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mmasten's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this light, easy beach read. Was it in depth, developed, or evolved - no but I enjoyed every bit of it.
verityw's review against another edition
4.0
****Copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review****
It's only Monday, but this is a serious contender for book of the week. I really enjoyed this fun and sexy romance. Honeysuckle is a great central character - but all the people around her are also brilliantly drawn too. There's actually quite a lot going on in this book, but it wears it very lightly. I do like a moody tortured alpha-a**ehole hero sometimes - and Hal fits that bill totally.
And it's a bit different from your normal straight-down-the-line romantic comedies too - there are problems here that won't be solved, that people will always be grappling with. And I like that. I don't want everything fixed - even if Honeysuckle thinks she can.
I'm off to see what else Kat French has written...
It's only Monday, but this is a serious contender for book of the week. I really enjoyed this fun and sexy romance. Honeysuckle is a great central character - but all the people around her are also brilliantly drawn too. There's actually quite a lot going on in this book, but it wears it very lightly. I do like a moody tortured alpha-a**ehole hero sometimes - and Hal fits that bill totally.
And it's a bit different from your normal straight-down-the-line romantic comedies too - there are problems here that won't be solved, that people will always be grappling with. And I like that. I don't want everything fixed - even if Honeysuckle thinks she can.
I'm off to see what else Kat French has written...
bananatricky's review against another edition
4.0
Honeysuckle Jones hasn't had much luck with men so her two BFFs (as always when girls have friends in books there are two of them and they are extremely irritating) decide to try to set her up with a man, for some reason they decide that a pianist would be ideal, because he would be good with his hands, so they set her up on a series of blind dates with men who play the piano, or teach music, or something equally vaguely related to music. At the same time her boss announces that the company that owns the charity shop that she works for, and the old people's home attached to it, have decided to sell the buildings for redevelopment. Honey will be out of a job and the old people, many of whom are her friends, will be "rehomed". Nevertheless, despite all her bad luck Honey remains relentlessly optimistic.
A new man has moved into the flat that shares a hallway with Honey's, what she doesn't know is that the new neighbour is Benedict 'Hal' Hallam, former bad boy restaurateur and adrenaline junkie, Hal had a snowboard accident that left him blind and now he is hiding away from his friends and family, drinking whisky and unable to move on from the loss of everything that meant anything to him: his job; his fiancee; and his adrenaline-fuelled lifestyle.
Honey and Hal can't be more different but slowly an antagonistic relationship develops between them. Honey buys Hal whisky and food items, in return she sits at his door and talks at him, even though he rarely responds.
As Honey's plans to save the retirement home become increasingly eccentric Hal is drawn into the madness and starts to emerge from the prison he's made from himself. But when the press finds out where he's hiding, and his old life comes back to claim him, what will Hal choose.
If you are a fan of English romances featuring a cast of lovable but eccentric characters then this one is for you. The snarky banter between Hal and Honey is funny and the plot is enjoyable.
However, I'm afraid you do have to suspend a little disbelief. First that a blind wealthy celebrity would move into a block of flats that could be afforded by a woman who works for a small local charity shop. Second that the family that does know where Hal is make no attempt to check he is okay, they even send him letters! Third, Hal doesn't seem to have any issues wandering around his flat, or Honey's or various other places despite being blind.
Nevertheless, despite these minor niggles (and some issues I have with the age of the pensioners and the idea that they were adults at the time of the second world war - I'm an accountant deal with it) I really enjoyed the book and I will definitely look out for more books by Kat French.
A new man has moved into the flat that shares a hallway with Honey's, what she doesn't know is that the new neighbour is Benedict 'Hal' Hallam, former bad boy restaurateur and adrenaline junkie, Hal had a snowboard accident that left him blind and now he is hiding away from his friends and family, drinking whisky and unable to move on from the loss of everything that meant anything to him: his job; his fiancee; and his adrenaline-fuelled lifestyle.
Honey and Hal can't be more different but slowly an antagonistic relationship develops between them. Honey buys Hal whisky and food items, in return she sits at his door and talks at him, even though he rarely responds.
As Honey's plans to save the retirement home become increasingly eccentric Hal is drawn into the madness and starts to emerge from the prison he's made from himself. But when the press finds out where he's hiding, and his old life comes back to claim him, what will Hal choose.
If you are a fan of English romances featuring a cast of lovable but eccentric characters then this one is for you. The snarky banter between Hal and Honey is funny and the plot is enjoyable.
