Monday to Friday Man by Alice Peterson
Publisher: Quercus
Release Date: 21st July 2011
Rating: 3.5/5
Source: Received from the publisher for review
Amazon Summary:

What do you do if you’re 34, single and recovering from being jilted two weeks before your wedding day? This is the dilemma Gilly Brown finds herself in. While friends are marrying, having children and moving into the depths of the countryside, Gilly finds herself alone in London and holding on to her fractured family with their tragic past. It’s time to meet new people. So, she decides to get a Monday to Friday lodger, and after a succession of alarming interviews finally finds the perfect one in the shape of handsome reality television producer Jack Baker. Gilly falls for Jack’s charm and is transported into an exciting social whirlwind of parties, dining out and glamour. When Jack is introduced to Gilly’s family and friends, it’s only the attractive and eccentric Guy, the newest recruit to her dog-walking group, who isn’t quite so convinced about Jack’s intentions. As Guy watches them grow closer, his suspicions of Jack and his feelings for Gilly deepen. Is Jack so perfect after all… and what exactly does he get up to at the weekends?

When I saw Monday To Friday Man on Amazon it appealed to me immediately. The title, the cover, the synopsis but most importantly, the dogs. I love dogs. I have two of my own and I wouldn’t trade them for the world. I love books about dogs, and it seemed Monday To Friday Man would be filled with them as Gilly, the main character is part of a dog-walking circle. I was pleased when Alice herself got in touch and asked if I’d like to review her book and I eagerly accepted and I couldn’t wait to dive in, eager to read Alice’s third novel.

For the most part I enjoyed Monday To Friday Man. It was comfortable in its predictability and it only took me about four hours to complete, so I can’t necessarily complain. I did have a few issues (my internal editor is about to be unleashed) which I’ll get to further in the review. The general premise of the novel is intriguing as Gilly find herself advertising on a Monday To Friday website for a lodger. Someone to spend the weekdays in her spare room and then disappear each weekend. I’ve got no idea if that actually happens, but it’s a pretty neat idea and I liked how it was executed in the novel. I can’t say I was necessarily charmed by Gilly’s lodger, Jack. Obviously, the synopsis hints there’s something askew with him so I was pretty much on guard the entire novel for it all to disintegrate (and it did, obviously).

My favourite part of the novel was, as you might expect, the dogs. I liked that Gilly met up with other dog-walkers to spend time getting to know each other and spend time letting their dogs roam around and play. There was a real group feel to the novel and those were my favourite scenes. I loved it when Gilly took Ruskin for a walk to update her little group on the latest developments in her life, though there was a surprising lack of learning about anyone else in the group, they all seemingly had brilliantly happy lives. There was also a small sub-plot in which we learn of Gilly’s life growing up and about her sister Megan. It was rather fleeting, I felt and I’d definitely have welcomed a more in-depth look at the family as they struggled with Megan’s condition.

I did find the characters to be a little bit of a let down. Gilly is dumped by her ex-fiance weeks before her wedding which happens before the novel starts so you would expect her to perhaps harden her heart a little bit, but as soon as Jack the lodger comes into her life she falls for him quicker than you can say ‘dog’, and although she had fleeting wonderings of where he went at the weekend she sort of let it slide. Instead she became sorta clingy, begging him to stay during weekends which grated with me; I mean he said no! Don’t keep begging, woman! I did however love her friendship with Guy, who joins the dog walking group. I felt she came into her own when she spent time with him. As you can probably tell, I liked Guy. I found him fascinating with his hats (I can’t believe the man on the cover is hatless, it’s sacrilege) and how he was. I liked most of the dog walking group, too, but we didn’t really get to know them, sadly. I really liked Gilly’s twin brother, Nick, he was a lovely character and I liked how close the two were.

I had a few slight editorial niggles (I know, I know, you hate my editorial niggles because I’m such a fussy Hannah). Enrique Iglesias and Bonnie Tyler were both spelt wrong; I know they’re only names but if you’re going to put celebrities in your book you have to spell them correctly. Even more so when books these days are read close to 50 times before publication and STILL no one picks up on them! It’s infuriating, honestly. Also, on page 57 when Guy joins the group, Gilly says “Guy glances at both of us” but on page 75 Gilly says “The other day I didn’t catch your name” to Guy and according to page 57 she already knew it when evidently she didn’t and, again, I question why nobody picked it up yet I read it first time through and I noticed it. I know they’re only small inconsistencies, but the author reads it, the editor reads it, the proof reader reads it, the copy-editor reads it, numerous other people read it and it does rather blow my mind how it’s little old me who picks up on it. I do apologise for that mini-rant, it’s just a bugbear of mine; I don’t sit and nitpick books, scribbling down editorial mistakes they just pop at me. Anywhoo, because I’m getting wildly off-track… Monday To Friday Man was enjoyable. Predictable, but enjoyable. It was a nice and quick read and I’d certainly pick up Alice’s previous novels and I’ll be looking out for anything new from her, too.

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