RATING: GOOD
SPOILERS!!!
I enjoyed the book very much and even though it was clear that Ben and Kirsty would end up together, it was interesting to read how they reach that point.
Ben and Kirsty become closer when they rehearse their scenes together, and she even accepts the invitation to help the family to trim the Christmas tree, and Judy convinces Ben to ask Kirsty to have dinner with him. They have a good time, and when they go for a walk on the beach, they almost kiss.
That is the turning point, and from that moment on, Ben becomes aloof as he realises that Kirsty regrets what almost happens between them. The performances of the pantomime go well despite the incidents.
Lauren, who is very obsessed how she looks and posts photos of herself on Instagram continuously, decides to have a fake tan, and her skin turns a strange orange tone. Everybody mocks her, and the next day she doesn't turn up for the rehearsal. Kirsty is worried and decides to drop by, and she discovers that Laura has taken too many pills, so she calls the ambulance and Lauren is taken to hospital. After that, Lauren thanks her, saying that she is a great friend. Then she tells Kirsty that when she was a child, she was bullied for her looks, and that is why criticism affects her so much.
Kirsty discovers that Vince is seeing a young woman behind Bernie's back. However, she doesn't think she should tell her friend. Then at the party of Bernie and Vince's anniversary, Kirsty is outraged when she sees Vince outside in the car park with the woman. She is about to tell Bernie when Vince and the woman appear. Then Vince announce that the woman called Candy is her mentor in AA. Apparently, he has come to understand that he has been a terrible husband for Bernie and it is high time he made an effort. So he has started going to AA, but he has kept it a secret because he was afraid he would not succeed. Now after several weeks he decides to tell Bernie and the others.
Kirsty has been worried about her father and half-sister. When she goes to visit, her sister India, who is sixteen, is outraged because she feels her father treats her as if she were still a child. Her intention is to choose drama as one of her GCSE subject, but Stu disapproves, saying that she needs to choose something more serious which will lead her to a proper career. India claims that she wants to be an actress like Kirsty. The visit ends up with a big fight and Stu saying that Kirsty is not a model for her as she is not Helen Mirren. That is a terrible blow for Kirsty, who decides to leave.
Some weeks later on New Year's Eve the NEWTS go to a party in Annette's home, and it is there when Jon announces that he has got the job in Dubai. Kirsty is upset because he hasn't got the decency to tell her in private. Then her father phones, saying that India has disappeared after they had a fight, and he wants to know if Kirsty has seen her. Kirsty decides to leave and try to see if for some reason India is waiting at the apartment. It is Ben, Trevor and Thea who find India near the theatre when they are driving past it. Thea claimed to have seen a ghost, and when Trevor and Ben go to check, they find India, who they take to Kirsty. Then Kirsty calls her father and tells him to let India stay with her for a few days.
In the last performance Jon has to step in and do Prince Charming because Lauren is sick. At the last scene Jon kneels down before her and asks her to marry him. Kirsty hesitates and the audience and the other actors start crying that she should marry Buttons, and not Prince Charming. Jon is not happy, and then in private later Kirsty tells Jon that she can't marry him because it is not right between them. Jon has made her feel terrible since they came to the village about herself, and it doesn't make sense to stay in a relationship which is not right.
It is weeks later that Kirsty sees Ben and Thea at the beach, and there is an incident when Kirsty falls into the quicksand, and Ben has to help her, but she loses a boot. Kirsty tells him that she and Jon are not together, and she is to start a play in Exeter, but she plans to stay in Newbay. They say goodbye, and then Jon appears at the apartment, and using the words of Cinderella, he expresses his love for her and presenting the boot she had lost in the quick sand.
It was a lovely book and I enjoyed the characters. My favourite one was Thea.
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