What do readers think of Mating for Life by Marissa Stapley? Write your own review.

I liked this book much more than I thought I would. Three half sisters with distinct personalities and different relationship problems? A make-love-not-war kind of mom? Come on! Yet somehow Marissa Stapley takes this contrived plot and turns it into a refreshing and thoughtful read. Each chapter begins with an animal and an explanation of that animal's mating rites and parenting skills. How that particular animal surfaces and what it may symbolize is a clever device that holds up well throughout the book. The role of the father; mother's love, love itself...or obligations are all scrutinized. Not only did I become drawn into each character, I also found pages and phrases that gave me pause for their insight into our human condition. Here's to the lessons on life skills, especially rewinding!

I thought this was a lovely book with interesting and believable characters. Each chapter focused on one person, surprisingly, sometimes even very minor ones. There were a lot of thought-provoking issues about family and romantic relationships. Sometimes because the focus changed to another character, the reader is left to fill in the gaps of what happened to the previous character. I was occasionally left wanting more details about the main characters and could have done without some of the minor ones. Overall, the book kept my interest and could lead to a good book discussion.

A novel about coupling and uncoupling, about mothers and daughters and sisters, husbands, wives, and lovers, and the unexpected twists life and relationships often take. The story is told in alternating voices; I almost wish there had been fewer voices, though, as I wasn't able to get to know any one character enough to become invested. It's relatable, but probably not extremely memorable. Good, light chick lit.

While this book did come together at the end, during the first 3/4 of it, we jumped from drama to drama. I could not relate to a lot of the problems the characters were having. I did enjoy the little blurb at the beginning of each chapter where the author notes the mating habits of different birds and animals. That was interesting information to learn.

What prevented a higher rating on this novel? Too many characters! What started out as mother/3 daughters ended up being mom's boyfriend, sister's husband,sister's boyfriend, the lake neighbor, lake neighbor's daughter...you see what I mean? You end up with a a tiny ripple, when I really wanted to dive into their lives. I would read this on a plane, but if I finished it, most probably would end up in that little pocket with the emergency card and Air Mall magazine.

This is a book that I read when I had time, but did not make time to read. I didn't not like the book, but it didn't pull me in. The main characters are Helen, the mother, and her adult daughters. Fiona, the oldest daughter and the most strong-willed, is the only character that stood out to me. I kept getting the other sisters confused.

Chapters are told from different characters point of view. Most from Helen and her daughters, but a few other characters too. Honestly, I had trouble at the beginning of some chapters figuring out who was who, and I'm not sure why some characters had chapters at all.

If you liked Little Altars Everywhere you will probably like this book. For a higher rating from me, I'd like to see stronger character development and tighter organization.

The book jacket summary of Marissa Stapley's debut novel, Mating for Life, held a lot of promise. Family dysfunction, free spirit mother, grown daughters struggling to find their own identity and coming of age for a spattering of characters all combine in this light read. Each story on its own provides a good read. However, while the book reads like a novel, the reader should approach it more as a series of short stories
with characters that are all loosely connected. A number of times throughout this book, I had to stop and try to figure out exactly how it character fit into the web of other characters. This book would not be high on my list for recommendation or book clubs.

I thought it was a light read about a family of women with the same old problems....hippie single mom, unhappy daughters, marriage problems, nothing new here. I couldn't get emotionally connected to the characters, maybe because I had nothing in common with any of them. I did like her style of writing though and would read another book of hers.