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    A Desirable Residence: A Novel of Love and Real Estate
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    A Desirable Residence: A Novel of Love and Real Estate
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    A Desirable Residence: A Novel of Love and Real Estate
    Ebook310 pages6 hours

    A Desirable Residence: A Novel of Love and Real Estate

    By Madeleine Wickham

    3/5

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    About this ebook

    From the author of the sensational bestselling Sophie Kinsella novels and the New York Times bestsellers The Wedding Girl and Sleeping Arrangements, comes a wicked comedy of adultery, angst, and modern marriage

    The asking price for this house includes a stunning renovation of hearts and dreams....Liz and Jonathan Chambers were stuck with two mortgages, mounting debts, and a miserable adolescent daughter. Then realtor Marcus Witherstone came into their lives—and it seemed he would solve all their problems. He knew the perfect tenants from London who would rent their old house: a glamorous PR girl, Ginny, and her almost-famous husband, Piers.

    But soon Liz is lost in blissful dreams of Marcus, Jonathan is left to run their business, and neither of them has time to notice that their teenage daughter is developing an unhealthy passion for the tenants, Piers and Ginny. Everyone is tangled up with everyone else, and in the most awkward possible way. As events close in, they all begin to realize that some deceptions are just a bit too close to home.

    A Desirable Residence is sure to continue the phenomenal success of the Sophie Kinsella/Madeleine Wickham franchise.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateJun 22, 2010
    ISBN9781429950299
    Author

    Madeleine Wickham

    Madeleine Wickham is the author of several acclaimed novels, including A Desirable Residence, Cocktails for Three, Sleeping Arrangements and The Wedding Girl. As Sophie Kinsella, she has written a number of bestsellers including the Shopaholic series, Twenties Girl, Remember Me?, The Undomestic Goddess, and Can You Keep a Secret? Confessions of a Shopaholic was made into a major motion picture starring Isla Fisher and Hugh Dancy. Born in London, Wickham studied at New College, Oxford. She lives in London with her husband and family.

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    Reviews for A Desirable Residence

