User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
if this book was as exciting as the last 65 pages this would’ve been a higher rating - little disappointed with this one.
Rating: really liked it
After The Party by Cassie Hamer was a fun Aussie book that made me laugh. A story about motherhood and the lengths you will go for your children and also about choices and how they shape your future. I really enjoyed the relationships especially that of the sisters Lisa and Jamie. This book shows that there is no such thing as the perfect mother and no matter what happens trust your heart.
Lisa has a great life - she loves her husband Scott and her 2 children but she is aching for another child - something that Scott doesn't want. She wants Ava's 5th birthday party to be perfect - all 32 kids from her class are coming and she has it all planned. But she sleeps in and the day just goes from bad to worse - we have all had those days. After the party she finds that Ellie is hiding in the backyard and soon finds that her mother has abandoned her. With the help of her family she sets out to find the mother.
While all of this is happening Jamie, Lisa's sister is trying to decide what is best for her future. Her life is about to dramatically change but is it what she really wants? Secrets are revealed and life has a funny way of showing you what you really want.
Thanks to Harlequin Australia, HQ Fiction for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased.
Rating: really liked it
*www.onewomansbbr.wordpress.com
*www.facebook.com/onewomansbbr
**4.5 stars**
After The Party by Cassie Hamer. (2019).
Lisa has a lovely life, a gorgeous husband and two beautiful girls (although she would like another child too...). Lisa invites 32 kindy kids for her daughter's birthday; it's compete chaos and at the end of the day there is one child left, Ellie. Ellie has a mysterious note that makes clear her mum isn't coming back to get her...what sort of mum does this, and why pick Lisa's family?
Lisa and her sister decide to track down the missing mum and this journey is life-changing for both of them.
This novel well and truly is a fantastic debut for the author. With a perfect mix of intrigue, humour, suspense and reality, it's one I'd be happy to recommend. I felt like there was a strong underlying current focusing on the powerful love of mothers, as well as highlighting the special relationship between sisters (particularly when their parents have sadly passed away). I really enjoyed following both Lisa and Jamie's respective journeys, as well as the drama they run into searching for Ellie's mum. Keep an eye out for side character Heather who truly is a riot!
Overall, this story is really entertaining and engaging. I look forward to future novels from this author.
Rating: really liked it
This book was excruciating. I’d read a handful of chapters and have to put it down before I lost the will to live. The only reason I finished it at all is because I‘ve had so many DNF’s this year that I was determined to finish this thing.
The female characters are all vapid, shallow, stereotypes. Jesus, why is it so hard for authors to develop female characters with a little fucking substance? Sigh, I digress.
The men are pretty much absent. Meh, half their luck really, if I was married to any of these characters, I’d be absent too.
A couple of things that annoyed me from the start were:
1. Children do not generally talk like that. I mean of course they can be rude little shits, but these children were full of contempt for Lisa which I just don’t believe 5 year olds at a kids birthday party would do.
2. The whole bath thing after the party was just weird. What parent would put a strangers kid in the bath while they’re waiting for their parent to collect them? Especially when you’ve already noticed that the kid is scared. Getting her naked and exposed in front of 3 adults she doesn’t know from Adam is a brilliant idea 🙄 oh hello child protective services, fancy meeting you here in inappropriate town.
3. As if you wouldn’t call the cops. Fuck right off.
4. Lisa tells everyone. All these school mums who are portrayed as snobby bitches that she doesn’t know at all and yet she tells them all her dark secrets. As if one of them wouldn’t have called the cops.
It just gets stupid after that with a whole bunch of mums playing detective, Lisa clutching her pearls every other page and a whole lot of time wasted on a wedding that we all knew was never going to happen the minute she stuck her tongue down another guys throat at her own engagement party.
And finally the climax, (and I use that term loosely), a big burly guy has a gun in your face, but sure, go ahead and have a discussion amongst yourselves about Ellie’s parentage. And finally a hair dryer? Really? Fuck right off again.
