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
Daniel has it all, a loving
family, a large circle of friends and a group of thriving hotels. However,
while on holiday at his Italian farmhouse tragedy strikes and the women in his
life must pick up the pieces.
Daniel’s wife, Rose, is proud of her happy marriage and the fact that their love has been unwavering through the years. Therefore when she discovers a mysterious text on her husband’s phone, it is all the more shocking. Between this and her role as mediator for her two daughters, Anna and Jess, Rose realises her idyllic home life will never be the same again.
Eve was Daniel’s friend first, but when introduced to Rose the women become firm friends, and are a vital part of each other’s lives. She is there for Rose in her time of crisis, whilst also juggling her own troubles in both her home and work life. On the surface everyone’s life may seem content but delve deeper and secrets and lies emerge.
Right from the first sentence I was transported from a snowy day spent on the couch to sun drenched Italy. The author’s imagery was fantastic and I felt that I was standing beside Rose while she chops tomatoes in the kitchen of Casa Rosa.
The tag line is “How well do you really know your husband?” and this intrigued me straight away. I love reading about husbands who are not who they seem (as long as it is not my own!). As soon as Rose discovers the text which intrudes on her relaxing holiday, I could not put the book down until she had discovered the truth. Furthermore, just as I thought all would be revealed, the story takes a different turn and I continued to be engrossed by Rose’s turmoil.
This book is so much more than a simple husband having an affair story. Its twists and turns add an extra element, which make it anything but run of the mill. I thought I had things figured out a number of times, only to be surprised yet again. Rose was the central character, but her best friend Eve provided a strong side story, even if this was more predictable. I am always interested to see different sides of the same family and what goes on behind closed doors.
The only weak point I found with this book was that I thought it was too long. The story comes to a natural end about 50 pages before the end and I don’t think the additional pages added anything to the story.
This book is a great holiday read, especially for someone looking for something with a bit more substance than the usual summer reads. Just be warned reading on holiday may result in sun burn as you forget to apply lotion!
8/10