Category Archives: Women’s Fiction

SOME DAYS ARE DARK by Miranda Smith

BOOKOUTURE

DESCRIPTION

When you have nothing to lose, how far will you go to save yourself?

Everyone in Whitaker was sure Olivia Miller shot her husband, until Marcus Rowe confessed. But a month before the trial, Marcus has been proved innocent—putting Olivia back in the frame.

Olivia is the first to admit she isn’t perfect. She’s made a lot of mistakes in her life, the worst of which was marrying Dane Miller. She fell for his kind eyes, his lack of judgement—she thought she could be free with him. That was before the chaotic parties, the dangerous friends, the lies… But one bad choice shouldn’t mean a life sentence. Now her friends are turning away from her, gossiping about her wherever she goes, wondering when she’ll be arrested this time.

Olivia isn’t going to run from the stares, from the whispers, from the doubts. She won’t leave her beloved son behind, or give her ex-husband Frank and his new wife any excuse to stop her seeing him. And if the police and the world think she’s guilty, there’s only one thing she can do—prove her innocence herself.

But if Marcus didn’t murder her husband, then the real killer is still out there.

And they’re not going to want Olivia stirring up the past…

An absolutely gripping, heart-pounding suspense novel about bad choices and second chances. Perfect for fans of Gone Girl, Karin Slaughter and Lisa Gray.

MOMO’S REVIEW

This is a great twisted thriller which had me hooked from the start. It alternates between before and after the murder which keeps your mid zipping between making it all the harder to try to predict the storyline.

I found it an interesting read and very very well written. The author writes with a refreshing tone. There are so many twists in the story, I found it impossible to guess how it would end! My perfect read!!

This review is being shared as part of the blog tour by Bookouture Annonymous!

My sincere thanks to BOOKOUTURE and NETGALLEY for the opportunity to read and review ‘Some Days Are Dark’ by Miranda Smith. 

All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway. 

All my reviews can be found on my blog momobookdiary.com

BOOK DETAILS

  • TITLE: Some Days Are Dark
  • AUTHOR: Miranda Smith
  • PUBLISHER: Bookouture
  • PUBLICATION DATE: 16 March 2020

REVIEW PUBLISHED (shared to the following sites on publication)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Miranda Smith writes psychological and domestic suspense. She is drawn to stories about ordinary people in extraordinary situations. Before completing her first novel, she worked as a newspaper staff writer and a secondary English teacher. She lives in East Tennessee with her husband and three young children.  

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

THE LILAC HOUSE by Barbara Josselsohn

Lake Summers Book 1

BOOKOUTURE

DESCRIPTION

Can one summer house bring two broken hearts together?

Summer escapes to Lilac House have always been a source of comfort for Anna Harris. Though things will never be the same since her husband’s death, she knows that it is there, nestled in Lake Summers in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains, that she and her children Zac and Evie can begin to build a new life.

The house is just as beautiful as Anna remembers, and caught up in the rhythm of small town life, helping her Aunt Hope run the little shop on Main Street, Anna begins to feel a sense of herself she hasn’t felt in years. Then she meets Aidan. Handsome, strong and quiet, he also knows what’s it’s like to lose someone. In each other they recognise something they’ve both been missing and they feel a spark.

But Aidan’s past holds a different set of complications. He’s hiding a secret about why he came to Lake Summers. And just as the Lilac House finally starts to feel like home, Anna learns something devastating about Greg’s death that makes her question everything…

The summer might have brought Anna and Aidan together, but can Anna finally let go of the past now she really has the chance for a new beginning?

A beautiful story about moving on and finding yourself, The Lilac House will restore your faith in love and teach you that it’s never too late the find the person who will change your life. For fans of Carolyn Brown, Jenny Hale and Mary Alice Monroe.

MOMO’S REVIEW

This is a lovely book. It is a sweet tale of second chances.

