Larger than Life: Someone has been keeping a secret...

I really didn‘t enjoy this book at all! I had to practically force myself to read it to the end while skipping many pages in between. It lacks everything from real romance to humour to emotions and Georgina is just annoying. I wouldn‘t recommend this to anyone sadly.

Georgina is pregnant. She should be happy - while the baby was not planned for, her partner Hugh (long wanted, finally divorced and hers, already a dad) is definitely happy- but for some reason she is less than elated and can't figure out why.Interestingly, although the story is narrated through Georgina's voice in the first person, it quickly becomes obvious to the reader that darling Hugh is not such a catch, but more and more reveals himself in more or less subtle ways to be a complete...well, you end that sentence as you want and imagine.So, what is she going to do about it?In a word, it's the story of a young woman who lives a bit in denial and slowly comes awake.The transformation is both external (people around her are full of surprises) and internal (her pregnancy is not exactly of the glowing sort, and she loses her thin, energetic identity completely).There are funny secondary characters - her self-centered mother (called "Jessica" and not "mum", which should tell you a lot already), her friend Sam who desperately wants to be married, too much for her own good, Hugh's oh-so-perfect-ex-wife...The twist at the end caught me completely by surprise, in a good way! I read other novels by Adele Parks and this one is one of my favorites. I just don't get the title!

Love this book. It encompasses all that women feel when they become mothers. It highlights the pressures women of today face in being 'good enough' and how liberating and empowering it feels to be yourself. George is a fantastic main character, highly likable and complex enough to be interesting. At first she appears a little cold but her vulnerability and likability grow throughout the story. Highly recommended.

Whenever I feel the need for some serious chick lit in my life Adele Parks novels are almost always one of my first port of calls after discovering young wives tales several years ago. The thing I love most about her novels is the way she isn't afraid to take a perfectly contented character and completely change the path of their life, however heartbreaking it is for the character and reader.Larger than life tells the story of Gerorgina aged 32 who since the age of 18 has been completely in love with Hugh despite the fact that in between them meeting and now he married one of her friends and had two childen with her. Everything about Georginas life has been centred around Hugh, her career choices, how much she weighs, who she socialises with, the music she listens to etc. Now Hugh has finally left his wife and moved in with her, Georgina unexpectantly discovers she is pregnant, at first Hugh seems pleased but his actions reveal something entirely different as the pair get closer to becoming parents.What I absolutely loved about this book was the complete evolution of Georgina as a character and person. In the beginning of the book Georgina starts off pretty sarcastic and smug, she thinks she has it all figured out now that she is with Hugh. As her pregnancy progreses and Hugh's behaviour deteriorates all her vunerability as a person comes out and she begins to challenge everything about her lifestyle and relationship with Hugh.I don't want to spoil the story for anyone but the ending really did make me emotional because I felt like Georgina had shown real courage and a massive strength of character to make some life changing decisions.If you are looking for some chick lit with a gritty story and a few twists then don't miss this.

If author Adele Parks keeps writing like this, I really think that Brit Chick Lit author Jane Green will have some competition! I was hooked well before the first chapter ended and was thuroughly entertained by this intelligent novel.Thirty-two year-old Georgina finally has everything she has ever wanted: Hugh, the manshe has loved for years and now has all to herself, she also has a wonderful career in Advertising at which she makes boat-loads of money. Georgina is thrown for a loop to say the least when she finds out she is pregnant. How will Hugh handle the news? Will you, me and Baby makes three be their new anthem? Georgina is pretty sure she wants to be a mother, or is she? Everything in her life for the last fourteen years has been filtered through Hugh. Georgina becomes obsessed with her pregnancy and how she is going to handle the rest of her life and there are many trials and tribulations associated with both. This book is a combination of chick lit intelligently mixed with a study of human behavior.I should also mention that this is my third Downtown Press book. Previously I have read: The Song Reader and The Man I Should Have Married. Good story lines and entertaining, intelligent reading seem to be the hallmark so far of Downtown Press.