Thanks to netgalley for reading this interesting book. I did not know what to expect, and enjoyed the book. Would like to read more of the author.

Really enjoyed The Rosie Project (the sequel... not so much), so figured we should give Graeme Samson's new entry "The Best of Adam Sharp" a go. The books start promising enough, filled with the similar tone to the Rosie books that made you want to keep reading on... but then it sort of flattens out and you realise the plot is actually not that great. Towards the end, you're like... meh. Not particularly great. 2/5

Sophie read a copy of The Best of Adam Sharp by Graeme Simsion and soon wished that she hadn’t bothered. On first hearing about it, the book had appealed to her immediately. The titular protagonist, Adam Sharp, is a music trivia expert who hails from the same northern English town as Sophie herself, and Sophie had also enjoyed one of Simsion’s previous novels – The Rosie Project. The blurb promised a similar feel to Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity, a story of love played out against a background of music that was right up Sophie’s street.

What played out instead was nothing more than a middle-aged man’s masturbatory fantasy committed to page (note, spoilers ahead). Adam is in a stable, childless relationship with his long-term partner, Claire. Their relationship is almost entirely practical, utterly pedestrian, and hitting a rocky patch. Then along comes Angelina – Adam’s long-lost love of over 20 years prior. Adam and Angelina had enjoyed a fling back in the 80s when he spent three months consulting in Australia and he has spent the intervening decades regretting not making the effort to make a long-term relationship with her work. Angelina, for her part, reads as if she has been created entirely from the Manic Pixie Dream Girl entry over on TVTropes. She’s attractive, smart, funny, slightly damaged, and has sexual inhibitions that it appears only Adam can fulfill. As soon as she emails her way back into his life, Adam starts turning his life around while trying to convince himself this change is nothing to do with Angelina at all.

Adam and Claire conveniently separate just as Angelina and her husband Charlie are planning a week in the South of France, so of course, Adam ends up joining them. What follows is a whirlwind of utter inanity. Adam and Angelina, of course, end up sleeping together. Charlie, of course, finds out but is perfectly at ease with the situation. In fact, it turns out that inviting Adam along on this trip is Charlie’s birthday/”sorry I had an affair” present to Angelina, (“happy birthday darling, let’s spend a week in France with your ex-lover so you two can sleep together,”) and there’s even a weird scene in which Adam and Angelina get it on while Charlie watches – especially awkward as Sophie unexpectedly hit that part whilst reading next to her young son. Charlie is portrayed as the perfect man, cultured to an almost Hannibal Lecter degree with an astounding repertoire of meals and knowledge of wine with which he plies Adam for the week while letting him sleep with his wife. At the end, Adam has a moral epiphany, races back to France to help Charlie save his marriage with Angelina, then rekindles his relationship with Claire who’s response to the week away is simply “I assume you slept with her but I don’t want to know”, and they all lived happily ever after, Adam patting himself on the back for being such a gentleman.

Effectively, the entire novel is a premise for letting one middle-aged man, as Dana Scully once put it, “get his ya ya’s out” with no consequences. He gets to spend a week relaxing in France and sleeping with the woman of his fantasies multiple times, her husband and his own partner content with the situation, and at the end of the book, everyone is happier from the experience. There’s was also something that sat wrong with Sophie as she read about the problems of a bunch of rich, middle-class white people as they complained about the difficulties of their lives while drinking expensive wine and nibbling foie gras in their holiday home in France. Maybe it was those New York Times alerts about the refugee crisis that were popping up on her phone while she read?

A down to earth enjoyable novel about a middle-aged man. Enjoyed reading about Adam, felt a bit sorry for him as he was a good guy at heart. Well written and would read more from Graeme Simsion.