The author draws the setting beautifully. I’d love to visit Summers Lake with its quaint little shops and quirky residents.

Anna’s emotional journey feels so real as we walk with her on her path to the future…it is just lovely.

This review is being shared as part of the blog tour by Bookouture Annonymous!

My sincere thanks to BOOKOUTURE and NETGALLEY for the opportunity to read and review ‘The Lilac House’ by Barbara Josselsohn. 

All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway. 

All my reviews can be found on my blog momobookdiary.com

BOOK DETAILS

  • TITLE: The Lilac House
  • AUTHOR: Barbara Josselsohn
  • PUBLISHER: Bookouture
  • PUBLICATION DATE: 13 March 2020

REVIEW PUBLISHED (shared to the following sites on publication)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Barbara Josselsohn is novelist and journalist. Her articles and essays appear in a range of publications including New York Magazine, American Baby, The New York Times, Parents Magazine, and Writers’ Digest. Online, you can see her work on WorkingMother.com, NextAvenue.org, and GrownandFlown.com. She teaches novel writing and creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y., and other venues.  

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

THE MAN I LOVED BEFORE by Anna Mansell

BOOKOUTURE

DESCRIPTION

‘Dear Ben, I can only write you this letter because I know you’ll never read it…’

When Jem writes to her ex Ben, it’s to explain everything. All the secrets she kept from him – from the little lies she’d sometimes tell about how new those shoes really were, or how many glasses of wine she’d had that evening… right up to The Big Thing that happened on the night that changed everything. But she never expects he will actually see what she’s written.

She is just writing because she thinks it will help to get the words out. Later, she resolves, she’ll burn the letter, and then the past will be in the past for good.

Because Jem is doing fine now. She’s busy: working, spending time with her best friend, and looking after her mother, who’s in remission from cancer. She’s even dating again and has just met a guy who she thinks she could actually fall for. At long last, Jem is really, definitely somewhere close to happy.

But her mum finds the letter and thinks she’s doing Jem a favour when she posts it to Ben. And Jem’s new, carefully rebuilt life begins to unravel in ways she could never have imagined. Then, when her mother gets ill again, she finds herself asking who has the key to her future. The man she’s falling in love with now? Or the man she loved before?

A heartbreaking, beautifully honest novel that will stay with readers long after they finish it. Perfect for fans of Diane Chamberlain, Amanda Prowse, and Susan Lewis.

MOMO’S REVIEW

This is such a wonderful book. It is an emotional rollercoaster which at times had me laughing and other times reaching for my tissues.

You fall into this story and immediately feel you are reading a story straight from the heart. Enthralling!

This review is being shared as part of the blog tour by Bookouture Annonymous!

My sincere thanks to BOOKOUTURE and NETGALLEY for the opportunity to read and review ‘THE MAN I LOVED BEFORE’ by ANNA MANSELL. 

All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway. 

All my reviews can be found on my blog momobookdiary.com

BOOK DETAILS

  • TITLE: The Man I Loved Before
  • AUTHOR: Anna Mansell
  • PUBLISHER: Bookouture
  • PUBLICATION DATE: 10 March 2020

REVIEW PUBLISHED (shared to the following sites on publication)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Anna Mansell

Anna had a brush with ‘fame’ as a magician’s assistant back in 1977. She later decided that being sawn in half by her magical performing father, at barely 6 months old, was too submissive a role. She vowed to channel the trauma into something much more pro-actively creative. Having failed at acting, singing and professional murder mystery parties (she was ALWAYS the one to die!), she fell to something much more solitary: writing. 

Anna lives on a dairy farm in Cornwall with her two children, her husband, and her ex-racing greyhound, Olive Dog.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver

PENGUIN BOOKS (UK)

DESCRIPTION

THE CAPTIVATING NEW NOVEL FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF ONE DAY IN DECEMBER Two love stories. One Impossible Choice. 

