Book Review :: Swapping Lives by Jane Green

Title : Swapping Lives

Author : Jane Green

Rating : 2 Star

Basic Plot : Vicky Townsley is a single and successful features director of a London magazine, Poise! She wants her life to be more like the life of her brother and sister in law; marriage and children all she needs to attain real happiness. On the flip side, of the story and the world, Amber Winslow is a busy wife and mother living in the suburbs of Connecticut. Her days are spent organizing charity events, managing the help around her McMansion, and dressing in the finest designers. Amber feels her life is quickly spinning beyond control and she is losing all sight of who she is and what makes who truly happy. Vicky is tired of the hip single life and years for something stable and more substantial. So, when chief editor of Poise! suggests a life swap for Vicky to write the search begins for the best candidate, a desperate housewife, someone whose life is the complete opposite of Vicky’s. Across the pond Amber turns out to be a perfect fit. Both women are excited for this new adventure, but quickly discover the grass is not always greener.

Comments : This is my first experience with Jane Green and I thought the book was fine, a bit clichéd, but still fairly good. It is certainly a light and fluffy chick-lit. There is a surprising respect of fidelity both described and upheld through the book, despite the life swapping. However, as is often seen with novels following the English tradition, there are a number of cusses including several uses of the F-bomb. Also the story seems to drag; the swap not even happening until the novel is already halfway over. The subject is not as engaging as I had hoped and the female characters lack dimension. Combine desperate housewives with a reality TV show and wife swap and you have “Swapping Lives.” Throw in a predictable ending and you have a pretty good idea of the entire plot of this book. It was unsurprising and would probably work best as a casual beach read. I was unimpressed really, hoping for more depth and meaning, but never getting it from the characters or the plot. 

Similar : Probably anything Jane Green like Dune Road or Promises to Keep