    3/5

    103 ratings18 reviews

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    • 3/5
      When Liz and Jonathan put their family home on the market and it fails to sell, the real estate agent suggests renting it out for a while, until the market picks up. What follows is a tangled mess of dreams, schemes, and liaisons between three families: the owners, the agents, and the tenants.Ugh, these characters! They were well-developed, but I didn't like any of them (well, there was one who was tolerable, I suppose). By the end of the book, I kind of wanted to see them all get their comeuppance.
    • 3/5
      This was an "okay" book. It was an entertaining read and the characters were believable and interesting. I already knew of the author through the Shopaholic series. I think some of my reaction to this book is a result of familiarity with her style in that series. I liked the plot, although some loose ends were not tied up at the conclusion of the book. There were a couple of characters that just sort of disappeared, although I was interested in what happened to them. Overall, it was enjoyable but it not what I would consider a "keeper". I think it would make a good vacation read, definitely a beach read.
    • 2/5
      I picked this up because I'm a Realtor. Not quite what I expected.
    • 3/5
      Really couldn't get too excited about this one. It's a pleasant enough "slice of life" novel dealing with an eventful period in the lives of a small group of people whose principal connection is a house. It's a fast read, does a nice job of character development.
    • 3/5
      Madeline Wickham (aka Sophie Kinsella) writes British chick lit well. This book follows a house and all the lives it touches and how they intersect. There was better character development in this novel than in some of Wickham's other work. One character stood out above the rest as the quiet hero and I found myself rooting for him through the second half of the book. Food: those mini beef wellington appetizers, the kind that you have at weddings during cocktail hour when they pass around the hot apps on trays. There's a good balance of meat and airy pastry. It's not what you want to eat for your whole meal, but it takes the edge off before dinner.
    • 3/5
      Not as good as her other novels, but easy breezy to read. Finished in one sitting on a rainy day!
    • 3/5
      Definitely not my favorite of her books, but was pretty good once you got about 50 pages in. Also was bothered that they remade this book and are trying to sell it as a new book, even though it just has a different cover.
    • 3/5
      This was an "okay" book. It was an entertaining read and the characters were believable and interesting. I already knew of the author through the Shopaholic series. I think some of my reaction to this book is a result of familiarity with her style in that series. I liked the plot, although some loose ends were not tied up at the conclusion of the book. There were a couple of characters that just sort of disappeared, although I was interested in what happened to them. Overall, it was enjoyable but it not what I would consider a "keeper". I think it would make a good vacation read, definitely a beach read.
    • 4/5
      Be careful what you wish for, if you get it you could find yourself right where Liz Chambers found herself. With two mortgages , two relationships and out of touch with her daughter who finds herself drawn to the family that moves into their old house. A desirable residence by Madeleine Wickham pulls you into the lives of two women and the breakdown of their relationships with their husbands and their children without trying to excuse them or make them more lovable like many of today’s authors would have done.This was a refreshing read that I won from Gooodreads First Reads and stayed up till 3a.m. to finish.
    • 4/5
      As a long time fan of Kinsella/Wickham books, I must say that I am pleasantly pleased with her newest novel! After my initial gobbling down of her Shopaholic novels, I lost interest in this successful writer's other works (although I think I've read them all). Wickham's latest novel seems slightly darker than her older "chick-lit" works, but it still shines with subtle humor and a slew of complex, interesting characters. I was quickly pulled into the private and tumultuous world of the Chambers family, and couldn't let go! The most fascinating thing about this novel's cast of characters is that they're all, well, ROTTEN. Alright, that may be a bit of an overstatement. Truly though, each of Wickham's characters carries around a bit of black in their hearts and minds, and readers are taken along for the ride while each character wrestles with their guilt and fears before somehow acting upon their problems in a large way(excluding Jon Chambers, the charming, ultimate Mr. Nice Guy).Reading A Desirable Residence was a treat, and my interest in Wickham's works is rekindled! I'll be sure to suggest this novel and others to friends and fellow readers!
    • 4/5
      A Desirable Residence, by Madeline Wickham, is a story with multiple characters and a hazy ending. The story centers on the Chambers family. Liz and Jonathan buy a tutorial college taking out several loans to do so. They are both teachers and are anxious to get going on their new venture. Their daughter Alice is a sulky teen who smokes in the garage of the house she no longer lives in. Other characters include Marcus the realtor who is attempting to help Liz rent her house, and Ginny and Piers, the new tenants. We also get to see the story through the eyes of Marcus's stressed out wife and his two sons.The lives of these characters intertwine in a very believable way. There are affairs, crushes, obsessions, and career failures that color the few months time in which the book takes place. We are ultimately left with a bit of hope and a bit of heartbreak. The story never really ends. There isn't a neat and tidy ending for any of them. I'm still wondering where Ginny and Piers went.All in all, the story was entertaining enough to keep me reading. I was hoping for a happy ending. Every book I read lately has an open ending. I need to find a happy ever after book to read next! It's a good book but not a great one. It's worth a read.
    • 4/5
      I am a big fan of Madeleine Wickham/Sophie Kinsella and was very excited to receive this boos as part of the Early Reviewers. As always, the characters are very well developed and pull you into the story with both hands. In 'a desirable residence' one house pulls together three unfamiliar families and lets us peer in the windows while the three families open doors to friendship, infidelity, opportunity, happiness, sadness, and even greed. Wickham held my attention throughout with another very entertaining story that kept adding layers until the impending doom finally came. While not my favorite Wickham novel, it was certainly entertaining.
