A short interesting story about Delilah, a woman who moves to an East Coast village in the US and horrifies her neighbours by planting bright, bold flowers in her front garden. One neighbour, a reclusive man in the yellow house next door, watches too, but doesn't judge. But Delilah's situation is already complicated. her cottage bought by her wealthy, older lover, To make matters even more complex, she strikes up a friendship with the local sheriff. Marchant's descriptions of Delilah's garden are captivating, full of lush growth. Delilah is a strong-willed and entertaining protagonist. I enjoyed Marchant's light, airy writing that had just enough edge and bite to make it interesting.

This story is a bit confusing and I feel like the main character, Delilah isn't really given as much detail or attention as she could have had. The story is interesting and definitely kept me going, but I am not too sure how I feel about the characters and the ending.

**I am deeply grateful to the publisher and the author for providing me a copy of this book through Netgalley. This review solely contains my honest thoughts and opinions.**

The first time I saw the cover of The Driveway Has Two Sides on Netgalley, I got curious what the story was about. As a book cover picker, I couldn’t help but be drawn to the simplicity of its cover. It felt like I was told that behind that cover, there was a story that needs to be read. Because I didn’t have any thought in mind on how the story would go, I was able to enjoy reading the story as what it was.

The Driveway Has Two Sides by Sara Marchant is a story of passion, loneliness, and romance. As someone very new to the small village in the East Coast Island, Delilah was immediately the talk of town among the island dwellers. Even more so when her actions were contrary to theirs. Now, in the small cottage that she lived in was a shared driveway with a large, yellow house. And in that house was a man who lived by himself. So much for living alone that even the villagers weren’t sure of his name even though he’s been living in the same island for a couple years. Having a neighbor wasn’t something he expected and mingling with one, or anyone at all, isn’t advisable, as he was told.

Although a short story, the number one thing that I liked about this book is the writing. It was descriptive and detailed and specific that the imagination can not be blurry. Here’s an example sentence:

“It was a quiet day after that, filled with luminous sunlight behind cloudy skies and the gently wafting scent of bruised rosemary drifting up to lonely watchers.”

Notice how three senses are present: sense of hearing (quiet day), sense of smell (scent of bruised rosemary), sense of sight (luminous sunlight). All that in a single sentence. Imagine what the whole book could do! I absolutely enjoyed creating an imaginative space because of how vivid the story was written.

The different personalities of the characters were fascinating to learn and each character’s background were unique although something that can happen in real life. My favourite character would be Anton as his background was the most intriguing. I’ve always been attracted to historical narratives especially of a person’s life and Anton’s past was one that I wanted to know more of. He was the mysterious one in the story as his circumstances had made him to be. From an outgoing person to a home-buddy, Anton kept to himself and avoided human contact as much as possible.

The main character, Delilah is the center of the story. I saw her as a free-spirited lady. She didn’t mind the curious looks that went her way and she would simply mind her own business, improving the interior of her cottage, wandering about the island on her bike, or gardening. Delilah is very passionate when it comes to anything gardening-related and that’s something I could relate with her very well. I’m not an expert in gardening but if it were a topic in a conversation, I would gladly listen all day long. On a scale of personality types, I would say Delilah is an ISTP.

As I’ve mentioned, romance is another theme of the book. I’m not a love guru but the romance genre has been my favourite genre since my teenage years and I’ve met the different types of romantic relationships. And in this book, the romantic relationsips didn’t sit well with me.

While the story as a whole was a unique experience for me, it didn’t completely grab my attention. It was a pleasant read but at the end of the tunnel, I wanted more, especially at the ending. Nevertheless, I had a nice time reading the book.

A novella that didn’t quite work for me because I so disliked the protagonist, Delilah, a selfish kept woman whose Cape Cod cottage has been bought for her by her older married lover. 2/5

Pub Date 11 Jul 2018.

Thanks to the author, Fairlight Books and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

#DrivewayHasTwoSides #NetGalley

I liked the overall story line of this story. I can't sum it up or it will give the whole book away. It took a long time to get a little information though, or so it felt. I arrived to the ending and I feel empty! I wish I knew more to Delilah and Anton's story! I also can't tell if I like her or dislike her, because I didn't get far enough in her mind. This was a story told completely from the 3rd person, so it told the story of Delilah then switched to Ted then to Alan all within the same parts and only letting you know it was talking about someone else when it mentioned their name. There is nothing wrong with this, but it was just different. I did enjoy that!

Overall, I think I would have given more stars if I would have felt closure but the end was too open for me. I would definitely read something else from this author though!

The story of this book is really intriguing and I did not know what to expect. In the end, I liked reading The Driveway Has Two Sides, even if for some people, it will be a book without any event. It is more of a psychological book and I like reading this kind of books sometimes.

