This was definitely a book that I would describe as a slow burner to start, but one that’s definitely worth sticking with.

Some of the characters grew on me, others I felt increasingly infuriated with. I identified a lot with Steph by the end, and definitely felt sorry for her and the situations she was faced with.

“You hung on to that sense of self. You never gave yourself over to marriage and motherhood so completely that you forgot who you are.”

This book explores a lot of different themes, but one I really appreciated was how ‘grown up’ friendships develop, change and can also unravel.

As the book carried on, I found myself hooked on how the relationships and drama developed and unravelled.

This has been an emotional journey and book which I have enjoyed.

Deciding to indulge my love of suspense and family drama once again, I chose to read Other People's Marriages - Kerry Fisher's latest release. I have read one other novel by this author so I had a good idea what to expect going into this and it was such a pleasurable reading experience.

Steph meets Evie in 1984 at a coffee morning for mothers and toddlers at her local church hall and they became good friends, but she hasn't spoken to Evie for over twenty years. She also became very friendly with Teresa who is married to Paul. A holiday weekend ended in a major fall out between Evie and Steph but now, as Steph celebrates her 60th birthday, she is reflecting on the milestone birthdays, very much aware of how much she has missed Evie. Steph is at a crossroads in her life and is considering leaving Mal, her husband and then she receives a letter from Evie.

Kerry Fisher demonstrates again how well she writes about marriage, relationships and family. The three narrators of this endearing though heartbreaking story are Steph, Teresa and Evie in a timescale dating back to 1984, up to 2019. In a fabulously compelling tale of marital difficulty, fidelity and personality clashes, the author's characterisation is first-class as I fully expected and I was totally engaged throughout. Other People's Marriages is well worth a look and very highly recommended to those who like reading contemporary fiction with a good dose of realism.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Bookouture via NetGalley and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

Favorite Quotes:

I didn’t want him to spend his life feeling that everyone else had cracked the code to their place in the world but he’d scribbled his on the back of an envelope he’d lost before he’d memorised it.

Gemma was so charming that even when she was sending someone to hell, she did it in such a way that they enjoyed the journey.

I both admired Teresa for being able to keep a secret and could have shaken her out of frustration. But that was Teresa all over. She was like one of those money boxes that you had to smash open to retrieve the cash.

Paul looked so disgusted with Wendy that, for a second, I had a brief flicker of fear that he’d divorce me just for being related to her.

I’d frequently found myself wondering how so much water could make its way to the eyes, puzzling as I cried into Gladys’s neck about where the liquid came from, imagining a little reservoir tucked behind my jaw like the one in my Mini for windscreen wiper fluid.

I was a woman to whom detail was everything – mainly, if I was honest, so I could store it and use it against people at a later date.


My Review:

Kerry Fisher's latest offering was brilliantly insightful and so perceptive that the characters’ realizations and inner musings often stung as she was poking at some of my own failings and secret resentments that seemed to be fighting their way to the surface and had me nodding in emphatically agreement during perusal. This wily scribbler bravely dug deep and rooted around among the secret longings, self-doubts, and resentful sacrifices of marriage and motherhood with surgical precision and cunning, while maintaining a perfect balance of painful awareness and craftily amusing and snarky observations. She also held a bright light on those thoughts and impressions we women tend to keep privately stashed away and don’t dare speak of for fear of being banned from the sisterhood and flogged in the public square. What guile!

The storylines and family issues were varied yet highly relatable with narratives that flowed smoothly and sucked me in with cleverly astute and wry wit along with a keenly discerning eye and brutal honesty for warts and all disclosures of the nitty-gritty as well as the damage of long-held secrets. She had my rapt attention and I loved her deeply flawed characters as they were so real to me I could hear them breathing. I bonded and identified the most with the bombastic and colorful Steph, as gasp, I saw far too much of myself under her skin. So much so, I had to wonder if Ms. Fisher was actually someone who knows me all too well and using a pen name. Perish the thought!

I was excited to pick up this new book by Kerry Fisher as I really enjoyed reading the Silent Wife. I was impressed with this novel well!

On Steph’s 60th birthday, she suddenly becomes convinced that she can no longer live with her husband, Mal. While on the surface there’s really no problems - or are there?- she desperately wishes that her former best friend, Evie, was still a friend. Sadly, something (which we have yet to learn about) has split up the friendship.

Though Steph desperately wants to leave Mal, she waivers back and forth many times. Then, to her great surprise, Evie contacts her out of the blue. What has made Evie contact her? And what does the future hold for their friendship, her marriage with Mal, and the secrets everyone is keeping?

Kerry Fisher once again explores the relationships between husband and wife, as well as mothers and sons, and among friends in this funny, emotional page-turner.