An Engrossing Story which looks at the basis of relationships:
This highly readable novel by Graeme Simsion examines the basis of relationships through the experiences of the main character Adam Sharp. Adam is in a relationship with Claire which appears to be going nowhere and is stale. One day, completely out the blue, an old flame contacts him by email. Adam still has feelings for Angelina and starts to rekindle his old love affair. But sometimes that which you have, may be better than you realise, and Adam has decisions to make which will fundamentally alter his life.
I enjoyed this book but thought the book seemed to disconnect from reality when Adam stays with Charlie and Angelina in the cottage in the Toulouse region in the South West of France. "The Ménage à Trois" didn't work for me.
What makes the novel is the depth of knowledge of the author on Pre 1971 music. An easy read packed with Rock and Pop facts that will leave every student of rock and pop much the wiser once you've read this book. Perhaps that was the problem with this book: the author seems to construct the novel around music rather than the other way round. I still liked the novel and would recommend it to others to read.

Having read both of Graeme Simsion's ' Rosie' novels, I was looking forward to this one but was left feeling disappointed.
It's not a bad novel but I didn't warm to Adam Sharp and didn't really care about his loves or dilemmas.
3 out of 10....

Firstly I have to say I loved this book. I liked everything about it, the story, the characters, the memories. not to mention the pretty good sex scenes, but above all the atmosphere the book creates just made me loose myself inside it. Having not read any Graeme Simsion before I did not know what to expect but this story had me gripped from page one and it was so interesting to have this told from a male perspective. Finding himself approaching 50 Adam Sharp, piano player by night and IT Consultant by day revisits his lost love in order to find himself. Anyone who has ever had an epic love or the feeling that one might have got away will enjoy this novel. Anyone who appreciates good music, wine and holidaying in France will also enjoy this story. In places this book is funny, it is sensitive, it is abandoned and it is sensible. It brings a completion to the characters story that many readers may empathise with. It is a charming book and the playlist isn’t bad either. I absolutely recommend it and will be seeking out more from this writer.

Adam, an IT consultant, and Claire, have been together for 20 years, but he's always wondered what could have been with Angellina Brown, the love of his life. When she gets back in touch all these years later, despite every ounce of sense telling him to steer clear, he can't help but get twinges of what he felt all those years ago.

Not my usual genre, but found it quite entertaining. Good three-dimensional characters, and some great dialogue in places - good enough to make me go back to his earlier work like The Rosie Project.

I enjoyed The Rosie Project and was therefor pleased to have the opportunity to try another of Graeme Simsion's books, and was not disappointed.
I enjoyed this story, not only for the dynamics of the relationships it deals with, but definitely for the playlist behind it all. I guess all of us have favourite tracks and music that reminds us of people or places but this book takes that to another level, including introducing me to unfamiliar tracks, or looking at familiar ones with new ears!

I was so disappointed with this and I'd been looking forward to it so much. I loved the Rosie Project, and although I didn't like the Rosie Effect as much it was still quite good fun. But this has none of the warmth of those novels and very little of the wit and is peopled by characters that made me angry for their self-centred-ness and bad decision making. I'm not sure what Simsion was trying to create, but I'm hoping this is a misstep and his next book is back towards the Rosie project end of his writing.

Maybe it's unfair to expect an author to produce another book like The Rose Project - but I was at least expecting some of the same style of writing. Unfortunately I was disappointed.
The book is told from the perspective of a 49 year old man - which I welcome as a lot of books these days don't cover this age group. Adam begins his story in the present day and then begins to relive his encounter with Angelina 20 years ago.
I really didn't see the point in going over the events of 20 years ago, but as the book progressed and he reunites with Angelina in the present day, I began to see why the book had been written that way.
Maybe it was a mid life crisis Adam was having - the grass is always greener on the other side - I don't know - but it did nothing to engage me. I disliked the character of Adam the book playing out like a badly directed movie, and when he becomes part of a menage a trois I lost a lot of interest in the book.
The hook of the book is it is based around music - unfortunately I don't have a great knowledge of music and maybe that was why I also did not take to this book. Pages of music trivia did nothing to engage me.
All in all it is a book that is worth a read - just don't expect the wonderful writing shown in The Rosie Project and maybe your expectations will be met better than mine were.
I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Netgalley for a copy of the book for review.