Lydia and Freddie. Freddie and Lydia. They’ve been together for almost a decade, and Lydia thinks their love is indestructible. 

But she’s wrong. Because on her 27th birthday, Freddie dies in a tragic accident.

So now it’s just Lydia, and all she wants to do is hide indoors and sob til her eyes fall out. But Lydia knows that Freddie would want her to live her life well. So, enlisting the help of his best friend and her sister Elle, she takes her first tentative steps into the world and starts to live – perhaps even to love – again.

But then something unbelievable happens, and Lydia gets another chance at her old life with Freddie. But what if there’s someone in her new life who wants her to stay?

A heart-breaking, uplifting story for fans of PS I Love You and Me Before You, this gorgeously romantic novel will make you laugh, cry and remind you of what a wonderful gift it is to love and to be loved.

MOMO’S REVIEW

I read, enjoyed, and loved Josie Silver’s debut novel ‘One Day in December’ and eagerly awaited the next book. This is it and it was worth waiting for!

As followers of my blog may know I don’t read the synopsis before the book and I am glad I didn’t with this one. I was shocked by the opening chapters and the tears were flowing for characters that I didn’t even know and had not bonded with – that’s what this author does with her words – be warned! Although Freddie dies at the start of the book we get to know him through the story and he is another lovely character from the mind of the lovely Josie Silver.

I felt completely drawn in and could’t put the book down. It was a book that I wanted to devour all at once, yet also didn’t want it to end. The writing is awesome – it is a gripping story which keeps you turning page after page. I highly recommend this book.

My sincere thanks to NETGALLEY and PENGUIN (UK) for the opportunity to read and review ‘THE TWO LIVES OF LYDIA BIRD’ by JOSIE SILVER ahead of publication day. 

All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway. 

All my reviews can be found on my blog momobookdiary.com

BOOK DETAILS

  • TITLE: The Two Lives of Lydia Bird
  • AUTHOR: Josie Silver
  • PUBLISHER: Penguin
  • PUBLICATION DATE: 5 March 2020

REVIEW PUBLISHED

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Josie Silver’s debut novel, One Day in December, was a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller and has been translated into more than twenty-five languages. Josie lives in a small town in the UK with her husband, their sons, and an ever-changing cast of animals.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

A HOPE FOR EMILY by KATE HEWITT

BOOKOUTURE

DESCRIPTION

Looking back, I wish I could find my way back to that moment. I’d snatch it and hold onto it and live in it for the rest of my life, if I could. When Emily could still throw her arms around me. Oh God, just give me that moment, or one like it again. That’s all I want.

From the moment Emily was born, reaching out with her tiny little star-shaped hand towards her mother, blinking with long eyelashes over soft blue eyes, she became Rachel’s whole world.

But Rachel’s worst nightmare comes true when a rare auto-immune illness leaves five-year-old Emily in a coma the doctors say she may never come out of. And Rachel has to make a heartbreaking decision—one that her ex-husband, Emily’s dad James, doesn’t agree with.

Terrified she’s going to lose her daughter for good, Rachel knows she must find a way to keep the hope alive for Emily. But there is only one person she can turn to for help to convince James—his new wife, Eva.

As an unlikely but powerful friendship develops between the two women, both Rachel and Eva will have to ask themselves—what is truly the right choice for the tiny, fragile little girl who lies between them?

A beautiful story that will break your heart into a million pieces, perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult, Diane Chamberlain and Susan Lewis.

MOMO’S REVIEW

This is such a lovely book. It is full of emotion which at times can leave the reader feeling completely devastated whilst ensuring you keep reading and reading. I read it in a couple of sittings as I felt so gripped I couldn’t put it down and walk away. I am not a parent and I felt very strongly throughout, can only imagine how much deeper those feelings will be for someone who is a parent.

Kate Hewitt writes beautifully and takes the reader on an emotional heart-wrenching, mind-blowing journey. Have a box of tissues nearby, they are needed as much as the mug of tea and biscuits!