However, I'm afraid you do have to suspend a little disbelief. First that a blind wealthy celebrity would move into a block of flats that could be afforded by a woman who works for a small local charity shop. Second that the family that does know where Hal is make no attempt to check he is okay, they even send him letters! Third, Hal doesn't seem to have any issues wandering around his flat, or Honey's or various other places despite being blind.
Nevertheless, despite these minor niggles (and some issues I have with the age of the pensioners and the idea that they were adults at the time of the second world war - I'm an accountant deal with it) I really enjoyed the book and I will definitely look out for more books by Kat French.
reviewdiaries's review against another edition
4.0
This review was written for The Review Diaries
You can read the full review here
Huge thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
It’s summer time and I always need a few good chick-lits to curl up and read when it gets warmer, and that blurb had me more than a little bit intrigued.
The book starts with one of the most attention grabbing scenes I’ve read in a long time. Honey and her two best friends in a sex shop, discussing vibrators and sex. This is not a book that holds back, and you’re thrust in (no pun intended) right from the very first sentence.
I wasn’t initially convinced, I mean yes the book had my attention, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be good. But ‘The Piano Man Project’ ended up surprising me until by the end I was thoroughly invested and more than a little bit emotional.
Honey and Hal are fantastic together. The banter is brilliant and I frequently found myself laughing out loud. Add to that their chemistry and that alone would be enough to make this a good book. But it had so much more depth to it. It tackles sex, the culture and emphasis on orgasm. It tackles the plight of the residents of the home, the problematic attitude that so many have about sweeping the elderly under the rug and forgetting the things they have done for us with their youth. It has strong and brilliant friendships between Honey and her two best friends, plus the friendships Honey has developed with the residents of the home. There was so much to this book that it stopped being ‘just a romance’ from only a handful of pages in.
Whilst the relationship developing between Hal and Honey was fantastic, and the side story of the search for an elusive piano man was amusing/cringeworthy at points, the real show stealer for me was the story thread about trying to save the home. I loved watching Honey come out of her shell and start to really put herself out there and speak up for these residents. I loved the protests and the humour that came through above the fear in those moments. I loved the quiet determination throughout, but I particularly loved the crowning glory, the giant protest at the end where everything comes to a head. I was so emotional by that point reading the speeches from Honey, and the support from all of the other characters that I was actually in tears on the train whilst reading. I was so drawn into the narrative and invested with these characters and their lives.
My only issue was with some of Hal’s character points. I got that he had to be grumpy and abrasive, but there were several points where the way he was treating Honey was just too awful to really then sell the romance. I could have done with his terribleness being toned down a little bit so that I wasn’t constantly questioning why Honey was falling for him. It was decidedly problematic at several points. That said I loved the slow build-up of their relationship. The kisses, the cooking, the dinner and talking through the door. It was brilliantly done. I loved that we had a hero who wasn’t the norm. Kat really embraced the challenge of having Hal be blind, and I loved seeing how he dealt with that, the emotional and physical problems, how he tried to deal with it and the fall-out from that. It added more unexpected depths that I truly wasn’t expecting and surprised me in the best possible way.
This whole book surprised me. I was expecting a light romance and instead I got a romance with some much deeper themes underlying it. It was emotional, and poignant and utterly brilliant. I was swept away with this story and loved spending time with Honey. This is definitely one that I’m going to come back to again and again.
You can read the full review here
Huge thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
It’s summer time and I always need a few good chick-lits to curl up and read when it gets warmer, and that blurb had me more than a little bit intrigued.
The book starts with one of the most attention grabbing scenes I’ve read in a long time. Honey and her two best friends in a sex shop, discussing vibrators and sex. This is not a book that holds back, and you’re thrust in (no pun intended) right from the very first sentence.
I wasn’t initially convinced, I mean yes the book had my attention, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be good. But ‘The Piano Man Project’ ended up surprising me until by the end I was thoroughly invested and more than a little bit emotional.
Honey and Hal are fantastic together. The banter is brilliant and I frequently found myself laughing out loud. Add to that their chemistry and that alone would be enough to make this a good book. But it had so much more depth to it. It tackles sex, the culture and emphasis on orgasm. It tackles the plight of the residents of the home, the problematic attitude that so many have about sweeping the elderly under the rug and forgetting the things they have done for us with their youth. It has strong and brilliant friendships between Honey and her two best friends, plus the friendships Honey has developed with the residents of the home. There was so much to this book that it stopped being ‘just a romance’ from only a handful of pages in.
