by Alison Moss

Created on: November 28, 2009

During my recent holiday I managed to read all 3 books I had taken with me so was browsing the bookshelf in the holiday cottage to see if there was anything worth reading and "31 Dream Street" caught my eye. The book is by the author Lisa Jewell and I remember reading another one of her books several years ago although I am pretty sure I didn't think it was particularly great! However as I was needing something to read I thought I would give her another try.

The story is about two main characters Leah and Toby who have been living across the street from each other for years. Toby lives in big rambling house that was given to him by his father and he has filled the house with tenants who pay little rent but who he has given a home to because he has judged them to be needy. Leah is fascinated in who they all are and what their relationship is but has never had the chance to find out as although they have watched each others comings and goings they have never met. Then one day something happens in the street which causes their paths to cross and their lives become changed. Soon Toby and Leah find themselves on a mission to sort out the lives and make dreams come true for all the tenants in the house. The question is will they succeed and what will happen to their own dreams along the way?

I really enjoyed this book it's a lovely heart-warming romantic tale just perfect for a summer holiday read. I really liked the characters in the book and the way they interacted with each other. As well as the main characters there are several other larger than life characters who are the tenants in Toby's house. They each have their own stories and part of the enjoyment of the book is discovering and unravelling their individual stories and finding out what has brought them to Toby's house and what will happen to them in the future. I like the way the author just reveals little bits of information at a time in one chapter and makes you wonder what that characters secret is but then moves on to the next person so you have to keep reading it to find out what happens. It's done in a really good way that it doesn't feel disjointed but makes you curious and what to read on.

I liked Lisa Jewell's writing, her book was funny and full of warmth and the story has a good pace to it and made me want to keep reading. I liked the way she used a combination of ordinary narrative but also letters to reveal to the reader the story and what had happened to the characters, it just makes the book more interesting to read. It is a lovely story and I really enjoyed it so much so that I will probably look out for some more of Lisa Jewells books in the hope that they will be as good as this one.

If you are going on holiday or just want to have a lazy weekend curled up on the sofa with a book then I would recommend this to you if you like a nice romance with some great fun characters.

Pages - 461

Price - 4.99 from Amazon (there are two different covers available, I think to differentiate the hardcover from the paperback)

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