Love Comes Tumbling - Reviews
Irish Independent
Saturday, 24th June 2006
Reviewed by Emma Walsh
When Lucy Arigho falls in love with widower Greg and they plan
to marry, she finds settling into his already established family
a difficult trial. Greg comes complete with two fully-formed
children, a devoted nanny, and the concerned parents of his late
wife.
Lucy is not the kind of woman to fall head over heels in love
so quickly and when she agrees to marry Greg after six weeks of
dating she's not entirely sure she trusts her own feelings. She
loves him, but does she really know him well enough to marry him?
When Greg becomes strangely ebullient and then later severely
depressed Lucy finds she just might be living with a total
stranger and, as his moods take a turn for the worse, she finds
life with him becoming intolerable. Lucy has to ask herself who
he really is and how much she is prepared to do for him.
It becomes clear that what she is dealing with is actually a
very serious situation - someone suffering from manic depression.
Love Comes Tumbling becomes a remarkable story chronicling the
effects of mental illness on the friends and family of the
sufferer. Seeing the illness through the eyes of those closest to
the sufferer provides a unique insight into depression.
Deegan's considered and subtle observations of life with
someone suffering from manic depression create a thoroughly well
rounded and engrossing novel. A captivating and moving story
expertly researched and lovingly crafted.
Evening Herald
Saturday, July 1, 2006
Reviewed by Lucille Redmond
Synopsis:
Lucy Arigho is recovering from the death of her fiancé when
she's swept off her feet by best-selling writer Greg Millar. But
after the whirlwind courtship she discovers that Greg has a
terrifying problem.
Mr Right is always the same in books: gleaming white teeth, a
gleaming gold bank balance and a strong arm to support the
adoring heroine.
Not this time. Writer Greg certainly seems confident enough as
he woos and wins Lucy. He's wealthy, living in a sea-fronting
mansion on the Dalkey millionaire belt.
And he sees no problems, even though his kids hate her, and
her complicated new family is tough to handle.
He's a widower, and his wife's parents never really liked him.
Now their grandchildren are in the hands of another woman.
And the kids' nanny is hostile - could it be that she has a
thing for Greg?
But that's just the start of the problems that come to a head
in a terrifying roller-coaster drive down a French mountain when
Greg seems completely out of control.
Could it be drugs? Or an illness that Greg just can't control?
Lucy loves him, but can she stay with him?
Greg is a man with a lot of secrets. And it seems that
everyone knows a different Greg: his strangely uncommunicative
mother, his always-cheery brother, Rob, his kids, and Lucy
herself.
He's a loving father, though. She's sure of that. And
faithful... or is he?
Maybe he's just a little too friendly to the family's
oh-so-dedicated nanny?
A gripping story, skilfully told by an ex-nurse, third-time
novelist and Evening Herald contributor Denise Deegan.
Irish Examiner
Saturday July 1, 2006
Reviewed by Sue Leonard
When best-selling writer Greg Millar enters Lucy Arigho's
life, she is feeling fragile. She's mourning her fiancé, who was
killed in a crash, and has thrown herself into her work as a
designer. But Greg infects her with his joie de vivre - sweeping
her off her feet and proposing marriage after just weeks.
Lucy feels that it's all happened too quickly - but she loves
him and eventually agrees. And then she meets his motherless
children, Rachel and Toby. And that's when her problems start.
This is the third novel from Denise Deegan, a writer who has
made the domestic her territory. Skilful at capturing the voices
of children, she explores the nuances of relationships between
mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, and between siblings.
Deegan's first novel was well written but too safe. Her
second, Time in a Bottle, was a poignant study of a single mum
struggling when her child contracts leukaemia. In Love Comes
Tumbling, Deegan has launched into uncharted waters with a much
more ambitious novel.
When Lucy joins Greg and his family in France, she yearns to
get close to his children. That's not easy, though, when Hilary,
an overprotective nanny, seems set to close her out. And when
Greg's perpetual effervescence explodes into something more
sinister, Lucy is perplexed. She wonders if she knows the man she
has come to love.
As the couple lurch from crisis to crisis, Deegan keeps us on
the edge of our seats. She is an expressive writer with a touch
of suspense thrown into the mix. This is a well-researched novel,
touching on important issues, and it's told with compassion.
There are a few moments that don't quite ring true, and rather
a too pat ending, but Deegan has proved herself as one of
Ireland's better emerging writers.
Ireland on Sunday
Sunday, July 2, 2006
Reviewed by Leslie Ann Horgan ****
Love Comes Tumbling has all the essential elements of modern
chick-lit - a lonely central character with a surname you'd never
find in Ireland, a gay best friend, and a tall, dark and
mysterious charmer - but thankfully a lot more besides.
The story follows Lucy, a level-headed graphic designer who is
struggling to recover from the death of her fiancé. On a
particularly stressful day, she finds herself racing another car
in traffic, only to be greeted by its occupant at her
destination. Widower Greg Miller is a world-famous author and
Lucy's newest client.
Fast forward through a lot of flirty banter and eight weeks
later, Lucy is considering becoming Greg's wife and mother to his
two children. But when the family goes to France for the summer,
Greg's behaviour begins to change beyond recognition.
As events turn dark, Lucy has to figure out how to handle two
resentful children, a spiteful nanny and some overbearing
grandparents. She is also forced to ask herself whether the man
she fell in love with exists at all.
From a good start, Deegan's third novel turns frantic, then
hard to believe. But it finds its footing again in time to fit in
a few more big twists. The novel tackles a weightier subject than
your average romance, but does it with an engaging style.
Touching in parts but never too taxing, this is a perfect
poolside read. Expect to see the TV movie version on the Hallmark
Channel someday soon.
