Member Reviews
I do enjoy books told from multiple viewpoints and I enjoyed that this book challenges perceptions of things we may judge as 'wrong' or 'right'. I didn't complete get immersed in it though, perhaps because I didn't empathise fully with any of the characters.
I really was gripped by the beginning of this story. It was an emotional read for me and it shows the grey in what most people see as a black and white situation. It definitely a story that makes you think.
A real story about life and consequences to our actions and the ripple effect it can have, The story is told in 3 viewpoints which I always enjoy and found it interesting with the topic. However some parts were a little predictable for me. It was a quick read for me so it is a page turner.
I would recommend this one to anyone who feels like a bit of a cry.
Thank you to Emma Woolf, NetGalley and the publishers.
I liked the multiple viewpoints in the story, but I found myself having a really hard time getting through the actual book. It was really hard to connect with any of the characters, especially Lily. I feel like the writing was pretty great, but I was just struggling with the plot. I’m not big on affairs and mistresses, so that could’ve been why. They’re just wasn’t anything groundbreaking on the original in the book for me. I don’t think it’s necessarily a book I would remember in a year. There isn’t anything necessarily bad about the book that I can put my finger on; I just don’t think it was for me.
Lily, Pippa, and Harry are in a triangle of a relationship. Told from each of their perspectives, this is about an affair- between Lily and Harry- that ends in both tragedy and renewal. Pippa's known that Harry and Lily are involved; she writes about in on her blog. Lily is deeply in love with Harry but she doesn't want him to leave Pippa and then she meets someone else. This sends Harry into a tailspin and ultimately to his suicide. Lily's unexpected pregnancy leaves her thinking about how she was raised without a dad - and to a new place in her life. While this is mostly Lily's story, Woolf has balanced the three characters so that you have a sense of each. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.
Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This was an enjoyable book.
This is a great read and a well-detailed plot that kept me engaged from the very start. I really liked the well-thought-out characters and found them to be believable. I cannot wait to read what the author publishes next.
This was an awesome easy ready - one that you can devour in a single sitting. I thought overall the story was great, it kept you engaged and invested in the ending - but there was something lacking in the story. I felt like there could have been a bit more development. I stuck with the book because it was such an easy read and i enjoyed the authors writing style but it wasn't a huge wow of an ending.
This was a really beautifully written story that while it was captivating was a slow and heavy read for me. I enjoyed it thoroughly but found it was something I needed to read really slowly to consume it rather than inhale. I loved the honesty and the different emotions conveyed from different perspectives.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I'll be posting my review on Goodreads and Amazon
A story that started off strong but then lost its mojo about mid way through. I had high hopes of this being the type of women’s fiction that pulls at your heart strings and makes you feel a million different emotions. But no...didn’t do that for me. And I think the reason was because I couldn’t connect with Lily, the mistress. I found her segments incredibly dull and tended to skim through them. As the book focused more heavily on her, I lost interest completely. I felt connection with the wife and husband but Lily...there was something lacking there.
The writing was good but the plot took a turn that I wasn’t expecting and it didn’t work for me. Given that it is also more of a character driven plot, and the characters lacked depth, it was a challenge to invest in the story.
I think the original plot line had a lot of promise if it had kept on track with the love triangle and lived up to the description. A story that may appeal to other readers more than me.
I have some mixed feelings about this one. For starters, it's the first book I have read with no chapters. I wouldn't have thought that would bother me, but it did. It felt like a run-on sentence the whole way through.
The story itself had a good premise. Love. Affairs. Betrayal. I enjoyed Part 1. The build up was a good one. Then Harry took his own life. Part 2 felt like a seperate story. It was told from two perspectives, the wife and the mistress. However, their stories no longer intertwined. There's a moment, when you think things could get complicated, and then they don't.
I enjoyed reading about Lily's journey. But this one fell a bit flat for me.
Thanks Netgalley for a copy of this ARC. Sorry my review's a little late.
Loved the book. The story was really good. Will be reading it again. Thanks for the book. I know I took a while to read it, but it was very engrossing right from the beginning.
3.5 stars.
I wanted more from this story because it was missing something. This is a story about Lily and Harry who are having an affair - Harry just sticking around for the kids. Lily doesn't actually want Harry to leave his wife, but Harry is infatuated with her. Harry dives into depression and ends up doing something dark.
This book could have been better, but it just didn't go deep enough for me and seemed a bit unrealistic at times. I did like the POV of all three sides.
This book took a relatively common subject and gave it a new spin in how it was told. I liked the style in which it was written but I didn't connect with the characters.
This book is about heated affairs, love, heartbreak, loss and rebuilding. It was a quick read told in a triple narrative between Lily, Pippa and Harry. It also deals with some darker topics like depression and suicide. It was a good drama and it flowed well.
An affair. Wife, mistress, the man in the middle. Laugh it off only to lie awake worrying later. Is this really happening? When it implodes, what then?
The assistant didn’t mean to fall in love and become “the other woman.” The wife was just venturing her first steps into life beyond the roles of mother and partner when her suspicions about another woman took root.
When the well-respected man sinks deeper into mental illness, each person’s next move isn’t a question of blame alone, but of the ethics of love—of unapologetic decisions and confronting the aftermath.
This book is about heated affairs, love, heartbreak, loss and rebuilding. It was a quick read told in a triple narrative between Lily, Pippa and Harry. It also deals with some darker topics like depression and suicide. It was a good drama and it flowed well.
An affair. Wife, mistress, the man in the middle. Laugh it off only to lie awake worrying later. Is this really happening? When it implodes, what then?
The assistant didn’t mean to fall in love and become “the other woman.” The wife was just venturing her first steps into life beyond the roles of mother and partner when her suspicions about another woman took root.
When the well-respected man sinks deeper into mental illness, each person’s next move isn’t a question of blame alone, but of the ethics of love—of unapologetic decisions and confronting the aftermath.
Thank you NetGalley
This was a very quick read for me. It took a different stance on affairs as there were POV from the wife, husband and mistress. Harry is a cliche. He's not in love with his wife, but he stays because of his kids. I get it. He falls for his assistant who is also 20 years younger than him. Sounds to me like Harry is having a midlife crisis.
Harry's wife Pippa is also another cliche. She is getting older and seeing all the signs that her husband is having an affair, but for the longest time she doesn't do anything about it.
Its a great character study book and I sympathized with each character.
I found this book interesting in the way that it addressed the affair and how everyone was involved. It was an interesting approach which I enjoyed. Overall this was quick read for me and I enjoyed it.
I liked this more than I thought I would. It's a basic story, but the way it's told is beautiful and makes you think.
Received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own
I found this book somewhat boring. It just doesn’t connect well with me. Others might kike it better than I did