Great story by Carol Mason. Really thrilling read, great characters and an enjoyable story. Highly recommend to others!!

I really enjoyed this one. Despite it being a romance type book, there was a lot more to it than normal and had deeply interwoven character development. I liked each individual character's story (even if I didn't agree with their actions) and liked the unique direction the story took.

This book is available via Kindle Unlimited. I ended up listening to the audio version.

Really wanted to like this book but the story was so boring and too predictable. The plot of the story, unhappy wives and the affairs that affect them was just so dragged out.

An overall nice book with interesting characters and good story. There were some moments in this book that i personally didn't connect with or like but all in all it was a good book.

Three friends Wendy, Jill and Leigh. Friends for a long while. All married with families except Jill who has no children. Each one with a career (of sorts) and life seems to be fine. Cracks appear with one - infidelity but Leigh is determined to keep it to a fling and nothing else. Six weeks, and then it becomes the length of summer and then she is out and back to Lawrence and Molly. The heart does not work quite like that and Leigh becomes besotted. She cannot cut the tie and in not doing so involves her friends as well.

Wendy seems staid and set in her ways. Husband and two young boys. Jill and Rob - the sad fact of not having children has created such a rift in their marriage. The elephant in the room which cannot be spoken about or discussed at least by Rob. Ignoring the issue and being careless of his feelings have left Jill very vulnerable. This leads to a crisis in her marriage.

More would be spoilers!

Friendship taxed beyond endurance, revenge, maliciousness, despair, unrequited love all strands of the story or rather stories here. Very commonplace tales, meticulously told and things that happen to all.

A very good book which was a relief from me from my diet of continuous murders and very gory happenings.

A great read from the beginning to the end. The characters are likable and heartfelt. Well developed and you will feel for them. A very good book. Thanks for letting me read this and I’m sorry I was so late with the review.

The Secrets of Married Women by Carol Mason is a sordid glimpse into the minds and hearts of today's modern woman in an ever changing landscape. The three women in this novel are beautifully developed and deal individually with heartache and betrayal in their own way. There is a little of all of them in all of us.

"...I start walking in the direction of my car now, aware of the clack of my heels on the cobblestones, as light reflections from the Sage Centre bob on the river and cars drum noisily over the Tyne Bridge.
The lovely silver Mercedes SL 500, whose alarm I may have set off, is still parked behind me. I'm about to get into my car when I notice something under my wiper.
It doesn't look like a parking ticket or a flyer. I pull out the somewhat soggy piece of paper and read: I saw you scratch my car. So instead of compensation, how about a drink? And under that is the name Andrey and a phone number.
When a motorbike whizzes past me and I feel the draught from it, I'm aware that I'm standing there, a little baffled. How strange! I read it again, the words sitting there in my hand.
An invitation to wrong-doing, from a complete stranger...."

Jill's marriage is falling apart. On the outside everything looks fine but on the inside, it is slowly being ripped apart. Ever since her husband discovered that he can never have children, there has been a widening rift between them. Jill tries to be understanding but her husband Rob keeps putting a distance between them. His sense of inadequacy is like an ocean she cannot cross. Jill seeks comfort in her friends and tells them about her marriage and the secret of her husband he wants kept hidden.

Career minded Leigh is married to Lawrence, a doting and caring husband who obeys her every wish. She belittles him in front of others and is an outrageous flirt, none of this does he object to. His lack of masculinity that attracted her and her controlling nature, is leaving her frustrated and unsatisfied.

Wendy is the steady one of the trio. A beautiful husband and children, with a rock solid marriage and she always seems to have the sensible answer.

The secrets of these friends and their marriages will cross and threatened not only their marriages and friendships, but their own families as well.

"....In the sauna, we lie on opposite benches in our towels, our heads turned to one another. 'Tell me something bad about it,' I say to her. 'Tell me a downside.'
She seems to try hard. 'I can't. There isn't one. Doing this just makes me wonder why I was faithful all these years. And the funny thing is, Jill,' she sits up, her towel falling from her small breasts. 'You know, since I've had a lover, I pick on Lawrence so much less. And you can tell that he's more relaxed because of it. Even his OCD is better.' She wipes her running mascara. 'In a peculiar way this affair is saving my marriage. Fucking another man is actually doing Lawrence a favour..."