I’ve never been so happy to finish a book since... well the last one star.
Rating: really liked it
Warm, light and hilarious in parts, this was such a delight to read. Fabulous debut.
Lisa is a mum of two little girls and has a wonderful husband, Scott. For Ava's fifth birthday they decide to have a party, but alas, all does not go to plan. At the end of the party it is clear that one of the parents is not coming to collect their little girl and a mystery ensues. A funny tale of friends, family and solving the mystery of the abandoned child. The friendships in this book were beautiful in the way they unfolded and that premise that you really would do anything for your child. This one was such an easy read and I loved the Aussie references, being from Sydney myself. So yes, a little bias! It had some really heart-warming moments and comedy with the school mum antic. Definitely recommend for an easy and enjoyable read.
Thank you so much to @harlequinaus @hqstories and Cassie Hamer for this copy in exchange for my honest review.
Rating: really liked it
4.5 stars
I really got into the story of Lisa and Jamie, and its big ensemble of school mums, little sisters, hairdressers, kindergarten teachers, patient husbands, fiance's, fashionista bosses, assistants, drug thugs and even ex dudes from the Russian mafia. It tickled my funny bone, maybe because I can't make a cake to save my life and I always mega-stress before my kids' birthday parties... and cannot wait for entire show to be over.
This was really well written, giving all characters an arc I enjoyed, but if I have to pick a favourite I found myself really warming to Heather.
Rating: really liked it
“Dear Lisa,
I’m sorry. Please know this, above all else. I am truly sorry to put this responsibility on you but I have been left with little choice.”
After an exhausting morning hosting 32 kindergarten children for her daughter’s fifth birthday, Lisa Wheeldon is stunned to learn that one tiny guest won’t be collected any time soon. In amongst the gifts, is a heartfelt plea for Lisa to look after six year old Ellie for a few weeks while her mother, a complete stranger, deals with some unspecified crisis. Lisa knows she should notify the relevant authorities, but having experienced the perils of the foster system first hand, decides she will care for Ellie, at least temporarily, while making every effort to track down the absent mother.
Child abandonment seems an unlikely theme in which to find humour, but Hamer somehow does as Lisa enlists the help of her sister, Jamie, and an odd selection of school mum’s she barely knows, in an effort to find Ellie’s missing mother. Lisa’s attempts are well intentioned, but she doesn’t have the cunning, or know how, to deal with the situation she finds herself in, so she does what she can do well, which is care for Ellie.
As a mother, I could relate to several of Lisa’s experiences in the book – the chaos of children’s birthday parties, and the gossipy and competitive nature of primary school mum’s particularly, though Lisa’s naivety is a bit of a stretch.
I think the story could included less of Jamie’s relationship troubles, they were a distraction. I think the plot would have been better served by focusing more on ‘Missy’, Ellie’s mum’s, past and present.
I think Hamer just tried to include too much, not an unusual error in a debut novel, so the focus was split and in the end, the novel was a bit messy. However, I did enjoy the humour, and overall found After the Party to be a quick, easy read.
Rating: really liked it
After the Party is my first book from this author. I was intrigued by the premise. A child abandoned at a party seemed a little too far fetch but it’s fiction. The possibilities are endless. Hamer did weave an interesting story telling it from the perspectives of those who are key to the story. It made me as the reader invested in enough wanting to discover every little thing. Lisa was the ideal character considering the reletability factor.
It wasn’t perfect book but it held promise for a debut. I wish it was more darker then light considering the touchy subjects discussed in this book. It’s a mash up of two genres that worked together on most levels but need to be a little more tighten to be more fitting of the issue at hand.
Rating: really liked it
‘I’m sorry. Please know this above all else.’
