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

I am too pedestrian, but most of the people I know don't behave like these characters. They are pretty much over the top, but the book was a one day read. I did agree with Ilse on her comment, "Here's the thing about love.It can last, but you have to be careful with it." As a family of women they had trouble with that. They were often either promiscuous or unforgiving.

It is amazing that many birds and animals mate for life. This is demonstrated at the beginning of the chapters. Humans, however, have choices. Helen raised three daughters who had different fathers, none of whom were part of their lives. She never married any of them. The book is mostly about these girls and their lives and their families. Being married, a legal contract, does not guarantee happiness. And not being married can work too. Nice story of the girls, their mother and how their lives separated and came together again.

Reading Mating for Life feels much like watching an afternoon TV soap opera, lots of drama and close ups of faces with wide eyes and/or pained expressions. The story revolves around a former sixties folk music star and her three daughters, each with different fathers, as they forge through their lives striving for and clinging to whatever stability they can find. Ultimately, their unfortunate choices of partners, rather for life or the afternoon upset the delicate balance and drama unfolds. Author Marissa Stapley weaves the woman's individual stories separately, intertwining them occasionally, creating a confusing web of shallow characters and vain drama. Stapley's clinical definitions of the mating habits of specific wild animals at the beginning of each chapter, while interesting merely add to the confusion. Recommended only for soap opera and/or wild animal aficionados.

This is a novel told from alternating perspectives, primarily those of Helen and her three daughters. Helen was a well-known folk singer in the 1970's who became famous as a feminist who believed that women did not need men. She had three daughters, all from different men, and raised them on her own. Fiona, the oldest, tries to have a perfect life but realizes this is not possible and her marriage is in jeopardy. Ilsa, the middle daughter, is a blocked artist in a marriage that is stifling her. Lianne, a college professor, has finally found the love of her life but is having trouble navigating the art of step-parenting.

I found the book to be somewhat interesting but not well-written. The character development is poor and the reader is told everything rather than seeing it unfold organically. I did not empathize with any of the characters because they did not seem real to me.