Official Review: What I Did For Love... by M.G. Woods

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maroki13
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Official Review: What I Did For Love... by M.G. Woods

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[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "What I Did For Love..." by M.G. Woods.]
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4 out of 4 stars
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Not just a novel about love, What I Did For Love...by M.G. Woods is a story of dueling relationships, family loyalty, and how far people will go to push away (or keep) someone special.

James (known as Jim throughout much of the book) is a single fellow in his 30s, living a remarkably unremarkable life in a dreary flat, working at a boring and painful job. Together with his best friend Eric, he forms "one half of west London's least-requested, but most persistent acoustic band." A funny, self-deprecating character, Jim watches gloomily from the sidelines as Eric dates girl after girl. While Jim is happy for his friend, he himself doesn't have much success dating. Until he meets Lucy.

Lucy, one of the female leads in the book, is as cool and confident about life as Jim is bumbling and uncertain. For their first date, Jim reflects "I got there in plenty of time. I had to. Important events render me incapable of arriving anywhere like a normal human being." Despite this, Lucy and Jim start seeing each other.

And then Lucy meets Jim's mother.

Now, let me back up and explain that we've already been briefly introduced to Jim's mother earlier in the story, when he's just returned from abroad and she's left six messages on his machine, asking him to call. The extremely social wife of a well-to-do veterinarian, Sylvia tries to keep Jim, her only son, close to home...and therefore, close to her.

Thus begins the drama filled tale of What I Did For Love... . Lucy and Sylvia both want to be the #1 woman in Jim's life, but who will he choose? How will he choose? Will the secrets that are being kept be revealed to Jim? If so, how might they affect his choices? And if he chooses, how will it affect his relationship with the other woman?

While I would describe What I Did For Love...as a "quick read" novel, one of my favorite things about it is the depth of emotion and feeling the author brings to the story. On multiple occasions, I found myself sympathizing with Jim, wondering how I'd choose between two people I love. It is heartbreaking to picture having to make that type of monumental decision, and imagining Jim's struggle really connected me to his character and the story.

My other favorite part of the story is the main character himself. The story is told from Jim's perspective, and his internal dialogue and self-deprecating humor make me like him a lot. From his description of himself ("...people tend to find me quite unthreatening and approachable. When I say people, I don't mean flaxen-haired nymphomaniacs. I mean middle-aged women and gay men.") to his description of his mother ("Mum wasn't an outdoors person. She could barely function when the thermostat blew on her Audi seat warmer."), I found myself smiling frequently at his thoughts.

On the flip side, I found some of the more poignant scenes (that called for serious amounts of forgiveness, acceptance, and graciousness) lacking. It is hard to give details without spoiling parts of the story, but given the depth of those emotions, I was surprised at how quickly some conflicts were mediated and solved. That quick turn-around seemed a bit unrealistic to me, given the gravity of the events taking place.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. Once I started reading it, I was so drawn in that I stayed up late and finished it in one sitting. I'd consider it a quick read with an amusing main character and a plot that can lead to meaningful reflection. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys quick reads about love and relationships. For people who don't enjoy stories about relationships (family or other), this book is not for you. What I Did For Love... is the type of story I like to take on vacation with me as a quick, relaxing read.

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What I Did For Love...
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