Ava Wheeldon is having a fifth birthday party. Her mum Lisa has invited Ava’s kindergarten class (all 32 of them), has a list of all the tasks (spreadsheets can be so useful!). It’s ambitious, but Lisa has a schedule and the help of her husband Scott and her sister Jamie. What could possibly go wrong? Well, as Lisa finds out, just about everything. Oversleeping puts the schedule under pressure, and the food preparation doesn’t go according to plan either. And Lisa’s not getting to meet many of the parents as most parents just drop their children off and leave.
Finally, the party ends, and the children are picked up. All except for one little girl, Ellie. Lisa figures that Ellie’s mother is running late. But there’s a note from Ellie’s mum asking Lisa to look after Ellie, to keep her safe. The note asks Lisa not to call the police (as they’ll take Ellie into care) and says that she’ll be back for her.
At first, Lisa thought it was a sick joke. But what kind of mother would abandon a child, and why have the Wheeldons been chosen?
‘The right thing to do is always the hardest.’
Lisa and Jamie decide to try to find Ellie’s mum. Scott wants to telephone the police, but he’s willing (reluctantly) to wait a while. So begins a well-intentioned (albeit at times bizarre) journey for both Lisa and Jamie. Add in relationship issues, ghosts from the past, competitive school mummies, and a vengeful ex and you have a mystery with a twist (or two).
I liked Lisa, and while I was never brave (or perhaps foolish) enough to have 32 guests at a children’s birthday party, I could relate to the organisational mayhem. I enjoyed the touches of humour as the story unfolded, and I was satisfied by the ending. Ms Hamer deftly handles several different issues in this novel. The main characters are well drawn, and the minor characters fit into their supporting roles neatly. I enjoyed it.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and HQ Fiction for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Rating: really liked it
Author Cassie Hamer's debut novel After the Party (Harlequin Books 2019) is a light-hearted and heart-warming story about parenting, marriage and family. The book opens with Sydney mum Lisa Wheeldon in the midst of the chaos that is a child’s fifth birthday party. Like Liane Moriarty, Hamer touches on the nerves of all readers who are parents or carers as she dissects the judgmental expectations, the sugar highs, the cake disasters, the parents who’ve had one too many wines, and the pinata problems. But just when it seems she has survived the party, she realises she has an extra child in her home – a little girl, Ellie, who wasn’t even invited, and who seems to have been abandoned by her mother. The book takes a dark turn and delves into some more serious issues. But despite the weighty mystery at its centre, the story remains entertaining and amusing as Lisa and her friends and family struggle to decide what to do about Ellie. What is the right thing to do versus what do they want to do? Should they involve the police? What about Ellie’s rights? And what if Ellie’s mother’s motivations are more complicated than they at first appear? This is a great book club book that will ignite discussions about foster care, parental rights and responsibilities, domestic violence, societal norms and expectations and the sacrifices we are prepared to make, both for our own children and for the children of others (that whole ‘it takes a village’ philosophy).
Funny writing is very hard to do well and it is difficult to produce a book that is humorous precisely because it is so familiar and recognisable, and because you can so easily see yourself in the same situation as the characters. But this book is very funny and very relatable. There are some great relationships between parents and children, and between adults, that navigate the ups and downs of connection, and there’s a madcap and over-the-top ending that really raises the stakes. If you are a parent or an aunt or uncle, I guarantee you will recognise your child, your neighbour, your partner or yourself in this story. I can see it being passed from sister to sister, or from girlfriend to girlfriend, with a knowing look, an exasperated sigh and a genuine giggle.
Rating: really liked it
After most kids parties there's always the matter of cleaning up the mess, then I usually find myself kicking back to recover whilst mentally tallying the pro's and con's of the event - (i.e. should I put myself through this again next year...so much preparation for a couple of hours of fun). In Cassie Hamer's version of After The Party, Lisa & Scott Wheeldon have somewhat more to consider following their daughter Ava's 5th birthday party. Ellie, one of the young party-goers has not been collected. Not only that, it turns out she wasn't even invited in the first place. The note in her bag tells the Wheeldon's she's been entrusted to them for safe keeping and please don't go to the police. What happens after this discovery is the crux of the story. There's a couple of side stories thrown into the mix and a couple of red herrings to keep us guessing about who Ellie was and how or why she might have been left with the Wheeldon family.
