Bridget. Sleeping with a twenty-nine-year-old off twitter on the second date is not “rather like in Jane Austen’s day”
Title: Mad about the Boy (Bridget Jones #3)
Author: Helen Fielding
First Published: 2013
My Rating: 4 of 5 stars (average rating on Goodreads: 3:40)
I would recommend this book to: Anyone who loves Bridget – just as she is.
The Beginning: Talitha just called, talking in that urgent, ‘let’s-be-discreet-buy-wildly-overdramatic’ voice she always has.
When I heard there would be a new Bridget Jones novel, my initial reaction was ‘Oh no, please don’t do this’. I had my doubts. Was it a stunt to make money? Would it be any good? I was actually scared to read it. Almost as scared as when I read Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy. You don’t know if you’ll be able to give it a fair chance and read it with an open mind as you would any other novel.
Helen Fielding made it easy for me though. She made me laugh out loud from the very beginning. I had forgotten just how much fun Bridget is!
… he picked me up in his arms, as if I was as light as a feather, which I am not, unless it was a very heavy feather, maybe from a giant prehistoric dinosaur-type bird …
And as something new: Bridget Jones made me cry! Twice! I just couldn’t help myself and I certainly didn’t expect this at all, but I was devastated. And then she made me laugh again. This made me love the book even more. In spite of all my worries, I had such a good time. When Mr. Boyfriend heard me chuckling throughout the book, he said “I guess this will be a good review”.
The third Bridget deserves all her four stars. Helen Fielding did well. I only have two complaints:
1) Towards the end, there were a few pages of “I don’t have to be perfect” and “I like you for not being perfect”. We got that covered 10 years ago and we’re ready to move on. It felt sort of squeezed in – like Fielding suddenly remembered that this was supposed to be included in a Bridget Jones novel.
2) The end seemed rushed … I felt there should have been about 20 extra pages elaborating …
Other than that, it was great to have Bridget back. How did I go without her for all these years? What will I do without her now?
Den bog er simpelthen så fantastisk! Og så vidunderligt underholdende! Jeg blev ligesom dig uendeligt positivt overrasket.
Ja – kommer til at savne den!
I loved this review! I can’t wait to read the book. I’ve only read the first Bridget Jones book. I’ll have to find the second one before I go further. Glad to have found your blog.
I’ve yet to read any of the Bridget Jone’s books – too worried the hype wouldn’t be justified! Plus I love the films too dearly to spoil it by disliking the books – fickle reader! I’m glad you enjoyed reading Mad About The Boy and although I have heard one very sad (and crucial part of the story) , I think this would be a good Xmas read!
Great post!
Nell at And Nell Writes
Thank you so much for your kind words, Valerie! I hope you’ll have fun with Bridget 🙂
The books and the movies are very different, Nell! I like both ways to tell the stories, though 😉 ANd yes, this one is very sad – as I said, I both laughed and cried!