This review is being shared as part of the blog tour by Bookouture Annonymous!

My sincere thanks to BOOKOUTURE and NETGALLEY for the opportunity to read and review ‘A HOPE FOR EMILY’ by KATE HEWITT. 

All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway. 

All my reviews can be found on my blog momobookdiary.com

BOOK DETAILS

  • TITLE: A Hope for Emily
  • AUTHOR: Kate Hewitt
  • PUBLISHER: Bookouture
  • PUBLICATION DATE: 20 February 2020

REVIEW PUBLISHED

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kate Hewitt

Kate Hewitt is the author of many romance and women’s fiction novels. A former New Yorker and now an American ex-pat, she lives in a small town on the Welsh border with her husband, five children, and their overly affectionate Golden Retriever. Whatever the genre, she enjoys telling stories that tackle real issues and touch people’s lives. 

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

MORE THAN A MUM by CHARLENE ALLCOTT

TRANSWORLD DIGITAL (digital format)

DESCRIPTION

Mother: a woman considered in relation to her child or children.

Wife: a woman considered in relation to her spouse.

Shouldn’t there be more?

Alison has built her life around her family. Every day she packs lunches, rushes to work, and breaks up her daughter’s squabbles. She’s bored, restless and hungry for some excitement.

Perhaps the charismatic Frank could be what she’s missing. But is Frank all he makes out to be? And what if a new, glamorous life isn’t quite what she needs?

MOMO’S REVIEW

I am excited to be involved in the blog tour for this witty, emotional lovely book. First glance at the cover and I knew I’d be hooked! The blurb caught my interest and as soon as I opened it up and started reading it was clear I was right – this was going to be a great read.

More Than A Mum is a beautifully written book which shines a spotlight on relationships – within the family and those friends we choose to surround ourselves with. This is an emotionally fuelled book – heartbreak and heartwarming, funny and fresh – it truly is a delight to read. It will make you think and leads to pondering questions, decisions and where you go from here…

I don’t have children but I do enjoy stories like this – where the mundane daily living is rocked, questions asked leading to decisions that need to be made.

The author has told an emotionally genuine tale whilst still being a funny and joyful read.

I found this book captivating, witty and an easy read and would happily recommend it. Don’t take my word for it, have a look at the other bloggers involved in this blog tour (see image below).

I would like to thank damppebbles for the opportunity to read and review and be part of this #blogtour for ‘MORE THAN A MUM’ by CHARLENE ALLCOTT.  

This review is being published today as part of the blog-tour by damppebbles.

All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway. 
All my reviews can be found on my blog momobookdiary.com

BOOK DETAILS

  • TITLE: More Than A Mum
  • AUTHOR: Charlene Allcott
  • PUBLISHER: (ebook) Transworld Digital (paperback) Corgi Paperback
  • PUBLICATION DATE: (ebook) 20 February 2020 (paperback) 5 March 2020
  • LENGTH: 356 pages

REVIEW PUBLISHED / BUY LINKS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Charlene Allcott was born and raised in London and now lives in Brighton with her five-year-old son. Charlene Allcott works part-time with young people in a residential care home. She writes a parenting blog at moderatemum.co.uk. MORE THAN A MUM is her second novel.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

damppebbles.com – crime book blog

ABOUT DAMPPEBLES BLOG TOURS

Let #damppebblesblogtours organise your next blog tour. For more information please see damppebbles.com or for a no obligation quote please email damppebbles@gmail.com 

I organise tours for all genres but I specialise in crime and thriller fiction as that’s where my passion lies. I have been a crime and thriller blogger for nearly 4 years now over at damppebbles.com where I share my love of reading.

Many believe only brand new releases are eligible to be taken on tour. I believe that publishing your book is only the start and have organised tours for books which have been previously available for a number of years.

