Last Chance Saloon

Author of the hugely popular Rachel's Holiday and Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married, Marian Keyes is back swinging the doors of heartache and hilarity with Last Chance Saloon. Meet Tara, the rapidly expanding food-loving shopaholic; Katherine, the neat, male-ego-destroying singleton; Fintan, the fashion-conscious lovely, and Lorcan, the gorgeous but rotten redheaded womaniser. Marian Keyes deliberately deploys stereotypical characters and situations, then attempts to subvert the stereotypes, though perhaps in rather obvious ways. Throughout, Tara bores us with her lament that she is at the last chance saloon, meaning that if she ends her current relationship at 31, she's on the shelf for life. "For the first time Tara visualised it and she contracted with fear. It was like being told to jump off a cliff ... 'But what would become of me without Thomas? I'd never get anyone else and I hate not having a man. And it's not something I'm proud of' she added quickly. 'I'm going to puke', Fintan interrupted, urgently." Those who can resist the urge to follow Fintan's lead on the umpteenth rendition of this particular complaint will enjoy the book. It's addictive--reading The Last Chance Saloon is like watching the omnibus edition of Sunset Beach; you know the acting is awful and the same scenes keep on repeating themselves but you can't help being hooked and feeling sated afterwards. At almost 600 pages, settle down for a Saturday afternoon and don't expect to be getting up again until Sunday. --Nicola Perry

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So Good - Rated
This is my first Marian Keyes book i've read, and i really loved it! the characters were all so well written. I even thought Lorcan was hilarious, the way she wrote about his vanity was so funny, how he looked in the mirror and pointed to himself saying "don't go changin'" haha, i loved that bit.

Admittedly, sometimes the main characters of Tara and Katherine were annoying at times. Especially Tara, when she moaned about been fat and then she'd eat a full loaf of toast or something! But i still liked her The only character i didnt really like (or hated) was Thomas, i wanted to punch him! He made my blood boil!

Other characters to love are the fabulous Fintan and his fella Sandro. And of course, Joe Roth. I loved him! There's so many things going on in this book, but i never got confused or anything like that. It was sad at times too, but so hilarious at other times. My next Keyes book i've bought is 'Sushi for Beginners' so i'm looking forward to reading that. I've always maintained Jill Mansell is my fave chick-lit author but Marian Keyes is going to be a close second i feel!

very enjoyable - Rated
I really really enjoyed this book - was a brilliant read and I especially loved the character Fintan who deals with his problem so well - definitely must read!!!!

Very enjoyable - Rated
Why can't I have a Joe Roth in my office? Do guys like this really exist?

A Fantastic Read - Rated
I'd read four novels by Marian Keyes before reading this one; "Watermelon", "Lucy O'Sullivan is Getting Married", "Sushi for Beginners" and "The Other Side of the Story". I've also read her autobiographical scrapbook-of-events book, "Under the Duvet". I like Keyes' style very much; I find it warm and extremely funny. "Last Chance Saloon" is no exception.

The book centres around three characters, Tara, Katherine and Fintan who are best friends since "they were teenagers in Knockavoy, County Clare in the days of legwarmers, pink stretch jeans and Duran Duran". Now in their early thirties, they live in London and each is facing their own set of challenges.

Tara is on a permanent diet and stuck in the relationship from hell. She is convinced that love has passed her by and that her only hope for a happy ever after is to stay with the dreadful Thomas.

Katherine lives in ordered calm with her matching bra and knicker sets. She is successful and driven in work but is determined to be single forever and is known as "The Ice Queen" by her colleagues.

Fintan is, on the surface, the luckiest of the three as he has a hugely successful career and has found true love in the shape of his "Italian Pony" Luca.

The three have remained close friends but fate has conspired to make each of them re-evaluate their lives. Will Tara ever find the strength to dump Thomas or is she destined to stay unhappy forever? Will she and Rav ever be more than just good friends? Will Katherine ever relax and be happy? Will she let down her defences just for a second to allow Joe the handsome new colleague at work, in? Will Fintan be able to recover from the shock that lies just around the corner? Will life ever be the same again?

This book is multi faceted and explores themes not always found in a novel like this. Tara struggles with weight issues and depression and Katherine has a fear of commitment. The novel describes how both Tara and Katherine deal with their issues whilst supporting Fintan overcome serious illness.

I enjoyed the novel very much and I loved most of the characters, particularly Tara and Rav. The story is well written and is very easy to identify with the protagonists.

If you've read Marian Keyes before and enjoy her writing style, I definitely recommend this novel to you. If you haven't but enjoy romantic and funny contemporary books aimed at women, then I'd also recommend this to you as it is such a fantastic story.

Another hit - Rated
I really enjoyed this book, I thought the characters were believable and again it had me laughing out loud. A must read for Keyes fans!