Whilst I enjoyed the book some elements didn't entirely work for me and I wasn't necessarily convinced everything was plausible. This meant I had to stop expecting too many answers and to remind myself to just go with the flow. I did enjoy that it was set in Australia and that the author came up with what I believe was a unique storyline. All in all a pleasant way to fill a couple of days.
My thanks to Harlequin Australia and NetGalley for the opportunity of reading this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
I don't seem to be in the mood for chick lit at the moment. I liked the premise for this, and some of it was well done, but parts of it were just...a bit too over the top!
Rating: really liked it
I’m only a few chapters in and took to Good Reads to see if it might get better. The writing is so awful (overuse of parenthesis much??). The plot development is slow, the author gives the reader no credit and overexpains everything, and the characters are two-dimensional. I love a good chic-lit but this is not doing it for me. Worst book I have read in years.
Rating: really liked it
I loved the concept of this book and the characters were interesting but it became a bit unbelievable once it was known who the mother of the child was. An entertaining read none the less. Loved the start about the actual children's party and the need for moscato!
Rating: really liked it
An unexpected gift left at her daughter's fifth birthday party in the form of a little girl pitches Sydney mum Lisa Wheeldon into events both hilarious and life-changing.
Liane Moriarty meets Marian Keyes with a touch of Christos Tsiolkas's The Slap in this hilarious, touching and clever novel that asks what wouldn't you do to save a child?
Be careful what you wish for...
Lisa Wheeldon has a lovely life. Wife to a gorgeous husband, Scott, and a devoted mother to two small daughters, the former accountant has everything she wants - except a third child. But the universe has a strange way of providing.
On the surface, Ava's fifth birthday party seems the ideal opportunity for Lisa to meet her daughter's new kindergarten friends - all 32 of them! But from beginning to end, the day is a complete nightmare, capped off by the discovery of a little girl hiding in the Wheeldon's backyard. At first, Lisa reasons that Ellie's mum is running late. But when they open a gift from the mysterious little girl, it becomes clear her mother has no intention of returning at all...
What sort of mother abandons her child? And why has she chosen the Wheeldons?
Together, Lisa and her sister Jamie launch their own efforts to find the missing mum, a journey that will force Lisa to face her past, Jamie to confront her future and see both embroiled with angry exes, pragmatic fortune-tellers, Russian mobsters and a hyena pack of yummy mummies.
A journey that will force Lisa to rethink all she knows about being a good mother.A fifth birthday party with an entire class of Kindergarten children as the guests, what could go wrong? Turns out for mother of two not everything goes according to Lisa Wheldon's plans. Lisa drops the extravagant castle cake, which then gets eaten by the family's hungry golden retriever, makes for a wonderful start to the day.
For me, I really enjoyed the topic and event that set the story in motion. I had no idea where the story was going or how I would as the reader eventually get there, however, I found the characters were well suited to the roles they played within the story that they were situated.
I also loved Jamie and Ben's role within the book, as I thought they really brought the story together for me more so than Lisa and her husband Scott did. I found myself worried at times that the story would run dry or around in cycles but I really enjoyed how everything panned out in the end.
As the reader, I was able to sense Lisa's concern for Ellie as the events unfolded, but even more so what role Lisa would play in Ellie's life after the truth was discovered about Ellie's mother's whereabouts.
I had no idea that 'After The Party' was Cassie Hammer's debut novel! 'After the Party' seems like the highly anticipated next read from Cassie. I really look forward to Hammer's next offering as I was completely surprised at the fact that 'After The Party' was a debut novel.
I recommend this book to adult women in search of a Contemporary Fiction read, or simply looking for a light read by a female author.
With thanks to Harlequin Books and Netgalley for proving a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