Though Jill is the main character, the actions and thoughts of her friends Wendy and Leigh drive this book and impact it more than Jill actually does. In fact it is the influence of her friends that finally cause Jill to make the one move that destroys her own marriage and the eventual discovery of all of their hidden secrets that will implode on the women and their friendship. This is something the reader will pick up on early in this novel; no marriage will get out of this book intact. But the marriages and their dissoluteness is not the issue here. In fact it is treated as something of collateral damage. An acceptable result of the growth and experimentation of unhappy women as they try to become happy. Only the happiness they are after is not really happiness but what other women tell them it is. And when they figure that, and some never do, it is too late. This is a theme I find in too many novels of the genre and time. A sad by product of modern feminism? I hope not. To have come to this point in society where betraying your lover, spouse or not, is not only the norm but something to be valued over actually sustaining a loving relationship; somehow this is the answer?

No, the marriages are not what matter here. It is the friendship and the betrayal between the three women. That is the relationship that is the focus. A cautionary tale perhaps, that some secrets should not be shared and perhaps the sisterhood is not all it says it should be. Not that the husbands are without blame. Jill's husband Rob is so wrapped up in his own inadequacies that he cannot see the damage he is doing to his wife and his marriage. His foolish pride keeps him from seeking help and looking into other options even when Jill is open to them. Leigh's husband Lawrence really just needs to find a pair. Just because you married a strong willed, career minded woman, does not mean she wants a lapdog to roll over. In fact most career minded women I have met seek out even stronger men. As for Wendy and her husband, the facade of their perfect marriage is something they are both to blame for.

So, for all that is written before, I will say this.

I really liked this book! I loved the characters, though I times I found them annoying enough to drive a truck over, and I loved the plot and its twists. The inherit betrayal by one of the women and her lack of self awareness remind me of an ex-wife I try to forget. Absolutely brilliant characters. Terrific plotting and insightful and tender writing sold this story to me over and over again.

I really liked it except....

Except for the cutesy, Harlequin Romance ending. Seriously, did someone change me over to the Hallmark Channel, yes even too saccharine to be called the Lifetime channel. This book needed to end ten pages before it did,

But even so, a really good read.

The Secrets of Married Women book was everything I hoped it would be and more! It is a story of friendship, loss and love. Throughout the book I was cheering for different characters for different reasons. The book really shows how one decision can impact so many different lives.
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review.

If you're interested in this one, I wouldn't read too many reviews. I saw a few that included some pretty major spoilers. I'll be careful not to include any. While this book isn't a thriller or mystery, I still prefer not to know the twists and turns before going into any kind of fiction. I found this book to be engrossing but a bit ridiculous at times, with an unbelievable ending. I'm glad I read it, but a little less of the drama would have led to a higher rating from me. If you're in the mood for some high drama women's fiction having to do with marriage, infidelity, and friendship, with some sexual moments... this would probably be a good choice for you.

At it's heart, this book is about three women, their marriages, and their friendships with each other. We have Jill the main character, who is in a bit of a rut with her husband. She didn't think she wanted children and at first thought he was content without as well... but she was wrong. Now that having children is no longer on the table, she's starting to think perhaps she always wanted one after all... and he's feeling guilty. Their sex life has come to a complete stop, much to Jill's dismay. She tries to re-ignite that spark, but he seems uninterested. Friend Wendy seems to have a very happy marriage with her husband, who is a police officer. She's a happy wife and mother who has recently returned to the workforce. Though she's had tragedy in her past, she's making the best of her life. Leigh is restless. She's beyond bored with her husband, and embarks on a steamy secret affair with a client. She insists it won't last long, just a dalliance... it might even make her marriage stronger.

Having become Leigh's confidante, Jill is forced to deal with her disappointment in her husband and their sexual relationship, and even consider what would happen if she had a dalliance of her own. Each character is complicated and has a lot going on. Full of drama, it will appeal to a lot of fans of women's fiction.

