Duet by Kimberley Freeman

Ellie and Angela are two women, extremely alike, who have never met.

Angela is a pop star, living in London. Ellie is an aspiring opera singer, experiencing severe hardships in Europe, where she desperately wants to succeed.

Their lives intersect, unexpectedly, on their respective quests for love, meaning, significance and success in England, Greece, Spain and the Australian outback.

The narration was excellent. Caroline Lee reads so beautifully, I think the most badly written book would come alive with her skilled rendition. This wasn't badly written. The stories of the two women were interesting. The book had its moments of beauty and insight. However, there were too many easy coincidences and clichés for me to say I enjoyed it immensely.

It was pleasant, and I didn't stop reading. Neither did I find myself jumping early into the car to listen while I waited for the rest of the family (which is usually the case with books I love.) Kimberley Freeman has been compared to Kate Morton. I have only read one of Kimberley's books, and all of Kate's, but for me, apart from the fact that they are both Australian, there are vast differences in writing style, plot intensity and development and the weaving of history into the present day. Kate Morton is one of my favourite authors, so not an easy benchmark, in my opinion. This wasn't bad, but was never going to measure up, unfortunately.

A book for wasting time on, when your own reality is distinctly dull.

3 stars

If you feel the same way as I do, you will prefer Kate Morton's The Lake House. Another lovely Australian author is Liane Moriarty - try Big Little Lies.

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