" Joanna Trollope is my guilty secret. Chick Lit is not really my thing, but perhaps because her novels seem to have a more mature perspective than many in that genre, I generally enjoy them. Having said that, I usually forget the plot straight away - they don't make a lasting impression. The Other Family was no different to others I've read in that respect. Most of the characters were irritating - all wrapped up in the recently deceased Richie - and unable to get a grip and get on with things. I couldn't get a good vision of Richie through the writing. First I thought he must have been a rock god, but that didn't seem correct - his appeal was to ladies of "a certain age" - so was he more Tom Jones than Mick Jagger? Richie's partner Chrissie, and their daughters Tamsin and Dilly were portrayed as shallow and needy. Only the youngest daughter Amy stood out as a character of substance. Although I was engaged (and enraged) by this family, I don't think it was a terribly good novel. There are better Joanna Trollopes. "
— Ange, 1/22/2014