his close knit family. Until she begins to realize that Dan's mom, Linda, is a little too involved. Dan and Linda talk on the phone every day, twice a day. And then as Dad and Ellie's intimate civil wedding ceremony gets transformed into a black tie affair, Ellie begins to wonder if its possible to marry the man without marrying the mother.
In Jane Green's delicious novel, the Other Woman is the mother-in-law. Ellie thinks she's found the perfect man in Dan, and she loves being accepted as part of his close-knit family. Until she begins to realize that Dan's mom, Linda, is a little too involved. Dan and Linda talk on the phone every day. Twice a day. and then, as Dan and Ellie's intimate civil wedding ceremony gets transformed into a black-tie affair, Ellie begins to wonder if it's possible to marry the man without marrying his mother.
As troubles mount, Ellie turns to her friends -- glamorous Lisa and wonderfully frazzled Trish -- and tries to rediscover the independence she once had, and the man she still loves. But it seems that having a child and saving a marriage means growing up in ways she'd never imagined . . .
As troubles mount, Ellie turns to her friends -- glamorous Lisa and wonderfully frazzled Trish -- and tries to rediscover the independence she once had, and the man she still loves. But it seems that having a child and saving a marriage means growing up in ways she'd never imagined . . .
This is a funny book about a newly married couple with a young baby, and an overbearing mother-in-law, who really does mean well. My only complaint is the ending - suddenly there was an epilogue that explained away 5 years...
delicious read!
Very funny book !!!
Good read.
Any bride-to-be, or mother-to-be, will devour this deliciously written book. All Ellie wants is a functional family. That's not to say she grew up without a family, just more to the point that she grew apart from her family. When she meets Dan, it seems like her dreams are answered, until they turn into a nightmare. I literally reminisced about my wedding reading along with the characters; the proposal, the planning, the headaches, the questions. Although, in Ellie's case, she really didn't have a part in her wedding, mainly she was just expected to show up- that's how much control her future mother-in-law had. When Ellie announced she was pregnant, I once again reminisced about my own children. How you are expected to just figure things out, how you want to buy certain things on your own. Again, Ellie feels that her mother-in-law has overstepped her boundaries and is treating her soon to be grandchild as if it were her own child. It only takes an accident for Ellie to stand up for herself and destroy the one dream she has hoped for since her teenage years. But, is ending the dream in everyone's best interest? Whether you love your in-laws or not, this book perfectly nails what every woman at one point or another thinks about her extended family.
5 out of 5 stars!
5 out of 5 stars!
Ellie's mother died when she was young and her father was rather absent as she grew up. She meets Dan and they marry; she's got the family she's always dreamed of. But....with a mother-in-law used to running everything life is not as planned. When tragedy strikes while on family holiday it leads to a separation in her marriage and a rethinking of roles, forgiveness, friendship and happiness.
Not my favorite Jane Green, but it was an excellent read, especially if you have a mother-in-law from you know where. :)