The Irish Times
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Reviewed by Roisin Ingle
At the start of this book we learn that graphic designer, Lucy
Arigho has no intention of getting over the death of her fiancé,
never mind starting a new relationship. But after an
uncharacteristic bout of road rage strikes, she can't help being
seduced by the suave driver of a Mercedes sports convertible.
Greg Millar is an Irish literary sensation with luxury homes in
Dublin and France. He is also a widower with two children. Their
reluctance to accept her into their life when Greg proposes after
just a short time is the least of Lucy's worries. The dream
relationship quickly starts to disintegrate and she wonders
whether her fiancé is the man she thought he was. Deegan's third
book has the sparky dialogue, fresh storylines and believable
characters her fans have come to expect and the dark subject at
the heart of the book is deftly dealt with. Enjoy it on the
beach.
Lifetimes
July 24, 2006
Dublin author, Denise Deegan is back this summer with a third
novel which will no doubt be packed into luggage and spotted on
beaches and in lazy back gardens many times over in coming weeks.
With Love Comes Tumbling, Deegan has produced a powerful,
gripping and original story about what happens when the craziness
of falling in love ends and the craziness of life begins. As the
song says, 'life goes on, long after the thrill of living is
gone', a sentiment which Deegan has wrapped around the age old
tale of life after the first flush of love has faded...
Love Comes Tumbling introduces us to Lucy Arigho, a generally
down to earth type whose life is suddenly disrupted when love or
is it love - comes storming in. Lucy is not the sort of woman to
be swept off her feet, so it is completely out of character when
she meets a man in traffic and six weeks later he's begging her
to marry him. She may be in love she's not sure she can trust her
own feelings - or his. After all, though he has responsibilities
- children, a devoted nanny and the children's concerned
grandparents, the parents of his late first wife - he acts with
the abandon of a teenager. Lucy has to ask herself who is he
really and what she is prepared to do for him. Those with
previous experience of Deegan's work will not be disappointed by
Love Comes Tumbling, as once again Denise has taken a sensitive
subject and dealt with it in a serious but humorous way. It is a
gripping novel about ordinary people caught up in complicated
emotional dilemmas, reminiscent of Joanna Trollope's recent
books. The author brings a wealth of past and personal experience
to her work. Before becoming a writer, Denise Deegan was a nurse,
a china restorer, and a sales rep. At one time she also ran her
own public relations business. She now lives in Dublin with her
husband and two young children. Love Comes Tumbling is her third
novel, following on from the hugely successful Time in a Bottle.
Published by Penguin Ireland, Love Comes Tumbling is available
now in all good book shops, priced at 14.99.
Cork Now
August 2006
Love Comes Tumbling is a powerful, gripping and original story
about what happens when the craziness of falling in love ends and
the craziness of real life begins. Published by Penguin Ireland,
it is available in all good book shops. Definitely worth staying
in for.
Medicine Weekly
September 20th
Reviewed by June Shannon, News Editor
A Different Kind of Love Story.
In Love Comes Tumbling, Lucy Arigho, a talented high-flying
business woman is still recovering from the death of her fiancé
when, en route to a business meeting, she finds herself racing a
dark, handsome stranger in Dublin traffic.
Imagine her surprise (and mine - not) when the stranger turns
out to be multimillionaire author, Greg Millar who, you would
never believe it, is the client she was due to meet.
The only reason I continued to read this novel was that I had
committed to review it, and must admit to writing it off as just
another chick-lit creation. Thankfully, I was wrong.
Although, as predicted, the two fall in love and Greg
proposes, this is where the chick-lit similarities ended and I
was hooked.
Lucy experiences difficulties getting close to Greg's two
children, Rachel and Toby, whose mother died in childbirth. The
manipulative nanny, Hilary doesn't help matters, and as the story
unfolds, turns out to have an ever darkening influence on their
lives.
Lucy joins the family on holiday in France and after a few
weeks her world - and that of the children - is thrown into
chaos.
She slowly starts to realize that she doesn't know Greg at all
when his behaviour becomes increasingly erratic and dangerous. He
starts going out all night and driving like a maniac, and is full
of boundless energy. Lucy begins to think he may be on drugs, a
charge he vehemently denies.
The nanny, unable to take Greg's wild behaviour, resigns,
leaving Lucy to cope with the children and an unstable fiancé.
Eventually, Lucy forces Greg to return to Dublin and see a
doctor. The diagnosis of bipolar depression strikes fear into all
their hearts, and as Greg is hospitalised, once again, Lucy must
care for the children of a man she has never really understood.
Despite its questionable beginning, Love Comes Tumbling was
worth the perseverance. It unfolded into a powerful evocation of
the reality of mental illness and the devastating effect a
diagnosis can have on the lives of sufferers and their carers.
Denise Deegan relates the vulnerability of mental illness,
uncovers the reality of the stigma still very much associated
with the condition, and the possibility of living a full life in
spite of it.
RTE Guide
September 23rd-29th
Reviewed by Suzanne Byrne
Plot: Lucy and Greg meet while sitting in traffic and six
weeks later Greg is begging Lucy to marry him. They have both
suffered loss, Lucy her fiancé and Greg his wife. As their
relationship develops, Greg's behaviour becomes increasingly
erratic and after a visit to the doctor he discovers that he has
bipolar disorder. Lucy takes over the care of his two young
children, and also has to deal with an insanely jealous nanny.
Verdict: I nearly put this book down after the first few
chapters, but I'm really glad I stuck with it as it turned out to
be a fantastic read. The gradual realisation that Greg is
suffering from a mental disorder is dealt with sensitively and in
non-sensational fashion. And the fear, frustration and feelings
of inadequacy experienced by Greg's children and Lucy will strike
a chord with anyone who has been touched by the condition.
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