Difference between revisions of "Newest Women's Fiction Reviews"
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[[Category:New Reviews|Women's Fiction]] | [[Category:New Reviews|Women's Fiction]] | ||
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| + | |title=My Husband Next Door | ||
| + | |author=Catherine Alliott | ||
| + | |rating=4 | ||
| + | |genre=Women's Fiction | ||
| + | |summary=Ella's marriage to the artist Sebastian Monclair has gone downhill just as quickly as Sebastian's once-stellar career did. With him living in an outhouse and her seeking comfort with charming gardener Ludo, who she's not quite ready to have an affair with, their children are caught in the fallout. When Ella's parents go through their own marital problems and her overbearing mum moves in with her, will it give Ella the push she needs to take action? | ||
| + | |amazonuk=<amazonuk>0141047801</amazonuk> | ||
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{{newreview | {{newreview | ||
|author=Deborah Schwartz | |author=Deborah Schwartz | ||
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|summary= Nick was born in England in 1790 and is rather partial to pickled bits of pig and beef jelly. He finds this rather difficult to explain to his girlfriends, him being a young man and this being America, 2013. His 19th century Napoleonic war wounds are hard to explain away too. His second lease on life in the 21st century is thanks to the mysterious Guild whose main rule is that no one can return to the time or home country from which they originated. He doesn't mind as they pay him well for his silence but all this is about to change. Eventually they seem to think that they can send him back and won't take no for an answer. Any thought of a possible catch is suppressed by thoughts of Julia, the girl Nick left behind in England. It's all a bit fishy though. | |summary= Nick was born in England in 1790 and is rather partial to pickled bits of pig and beef jelly. He finds this rather difficult to explain to his girlfriends, him being a young man and this being America, 2013. His 19th century Napoleonic war wounds are hard to explain away too. His second lease on life in the 21st century is thanks to the mysterious Guild whose main rule is that no one can return to the time or home country from which they originated. He doesn't mind as they pay him well for his silence but all this is about to change. Eventually they seem to think that they can send him back and won't take no for an answer. Any thought of a possible catch is suppressed by thoughts of Julia, the girl Nick left behind in England. It's all a bit fishy though. | ||
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0718176987</amazonuk> | |amazonuk=<amazonuk>0718176987</amazonuk> | ||
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Revision as of 09:39, 28 September 2013
My Husband Next Door by Catherine Alliott
Ella's marriage to the artist Sebastian Monclair has gone downhill just as quickly as Sebastian's once-stellar career did. With him living in an outhouse and her seeking comfort with charming gardener Ludo, who she's not quite ready to have an affair with, their children are caught in the fallout. When Ella's parents go through their own marital problems and her overbearing mum moves in with her, will it give Ella the push she needs to take action? Full review...
Woman on Top by Deborah Schwartz
Kate and Jake had one of those brilliant marriages that looks set to last forever along with two wonderful children. But Fate is always hiding around the corner with its foot stuck out, waiting to trip you up and Jake was diagnosed with cancer. They both fought to do everything that they could to find a cure but within two years Kate was a widow. For nearly a decade she dedicated herself to the children and to making a career as a healthcare lawyer so that she could support the family. When she was ready to look for another relationship she met Len. It wasn't his looks that attracted her or his stature (she'd hastily searched out her flat shoes), but he did seem to have something about him. Full review...
The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks
An elderly man set off on a car journey when the weather was so bad that he really shouldn't have taken the risk. He couldn't quite remember what caused him to skid off the road, but he was trapped in the car which had slithered down a steep embankment. The weather was worsening and he wasn't optimistic about the chances of being found. For ninety-one-year-old Ira Levinson his only comfort and hope was the presence of his adored wife, Ruth, who'd been dead for nine years. Some way away Sophia Danko's life was complicated. She'd been dating Brian for two years but finished the relationship when he cheated on her for the second time - only Brian couldn't accept that it was over. That was how Sophia met Luke - he stepped in when Brian's attentions became just a little too pressing. Full review...
Tempting Fate by Jane Green
Sometimes people make mistakes. It only takes a moment to do something wrong and if you’re lucky, it only takes a moment to put it right. Or it can take months or years. Some mistakes you just have to live with, forever. Gabby has made one of those mistakes. The sort you can never really come back from. Full review...
The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
Cecelia, Tess and Rachel are three women spread across the generations, and spread across Australia. At first glance they have little in common, but as this book progresses, their lives move closer and staggering links appear between the threesome. Full review...
A Private View by Crystalle Valentino
Jemma is a model who thinks nothing of photographers taking an interest in her. In fact, she rather likes it. After all, that’s the sort of thing that leads to more work. But when the renowned Dominic Vane comes after her, the works he has in mind is something a little different. As an erotic romance, you can imagine what he wants her body for. Hint: it’s not just as a clothes horse. And so, thanks to a helpfully understanding boyfriend with whom she’s in an open relationship, Jemma decides to welcome Dominic into her life… and her bed. Except for some reason, he’s playing hard to get. The more he eludes her, the more she wants him, and their initial relationship turns on its head as she becomes the one now pursuing him. Full review...