Another great read by Kerry fisher. A brilliant story reflecting on people’s marriages and years of friendships

Kerry Fisher writes complex and compelling family dramas that effortlessly combine emotion, tension and suspense and she is at the height of her storytelling powers with her latest novel, Other People’s Marriages.

Her family has always been Steph’s number one priority. Having been married to Mal for decades, Steph has made sacrifice after sacrifice for the sake of her marriage and their family. Steph has no cause to complain about her life. She is perfectly happy and has never really had any reason to believe otherwise…or has she? As she hears her husband talking about what a wonderful marriage they have, all the doubts that Steph has fostered for years come rushing to the fore leading her to wonder whether she had made one sacrifice too many for the sake of a man she isn’t sure she loves anymore.

As Steph finds herself convinced that her marriage to Mal isn’t working anymore, she begins to muster up the courage to leave him when out of the blue she gets a letter from her old friend, Evie. The two of them haven’t spoken to one another in years when they had said things to one another that had destroyed their friendship in one fell swoop. Steph is stunned to receive this letter and she is absolutely flabbergasted when Evie reveals that she wants to see her again after almost two decades. What could Evie possibly want from her? And why did she get in touch with her now when so much time has gone past?

As long-buried secrets come to life, it soon becomes clear that nothing is going to be the same ever again for both their families as a shocking revelation will end up having serious repercussions that will turn all of their lives upside down.

Kerry Fisher’s Other People’s Marriages deftly explores the secrets within relationships bubbling underneath the surface, the tensions that simmer behind the smiles of people who seem to lead perfect lives and the destructive power of lies and deception in a brilliantly layered page-turner that is immensely absorbing and highly enjoyable.

Kerry Fisher captures the light and shade of relationships so beautifully she makes her readers go on an emotional roller-coaster journey with her flawed, multi-faceted and believable characters who by the end of the novel will feel incredibly real to the reader.

A superb tale readers will recommend to all their friends and family, million-selling author Kerry Fisher has penned another compulsively readable novel with Other People’s Marriages.

An unputdownable and heartbreaking read, where families, lies, and secrets are all twisted together into one gigantic mess!

Other People's Marriages is a fantastic novel surrounding the lives of 3 different women, Steph, Teresa and Evie who meet one day in 1984 at a baby and toddler group. Their friendships grow over the years until one day on a group holiday, a massive rift between Steph and Evie changes their friendship. They go 23 years before they see each other again.

Present-day, 60-year-old Steph is contemplating where her marriage with Mal is going. She’s also getting involved in her son’s marriage. Keeping secrets, contemplating how to keep everyone happy and close to her. Other People’s Marriages is a great insight into what happens behind closed doors.

The characters are brilliantly thought out and you will get absorbed into their marriages and the secrets. It’s a perfect Summer read! Totally deserves 5 stars for the emotional weaving in and out journey you are taken on between the marriages!

Gorgeously written story of three friends through time told with truth, humor and realistically portrayed. A truly fine read all round.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

I really enjoyed this book, with its interconnecting relationships and friendships that span almost a lifetime.

The story focuses on three sets of couples, with an emphasis on Steph as the main character. It’s told from several viewpoints, and covers multiple timelines. This works really well, and as the book goes on, we learn more about the characters, their marriages, friendships and relationships. Just as in real life, nothing is straightforward, and things are complicated at times.

It took me a little while to get into the story, but once I did, I found myself completely drawn into it. Steph is a very strong character, and at first I wasn’t sure if I liked her or not, she comes across as a bit over-confident and bossy. But over time, she grew on me, and she also mellowed, and I found myself liking her.

Once this story gets a hold on you, you’ll find it hard to put down, it’s complex and so authentic, and the dilemmas of the characters feel so real and important. I can just picture it as a wonderful BBC drama, it would be perfect.

I really absorbing and compelling novel, I really enjoyed it.

It is a story of 3 women's friendship from being young mothers, to being 60. They each are married and have sons the same age. It is life with the ups and downs, the disappointments, and as they get older, they think differently. They also look at things differently, feel differently, and it is what life is. While Steph is celebrating her 60th birthday, she realizes she must leave her husband and at the same time she received an invitation from Evie who she hasn't seen for 20 years. Evie wants a reunion with Steph and Teresa. Sometimes you feel like you have given up so much of yourself when you are married and raising a family. The three women will reconnect, and sometimes that is what a woman needs, just the connection to put things into perspective.
I received an ARC from Bookouture through NetGalley.

This is a new author for me. This is a bit different from the books I usually read and I felt like a change of pace. This is a family drama about three women who meet at a baby group in 1984 and the paths their lives take across the following years. The book opens with Steph who starts to question her life, her marriage and the choices she’s made as her 60th birthday approaches. I enjoyed the way the book moves between past and present across different timelines. These shifts are signposted well so I never got lost. I was impressed by the characters in the novel and how they are developed. They were complex and well written so really came to life for me. I found this a well-written and compelling read. It’s well worth a look.