What a brilliant story. I read it in one day, always a good sign! I felt like a fly on the wall listening in to the secrets of Jill, Wendy and Leigh. They are three, thirty something, married friends. Well they are friends at the beginning of the story! As their secrets start to tumble out, each marriage reaches breaking point! Read on!

This is the first time I read a book by this author and it will certainly not be the last! The book was great, kept me interested and intrigued.

The story centers around 3 best friends: Jill, Leigh and Wendy, and it poses the question: How well do you really know your friends?

I highly recommend this book.

Even those close to us have secrets.

Ms. Mason explores this a bit in the novel where a group of friends find that there are secrets among them, even when transparency seemed to be key. Not only do they not really know everything about each other, they soon discover their husbands hide secrets of their own.

Overall, an interesting read that also entertains. Topics such as adultery and illness arise in the story and you are along for the ride to see how the characters each approach them.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for my review. How well do we know our friends? How well do we know our spouses? In this novel, friends Jill, Leigh and Wendy get together for coffee and lunch, have dinners and vacations with their families and share their deepest, darkest secrets, but do they really? This novel explores the complexities of friendship and the levels of truth we are willing to share.

This novel does a great job of exploring women's friendships. This story could be a bit formulaic, but there are a few plot twists that will keep the reader guessing and book clubs talking.

Wives,

The pivotal moment for The Secrets of Married Women is at Jill's mother’s funeral. All the breath I had been holding for Jill and her husband's marriage could finally be released. Even the best couples can survive infidelity, infertility and make it. My tears for this book were shed with Jill's mother and for Jill too. Those with dementia just get me. And I can’t imagine the grit it took for Wendy to leave her scumbag husband and go full force into law school… It’s hard enough getting a divorce, becoming a single parent but to add public figure head and returning student to the mix… I think the author just conjured up my nightmare.

I did not enjoy this book at all. It was boring and weird.

Fantastic book. I really liked this book because I could sympathies with Jill. I Highly recommend this book .

A book full of twists and turns in three very ordinary marriages and the cliche is very right. No one actually knows what goes on in a marriage.

Three friends Wendy, Jill and Leigh. Friends for a long while. All married with families except Jill who has no children. Each one with a career (of sorts) and life seems to be fine. Cracks appear with one - infidelity but Leigh is determined to keep it to a fling and nothing else. Six weeks, and then it becomes the length of summer and then she is out and back to Lawrence and Molly. The heart does not work quite like that and Leigh becomes besotted. She cannot cut the tie and in not doing so involves her friends as well.

Wendy seems staid and set in her ways. Husband and two young boys. Jill and Rob - the sad fact of not having children has created such a rift in their marriage. The elephant in the room which cannot be spoken about or discussed at least by Rob. Ignoring the issue and being careless of his feelings have left Jill very vulnerable. This leads to a crisis in her marriage.

More would be spoilers!

Friendship taxed beyond endurance, revenge, maliciousness, despair, unrequited love all strands of the story or rather stories here. Very commonplace tales, meticulously told and things that happen to all.

A very good book which was a relief from me from my diet of continuous murders and very gory happenings.

Goodreads and Amazon review up on 24/7/2017. Review on my blog mid November. Also linked to my FB page.,

3 friends who are very different. Jill's husband finds out he cannot have children, this hurts him more than it does her and he distances himself from her. Leigh has no time anymore for her stay at home husband, she feels better than him and wants more excitement, Wendy seems to have it all but does she? A story of 3 friends with very different lives and morals. The book explores female friendships and as we get older is the grass really greener? Would a new marriage or a new job make all the difference to our lives? What happens when we destroy the people we hold dear who know a lot about us!

Jill, Wendy and Leigh are best friends and have been for years. Jill is the main character and I loved her, she discovered that her husband has zero sperm so will never have a baby, her husband pushes her away or so she thinks and makes her do something totally out of character.
Jill thinks Wendy and Leigh have perfect marriages but like in real life what looks good on the outside very often isn't as good as you think.
This book was a great read and probably a very real read. I loved the writing style of this and definately don't judge this book by the cover as you will be very wrong. I have read a previous book by carol mason before but this definately tops it.
I would like to thank netgalley and lake Union publishing for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.