Warnings of Gales

by Annie Sanders

Imogen, who organised the holiday, is frighteningly capable and a bit of a control freak. She and her banker husband Guy live in Barnes, though Imogen longs for Wiltshire. With three children in whom she's invested her hopes and ambitions, she's well-informed and has an opinion on everything. But is Imogen's tidy life as perfect as it seems? Sophie is Imogen's oldest friend, dating back to the days when they would chat long after lights out at their Home Counties boarding school. Sophie now lives in Crouch End and they don't see as much of each other anymore. Sophie knows she should be feeding her offspring organic cous-cous, but they love McDonalds' apple pies too much - and where's the harm in that? But is there more to Sophie than dogged loyalty to her rather overbearing old mate? And then there's Jo, an acquaintance of Sophie's roped in at the last minute when the first choice of housemate pulled out. An East London GP and single mother, and very easy going with her son, she appears to be the polar opposite to Imogen. From the outset, there's friction, and it can only get worse when the husbands join them. Oh dear - it all seemed such a good idea back in January...

• ISBN10: 0752861360
• ISBN13: 9780752861364
• Publish Date: 18 July 2005
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 25 July 2007
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Orion Publishing Co
• Imprint: Orion
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[Leah]

Imogen, who organised the holiday, is frighteningly capable and a bit of a control freak. With three children who are at the centre of her world, she’s determined that this holiday will be perfect. But is Imogen’s tidy life quite as happy as it seems?

Sophie is Imogen’s oldest friend, dating back to the days when they would chat long after lights out at their Home Counties boarding school. Sophie knows she should be feeding her offspring organic cous-cous, but they love McDonalds’ apple pies too much – and where’s the harm in that? But is there more to Sophie than dogged loyalty to her rather overbearing old mate?

And then there’s Jo, an acquaintance of Sophie’s roped in at the last minute when the first choice of housemate pulled out. An East London GP and single mother, and very easy going with her son, she appears to be the polar opposite to Imogen. A group holiday seemed such a good idea back in January …

This was my first Annie Sanders book but it definitely won’t be my last. In fact I have another two of their novels to read – Goodbye, Jimmy Choo & Busy Woman Seeks Wife.

It always interests me how two authors can write one book – I always want to know who writes which chapters/characters. However you can’t tell because the story flows effortlessly!

I really enjoyed Warnings of Gales and thought it was really well written. You always hear of people going on holiday together so it’s an interesting topic. Not only that but all three characters were so different it made the book difficult to put down.

I found Imogen both irritating and likeable at the same time. At times she – as Jo thought – seemed to muscle in on everything but she had everyone’s best interests at heart really. Sophie seemed the most laidback of the three women, and felt she was the referee most of the time between Jo and Imogen. Jo was my favourite character and thought she was really great. She was independent but showed her vulnerable side when Finn went missing.

Finn was my favourite of the children and the most prominent. I was really interested in what Jo was hiding about Finn’s dad.

Of the men I like Hugh and Matt but couldn’t stand Guy. He was so willing to shove his children in boarding school without a second glance just so it furthered his career. He came across very selfish and even a bit racist about Finn. I was glad Imogen changed her mind about Jakarta – I knew she would!

I really enjoyed how the chapters of the novel were days of the holiday and enjoyed the easy way the book was written. I also liked the nod to Imogen’s weather-obsession with each chapter starting with the days forecast, that was a nice touch.

I really enjoyed the book and can’t wait to read more from Annie & Meg!

Rating: 5/5