This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed by Susan Lobban
Amy lives a life of luxury, filling her
days with shopping and meeting friends, while a nanny looks after the kids. Kate
has little in common with her younger sister, having married her college
sweetheart after falling pregnant unexpectedly and now lives a contented yet
frugal life. Their mother, Jennifer lost her husband Michael two years ago and
is still coming to terms with her loss.
All three women must face struggles in each of their lives. Jennifer has a secret from her past that has tortured her for years. Amy’s charmed life comes crashing down when her husband’s business crumbles overnight. While at the same time Kate begins to question her marriage after a stranger comes to her rescue.
Never before, has each woman needed the support of the other more, but will it drive them apart instead?
The book centres round 3 females in the same family – Jennifer and her 2 daughters Kate and Amy. Unforseen circumstances mean that they need each to stay close in their time of need. Originally published as IOU, I feel the title change suits the storyline better.
Each chapter alternates between each woman’s story, which is the style of book I love to read. I found that each chapter left off at a crucial point and then moved onto to another woman, so you are desperate to get back to the story line you were following but then you get hooked on the next and so on until you have devoured the whole book!
Jennifer had the most intrigue as her storyline flashed back to her past, when she was in the first flush of love with her future husband. This is also when the mysterious Hugh is introduced into the mix and he is the source of regret and guilt that plagues Jennifer’s otherwise happy and idyllic marriage. The only niggle I had with the flashbacks were that it was meant to be the sixties as mentioned in the synopsis, but it could have been any decade and the description was further confused by the mention of a Billy Ocean song that was not released until the mid seventies! It is only a little thing but if the sixties had not been mentioned I would not have questioned it.
Anyway niggles, aside I thought Kate and Amy’s characters were just as interesting as Jennifer and I liked how their sisterly relationship changed as the dynamics within their marriages altered dramatically. I thought all three stories were strong and they kept me gripped throughout, even when they became interlinked they remained realistic. I was also impressed with the ending as the author did not resort to simply tying everything up happily and as such I could have carried on reading even after the epilogue.
I would highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a good family drama. I was hooked from the start and really felt I knew each character by the end.
8/10