The Woman Who Stole My Life: British Book Awards Author of the Year 2022

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The yelling quietened down and I said to Range Rover Man, ‘I was trying to do a good deed, letting you out.’ Stella Sweeny writes off her car . . . and his. But is it a blessing in disguise or just a taste of more to come? Entertaining and uplifting, The Woman Who Stole My Life is BESTSELLING author Marian Keyes' intriguing tale of finding true happiness in unexpected places . . .

One day, sitting in traffic, Stella Sweeney attempts a good deed. The resulting car crash changes her life. The side characters were more of the same. The husband is a pouty, self-obsessed, super whiny, wannabe artist who resents Stella for getting to do/have/make things that he never gets to. He was just plain unlikeable. (And possibly the most annoying male character I have ever read). The same can be said for her rude and overly moody son. I got the idea that Keyes was trying to use him as comic relief but it was really flat and confusing. Her daughter didn’t feature enough to leave an impression. The first time I’d met her she’d waved my book in the air and said, ‘We could go a long ways with this. Drop ten pounds and you’ve got yourself an agent.’Inspired by my new wisdom, I’m trying to write a new book. I’ve no idea what it’s about but I’m hoping if I throw enough words onto a screen, I’ll be able to cobble something together. Something even more inspirational than One Blink at a Time! I liked the intrinsic love story and the tale of Stella's rise and fall. The thing I liked least was the way that almost everybody treated Stella with contempt, especially her appalling (ex) husband Ryan and her precious spoilt son, Jeffrey. Actually, most people seemed to put her down and blame her personally for getting ill - what on earth?

I coax the story out of him. It transpires that this morning, he was ‘down the town’ with one of his yoga friends. Outside the Pound Shop the friend had spotted me from the rear and made admiring noises and Jeffrey had said, from bloodless lips, ‘That’s my mom. She’s forty-one and a quarter.’ I don't think I have, but I've bought another Marian Keyes title from Audible which may or may not feature Aoife McMahon. She has an excellent way of bringing all of the different characters to life. For she meets a man who wants her telephone number (for the insurance, it turns out). That’s okay. She doesn’t really like him much anyway (his Range Rover totally banjaxed her car). Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read. No, bad idea to mention the skintness, I’d better take that out . . . I hit the delete key until all mention of money has disappeared, then start typing again.Discover the entertaining, uplifting and intriguing tale of finding true happiness in unexpected places from the No. 1 bestselling author of Grown Ups If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Woman Who Stole My Life? First Sentence: Can I make one thing clear – no matter what you’ve heard, and I’m sure you’ve heard plenty – I’m not a full-blown Karma-Denier. I’d thought it was girls who were meant to be nightmare teenagers and that boys simply went mute for the duration. But Betsy wasn’t bad at all and Jeffrey has been full of… well … angst. In fairness, by dint of having me as his mother, he’s had a roller coaster of a time of it, so much so that when he was fifteen he asked to be put up for adoption.

She is a good narrator, with nice pace and an ability to distinguish between different characters without resorting to silly voices. I think I would have give up if she hadn't been so pleasant to listen to.How can you call a book "The Woman Who Stole My Life" when that woman actually factors in so little? Everything that happened to Stella was going to happen anyway, with or without Gilda. Stella Sweeney survived a life-threatening illness and (sort of) wrote a self-help book as a result, which sort of led to fame and fortune, but it all came crashing down and now life is totally falling apart. Except I’m not. Looking like you’re working isn’t quite the same thing as actually working. I haven’t typed a single word. I can think of nothing to say.

Somehow I had gotten it into my head that Keyes’ books were the light and fluffy, clichéd sort – rather than the complex, interesting, fun sort that I found in The Woman Who Stole My Life. When the result is a terrible car accident, she meets a handsome stranger with a Range Rover who wants her number - no, for insurance purposes - and in this meeting a seed is born which will change Stella's life forever.However, it is Marian Keyes, and I am sure it will head straight to the number one spot when published in November, just in time for the Christmas market. I will start off this review by stating - I heart Marian Keyes novels. In the beginning I enjoyed them because they made me laugh; out loud, they made me weep with laughter, and they usually had hilarious dialogue. In the past few years her style has changed somewhat, rather than going for the big laugh I find that Keyes is more about developing a character and taking them on a journey of personal growth. One day, sitting in traffic, married Dublin mum Stella Sweeney attempts a good deed. The resulting car crash changes her life. I used to love a Marian Keyes. They were light and funny and a vacation for my mind. This as none of those things. I didn't find it funny and it was just one stupid thing after another. Initially I liked Stella Sweeney. She was suffering from a life threatening disease and you really had to root for it. Funny? No. Can I make one thing clear – no matter what you’ve heard, and I’m sure you’ve heard plenty – I’m not a full-blown Karma-Denier. It might exist, it might not, like how on earth would I know? All I’m doing is giving my version of events.