A Friend of the Family: The addictive and emotionally satisfying page-turner that will have you hooked

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The characters are witty and real, their dilemmas are poignant, and Lisa Jewell ties the whole thing together with enough romance to satisfy even the most jaded reader. Whilst we have a mysterious incomer to the family in the form of an unexpected lodger, the title of this one could mean any member of this family, are they actually looking out for one another or just playing it that way on the surface. It's just a nice, comforting (even with the slight every-day-drama included) story that you like to have there even if it's not mind blowing.

The first Lisa Jewell book that I read, I really enjoyed but the more that I have read from this author, the more talented I have seen her become!Her previous work has always been on my list of favorite "chick lit" - work such as "Ralph's Party", "Thirtynothing" and "One-Hit Wonder" are great British imports and each offer a new and amazing quality to Ms. Since then she has written another twenty novels, most recently a number of dark psychological thrillers, including The Girls, Then She Was Gone, The Family Upstairs and The Night She Disappeared.

Families can be funny things, so, I questioned sometimes about the individual support of each other; was this because they had to or because it was freely heartfelt given? Jewell's light style can be deceptive; her anatomisation of twenty and thirty-something urban relationships is at times uncomfortably keen .I still gave it 3 stars because in the end I kind of understood the story and thought it was kind of okay. Tony's struggles with weight and his role as oldest brother cause him to evaluate his life in multiple ways. I highly recommend A FRIEND OF THE FAMILY, I would encourage everyone to put this at the top of their summer reading list. Lisa Jewell transcends the British chick lit genre by creating complex characters with problems many readers can relate to.

It’s an enjoyable easy listen to what is a family drama set with unconventional parents and their 3 sons and associated relationships. I just love how Lisa Jewell feeds us tiny morsels at a time to keep our attention and curiosity so that we keep flicking those pages.The character for whom the book is titled appears so infrequently the first half of the book I kept wondering why he is even in the story. I wonder whether after reading their stories you will also think that all 3 boys were spoilt too much by their parents or whether we just saw them at their lowest points of their lives.