Review: Finding Colin Firth by Mia March

Pub. Date: July 9th, 2013
Publisher: Simon & Schuster/ Gallery Books
Paperback
336 pages


What could be better – friendship, romance, pie, and of course, the prospect of meeting Colin Firth.

In Finding Colin Firth, the events of a few weeks are told from the perspective of three different women. Bea Crane finds out at 22, a year after her mother has died, that she was adopted and decided to seek out her birth mother. Veronica Russo famous for her ‘elixir’ pies, dreams about opening her own pie shop, but her fear of failure is overpowering her aspirations. Gemma Hendricks has just lost her job, and found out she is pregnant – two pieces of information that her husband will use to convince her they should move out of NYC, and to his suburban hometown, even though he knows that’s not what she wants. In a small span of time, the lives of the three women intermingle in surprising, funny, and heartbreaking ways. A Colin Firth movie may in a way bring the women together, but their connection and their willingness to support each other in discovering what they really want out of their lives and relationships, is what will keep them together.

I have no complaints or things that I would have changed about this novel with two small exceptions.
The first is just a pet peeve of mine.  Some information is repeated, though typically by a different narrator. Repetitions always makes me wonder if the author questions whether the reader can be trusted to remember information, and as someone who frequently notices repetitions, I find them distracting. The second thing is that there were no recipes included! Veronica’s pies were mouthwateringly described, and I really want at least her crust recipes. While this may be a ‘complaint’, I think it represents how well and realistically March created all of the components of the women’s lives.

There were so many things I loved about this book (aside from just the pies). March has created such a strong lyrical sense of place, while focusing almost entirely on character growth. One of my favorite elements was the camaraderie and supportive relationships between the women. Even in situations where the women were interacting with people they had not always gotten along with, or understood, the relationships grow to at least a level of understanding, but more frequently, genuine friendship. This take on women’s relationships was something that you don’t see as frequently as women cutting each other down. Not only was this appreciated, but also beautifully crafted.

For women’s fiction readers, or readers who really love character driven novels, Finding Colin Firth is a must read. Even though the characters definitely had some serious obstacles, and some hard situations to work through, the tone is kept fairly light and uplifting. As a huge fan of this novel, I will definitely be seeking out March’s previous work.

Rating 9/10 – Would have for sure been a 10 if I had some pie recipes!

**I received a copy of this novel from the publisher to read and honestly review. I was in no way compensated. 

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