“Sometimes I think they the only true way we can ever know a things value is by losing it”
“Why then did I keep playing, knowing that I would be left with the rubble”
“I love you, but that doesn’t mean anything if you’re not happy”
SYNOPSIS:
It’s Sabrina’s thirtieth birthday celebration; as per tradition her best friend Jessica takes her out for dinner. But Sabrina soon realises that this is not a normal birthday dinner; as she arrives she finds not only her best friend, but her long lost dead father, her admired philosophy professor, the love of her life, and Audrey Hepburn. This is Jessica’s ‘5 people she would want to have dinner with’. As conversation’s start to flow, Sabrina soon realises that each of these individuals played a crucial role in shaping who she is now. We follow Sabrina as she begins to grapple with some hard truths, that may just be too hard to face.
REVIEW:
I received a copy of this from ReadersFirst and Atlantic Books however all the views discussed here are my own, and were not influenced by anyone else.
I really liked the concept of this book; turning up at a meal to find the five people on your wish list. I enjoyed Serle’s writing style throughout; it was a really nice easy read, and something that I could easily read in a couple of hours. I also love the cover of this book; it’s so bright and appealing that it really draws the reader in.
The plot definitely went deeper than I was expected; I went into this thinking it would be quite a light-hearted book, but it actually touched on some really deep plot-points and I thought they were well done. I enjoyed and appreciated all the moments between Sabrina and her father; I could definitely empathise with Sabrina’s feelings towards her father – feeling that she was responsible for his alcoholism, and her disappointment that he managed to become sober after he left her and her mother. I definitely felt this was a plot point that was really well developed throughout the book, and I am glad they got their resolution at the end.
I also appreciated the story between Jessica and Sabrina; so often friendships drift apart because you both move on with your lives, and that is sadly a fact of life. Friendships are something that you both have to work at; it needs give and take, and at times it did feel like Sabrina just expected Jessica to still orbit around her, and try to fix her life, without Sabrina giving too much back.
The addition of her professor and Audrey Hepburn didn’t really add much to the story development wise, but they were good characters who played well off each other. The only storyline I wasn’t actually that invested in was the relationship between Sabrina and Tobias; I found their relationship to be a bit tedious to be honest, and felt they were both very naive. Neither seemed to really accept or be willing to work at their relationship, and thought it would just develop with no effort from themselves “We were meant to be epic. We were meant to hover above the normalcy” – there was also a lot of missed communication between them, which honestly is one of my pet peeves. I did like the twist that Tobias was dead as I honestly didn’t consider that when I started reading it; I just assumed they’d drifted apart, but I thought that was well done.
I do think this book was well written, and I did like the writing style and story itself, but I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s one that utterly gripped me. I do like that it ended on a happier note, and hopefully showed a more mature Sabrina.
This book really got me thinking about which five people I would want to have at my dinner party, and honestly I do not know. I’ve been rolling this idea round in my head since I received the book – I know a lot of people go for quite inspirational people, but none of those people even crossed my mind 🙈 At this current time I would say my list would include;
1. Chris Evans (the actor not the Radio DJ)
2. Harry Styles
3. Victoria Schwab
4. My Bestie
5. My Mum
But I also want J.K Rowling, and J. R. R. Tolkien…
“Why then did I keep playing, knowing that I would be left with the rubble”
“I love you, but that doesn’t mean anything if you’re not happy”
SYNOPSIS:
It’s Sabrina’s thirtieth birthday celebration; as per tradition her best friend Jessica takes her out for dinner. But Sabrina soon realises that this is not a normal birthday dinner; as she arrives she finds not only her best friend, but her long lost dead father, her admired philosophy professor, the love of her life, and Audrey Hepburn. This is Jessica’s ‘5 people she would want to have dinner with’. As conversation’s start to flow, Sabrina soon realises that each of these individuals played a crucial role in shaping who she is now. We follow Sabrina as she begins to grapple with some hard truths, that may just be too hard to face.
REVIEW:
I received a copy of this from ReadersFirst and Atlantic Books however all the views discussed here are my own, and were not influenced by anyone else.
I really liked the concept of this book; turning up at a meal to find the five people on your wish list. I enjoyed Serle’s writing style throughout; it was a really nice easy read, and something that I could easily read in a couple of hours. I also love the cover of this book; it’s so bright and appealing that it really draws the reader in.
The plot definitely went deeper than I was expected; I went into this thinking it would be quite a light-hearted book, but it actually touched on some really deep plot-points and I thought they were well done. I enjoyed and appreciated all the moments between Sabrina and her father; I could definitely empathise with Sabrina’s feelings towards her father – feeling that she was responsible for his alcoholism, and her disappointment that he managed to become sober after he left her and her mother. I definitely felt this was a plot point that was really well developed throughout the book, and I am glad they got their resolution at the end.
I also appreciated the story between Jessica and Sabrina; so often friendships drift apart because you both move on with your lives, and that is sadly a fact of life. Friendships are something that you both have to work at; it needs give and take, and at times it did feel like Sabrina just expected Jessica to still orbit around her, and try to fix her life, without Sabrina giving too much back.
The addition of her professor and Audrey Hepburn didn’t really add much to the story development wise, but they were good characters who played well off each other. The only storyline I wasn’t actually that invested in was the relationship between Sabrina and Tobias; I found their relationship to be a bit tedious to be honest, and felt they were both very naive. Neither seemed to really accept or be willing to work at their relationship, and thought it would just develop with no effort from themselves “We were meant to be epic. We were meant to hover above the normalcy” – there was also a lot of missed communication between them, which honestly is one of my pet peeves. I did like the twist that Tobias was dead as I honestly didn’t consider that when I started reading it; I just assumed they’d drifted apart, but I thought that was well done.
I do think this book was well written, and I did like the writing style and story itself, but I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s one that utterly gripped me. I do like that it ended on a happier note, and hopefully showed a more mature Sabrina.
This book really got me thinking about which five people I would want to have at my dinner party, and honestly I do not know. I’ve been rolling this idea round in my head since I received the book – I know a lot of people go for quite inspirational people, but none of those people even crossed my mind 🙈 At this current time I would say my list would include;
1. Chris Evans (the actor not the Radio DJ)
2. Harry Styles
3. Victoria Schwab
4. My Bestie
5. My Mum
But I also want J.K Rowling, and J. R. R. Tolkien…