A Year Like No Other by Pauline Lawless
Publisher: Poolbeg
Release Date: 27th June 2011
Rating: 3/5
Source: Received from the publisher for review.
Amazon Summary:

Four women arrive in Paris to spend a year there. Each has different expectations, fears and dreams of what this year will bring. Ashling is thrilled when her banker husband is asked to relocate to Paris to work on a financial project which is all very hush-hush. She has always loved France and feels she will be living a dream come true. New Yorker Taylor has no choice but to join her husband when he too is posted there. A spoilt, prescription-drug addict, the only thing that makes the move bearable for her is all that designer shopping on Rue St Honoré. Felicity is devastated at the thought of leaving London when her husband is chosen to work on the project. Nervous and uptight, how can she face a whole new world? Jazz is a beauty. She is also clever and ambitious but her biological clock is ticking loudly. Then in Paris she meets the man she once loved and lost. He’s married but surely this is her last chance of happiness. Yet Paris manages to surprise them all . . .

Pauline Lawless isn’t an author I’ve tried before. I know of her books, but haven’t yet managed to try one of her books. I really loved the cover for her new book A Year Like No Other and I was also intrigued by the fact it’s set in Paris; I’ve read loads of books set in Paris this year and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed them, so I was happy to receive a copy of Pauline’s book to review. I was really looking forward to reading it, particularly as I’ve been on a bit of a reading slump recently. (No one likes that, me included.) A Year Like No Other isn’t the best book I’ve ever read, but I did like it for the most part.

A Year Like No Other tells the story of four very different women who end up having to live in Paris for a year because of a big financial project about to take place. There’s Ashling, a young Irish mum who can’t wait to get to the City of Love; Taylor, a pill-popping New Yorker, who seemingly likes no one, not even her husband Brandon; Felicity, a cold-seeming Brit who hates the idea of living England and, finally, there’s Jazz, the supermodel-like German who’s the only woman taking part on the financial project. They’re all brought together by Sophie, the wife of Yves who’s running the project, and despite their differences, friendships are made, relationships are re-ignited, and, well, it’s one heck of a year. I liked the idea of four very different women coming together for a year in Paris, to see how it was all going to pan out, to see if all the characters were as likeable (or as not) when we first met them in their natural homes.

I liked the plot and I felt none of the women were more prominent than the rest. I really liked Ashling - right from the off, I liked her. I liked how she took the opportunity of living in Paris as a good thing, as something to celebrate and enjoy. I liked how she settled in quickly. I liked Jazz from the off, too, but sadly, I quickly lost interest in her. Her plotline could have been interesting - meeting up with an old flame, if said old flame wasn’t already married and a bit gross. It took me a while to warm to Felicity, as she’s quite frosty to begin with and is intent on disliking Paris, but we quickly learn that’s because she just has no self-esteem or confidence so whilst it does exude coldness, it’s merely just her not knowing how to act in any given situation. I hated Taylor, with a passion. She really got on my wrong side - in fact, I’d find it hard to believe that anybody could like someone like Taylor. She was passionless, cold, and very very very self-involved. It was all about her. In fact, if she wasn’t in the novel I wouldn’t have missed her. The men weren’t really that big in the novel, it was mainly about the women, but the men did have some coverage (I can’t think of anyway else to put it!).

I think fans of Cathy Kelly and Erin Kaye will enjoy A Year Like No Other, and I thought Pauline Lawless juggled all of her characters nicely without forgetting everybody, although I would have liked to have seen more of Sophie, who organises the houses for all the women. Sophie seemed to have a very interesting life, one that would have been nice to have had more time in the novel. I’d very much have preferred more from Sophie than listening to Taylor’s moaning, whining, and pill taking. The book is very well written, I very much enjoyed reading it and finished it in a few hours. I thought the ending was lovely and I thought it wrapped the book up nicely. It was by no means perfect, but it was a nice way to spend my morning/afternoon and I think a lot of people will really like the book. I would recommend it and I will indeed be waiting for Pauline’s new book which will hopefully be out next year.

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