‘I just thought you should know who you’re married too…’
After 30 years of marriage, Romy is shocked to receive a letter confirming her husband Michael is not who she thought he was.
Fleeing to their second home in Sussex, Romy is drawn into the possibility of a fresh start with he handsome Finch.
But then the phone rings; Michael’s in hospital and needs her help.
Caught between two very different lives - and two very different men - Romy is torn between her heart and her duty.
But as secrets begin to unravel, will the truth finally come out?
For me, this book is really hard to review, I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate it. I just plodded along reading it, enjoying it enough to continue but not eagerly racing through to find out what happens.
Firstly, the positives. I really like Romy as the main protagonist. I could empathise with how torn she felt between her new relationship with Finch and what she felt was her duty to Michael. I think this was a really realistic part of the storyline. Many who read it will likely disagree with me, as quite frankly Michael is an arse, but they also had many good years of marriage and were once deeply in love. I also felt the change in Romy was well portrayed, her whole demeanour and even her speech was different when she was having conversations with Finch or someone from her new life in Sussex. In fact, the whole story was very well written and I found Boyd’s style effortless to read.
Now for the negatives, although that’s probably too strong a word. I thought it was fairly obvious from early on how things were going to turn out, so I didn’t have that feeling of suspense or urgency that often sets one book apart from the rest. My only other slightly detrimental point would be, my feelings towards Michael. I assume I was meant to find him unpleasant, as he was the “villian” of the tale. However, at times the way the author wrote his scenes I felt endeared to him. But then again perhaps this was purposeful on Boyd’s part, to create resonance between the readers and Romy’s feelings.
All in all a good story, and I would likely read another from this author in the future.
** Thanks to Penguin UK - Michael Joseph, via NetGalley, for this ARC **
Comments