Whilst the relationship developing between Hal and Honey was fantastic, and the side story of the search for an elusive piano man was amusing/cringeworthy at points, the real show stealer for me was the story thread about trying to save the home. I loved watching Honey come out of her shell and start to really put herself out there and speak up for these residents. I loved the protests and the humour that came through above the fear in those moments. I loved the quiet determination throughout, but I particularly loved the crowning glory, the giant protest at the end where everything comes to a head. I was so emotional by that point reading the speeches from Honey, and the support from all of the other characters that I was actually in tears on the train whilst reading. I was so drawn into the narrative and invested with these characters and their lives.
My only issue was with some of Hal’s character points. I got that he had to be grumpy and abrasive, but there were several points where the way he was treating Honey was just too awful to really then sell the romance. I could have done with his terribleness being toned down a little bit so that I wasn’t constantly questioning why Honey was falling for him. It was decidedly problematic at several points. That said I loved the slow build-up of their relationship. The kisses, the cooking, the dinner and talking through the door. It was brilliantly done. I loved that we had a hero who wasn’t the norm. Kat really embraced the challenge of having Hal be blind, and I loved seeing how he dealt with that, the emotional and physical problems, how he tried to deal with it and the fall-out from that. It added more unexpected depths that I truly wasn’t expecting and surprised me in the best possible way.
This whole book surprised me. I was expecting a light romance and instead I got a romance with some much deeper themes underlying it. It was emotional, and poignant and utterly brilliant. I was swept away with this story and loved spending time with Honey. This is definitely one that I’m going to come back to again and again.
ctorretta's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely freaking hilarious! There are some things in this that just should not be read! I just laughed, and laughed, and laughed! There were some massively serious parts, as in all romances, we have the character arc, and the meet (which went atrociously), getting to know you... etc. but unlike many books this had so, so much more!
Both the Honey and Hal are just divine characters. I loved them both equally. I wanted to know Hal more but his reclusive demeanor just made me love him all the more!
The only thing that struck me as odd, at first, was that Honey was in no way thrown off by his lack of door opening. I mean, if you went to a door and knocked, after a minute or so you would probably go away right? Not Honey! That girl is as stubborn as it gets. Maybe it's the fact that she thinks he's a total jerk (and really he is at times) but she just keeps going back for more! I wanted to yell at her to stop being stubborn and then yell at her when she wasn't going to talk to him!
Needless to say this story is full of twists and turns. It is fun at every point of the way though. Honey is a bit of a mess and it shows but her sweet stubbornness is her redemptive quality. I did not find out what Hal's was until later in the story but like Honey I just keep wanting her to go to his door. Even if only to find some answers to the mysterious, reclusive man that he is!
The other plots actually add to the story instead of taking away. There is a lot going on in Honey's life, much like actual life, and she has a lot of people looking to her. With everything and everyone falling around her it is a wonder she can actually get out of bed! Kat French somehow brings all of it together to make a fabulous ending, and one that I was not expecting, which is tough for a romance! And the side characters are just as great as Honey is! What a delightful mixture of characters.
I am now absolutely in love with Kat French and cannot wait to read more of her stuff!
Both the Honey and Hal are just divine characters. I loved them both equally. I wanted to know Hal more but his reclusive demeanor just made me love him all the more!
The only thing that struck me as odd, at first, was that Honey was in no way thrown off by his lack of door opening. I mean, if you went to a door and knocked, after a minute or so you would probably go away right? Not Honey! That girl is as stubborn as it gets. Maybe it's the fact that she thinks he's a total jerk (and really he is at times) but she just keeps going back for more! I wanted to yell at her to stop being stubborn and then yell at her when she wasn't going to talk to him!
Needless to say this story is full of twists and turns. It is fun at every point of the way though. Honey is a bit of a mess and it shows but her sweet stubbornness is her redemptive quality. I did not find out what Hal's was until later in the story but like Honey I just keep wanting her to go to his door. Even if only to find some answers to the mysterious, reclusive man that he is!
The other plots actually add to the story instead of taking away. There is a lot going on in Honey's life, much like actual life, and she has a lot of people looking to her. With everything and everyone falling around her it is a wonder she can actually get out of bed! Kat French somehow brings all of it together to make a fabulous ending, and one that I was not expecting, which is tough for a romance! And the side characters are just as great as Honey is! What a delightful mixture of characters.
I am now absolutely in love with Kat French and cannot wait to read more of her stuff!