A delightful, intriguing love story, written with a clear eyed lack of sentimentality. This novella is the perfect palate cleanser between two long reads. Recommended.

Although I very much enjoyed my first Fairlight Moderns novella (There Are Things I know), I am very much not enjoying this one. I'm going to stop at the 35% mark.

Multiple reasons for not enjoying this one: flat, one-dimensional characters whose greatest attributes seem to be their physical appearance and/or their ability to shock the small town with "what may be not be illegal but is certainly immoral actions" (not sure that that's word for word, but same essence). Or are ludicrously stupid, as in the man apparently intelligent enough to be elected sheriff but so stupid as to not think about or notice the fact that he's having sex with a woman who appears to be being "kept" by the married man she's having an affair with. Delilah is shown to be "shocking" because of her decision to have sex with multiple men - this isn't something as a reader that I particularly care about except, perhaps, that her sole motivation appears to be to exploit them (and they are either too concerned about having sex with her or too dense and easily exploited as "older men" to care - and I'm not even sure the fact that they're older men is something that should make this so easy for her to do since she's described as incredibly sexy and intentionally playing this up and that all the men her own age are wildly jealous and angry about the older men who are so lucky as to have sex with her).

Above all, what bothered me the most and from the very beginning was that 99% of the time, Delilah was referred to as a "girl" while all of them male characters around her were referred to as men (I'm not trying to exaggerate about this - there were multiple, multiple references and in only one instance did I see her being referred to as a woman), and this despite that the whole setup of this story seemed to be to serve as illustrating her as a woman WHO LIVES BY HERSELF and who HAS SEX with FREE AGENCY with any older man she perceives as someone she can manipulate and use to her advantage at some point. Again, I'm less angry with the character for these actions than I am at the author for these labels.

Finally, I stopped when "the girl" is working in her garden - which seems to be the only thing she actually cares about but seemingly without any reason or affection for doing so other than, perhaps, that it allows her to insinuate herself into the life of the sheriff so she can use him (and he's not using her in any way! he's an older man but also somehow an innocent widower who is blind to her actions and manipulations!) - and gravely injures herself, the man next door screams at her for being an idiot, throws a card for a contractor at her, but doesn't bother to leave his house to assist this GIRL who he's been stalking for weeks. On top of all this and infuriating, is that she knows he's been stalking her by standing there in his house and watching her and she apparently thinks this is sexy-sexy overtures and she find it romantic (and I assume she's going to have sex with him despite that he's perhaps closer to her age, because this is the REAL relationship and the point of the book).

I hear that there's a twist at the end and I don't know if it's one that could somehow magically resolve or turn around all the frustrations and, well, honestly what I perceive as borderline misogyny in this book, but it's certainly not worth finishing it for me to find out.

Although the first chapter was quite interesting, I slowly got bored of reading about flowers and gardening. The characters were one-dimensional.

Well, this book made me smile. A light-hearted novella with a bit of mystery.
Delilah has moved into a neglected cottage on a small island. She has picked it with her married lover, who spends most of his time elsewhere with his family. Delilah is often on her own and consequently has plenty of time and energy for home making and gardening.
As a lone attractive woman she provides a source of interest to several of the island’s menfolk and I loved Delilah’s self-awareness and ability to twist the island men around her little finger.
Not sure about the ending so I gave it four stars but an enjoyable light read, nicely written.
Many thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a copy of the story in return for an honest and fair review.

Thanks for the review copy. I know people will love this one. This is a solid book. Love the cover. Look forward to more books by this author.

I found this short story somewhat uneventful, and the characters a bit one-dimensional. The island and its gossips were the most interesting part, and I found the main character, Delilah, not particularly likable. I'm afraid it would not inspire me to read more from this author.
A review copy was provided by the publisher.

A short and sweet story about my ideal life: being given a beach-side cottage on an island, with money to renovate it and create a garden. Full of lush details of deciding how to design and build it, this was really lovely.

Time for another Fairlight Modern novella! This time we’re off to a remote island on the east coast of America, to a world of crisp winter winds and pines, and sudden summer influxes of tourists; a world where the year-round residents all know everyone else’s secrets and newcomers are watched with suspicion. And the gossiping islanders have plenty to occupy them now, because an old rental cottage has just been sold to the young and beautiful Delilah. The neighbours wonder about her story (and her morals), gleefully scandalised while Delilah rolls up her sleeves and gets on with the business of transforming her little cottage into a home. But she swiftly realises that she isn’t the only mystery on the island. What about the man who lives in the yellow house next door, with whom she shares a driveway, but who hardly ever comes out into the world?