    • 5/5
      This book, though not what I expected, was quite a good read. Despite the fluffy description on the flap, this book is actually a very frank and serious look at relationships, love, and betrayal. Wickham does a marvelous job with these characters, though it is upsetting how very irresponsible almost all of the adults are throughout the novel. Fourteen year-old Alice was particularly well-drawn; the pain of her adolescent experience reached off the page to grab me. Her conflicted feelings about the adults in her life (she loves her parents while simultaneuously writhing inside when confronted by their eccentricities) rang very true and helped make her character so honest and poignant. All in all, an impressive offering from an author usually associated with chick-lit.
    • 1/5
      Madeleine Wickham has several novels under her own name and also under the name Sophie Kinsella. She was born in London, is married and has two sons.I have had an enormous amount of trouble deciding just what I was going to write for this review. It has taken me a lot longer to read this book than it normally would any other. I found myself actually falling asleep after 3 or 4 pages of reading and I would have to put the book down. This is very unlike me and I couldn't put my finger on why this was, at first. I finally realized that I was just bored with the storyline and was never given enough of a character to become invested. I was never able to care or identify with anyone and that made it almost impossible to get through the book. I almost felt like a failure because I was having so much trouble and I didn't want to leave the book only partially read, so I stuck it out. I know there are plenty out there that like or even love this author so, it must just be me. Sorry, I just felt really let down.
    • 3/5
      Any book that makes you feel strongly about the characters is obviously well written. This was a perfect example. I can’t say I really and truly liked most of the characters but they did raise pretty strong feelings from me.This was seemingly a simple story. Jonathan and Liz run a tutorial college, and have a daughter Alice. In order to achieve this “dream” (Liz’s dream really) – they mortgage themselves to the brim and are forced to place their dream home on the market. The dream home doesn’t sell, but their agent (Marcus) gives them the idea to rent out their home. Marcus and his wife Anthea are wealthy and have two sons, one who is in the running for a prestigious scholarship. Ginny and Piers wind up renting the home from Jonathan and Liz. Alice becomes a fixture in Ginny and Piers new home and develops a friendship. In the meantime, Marcus and Liz strike up a “friendship”. Marcus’ young son receives tutoring from Jonathan…thus goes the circle.I went back and forth deciding if I liked this book or not. I’m still undecided. I think it would have been more bearable had there been a character I could have better identified with. Ginny, seemed nice, but when push came to shove, wasn’t too much different than Liz and Anthea (who IMHO, were selfish and overbearing). Marcus (Anthea’s husband and later the man with whom Liz becomes better acquainted) had his moments where he semi-redeemed himself, but for the most part he was a little brat. Jonathan and Alice (Liz’s husband and Alice’s father) was probably my favorite; a hard working man, with an ungrateful wife and a troubled teenage daughter. I thought he was the real victim in this story. All in all…it wouldn’t be fair of me to say I didn’t like this, but it didn’t have the essence I look for in many of my books. A real likeable character, who totally redeems themselves at the end.
    • 3/5
      I won this book through Early Reviewers. I just love the Sophie Kinsella and Madeline Wickham books and was thrilled to be able to read this. I was slightly disappointed because it really wasn't as good as her other books. It is a quick and easy read, the plot wasn't up to par with her other books. I was slightly bored with the storyline and the ending was confusing and just blah. It could use a twist or something to help this book out.It was a good read. I can't deny that Wickham has great writing skills, but it just seemed to me like maybe she wasn't into this book like she is with all her others. I really debated over the rating to give this book. I wanted to give it a two because I was bored, but I really enjoyed all her other stuff and thought that maybe some other people who weren't really familiar with her writing would appreciate this a little better.
    • 4/5
      For those of you that don't know, this author also writes under the name Sophie Kinsella. I have been a huge fan of hers since I read the Shopaholic series and buy up all of her books the minute they come out. I have never read a book written under the Madeleine Wickham name (although I do have another one of hers on my shelf). I adored this book!! The characters are well developed and the book moves along at a fast pace. The plot is juicy and scandalous but all the characters are surprisingly likeable. I will admit I was scared that her writing style would be like that of her's under the "Sophie Kinsella" name, but I was wrong. I don't know how she did it, but it seems like a completely different author wrote this book. I finished the book a little while ago and immediately ordered the 3 books by Madeleine Wickham that I didn't have. If you love Sophie Kinsella or just want a really good book to lose yourself in, then this is the one for you!
    • 3/5
      I had previously only read Wickham as Sophie Kinsella, and I've enjoyed most of those books. I've previously found Kinsella/Wickham to be humorous and capable of telling a fun and fast-moving story. I found those things to be true of this book. The story centers on a house in a suburban English town, rented by its owners to a glamorous London couple. It's very important to recognize what this book is, and what it is not. This is chick lit, a light and fun read. One should not expect deep layers of meaning, or transcendent messages about the nature of humanity. What this is is a fast read that will keep the reader in light entertainment for a few hours. I wouldn't want my reading list to consist entirely of books like this, but every now and then such books are a nice diversion.