This was has already been published back in 2014.

Linda Green is one of my favourite authors, throughly enjoyed this book. Such an easy read.

Rating: 4.1/5

Linda Green's tenth and most recent novel, "One Moment", was one of my favourite reads of 2020. Ever since I finished it I have been looking forward to her next new offering. Unfortunately, that isn't scheduled to be published until February 2022, so when I saw that "The Marriage Mender" was being reissued, I thought I would take the opportunity to read that, seeing as it passed me by on its original publication. I am very glad that I did. It is another well-crafted, hugely enjoyable and very emotional family drama.

Alison is a skilled and respected relationship counsellor with a proven track record of helping couples through troubled times. Her own family life with husband, Chris, stepson, Josh and daughter, Matilda is a settled and happy one - but all of that is about to change when her husband's ex unexpectedly walks back into their lives.

Linda Green is incredibly good at writing this kind of drama. The characters are all true to life and relatable. The dialogue is consistently authentic and natural. The author has a firm grasp of how to create something that is dramatic without being melodramatic. Although the main plotline surrounds the story of Alison and her own family, there are also nice subplots relating to couples who seek Alison's professional guidance. There is some wonderful use of light and shade along the way and there are plenty of examples of humorous wit in amongst the more emotional elements of the story.

Overall, I wouldn't say that this is quite as strong as "One Moment", but it is still a fine example of a very well-written family drama.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

Alison is a marriage guidance counsellor but when her 16 year old stepson's mother visits on his birthday after leaving him and his dad when Josh was only a baby she realises she may need to draw on all her experience to put her broken family together again.
A really good book that has moments of humour as well as sadness
Many thanks to Netgalley and Quercus Books for the advanced copy. My opinions are my own

Who To Trust...?
Who to trust and what to do when the past begins invading the present. Alison is about to find out. Her job is to help other couples, but can she help herself when her own relationship is on the line? Easy read domestic drama and a slow burn with much life minutiae but an interesting narrative with some witty asides.

Overall I enjoyed this book but not as much as the author's previous ones.

It was well written and most of the characters were good although some not very likeable.

It was a good family drama and I can recommend it. Thank you to Netgalley and Quercus Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Another great book from this author. I really enjoyed the dynamics of Ali's family, and the dramatic effects of her step-son's real mother reappearing after 16 years. The right balance of mystery and tension. Matilda is a delight. Ali probably says 'love' far too much, but otherwise it's a flawless read.

This is my first book by this author and I read it in one sitting.
Easy to read and had me a little misty eyed at times. Great style of writing. I found the plot believable.

Look forward to reading more from this author

Alison fixes relationships for everybody but, can she fix things for herself and her family? Lydia, her husband's ex shows up at the front door to build a relationship with the son she abandoned as a baby. Some in-depth soul-searching happens with Alison and her husband attending relationship counselling themselves. Will it work?

Alison and her husband Chris have their lives disrupted when Chris’s ex Lydia the mother of his sixteen year old son Josh arrives on their doorstep.
Alison is a marriage counsellor and it takes all her strategies to keep her family from falling apart.
I found this story a little confusing when it jumped to Alison interviewing couples and also to random snippets from unknown people who were having marital problems.
Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Good storyline, some annoying characters but well worth a read.

I didn't realise I had read this before in 2004 - it sounded familiar and at first I thought it was a very similar story to one I had previously read.

Wasn't aware this was a reprint otherwise I wouldn't have requested it as I'd already read it!

This is the second of Linda Greens books that I’ve read and the second that I’ve loved. She has such a great style of writing which draws you in and really makes you feel for her characters who all have some major issues to deal with. I would recommend this one to everyone!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Genre: General Fiction

Release Date: Expected 22nd July 2021



Alison spends all day fixing broken relationships - marriages that have carelessly fallen apart and seem like they'll never be put back together. So when her husbands ex, Lydia, walks back into their life after disappearing without a trace and demands to see their son, Alison knows she has the tools to handle anything that comes her way. Her marriage is solid, she isn't worried at all. But soon enough, cracks start to form and it seems that Lydia could hold secrets that might break their family apart entirely. Can Alison really mend her own marriage, or are some things just beyond repair?

