Sa18+ is probably a good idea, though I can't say from first hand experience yet. I hear she drops the f-bomb quite a bit though. heh

Still waiting on amazon. 'Shipping Soon' it says... for a couple days now. They are punishing me because my card didn't work on Thursday.

I'M IN! And I'm also in the same boat as Lissy. LOL. Mine said it's supposed to be here todaaaaaaaaaaay.

*adds self to the list*

So far the appropriateness seems fine, but of course I'm only on like page 8 I think the "worst" thus far is talking about .... mammary glands....

^ hahaha on the lady whose robe gaped open?

I'll be honest: It's kind of...boring so far. I'm on page 60 and it's just now getting into the conflict...I guess?

I've just started reading it too, though it's a bit slow so far... all the character and setting introductions going on...

me too. I'm not finding it boring so much as British. /not meaning offense, I like British.

LOL it's British.

I only read the first chapter, so I don't have much to go off of, but in reading it, it SCREAMS JKR to me. For me, her writing is VERY evocative, even though it's simple. *shrug* I like it so far.

She uses a lot of adjectives, that's for sure. She's quite consistent in that manner, and the narrative tone is very her as well. I know it's an adult book, with adult words, and adult content, but the tone is still her.

I wish I could read it without knowing it was by JKR.

I know what you mean, Nabs, because I have SUCH high expectations, and I'm still feeling a little disappointed by this effort of hers. It's as if she's set out to write a boring book.... maybe I just don't feel connected to all the married people, or all the Britishness? but the one part JKR does do well...

I have just finished it there and MAN I am really pleasantly surprised and impressed and it very much surpassed my expectations GREATLY. When I read the synopsis I was extremely worried it was going to be boring and it wouldn't normally be the type of book I'd pick up to read.

I love all the different characters and how well developed they are.

I, unlike the majority it seems ( D: ), really enjoyed it from page one. It is VERY, VERY British and I really LOVE that about it. When the movie rights are bought, I can imagine it being so wonderfully BRITISH like 'Driving Lessons' was. Maybe I wasn't bored because I love the whole Britishness? haha.

I hope that when the story starts to really pick up you'll all enjoy it more <333

I really don't mind the Britishness of it all, didn't even notice it except for the fact that it's a very small town thing, which is present is most books that I read anyway. But...

Finished it on Saturday. Ended kind of how I hoped it would have! Will be worth a re-read later on, I think.

I just finished it but it's late and I can't order my thoughts into something coherent or meaningful at the moment. But. I will say that by the end I loved it. At first I was kind of thrown by the language - not because swearing in any way bothers me - but just knowing it was coming from J.K... it was odd and took me a while to get use to. Any other author and I don't think it would have had that effect on me.

Like others I thought it took a little while for the story to really pick up, but as I read I felt myself being pulled in more and more and becoming more invested. Even though it was so different thematically, her simple yet distinctive descriptive writing style was easily recognisable. I think the way that she was able to tell a story so well and believably from so many vastly different people’s perspectives was awesome. Definitely worth the read!

Ok, so long story short I cancelled my order with amazon and put my name on the library hold list ages ago. I *just* literally got the book the other day and just started reading.

First impressions are I see exactly what others are saying about it being very British. I like that. I'm not sure I would say if I picked up the book without seeing the author that I would guess this is JKR, but despite this not being a typical story I would pick up, her style is keeping me. Her descriptions and setting the tone are all there. So far I don't see any likable people in this town.... That's good, she's doing a good job showing the flaws of the characters.

Also my book.... smells. I dunno. It reminds me of patchouli. Either I will finish the book or have an allergic reaction. I'm not sure yet.

Oh and I found an empty Snickers wrapper in the middle of it. Now I am hungry.

I can FINALLY get started on this book now that I'm done with Storm of Swords. Will offer input as soon as I've read a significant chunk.

Okay so I'm about ~150 pages into this book and yep...it feels very British. It took me a REALLY long time to figure out who everyone was and how they related and such, but now that I'm getting a better feel for it, I like this story a lot. It's very interesting and I hate almost all the characters (sort of like real life!). I still have no clue what the plot is, but I like learning about the Pagfordians.

Triple post DAWGz.

Just finished. I am in awe. I absolutely loved this book. While I was reading it, I really FELT what the characters felt. I was angry when they were, I was sympathetic, etc. etc. I really felt like I was IN their world, not just transported there or watching from the outside...I seriously can barely formulate ideas right now.

This is a great one, and it's unfortunate that people won't realize it because they'll be expecting another Harry Potter. But it was fantastic.

Okay, I finished it last night and am left with mixed feelings. I suppose they're good feelings, as in I liked and enjoyed the book and the writing, however I hated, was disgusted with, and really disappointed in some of the characters and what they had done. But at the same time, I also really connected with the characters' emotions, which I suppose, at the end of the day is what it all comes down to.

I'd have to say, it was pretty darned good, but you'll most likely have these mixed emotions too.

I finished the book without any serious medical issues on my part, just hadn't gotten around to post a reaction.

I completely agree with having the mixed emotions at the end of this book. For me there as a mix of being sad and feeling there was some hope and a bit gained for some of the people involved at the end, i.e. some good did come out of the bad things that happened. As Nabs said, I felt there were some characters that were truly horrible. I didn't like them, but I think JKR did a great job describing the characters in all their human weaknesses. This is how people really are. I also really enjoyed how she made the connections between all of these people and showed you their points of view. Well done.

I admit I would have been unlikely to pick up this book if JKR's name wasn't on it, but I am glad I did. It's unfortunate that it is getting bad press from people unable to disconnect from the HP series. If she had written this under a different name, perhaps some of the reviews would have gone better for her.

Just wanted to comment in here that I watched the HBO version of this, and it was much better than the book. But in hindsight, I also watched Broadchurch and it reminded me of The Casual Vacancy at times, so if anyone is interested in these muted dramas... there's a recommendation for you!

Wondering if anyone has recently read or re-read this? I like her Cormoran Strike books a lot better.

I really wanted to see the HBO version of this book but I don't have HBO. I am glad to know that it was good though!

I agree. I like Cormoran Strike series a lot better than this one. The Casual Vacancy can be convoluted at times and jumps from character to character so much it can be hard to keep up. I was also very upset with the ending...but I also don't like sad endings.