SMAFU: Situation Married All Fouled Up. An Unforgettable Romantic Comedy.

Steve and Mary's 17 year marriage is stale. She's not in the least maternal, but has ended up a housewife with 3 kids. He's a wage slave. Now they've just made a stressful house move.Little do they know that a busybody lives next door. 90-year-old Cherisse not only offers the couple advice - whether they want it or not - but totally overshares about her sex life. Luckily, Cherisse has such an amazing sense of humour that Steve and Mary are a willing audience.As the bickering within the marriage reaches its climax, Cherisse tries to help - but will the couple listen?Laced with dry humour, this is as much a marriage primer as a story.

Steve and Mary move into a house with their children. They meet their neighbour Cherisse, a very wise old lady who has lived an interesting life and now recognizes their marriage is in trouble. The author manages to add humour to a tale which follows their misadventures as she tries to help them. This book will make many people look at their own marriage and understand the problems which arise when the partners fail to communicate. Well worth reading.

An articulate and humerus insight into the minds of a married couple and how, if you take your eye off the ball, it can all go horribly wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, because much of it rang true. Situations in your life that can turn sour if you don’t meet every obstacle head on and say how you feel. We all fall into this trap at some point in our married lives, I defy you to say you haven’t. But absolutely most of all, the character of Cheresse, kept me glued to the pages. What a wonderful woman to have in your life and be honoured to call friend.

Nothing proves the different thought patterns in men and women more clearly than this book. How two people can look at the same thing but see two completely aspects is often the breakdown of relationships. This book sort of reads like a warning to couples who might be struggling a bit, to sit back for a moment and do some careful thinking. As a woman I read Mary's signals loud and clear whereas Steve only saw that she was pushing him away. This isn't a romance book, it's a life-lesson book, and one that's well worth a read.I totally loved Cherisse her stories about her life were heart-warming and moving.Every decision we make has a result... a reaction that affects what our life becomes, we are the outcome of a million decisions a day. This book clearly emphazies how important it is to consider your options before you act.Clever book, very nicely written.

If you love your character driven novels featuring great relationship and human nature observations all wrapped up in an intriguing storyline you can't go wrong with this book.We meet Steve and Mary as they move into a new house with their three children. They are met on arrival by Cherrise, their new neighbour, a rather elderly lady who proceeds to inveigle herself into the moving process. Time goes by and as Cherrise gets to know the couple, through conversations and some really great observational work, we find out that Steve and Mary's relationship is pretty much hanging by a thread. Cherrise herself has lead a rather interesting life with several marriages and quite a few other liaisons so she feels well qualified to offer (like they have a choice) relationship advice to the couple, mostly through stories from her own life, but also with quite a few nifty analogies. But will this wizened old lady's pearls of wisdom be enough to save Steve and Mary, either together or separately?I have already read a book by this author, FBOM, which is a whole other genre completely but does share many traits with this book. As I really do love character driven books, I am always looking out for an author who can deliver me what I want. This one does that, and then some. I imagine that he does more than his fair share of people watching as all his characters I have met so far have been well described and fleshed out, act well within their natures, and develop nicely through the books. What more can you want!?But characters are only part of the picture. It's all very well to have a great cast but you do need a good story for them to play out. In this category, the author is again a winner as he paints the picture of a floundering marriage with such skill that I couldn't help but relate to it having had one of them myself. Oh how I wish I had a Cherisse to help me when I was going through things. More than once I had to stop and take a breath as things got a little close to home for me. But, that's all in my past and, apart from speaking for truism, not really needing expanding on.As the main thread of the book is a little on the serious side there is a danger that the book could become a little too dark and unbalanced but again the author comes through here nicely. There is a fair bit of humour to be found, some scenes did have me chuckling to myself, as well as a healthy dose of sarcasm and some really rather interesting inner dialogue!Fiction though this book is, it's also an eye opener to the inner workings of a relationship; how communication breaks down, how things are misinterpreted and people taken for granted. It's a book that I wish I'd read years ago, before I took the plunge myself. It's a book I would recommend to anyone going through similar stuff to our main characters, more so than a self-help book as this is a fictional story and the message is subtle. You'll take of it what you need and discard what doesn't fit more easily than a text book. Oh and it's a cracking tale in itself.

This book made me laugh, almost made me cry but probably more essentially, it made me think.I loved the character of Cherisse as she attempts to coerce and bully Steve and Mary into waking up and saving their floundering marriage. She made me laugh out loud with her tall tales but I couldn't help but reflect on her words. She is just naughty enough for us not to mind her lessons and to find entertainment in her 'all knowing' lectures.This was in some ways a morality tale for modern marriage where we try hard to have it all, do it all and forget the treasures that lay closest to us.

What a brilliant book! I'm so sad I've finished it.