A very lightweight but enjoyable love story. The characters didn't really jump off the page and the story was a bit rambling but I didn't struggle to read it. Interesting conclusion.

A pleasant read but not outstanding. I expected more and plan to read again. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read the book.

THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS, because I really can’t think how to write it without them.

I expected something more from this book. I’ve read Graeme Simsion’s other novels – loved THE ROSIE PROJECT but was slightly let down by THE ROSIE EFFECT – so I expected something lighter and more humorous.

Instead, I got a protagonist I absolutely hated. If this is the best of Adam Sharp, I dread to think what the worst of him would be. Adam Sharp lives his entire life haunted by this actress he had a fling with back in the ’80s. When she gets back in touch, he throws away his entire life just to meet her. Literally. This guy leaves his girlfriend, jacks in his job, and buggers off to France to meet her… AND HER HUSBAND.

Also the whole thing with Adam and Angelina and Charlie in France? Weird as hell. This whole book is just people cheating on their spouses. I feel like if it had been Adam and Angelina reconnecting, getting to know each other again, blablabla, I might have enjoyed it. The way this story was, I really didn’t.

I’m honestly sad about it because I did enjoy Simsion’s other books so much. Perhaps his next offering will be better? I can hope.

I found this book very disappointing. I seemed to be reading it for a very long time without getting anywhere. A very slight concept which just seemed to go on and on. I wasn't very interested in the characters and the whole book just felt rather pointless!

This book was very intriguing. What started off as just a middle aged man receiving a message from an old flame and reminiscing, soon became something far more intense. The story is illustrated beautifully by the soundtrack that really adds depth and meaning to the history of the love affair. A really enjoyable read that is crammed with nostalgia. Excellent.

First published in the UK in 2017; published by St. Martin's Press on May 2, 2017

The publisher classifies this as women’s fiction and, not being a woman, I would have given it a pass except for my enjoyment of Graeme Simsion’s two Rosie novels. The Best of Adam Sharp isn’t anything like the Rosie novels, which might trouble readers who expect an author to keep writing the same book over and over (as many successful authors do). On the other hand, since the Rosie novels were hilarious and this one is only slightly amusing and only moderately interesting, it’s difficult not to make a comparison and find Adam Sharp wanting.

Adam is pushing past the boundaries of middle age but not yet a senior citizen. His partnership with Claire is at the friendship stage, passion having fled long ago. So when Adam gets an email from Angelina, more than 20 years after he last saw her, he wonders if it might change the world. That seems unlikely, since the email says “Hi” and nothing else.

The first half of the novel is largely the story of Adam and Angelina — how they met, how Adam met Angelina’s husband (a total jerk, of course), why their relationship failed — with occasional returns to the present, in the form of an email or instant message. Of course, Adam and Angelina are both in new relationships, but they are apparently reaching out to each other in search of the spark that their lives are missing.

The first half is familiar, even a bit ordinary. It occasionally relies on cliché (Adam and Angelina tell each other “the story of us,” a phrase and concept that has been seriously overused). Fortunately, a respectable amount of character development adds some freshness to a tired plot. Still, for all his charm — he plays the piano and sings and he’s considerate and respectful, who wouldn’t love the guy? — Adam is more a fantasy male than a real one. He’s too perfect, too sensitive to needs of the women he adores, too willing to adore them at the drop of a hat. And too willing to recognize his faults and change them, which as we all know, is the sort of good intention that guys manage to make good on for about two weeks before reverting to their true selves.

The second half, told in the present, is more interesting, even a bit daring at times, but the story is told in such a dispassionate, detached voice that I found it hard to make an emotional investment in Adam’s evolving life. The second half offers more insight into the characters, but not enough to make me care much about them. That’s an issue that can be overcome with a fascinating story or scintillating prose, but neither of those are present here. There are also several sex scenes that are too clichéd to be anything other than dull. The ending is safe, and in that sense predictable.