Starting off in relative domestic bliss and slowly burning into a real-life drama and the breakdown of Alisons whole life. Her husband, her daughter Tilda, and Stepson Josh are all caught in the crossfire and struggling in their own ways, showing just how quickly fire can spread between a family from the roots to the leaves. On the surface this was just the daily lives of an average blended family but with something not quite right lurking around the corner.

With snippets from anonymous but suspiciously familiar perspectives, disjointed little insights that were never fully resolved and never fully explained. I thought I knew going into this story exactly what to expect, but every single time I did something else strange was thrown my way and left me fitting the messy peices of the puzzle together.

This was a beautifully written family who had my heart, with a sobering insight into the many ways relationships can break when you least expect it.

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to Linda Green, Quercus and Netgalley for this ARC in return for an honest review.

I love this authors books and this one was no exception. I had actually read this when it was first released in 2004 but was a treat to re read it. The marriage mender was a thought provoking and emotional read. Sometimes I had tears of happiness other times they were of sadness. The author is able to capture real life experiences and problems and write about them in a sensitive and thought provoking way.

The characters were realistic and believable as were the descriptions of the counselling sessions. This book drew me in and once I had started reading it I couldn’t put it down.

Ali is a relationship counsellor and this novel goes between Ali's family and their own difficulties and that of her clients. I think the blurb for this book gives away a big spoiler so something I felt should have been left as a twist is quite apparent. Ali is stepmum to Josh and mum to Matilda but Josh has always treated Ali like his biological mother. When Josh's birth mother arrives on the scene at his sixteenth birthday the whole family dynamic is tested. I though this was a really good well written novel that gripped my attention throughout. I'd find it quite hard to slot it into a genre but I think that's part of its appeal. I thorougly enjoyed this and would definitely recommend it.

I didn’t realise this was a reprint. I had read it before and enjoyed it the first time round. Netgalley really need to make it more clear that it’s a reprint.

After reading the first chapter I felt like I know this story. I have read it before! Both times were as good as the first. All families have underlying issues.

This is the first book I have read by this author and it won’t be the last.
Alison is a marriage counsellor, helping other people’s marriages by day and living in her family of husband Chris, stepson Josh and daughter Matilda by night.
Although Alison isn’t Josh’s biological Mum; she met single Dad Chris when Josh was young after Chris’s first wife and Josh’s Mother Lydia walked out on them when Josh was 6 months old – She adores him like her own.
On Josh’s 16th birthday Lydia knocks on their door and drives a massive wrecking ball into their happy family.
The book is written in chapters about Alison’s family and snippets of counselling sessions with various couples Alison helps along the way – initially this made no sense to me because it felt like it was distracting the story. I should have realised the author would tie their stories in at some point.
One part of the book that made no sense to me was the short snippets of writing in italic in between some of the chapters. They became annoying so I skipped over those parts.
The book covers topics such as alcoholism, domestic violence, abandonment, adoption, missing persons, depression, teenage pregnancy and broken trust so will be a trigger for some, but each topic is covered in the right way.
I loved Alison as a character. She tries to see the good in everyone, she becomes both the glue that holds the family together and gets the blame for allowing Lydia a chance to get to know Josh.
Chris is still very hurt by Lydia walking out on him and Josh and wants to keep Josh well away from her. I understand why, he wants to protect Josh from his train wreck of a Mother. He knows its only a matter of time before she hurts him again.
Matilda is an intelligent little girl that asks some real and difficult questions. She adores her brother Josh and he adores her. Their relationship is a lovely one to read about.
Barbara is Chris’s Mum and stands alongside Alison as the strong Matriarch of the family until the author digs a little deeper and we learn more of her backstory.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable read that I wanted to keep picking up when I had a spare minute. I will absolutely be looking for other books by Linda Green to add to my TBR pile.
Thanks to NetGalley, The Publisher and Author for gifting me an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

This is a weird one, as soon as I downloaded it I realised I had already read this book, it's not a new release. I read it in 2016 after I bought a Kindle copy and on Goodreads I gave it 4 stars. I can't go into details as I read it so long ago but it's a book about relationships and how complicated they can be. The plot can be a bit predictable but it's entertaining and keeps you interested. I read other books by Linda Green and this wasn't even the one I preferred but overall her books are good, the sort you can read in a weekend. There are always twists and characters have secrets

I loved this incredible novel that shows that people that are professionally equipped to deal with marital crises are not necessarily able to handle their own and might need help as well.