This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed by Victoria Sutton
Recently it was announced that Jane Green would
be publishing two books a year. No sooner had that news sunk in an advance copy
of Tempting Fate landed on my
doorstep and I could hardly believe my luck – I do love being a reviewer for
Novelicious! Her last book The Accidental
Husband was one of the first I reviewed here and I truly loved it and could
not wait to see how Tempting Fate
would compare…
Gabby has been happily married to Elliott for twenty years. They have two secondary school aged daughters and live, as she calls it, a ‘pots and pans’ life of perfect domesticity in suburbia. Although Gabby has never doubted that Elliott is the man for her and is certain that she would never consider being unfaithful she is feeling restless as middle age descends on her. She is afraid that time is slipping away, feels less needed by her growing daughters and she is starting to wonder what more there might be to life.
In walks Matt – young, handsome, successful, and interested in her. She doesn’t think for a moment that anything would ever happen between them but she cannot deny that she is flattered by the attention he gives her at a time when she was feeling most invisible. What starts as a friendship becomes an infatuation with devastating consequences for Gabby and her family. Immediately regretful of her actions Gabby is desperate to right her wrong but the path to redemption is strewn with obstacles…
As in The Accidental Husband, this latest Jane Green novel deals with the after effects of an event that acts as a turning point for the main characters. While I might not have agreed with Gabby’s actions her situation is presented in such a way that I could relate to why she had acted this way. Although the focus is primarily on the marital relationship there are a number of sub plots which add extra depth to the novel – I thought the new found relationship between Gabby and her mother was especially touching and that with her friend Claire particularly heart-breaking.
I was invested completely in the characters and could hardly put the book down, I was so eager to find out how things would turn out for everyone. Jane Green masterfully takes a difficult subject and handles it delicately, keeping it realistic but still leaving us with a happy glow. I adored this book so much so that I wanted to read it again immediately after I had finished.
If you haven’t read grown up Jane Green yet then you don’t know what you are missing – already I am eagerly awaiting her new book and I am thrilled I only have to wait until next spring!
10/10