Putting aside everything else, the book is a tribute to the power of music, and I enjoyed reading about songs I love and a couple that I listened to for the first time after Adam mentioned them. There’s even a playlist at the end of the book, heavily weighted to 1960s artists, which explains my familiarity with most of the songs. That isn’t enough to save the novel, but it is enough to boost it toward a very cautious recommendation.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

I can’t help but think that is one of the many wet dreams men in the middle of a mid-life crisis have, especially the whole ‘sex with no strings with another man’s wife while he is there looking on’ scenario. Yeh, no that was a wee bit out there, but hey anything goes right. Well nearly anything.

Adam is a middle-aged bloke in a comfortable relationship with Claire and has the liberty of working at his own pace for only half of the year. Clearly the grass isn’t green enough on his side of the fence though, which leaves him vulnerable to ghosts of the past.

When an ex reconnects he finds himself falling into an emotional trap. He quickly crosses the line from innocent banter to outright flirting. Before he knows it he is cheating emotionally. Things come to a head with his partner and all of a sudden he is on his way to meet his long lost love and her hubby. The rest is a roller coaster of emotions and expectations.

Playlists in stories are very much an en vogue feature of our era. It’s not really my cup of tea. The occasional musical reference for an important moment is fine, but being bombarded with music can interfere with the story. It can be detrimental to the flow. Saying that, I do think Simsion manages to create the perfect balance, perhaps because two of the main characters are singers/musicians. Every moment between them is captured in time with a specific melody and/or song.

It is the unapologetic romp of a middle-aged man who wants to have his cake and eat it too.
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of The Best of Adam Sharp.*

I enjoyed The Rosie Project by Simsion and assumed I'd like this book too. You know what they say about assumptions...

Adam Sharp is a middle-aged man who had an unlikely romance with an Australian soapstar decades ago that largely ended due to circumstance/moving away rather than the romance petering out.

Nevertheless, he did get on with his life, entering a long-term relationship with his partner Claire and putting Angelina sort of out of mind. Until she emails one day...

A few emails later and he's deep into an emotional affair. That's what the main character tells us. It's kind of the problem with the whole book. There's a lot of navel gazing, and a lot of telling us what he feels, but little of it rings true, and little of it is shown. When we get flashbacks to his old love, I never believed they had this super duper romance. I couldn't buy it. Didn't buy it in the present either.

Adam's not a nice guy. He thinks he is, but he's a cliche, a middle-aged man caught up in a fantasy about lost love, making excuses as to why his current relationship (which seems fine) wouldn't last anyway.

<spoiler>He breaks up with Claire so he's 'free' to go and see Angelina, and it feels as though the break up is to make his actions acceptable to the reader. But he still goes off and willingly jumps into Angelina's bed, even though they're staying with her husband. Ew. Things get considerably weirder (and less believable) after that. </spoiler>

I found him selfish, unlikeable, and the situation he finds himself in unbelievable. As for all the bloody piano playing... it felt like it was trying to be a High Fidelity sort of book, capturing awesome tracks and fixing it into a particular time, rather than being dated by the tracks. Unfortunately it didn't work for me.

I really wanted to like this book, but a bloke's mid-life crisis sexual fantasy is not an interesting topic for me. Your mileage may vary. You could read it as a message to fight for the love that we have, to not let marriages and relationships grow stale, to forgive and move on. It does sort of say all that. But it does it from the point of view of a total dick. Oh well.

I have nothing to compare this to as I haven't read any of Graeme Simsion before but on the whole this was an ok read.
The book is based around Adam a 50 year old looking back and in my point of view being totally obsessed over his first proper love. The book has a strange storyline but wasn't unreadable at all. In the first part of the book Adam looks back over his affair with angelina and everything seems rosy, then they part ways and now she has appeared back in his life. The second part deals with the now, his week in France with angelina and the few twists and turns that are just around the corner.
This book makes you appreciate what you have and not everything is greener on the other side of the fence. I found Adam to be quite a self centred individual but did warm to him more towards the end of the book.
I would like to thank netgalley and penguin random house for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.