Let me just state before I begin that this is going to be a bit of a strange review. The main reason? I just couldn’t finish this novel. And I absolutely hate giving up on books. Before I go on, I need to point out that I didn’t give up on it because it’s a bad book – not at all.
The blurb sounded great. The opening instantly hooked me. Marilyn Bennett has a great writing style that I fell for straight away; witty, real, with added humour. However, at the beginning of Mummy With Benefits I found myself confused as to what was going on. Characters appeared who, it seemed, had already been established; events were referenced that had not yet happened, mentioned as though I should have known about them already. I checked my Kindle, wondering if, in my haste to board my train home, I’d accidentally skipped a chunk of the novel. I hadn’t, but after a quick look on Goodreads and Amazon, it became clear what the issue was.
Mummy With Benefits is not a standalone novel. It is, in fact, a sequel to Marilyn’s previous book, Granny With Benefits.
Sadly, I hadn’t read Granny With Benefits, and wouldn’t have requested the sequel had I known what it was, simply because I hadn’t read the first. And judging by other reviews, I wasn’t the only one left confused by this book (although I did get to nearly 20% before giving up entirely). I just couldn’t finish it, and not because I didn’t like it – I WANTED to like it. I enjoyed the beginning, so much so that I now want to read the first book as well as this one. But there was just so little context that there was no point in carrying on.
I have read a few books which have been part of a series, in which previous events and characters are briefly explained so that you can pick them up without having to read the previous ones. Mummy With Benefits is not one of these books. Which isn’t at all a problem, IF readers are made aware from the start that this is a sequel. In this case, that fact is not made clear on the cover or book information, causing some readers to dive in and become quickly baffled.
That said, Mummy With Benefits is a fast-paced and fun book up to a point, and I know I would have enjoyed it had I read book one. Which I am now planning on doing, as like I said, I enjoy Marilyn Bennett’s writing style and I don’t want to miss out on what might be an excellent series. Until then, I’m going to give this book 2.5 stars, only because having not read the book entirely, it’d be unfair to give it a higher rating at this time. It’s definitely one to revisit though!
Rating: 2.5/5
Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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