A Friend of the Family

By: Lisa Jewell

Narrated by: Jennifer Saayeng

Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

Meet the Londons, a family in need of a friend....

Gerry and Bernie London are proud parents of Tony, Sean and Ned, three wayward lads whose lives have suddenly reached crisis points.

Newly divorced Tony is fantasising about someone he really shouldn't. Prize-winning novelist Sean's got a hot new girlfriend and a dose of writer's block. Ned's just back from Australia, without the girl he took with him - or a clue what he's going to do with his life.

If that wasn't enough for one household, the Londons also have a new lodger - a mysterious rockabilly called Gervase. Will he turn out to be a friend - or foe - to the family?

©2003 Lisa Jewell (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Disappointing in every way!

There is no real plot to this story. Some of the characters are really annoying, and frankly none of them are interesting enough to waste an audible credit on! I normally enjoy Lisa Jewell books, but on this occasion she’s lost her way and I just can’t recommend.

Very disappointed!

I’m still waiting on something to happen, not the usual standard we get from Lisa Jewell. I’m surprised it got published tbh. I had this book on pre-order and I’ve really enjoyed all of her previous books, so was really disappointed with this. Don’t waste your time or credit 😐

Not her best

I’ve read/ listened to a number of Lisa Jewell’s books and up until the last few found them to be excellent. This is far from excellent. Although the story itself has promise it is ruined by poor narration (Especially the male voices) and horrible, unlikeable characters. The three sons lack any personality or backbone, Millie is just a pain and I couldn’t work out if it was the way it was written or the way the narrator spoke her lines. Probably both.
I persevered as I didn’t mind the story itself but it could have been so much better. Perhaps I should have read on kindle.

Good but not as good as other books by author

I liked this and enjoyed listening to it but didn’t feel
As connected to the characters as I have in previous books by the author. The brothers got muddled up a bit in my head, especially Ned and Sean. Easy to listen to though. Could’ve done with a twist.

Awful

Poor narration. Boring story. I find it hard to believe that Lisa Jewell wrote this. Absolute trash and a waste of my credit.

Mary Poppins for Adults

Initially struggled to get into the book however once past early chapters and with the story and characters being fleshed out it became apparent that this story contained a moral message of familial love that is as important today as it ever had been.

Better than the reviews

I enjoyed this story and whilst it wasn’t fast paced it was enjoyable, I cared about the characters and the performance was fine.

I loved it

After reading some of the reviews I was a bit nervous and didn’t expect much. The narrator is ok- not brilliant, but she’s not as awful as some reviewers made her out to be and after the second chapter, you get used to her.
The story is just a lovely heartwarming story of a family. No twists, no crazy turns, just plain and honest.
I got through it in a few days as I wanted to hear what was happening in their lives at every moment.
If you enjoy a nicely written, feel good story, this is one to read

Very Poor

Very disappointing read. So bad was the language I stopped listening. It was an assault on my ears. Course,unnecessary descriptions, made me feel nauseous at times.
This book is full of foul language. The story line was boring I imagine the writer thought if she made it course it would be more interesting. However quite the opposite. Will never read any of her books again.

Not for me…,

This is the only book I’ve not been able to finish out of nearly 400!