April Reads

Denise - Married to Ray, her first and only love, Denise has never for one moment regretted putting the husband she idolised on a pedestal above everyone and everything else. But, after forty years of marriage, he has gone, leaving Denise to discover that their perfect marriage was fatally flawed. Now she faces a future alone, but first she must face the betrayals of the past. 

Claire - The estranged daughter of Denise, the woman who put her husband before her children, Claire took the opposite path and devoted her life to raising her family, sacrificing her marriage along the way. With her teenage sons about to flee the nest, she realises she may have left it too late to find her own happy ever after. 

This is the story of two women, both alone, both cautionary tales of one of motherhood's biggest decisions. 

Who is more important, your partner or your children? And what happens if you make the wrong choice?

Denise idolised her husband Ray putting him first above everything and everyone especially her children and family.  When Ray dies Denise is left alone alienated from her children she has one of two choices to try and rebuild the relationship with her children or spend the rest of her life alone. Ray was the most important person in her life but when Ray dies the secrets and the lies come out and Denise is left wondering whether she really knew the man she was married to for forty years.

Claire is Ray and Denise's daughter. She is the complete opposite to her mother and always puts her children first. This eventually puts a strain on her marriage beyond repair.  As her children grown up and get ready to make their own way in life Claire is left wondering whether she has left it too late to find her own happiness.

When her father dies Claire and Denise are brought back together.  When the secrets and lies of her father's life start to be revealed , can Denise and Claire rebuild the relationship that was so badly damaged all those years ago.

...............................................

I had never read a book by Shari Low before. It came up as one of the kindle deals whilst I was searching around for a book to read.  Sometimes these incidental findings are the best kind.  It was definitely a thought provoking book that made you wonder how you would deal with situations both these women found themselves in.  We can all have our opinions about whether someone should stay in a relationship but its a very true saying that you have to walk a mile in someone's shoes to see what they see.  Not sure I agreed with Denise's behaviour and possibly this was reflected in the way Claire was with her own children.  I will definitely read more books by this author and would recommend This is me and it is still on the kindle deals at 99p.

Cornelia Blackwood lives a quiet life. When she goes to the corner shop to buy milk, people whisper behind her back. Her one constant, her rock, is her husband. But when he doesn't come home from a work conference, she is left alone to try to pick up the pieces. And before long, the secret he has hidden from her for all these years is laid bare. 

Everyone knows what Cornelia did all those years ago. 

But no one knows what she will do next.

Leah always thought she knew her husband. They didn't have secrets they had been through so much in the time they had been married. When Adrian dies in a car crash when he should of been at a business conference Leah is left reeling, it didn't make sense why was he on that road and where was he going.  Over the coming months Leah discovers Adrian's secret but what will she do with this knowledge.

...........................................

Having been left a little disappointed with the last novel I read by this author I wasn't sure what to expect from this one.  I have to say I wasn't disappointed at all and it was a stark contrast to the previous one. We all like to think we know our partners and husbands and like to think they don't have secrets from us well not really important ones, but what would you do if you found out that your husband had, had a relationship with someone else resulting the one thing you wanted to have in your life. I have read all the novels by this author and none of them disappoint. As with a lot of authors some of their books are better than others.  This one was definitely one of the better ones and I would definitely recommend it.

What have you been reading this month?

Mx