Marriage, Life and Friends

At Steph’s 60th birthday party she is thinking it is time for a change, and the story takes the reader through how she got to this point in time – and a little further. Steph’s story is also interspersed with that of her two friends Teresa and Evie, all quite different characters, and all married with children. The narrative changes years to show how their marriages have changed over the 30 or so years they have known each other, and how their friendship has also altered.

There are some great witty sections about the reality of marriage vs the dream, and some sit back and think moments about life and difficult decisions. Other People’s Marriages is is a look at how life changes, sometimes without one really noticing and sometimes in dramatic ways. However mostly this book is about people and relationships, all told in Kerry Fisher’s wonderful style.

Overall I found it rather a sad book, about dreams failing to live up to expectations, but also a powerful book about being true to oneself and the power of friendships. My life being quite different from Steph, Teresa and Evie made this an interesting read for me, but not as great as many of the other books by this wonderful author. Brilliant to read a book about life as seen from the perspective of an “older woman”!

📚 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 📚
3.75/5🌟

Oᴛʜᴇʀ Pᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ's Mᴀʀʀɪᴀɢᴇs is out today, and here's my review ...

I was intrigued by the title of this novel, along with the fact that it starts out at main character Steph’s 60th birthday party, where she can’t stop thinking about leaving her husband.

Not only was it fun to read a book with a main character who shares my name, but I definitely haven’t found enough contemporary fiction focusing on women closer to my age (51) who aren’t portrayed as “old”, so this one intrigued me.

Steph and her two best friends, Evie and Teresa, met at a baby class more than 30 years before, and each have one son. Their friendships and marriages are explored through the course of the book.



This book examines the real experiences of life in an unvarnished way - raising children and questioning your abilities as a mother, doubting your life choices, unexpected illnesses, secrets and betrayals - and it celebrates the beauty and importance of female friendships, and how very far they can stretch and endure.

This is a slower, wordier read, but Walsh shares wonderful insights and deep, astute observations that any woman who is, or has been, a mother or wife can relate too.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #bookouture for the opportunity to read an eARC of this wonderful book!

#bibliophile#stephsalwaysreading#bookstagram#bookstagrammer#bookreviews#bookreviewer#bookrecommendations#otherpeoplesmarriages#whatshouldireadnext#kerryfisherauthor#booklover#bookworm#tbrlist#ARC

I think people forget what it was like when these three women were first starting out as young women with families and wanting careers and having to do it all. Being a stay at home mom was more common than being out in the workforce. I could relate so much wanting to be independent and having "old fashioned" husbands as this story tells us. There are three women as the main characters, Steph, Teresa, and Evie and their respective spouses. The story is told from their points of view, but mainly I feel as if it is more about Steph and her relationships with the others. They meet at a Mother and Toddlers group and immediately form a bond getting to know each other and their boys, who also become friends. The friends and their families vacation together over the years. But during one of their trips something happens and a split between Steph and Evie occurs leading to a long time break.

The story is written looking at each of their marriages and also whether they are happy or not. No one really knows what is going on in someone else’s relationship. The decades long friendship is the strength of the story. The story is well written and the characters are women we long to have in our own lives.

I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Other People’s Marriages’ by Kerry Fisher in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

It’s 1984 and three women, Steph, Teresa and Evie, meet at a mother’s coffee morning at the local church, and as the years pass their friendship grows and develops despite an argument that causes a 23-year rift between Steph and Evie. Years later it’s Steph 60th birthday party and she’s contemplating whether to leave Mal who she’s been married to for many decades, when she receives a letter from Evie who wants to meet her again.

‘Other People’s Marriages’ is the absorbing story of three women and the lies they tell to avoid hurting those closest to them. As I got deeper into the story I became completely involved in their friendship, their marriages and families, understanding their strengths and weaknesses and liking them for their closeness and support of each other. The characters have been beautifully described and I enjoyed the forthright manner of speech the author has given them, especially Steph who made me laugh out loud on a number of occasions. But amid the laughter there’s sadness and at times I was reading with tears in my eyes. This is an amazing story with a touching ending that I’ve loved reading, I have no hesitation in recommending and is worthy of five stars.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'Other People's Marriages' by Kerry Fisher.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Kerry Fisher, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 16th July 2021.

This is the second book I have read by this author. I have previously read 'Another Woman's Child'.