Not What It Seems by Pamela Fudge
Owen was a widower with two young children and Evie was recently divorced with three children of about the same age. Friends introduced them - in the way of doing a little matchmaking - but although they liked each other and the kids all got on well there was no spark between them. They both needed help though and they made a business arrangement. Until the children were old enough to leave home they would share a house and the parenting of the children but they would not be involved in a sexual relationship. Friends and acquaintances found this difficult to accept and Evie grew tired of explaining that the setup was Not What It Seems. When we meet Owen and Evie the last child has just left home and as the arrangement has come to an end they're both moving into their own houses. Full review...
Best Laid Plans by Patricia Fawcett
The Fletcher family have a removal business but it's been hit - as have so many other businesses - by the recession. Frank Fletcher has been lucky in having the support of his wife Christine, who has money of her own which she's been willing to inject into the business, but he counts himself less lucky in his son Mike. Mike works for his father for what he describes as 'a pittance' and suffers being publicly humiliated by him rather too often. Frank would like to sack Mike, but doesn't feel able to take such a drastic step. To add to the problem, Christine is very fond of Mike's wife, Monique - to the detriment of her own daughter, Amy who works in retail - much to her father's chagrin. He'd love to have her in the business rather than Mike. It's very complicated. Full review...
Familiar by J Robert Lennon
Is there a greater change in the life of a middle-aged woman than the death of her teenage son? Elisa might have thought not, having been forced to bury fifteen year old Silas, and try and move on with her husband Derek and the year-older son, Sam. But a greater change occurs on the way back from her annual, solo pilgrimage to his grave – something very weird happens to the universe. She pops from one car to another, from under a cloudless sky to a slightly greyer one – and from her self as Elisa to a world where people call her Lisa, where she is plumper, in a different job, stiil married to Derek in the same home – but still the mother of two young men… Full review...
Walk Me Home by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Carly and Jen’s mother is dead and they have no other living relative. Scared that they will be placed in care in separate homes, the sisters decide that they have to find their mother’s former boyfriend, Teddy, one of the only people to have shown them any care and affection in their short lives. The only problem is that they are not sure where he is now, other than in California, and have no money or means of getting there. They decide to walk but how long will it take and what will they find waiting for them when they finally reach their destination? Full review...
Pack Up Your Troubles by Pam Weaver
This book opens on VE Day. Connie - who has been doing war work - and some friends are on their way to Trafalgar Square to celebrate. Connie had hoped her boyfriend would be with her, but he’s stood her up... however she’s determined to enjoy herself anyway. She meets some other girls, and gets chatting to Eva. They find themselves parted from the rest of their group, but have fun anyway, including playing in a fountain with some soldiers... and are caught on camera doing so. Full review...
Midsummer Magic by Julia Williams
After a whirlwind romance, Josie and Harry are engaged to be married and she is putting every waking hour into planning the wedding down to the finest detail. This includes taking Harry, bridesmaid Diana and best man Ant down to her parents’ home in Cornwall for the weekend as that is where the wedding is going to be taking place. It should be a weekend of excited planning and preparations but, unfortunately, things don’t turn out entirely as Josie hopes. She turns into the 'bride from Hell' driving all her friends crazy with boredom as she talks non-stop about the wedding plans in the minutest of details. In order to liven things up, Harry and Ant persuade the girls to take part in a hypnosis experiment which will make them plight their troths to their true loves at midnight on Midsummer Night’s Eve. As you might imagine, all sorts of mayhem occurs as well as a few home truths shared. Full review...
As the Cards Fall by Christina Green
At the end of the nineteenth century Bella Reed was working as a companion to a lady in Exeter and she had a gentleman friend, Jack Courtney. Jack was a solicitor and their friendship seemed to grow steadily - the the extent that Bella suspected he might be about to propose. The letter from her cousin rather upset the applecart, not least because she had no idea that she had a cousin. Since the deaths of her parents she'd thought of herself as an orphan without any relatives - but Lizzie asked that she visit the family home on Dartmoor as her Uncle William was ill and wanted to see her. A weekend trip didn't seem unreasonable and Jack escorted her to the station and said that he would meet her on Monday when she returned. Full review...
The Curiosity by Stephen P Kiernan
Microbiologist Kate Philo is a member of an Arctic expedition sent to locate life forms frozen in ice flows. Striking it lucky, she and the team find a human whom they reanimate once they get him back to their American lab. However new life brings new challenges. The man died over a century earlier and much has changed. The press is now omnipotent, his 'resurrection' offends religious fundamentalists and scientific ethics never saw this problem coming. To Kate, though, he's not a problem. He's Jeremiah, afraid, bewildered and in need of an ally. Full review...
Sweet Salt Air by Barbara Delinsky
It's ten years since Charlotte and Nicole were close. Since then Nicole has married Julian, an eminent surgeon and Charlotte has made her way as a writer. She has a base in New York, but it's little bigger than a cupboard and is only a place to stay between foreign assignments. Nicole lives in Philadelphia but still spends her summers at her family's property off the coast of Maine. This year is going to be the last time though. Her father died suddenly and her mother can't bear to go back to Quinniepeague, so Nicole is returning to the island to clear the house for sale. And she's going to write a cookbook. Full review...
Wonder Women by Rosie Fiore
Jo Hockley has always wanted to run her business but real life has got in the way. Married to Lee and mother to two small children, she has enough on her plate looking after all of them. However, when she dreams about an innovative kids’ clothing store with play facilities, she cannot let the idea go. She is sure that all mums would welcome the opportunity to shop while their children are able to play boisterously supervised by friendly staff. Encouraged by Lee, she investigates the idea further and before she knows what is happening, she is renting premises, planning interiors and hiring staff. Holly and Mel come on board and together, all three women work hard to make Jo’s dream become a reality. Full review...
By My Side by Alice Peterson
Cass is a medical student - she loves her work, and she also loves her boyfriend Sean. Tired, hung over and rather distracted, she walks into the street without noticing a fast-moving lorry coming her way... and her life is forever changed. Full review...
Things We Need by Jennifer Close
Claire Coffey used to live in New York with a successful job and a great fiancé; her sister Martha used to be a nurse; and her brother Max should have been looking forward to finishing his final year at college before embarking on an exciting and interesting career. However, things don’t always turn out the way that one expects which is why all three siblings end up back at the family home needing the support of their parents. Full review...
The Son In Law by Charity Norman
When someone is released from prison, after serving time for manslaughter, you don’t necessarily expect their first task to be tracking down the victim’s family. Perhaps their own family might be a more normal first port of call. But when you’re Joseph Scott, the victim’s family is your family, because the person you killed is your wife, Zoe. Let out after three years, Joseph is desperate to be reunited with his children, Scarlet, Theo and Ben, but his wife’s parents, who have had custody of their grandchildren since he was locked away, are determined not to let that happen. Full review...
Revenge Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
Ten years after her disastrous stint at Runway, playing slave to Queen of Fashion Miranda Priestly in a job ‘a million girls would die for’, Andy Sachs finally has her life back on track. Full review...
Brooklyn Girls by Gemma Burgess
22-year-old Pia Keller has screwed up again. She should be living the dream, sharing a Brooklyn townhouse with her four best friends - but one too many drunken escapades leads to her getting sacked from her new job. After hearing this, her parents are ready to summon her to live with them abroad. They clearly don't think she's mature enough to look after herself - can she prove them wrong? Full review...
Two for Joy by Helen Chandler
Two for Joy is Helen Chandler’s first novel and is immensely enjoyable from the very first pages where the reader meets Julia and her best friend Toby who is telling her about how he intends to go down on one knee and propose to his girlfriend, Ruby. Although outwardly delighted, internally Julia experiences some uncomfortable feelings that she doesn’t really recognise and does not want to acknowledge. Come the big night, she is desperately miserable at the thought of Toby’s and Ruby’s romantic evening and can’t bring herself to do anything other than mope around in her pyjamas. Full review...
Promise to Obey by Stella Whitelaw
Jessica Harlow let her London flat and undertook a three-month nursing contract at Upton Hall to fill in the time before she took up a permanent post in Sheffield. It didn't start well: she got soaked waiting to be picked up at the deserted railway station and then she discovered that she was to nurse Lady Grace Coleman who was recovering from a hip-replacement operation and look after her two grandchildren. Five-year-old Lily was a delight, but overweight and asthmatic. Eight-year-old Daniel was autistic and on top of this Lady Grace was, er, difficult. What made her stay? Well, despite a humiliating romantic experience with a doctor in London she was rather taken by Lucas Coleman, a talented plastic surgeon - and she was obstinate enough to decide that she was going to make a go of it. Besides, where would she live if she left Upton Hall? Full review...
The River of No Return by Bee Ridgway
Nick was born in England in 1790 and is rather partial to pickled bits of pig and beef jelly. He finds this rather difficult to explain to his girlfriends, him being a young man and this being America, 2013. His 19th century Napoleonic war wounds are hard to explain away too. His second lease on life in the 21st century is thanks to the mysterious Guild whose main rule is that no one can return to the time or home country from which they originated. He doesn't mind as they pay him well for his silence but all this is about to change. Eventually they seem to think that they can send him back and won't take no for an answer. Any thought of a possible catch is suppressed by thoughts of Julia, the girl Nick left behind in England. It's all a bit fishy though. Full review...