You have nothing to lose and EVERYTHING to gain: damppebbles@gmail.com

#bookbloggers #Authors #indiepublishers #bookpromotion#writingcommmunity #blogtour 

THE FLATSHARE by Beth O’Leary

quercus books

DESCRIPTION

Tiffy and Leon share a flat
Tiffy and Leon share a bed
Tiffy and Leon have never met…

Tiffy Moore needs a cheap flat, and fast. Leon Twomey works nights and needs cash. Their friends think they’re crazy, but it’s the perfect solution: Leon occupies the one-bed flat while Tiffy’s at work in the day, and she has the run of the place the rest of the time. 

But with obsessive ex-boyfriends, demanding clients at work, wrongly imprisoned brothers and, of course, the fact that they still haven’t met yet, they’re about to discover that if you want the perfect home you need to throw the rulebook out the window…

MOMO’S REVIEW

This is a brilliantly fun story.

I read it in record time, pausing only to switch on the light when it became too dark to read easily. The characters are mostly fun and friendly. The writing is witty, fun and the insights into the relationship between Leon and Tiffy – WOW just WOW!

It is a fun, quick, easy read story that captivates the reader. Highly recommended.

BOOK DETAILS

  • TITLE: The Flatshare
  • AUTHOR: Beth O’Leary
  • PUBLISHER: Quercus (Quercus Books)
  • PUBLICATION DATE: 18 April 2019
  • LENGTH: 336 pages

REVIEW PUBLISHED

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Introducing Beth O’Leary

Introducing Beth O’Leary
Beth studied English at university before she started working in children’s book publishing. She lives as close to the countryside as she can get while still being in reach of London, and wrote her first novel, The Flatshare, on her train journey to and from work. She is now writing novels full time, and if she’s not at her desk, you’ll usually find her curled up somewhere with a book, a cup of tea, and several woolly jumpers (whatever the weather).

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

The Orphans Daughter by Sandy Taylor

A heartbreaking and absolutely unforgettable page turner set in Ireland

*Bookouture

DESCRIPTION

Ireland, 1924. For thirteen-year-old Nora Doyle every day is a fight for survival. In the rural Irish village she calls home, she is no stranger to funerals or feeling the cold wind blowing through the windows of the small cottage where she lives with her family. Somehow Nora manages to keep smiling, but she longs to escape the poverty surrounding her. 

One day, Nora’s life changes when her sense of adventure leads her and her best friend, Kitty, through a hole in the wall of the huge house on the top of the hill. In the secluded, carefully tended garden they discover on the other side, Nora and Kitty meet Edward, the young boy who lives there, and they instantly form a strong bond. 

Soon Nora is spending every moment she can spare in the secret garden. But in escaping from her life in the village, Nora is going against the wishes of her family, who have forbidden any contact with the big house. Because Edward holds the key to a family secret that will change Nora’s life forever, and force her to make an impossible choice between her family and her future… 

A heart-wrenching story of love, loss and the power of friendship during unimaginable hardship. This book is perfect for fans of Orphan Train and The Girl With No Name.

The Orphan’s Daughter

MOMO’S REVIEW

This was a new author for me. I am not a huge fan of historical fiction but I find they can be nice break from modern day romance and/or crime fiction. 

The cover was the first thing to catch my eye and I am pleased to say that I found myself surprisingly hooked from the first page.  

Once I started I was unable to put it down and devoured this truly enthralling tale in a single evening.  Beautifully written, well researched story set in the 1920’s. It is a heartwarming yet heartbreaking tale of friendships, family, hardships and joy.  A very moving story indeed. The story flows along perfectly and I completely lost myself for a few hours within this emotional rollercoaster. There are many threads, yet not at all complicated, which the author neatly pulled together. 

This is the first book I have read by Sandy Taylor, and I will be reading many more. Digging a little further I realised this was a sequel to Sandy Taylor’s book The Little Orphan Girl (released in 2018) which I am looking to read very soon!