I was originally drawn to this book by its beautiful eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that this book is 'Perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult, Liane Moriarty and Diane Chamberlain.' I am a huge fan of Jodi Picoult and Diane Chamberlain so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I am also a huge fan of Kerry Fisher and if this is half as good as 'Another Woman's Child' it is sure to be an epic read. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of 27 chapters. The chapters are short to medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is based in England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 , UK 🇬🇧 . I always enjoy when books are set in the UK as I'm from Wales and have sometimes visited areas mentioned in the book. This makes it easier to picture where the scenes are set at times. I have in fact visited England on many occasions including going there on holiday last and this year so am looking forward to possibly recognising name places.

This book is written in a mix of third and first person perspective and the main protagonists are Steph, Teresa and Evie . The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them. If there are several protagonists you also get to see more of what is going on.

This book is beautifully written with descriptions that set the scene and really make you feel what the characters are going through. The storyline is about three friends, all who are married and how their friendships grow, dissolve and develop and what happens when you keep a secret from one. I enjoyed getting to learn more about Steph, Teresa and Evie and watch not only their friendships between them develop and change but their relationships with their Husbands. Each friend had their own unique personalities along with their Husbands. I loved Steph's say it as it is attitude to life, appreciated Evie's sensibility and respected Teresa as the pivot between them. I feel their personalities worked perfectly in the friendship and I loved how they supported each other. The book makes you question what you would do if you were in the same position. The husbands also had their own unique personalities but the only one I actually clicked with was Paul. I thought both Mal and Neil were chauvinistic sexist pigs. The storyline is filled with love, friendship, secrets and loss and will leave you thinking long after you have finished the last page. It is set over multiple time lines. When books show what has happened in the past and what is happening in the present I find it really helps the reader (if it is well done) understand why things are happening and what has lead to the present activities and decisions. It also shows the bigger picture.


Overall a beautiful but heartbreaking story about love and friendship and what happens when secrets are involved.



Genres covered in this novel include Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction and Domestic Fiction amongst others.

I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as anyone looking for a relaxing summer read.



294 pages.

This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle via Amazon or free on kindle unlimited which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 4/5 (I enjoyed it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Steph has spent decades building a life with her husband, Mal and putting their family first. She is the glue that holds them all together and she has convinced herself that she's been happy, most of the time. But as she stands at her birthday party watching her husband talking about a wonderful marriage she doesn't really recognise, the doubts she's been pushing down for so long begin to grow. After the party as Steph tries to gather the courage to leave Mal, she receives a letter from her old friend Evie who she hasn't spoken to for over twenty years. Evie is looking for a reunion and a way to repair the damage done all those years ago.

This is a story of loss, betrayals and misunderstandings. With relatable characters and true friendships that span over twenty years. It's told from the perspectives of Steph, Teresa and Evie. When the rift between Steph and Evie has finally healed, long hidden truths begin to surface. All the women have sons the same age. The story is told from back when they went on that fateful holiday and the present day. Overall, this is quite a decent read.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #Bookouture and the author #KerryFisher for my ARC of #OItherPeoplesMarriages in exchange for an honest review.

Other People's Marriages by Kerry Fisher is another pitch-perfect novel, and I suspect that many readers will experience varying degrees of self-reflection in this multi-layered story about marriage and friendships, primarily the latter.

A milestone birthday is always a time to take stock, and as Steph is toasted on her 60th, she cannot help but reflect on her marriage to Mal. It is time to shake the bushes, and Steph realizes that what she is missing in her life is her friendship with Evie, a relationship that went cold twenty years ago. At a time in life when the challenges we face become more personal than ever before, can a friendship be resurrected on its previous strength, and can we ever move past the secrets and past hurts that threaten to diminish our future happiness?

This is a wonderful read about the power of female friendships, and the people who are always there to help us weather life's inevitable storms.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an ARC.

This is a great book full of strong and believable characters. It begins with Steph listening to her husband’s speech at her 60th birthday. You are quickly drawn into the story of how unhappy she is. She wants to leave her husband and she misses her friend Evie. The story timeline then alternates between present-day events and the years since she met her best friends Evie and Teresa. They met at a mother and toddler group and became firm friends. Together with their husbands and sons they took holiday breaks away together over several years.
This book is a detailed look at friendship as well as marriage. The female characters are all so different yet so likeable, despite their bad traits. The husbands less so. As a woman in my 60’s the story resonated with me. These women are a mixture of every woman I know. It is a compelling read, full of emotion and thought-provoking scenes. The dialogue is great. Steph has some great funny lines.
I would highly recommend this book. It is funny, emotional, thought-provoking and overall a great read.
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for an advance copy in return for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! I’ve read a few Kerry fisher books previously and have never been disappointed. I liked the storyline, it was a bit simplistic but there were a few twists I didn’t see coming too. I found some characters, e.g. Teresa, very annoying, but the others were fine.
Can’t wait to read the next one!