This short tale seems, at root, to be about self-determination. Delilah gets a thrill from doing up her home and garden because, for the first time in a very long while, she is making her own choices. During the week, she’s her own woman, passionately teasing out the order of her flower beds and debating her horticultural choices with the sheriff, Ted. Then, at the weekend, Alan arrives: Alan, her lover, who bought this cottage for her, who has moved her out of town, away from the eyes of his wife and his friends and anyone who might disrupt their cosy lie of domesticity. Not that Alan’s particularly domestic, come to think of it. He doesn’t care what Delilah’s done with the garden: he just wants to roar up on a Friday, be greeted by a beautifully-groomed woman and be pampered all weekend. Once, that might have pleased Delilah. But it’s becoming increasingly clear that life offers more.

In the yellow house on the other side of the driveway, Anton lives under an assumed name, watching his life trickle away in the shadows of police protection. He’s intrigued by his new neighbour, and then fascinated by her. Who wouldn’t be? Every man on the island is enchanted by this provocative new arrival. Only Ted seems to be getting his feet under the table though. And Anton has spent so long in hiding that he’s almost forgotten how to face the world again. Watching Delilah has opened up the possibility of a new route back into life. But does he have the courage to take it?

Delilah seems to have spent most of her life being the catalyst by which men change their paths and it’s high time to see whether she will have the gumption to take the reins of her own life. I’m not sure I got a particularly good sense of her at all times – at some points I felt that she was more of a device than a character, if that makes sense – and I found the concluding act a bit hurried and unconvincing (how is it that certain problems, i.e. Anton’s whereabouts, no longer seem to be a problem?), but for all that I enjoyed its shrewd and finely-drawn depiction of an insular small community.

For the review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2018/07/08/the-driveway-has-two-sides-sara-marchant/

A fast read with a singular heroine, Delilah, who loves gardening and is kept by an older, married man. Her reclusive neighbor, Anton, is slowly dragged from his solitude by her sunny disposition. There’s a small town feeling, but not with the most positive tones, and some interesting secondary characters. I ended the story feeling like Ted was a bit mistreated and deserved, perhaps, to have his own story written.

When my eye was caught by a series of novellas offered by a new UK publisher via NetGalley, I was determined to sample one or two and this is the one I read first.

An intriguing scenario and characters who may or may not be quite who everyone on this small, gossipy island thinks they are, I had no idea right to last page where the story might be headed. It could have gone in any number of directions (sinister, tragic, romantic or perhaps all of these) and that always appeals to me. The writing is light and breezy, the pace of action perfect, the atmosphere edgy. And as a bonus for anyone as interested in gardening as I am, it is a real joy to follow the creation of Delilah’s garden. I’m keen to see what the author tackles next.

I received an ARC of this book to read in exchange for a fair review. Sara Marchant’s novella The Driveway Has Two Sides is the perfect book to read on a sunny afternoon in your hammock. The story is about Delilah who has come to live in a cottage on an island near Cape Cod purchased for her by her lover who has a wife and family elsewhere. It’s about the garden Delilah creates and the mysterious man next door who’s driveway is shared with Delilah’s cottage. I very much enjoyed this story. Publishing Date July 11, 2018 #NetGalley #TheDrivewayHasTwoSides

I really enjoyed this, at just under 130pages this was a great lazy Sunday afternoon read. Delilah moves into a previously abandoned cottage with a shared driveway on a small east coast island; Monday to Friday she works tirelessly to turn the cottage and its garden's into a home funded by her boyfriend Alan who visits each weekend. She quickly becomes a central figure of the other islander's gossip as they try to suss out this mysterious newcomer. It's not the most dramatic of stories, I can't promise you'll be hanging onto the edge of your seat desperate to know what happens next but the characters and their relationships are great. I love the play on how quick the judge people can be and how that stereotype can be personified in small tightly knit communities, 4 stars.

I requested this title because I needed a little light reading after some particularly heavy and emotional books.

That is exactly what I got.

This is a short novella with nice sized chapters which were fine for evening reading, I must admit, I found Delilah, the main character a rather annoying caricature of the raven-haired beauty who has men falling at her feet. Her character was rather superficial and underdeveloped, for me but I liked Marchant's rendering of Ted, the local Sheriff who supports and encourages Delilah's love for all things botanical.

If you enjoy or even appreciate a well-kept garden and a light fun read, this might be the one for you.

This was a nice and quick read, but I don't feel like I gained anything by reading it. I didn't really like Delilah, so I wasn't too invested in her side of the story. She seemed very selfish and had absolutely no care for anyone other than herself. I feel like Anton had a lot of potential, but we didn't get much about him or from his side. The story was interesting enough to keep reading, but I felt like it was lacking something to make it really stand out and be memorable.