My sincere thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy of ‘THE ORPHAN’S DAUGHTER’ by SANDY TAYLOR
All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway. 
All my reviews can be found on my blog momobookdiary.com

BOOK DETAILS

  • TITLE: The Orphan’s Daughter
  • AUTHOR: Sandy Taylor
  • PUBLISHER: Bookouture
  • PUBLICATION DATE: 5 February 2020
  • LENGTH: 314 pages (paperback)

REVIEW PUBLISHED / BUY LINKS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sandy Taylor

Sandy Taylor grew up on a council estate near Brighton. There were no books in the house, so Sandy’s love of the written word was nurtured in the little local library. Leaving school at fifteen, Sandy worked in a series of factories before landing a job at Butlins in Minehead. This career change led her to becoming a singer, a stand up comic and eventually a playwright and novelist. 

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

Bookouture is a digital imprint offering BIG publisher expertise, small publisher flexibility and high royalties. We publish bestselling books. We build author brands. We create smart, effective marketing plans for every single title. 

We focus on a small number of books – because attention to detail is essential. We want all our titles to be bestsellers – so we treat each of them like one.

THE SOUTHERN BELLES by Katie Simpkins

The Brighton Belles Series Book 1

Fusion Press

DESCRIPTION

NOT JUST ANY OLD RICHES TO RAGS STORY

Heiresses, Evelyn, Georgia and Olivia Belle, nicknamed The Southern Belles by the tabloid press, have everything they’ve ever wanted. Then, suddenly, on Evelyn’s 30th birthday, their father dies in a tragic road traffic accident, leaving a massive hole in his business’ finances. With the world’s media, and the National Crime Agency looking on, their family home, cars and all other assets are sold at auction, leaving the sisters penniless, homeless and jobless.

Shunned by their celebrity friends, the Belle sisters must learn to fend for themselves for the first time in their lives. Evelyn, the eldest, knows how dire their situation is, and asks their father’s solicitor, who has kindly paid for their first two months’ rent on a rat-infested bedsit in Brighton, to look into their Father’s case, while they hunt for jobs to make ends meet, which inadvertently leads to them meeting new guys, falling in love, and learning along the way that the world doesn’t owe them a favour, and that money doesn’t buy you happiness.

MOMO’S REVIEW

This book is not generally my type of read – I have no interest in the celebrity lifestyle – but there was something about the cover that made me want to read the story. I am so glad I did. Brilliantly strong characters, sprinkling of love, heartache, and some fun surprises.

The story is told from the perspective of a grandmother reading to her granddaughter who is in bed with flu. I really liked this different angle and enjoyed these moments to pause and reflect on the story so far.

The author has cleverly shown the path each sister takes to build their new lives and how they deal with the heartbreak that most of their friends want nothing to do with them now they have no money are having to go out and find work. One aspect that I really enjoyed was the one ex-friend who gets pleasure from making life even more difficult for them – it fitted into the main storyline and felt very true to how life would be.

It’s like a mixed up fairytale – instead of the girl next door and the handsome prince this story takes the princesses and turns them into girls next door and it does it with heartwarming style, heartbreaking reality and a sprinkling of glittering romance.

The ending felt a bit rushed in my opinion and could have done with a bit more…..something… I can’t wait to read the next in the Brighton Belle series.

I would like to thank damppebbles for the opportunity to read and review and be part of this #blogtour for ‘THE SOUTHERN BELLES’ by KATIE SIMPKINS.  

This review is being published today as part of the blog-tour by damppebbles.

All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway. 
All my reviews can be found on my blog momobookdiary . com

BOOK DETAILS

  • TITLE: The Southern Belles
  • AUTHOR: Katie Simpkins
  • PUBLISHER: Fusion Press
  • PUBLICATION DATE: 24 July 2019 – ebook and paperback format
  • LENGTH: 447 pages

REVIEW PUBLISHED / BUY LINKS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Duncan Brockwell – who writes as Katie Simpkins

Katie Simpkins is the pseudonym for 42 year old dental technician Duncan Brockwell, from a town near Brighton, called Burgess Hill. Duncan works at Elite Dental Studios in his hometown during the day, and writes in his spare time. He is the author of The Southern Belles, his debut novel.

Since writing The Belles, he has completed a further four novels, the first sequel to the Belles, The Varndean Vixens, two crime dramas, Blood Bunker and Blood Lust, a horror novel, Hellingly, set in an abandoned mental asylum, and is currently writing his first action / adventure called Trailblazer, set in the American Midwest in 1976, about an aging country singer who is being pursued  by the mob, the FBI and a nutty sheriff, while on tour with his band and getting to know his estranged daughter, Nancy.

He is also attempting to write a comedy TV series script for The Southern Belles for a producer at Voyage Media.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

damppebbles.com – crime book blog

THE FORGOTTEN WIFE by Emma Robinson

A heartbreaking family drama with a stunning twist

*BOOKOUTURE

DESCRIPTION

When you see them, they are so happy, so in love.

He’s holding the door open for her, she’s clearly expecting a baby.

You think: she has everything I don’t. Everything I ever dreamed of…

There’s room in her house where Shelley has shut away a heartbreakingly-soft, never-used baby blanket. In a box, under a bed, behind a door that she never opens. If it’s there, she can forget about it. Just like she has her memories. Of a marriage that hadn’t been perfect. Of a life that didn’t go the way she had hoped.

Every day she acts like everything is normal. Going to work and following a routine helps her pretend the bad stuff never happened. Until one day, everything changes.

She sees the couple moving in next door, laughing sweetly as they walk up the path to their new home. The woman is pregnant. It’s like she has everything that Shelley has lost. But when Shelley properly meets Lara, she soon discovers Lara is actually carrying a heartache to match her own.

As her friendship with Lara deepens, Shelley starts to wonder what might happen if she opens the box she’s hidden away, with the tiny, beautiful blanket in it. Will the secrets from her past – about what she lost, what she’s hiding from, and what she has been doing her best to forget – destroy her? Or will opening it up finally give her a change to live again.

The Forgotten Wife blog tour poster with dates and blog details

MOMO’S REVIEW

I enjoyed this book however it was not quite the story I expected from the title or cover. I found the story to be heart-wrenching at times as it deals with very real emotional events and gave the feeling of an emotional roller-coaster at times.

The main characters, Shelley and Lara, became very real quite quickly inside my head and the author gives clues that there are secrets hidden below the surface. As they become friends it is clear each one is shielding themselves from secrets of the past that they are not ready to share.

The author cleverly hints but never gives too much away throughout the book keeping the reader on edge, hoping the next chapter will bring answers. The author also writes about real issues in an lovely sensitive manner which makes this a beautifully written story of real people and real fears. Be prepared for all emotions, happy, sad, tears and laughs. It is a strong story of friendship and support.

I highly recommend this book and the author, Emma Robinson, and look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

This review is published today as part of the Bookouture Anonymous! book blog tour.

My sincere thanks to BOOKOUTURE and NETGALLEY for the opportunity to read and review ‘THE FORGOTTEN WIFE’ by EMMA ROBINSON prior to publication date. 

All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway. 
All my reviews can be found on my blog momobookdiary . com

BOOK DETAILS

  • TITLE: The Forgotten Wife
  • AUTHOR: Emma Robinson
  • PUBLISHER: Bookouture
  • PUBLICATION DATE: 27 January 2020
  • LENGTH: 296 pages

REVIEW PUBLISHED

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Emma Robinson

Emma Robinson is the author of five novels about motherhood and female friendship including The Undercover Mother. This is her fifth novel – The Forgotten Wife – published 27 January 2020.

When she is not writing, Emma is an English teacher and lives in Essex with a patient husband and two children who are an endless source of material.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER