This woman appears to have become a lesbian by accident. If I was her wife I would have binned her off years ago. She doesn’t seem that affected by her father’s death and when she gets a memento of him she’s been apparently waiting to get back for years, she discards it in a hotel lobby. The writing is pretty good, but wasted on these unloveable characters. As a middle-aged woman with bisexual tendencies, you’d think I’d be into this book, but I didn't find it a rewarding read.

At almost 40, Zuzu is evaluating her life. She's married to a very successful lawyer, Agnes, has a beautiful house and a lovely child. Yet something seems missing. The connection between her and Agnes is lessening all the time and Agnes is becoming more and more distant. She reflects on her on-off and very one-sided relationship with Cash and this all comes to a head when Zuzu's father dies suddenly.

I enjoyed this book. Zuzu is a somewhat exasperating character, consumed with wanting to be desired but always feeling she isn't really wanted (except by the very peripheral character of Noel who does want her, a lot. Unfortunately she doesn't want him). The ending was a little disappointing as it was so unresolved. I'm not a fan of everything being tied up neatly but this was a bit too loose for me. A solid 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Thanks to the publisher and NetGally for the ARC.

This was a good book and the right length with a strong flow. I feel like there wasn't much resolution at the end which I would have liked.
Some very real issues addressed in a well rounded way.
I look forward to see what the author writes next.

This is the story of a woman up to around ten years into her marriage to another woman, when their life is complicated and it's hard to see the love anymore. She reflects on her life and past relationships and unresolved issues. The writing is good and the story is interesting. However it left me frustrated and bitter, as the characters don't really evolve throughout the book. The main character is incapable of making choices and expressing herself, which is something we're told on the first page and then shown for the rest of the book, with no evolution or resolution whatsoever. Interesting topics are touched, racial issues, family issues, but not with any depth. It feels like a far too long introduction to a good story. Maybe too much like real life when we get dragged into things and relationships and after years we look around and think "how on earth have I let this happen?".

Zuzu has the life she’s always dreamed of – or thought she dreamed of - a beautiful house, a child (a son, Gideon), and a very successful partner. But Zusu's relationship with her wife, Agnes, is cold and somewhat remote. Zuzu spends quite a lot of the book reflecting on the relationship she had - and the possibility of a slightly different relationship altogether - with her best male friend, Cash.

In the meantime we're also introduced to Noel, the guy at school she tried to avoid and her slightly strained relationship with her now divorced parents, one white, one black. Zuzu has at times obviously been uncomfortable with her black heritage and she also reflects on this, her response to Noel over the years, what she's felt about Cash over the years, the decisions she's made - and whether they were in fact the wrong ones.

The story is very reflective - not a great deal happens and, although I zipped through it, I didn't really care about any of the characters - Zuzu's relationship with Cash in particular shows her to be entirely passive - she clearly wanted more from him and their relationship but did nothing to make it happen. Although she's looking back on her life so far, it was something of a mystery to me that she managed to marry Agnes - I didn't get any sense of how they managed to get together in the first place and since Zuzu is so passive throughout (whereas Agnes really is not), I couldn't quite make sense of the fact that it was Zuzu who asked Agnes to marry her. One of the instances that baffled me was that, regularly in the course of the book, Zuzu is wishing to find a sweatshirt that she used to have that was her father's - she thinks it's in a storage unit belonging to her and Agnes. Eventually the actual sweatshirt appears - and then Zuzu just leaves it behind (deliberately) despite its apparently importance to her throughout at least the first half of the book. I rather felt that if she was too passive to care about what she did and what happened, I couldn't be bothered either ...

A book about missed chances ... I would recommend it but only to people who like books which are reflective on relationships but where not much actually happens.

Thank you net galley for this copy. Full review at https://readreviewandreflect.wordpress.com/
A debut novel, Thomas-Kennedy’s writing style is flawless and captivating. The imagery used was strong and precise and she used food continually throughout the chapters delving into the past to engage our senses, and making me very hungry.
I really enjoyed reading The Other Wife as I felt I was growing closer and closer to Zuzu, the main character, after every chapter. Thomas-Kennedy has written this character very well, choosing a first person narration was a good choice as I felt like she was one of my closest friends, telling me all of her secrets during a wine-fueled catch up.
I particularly liked how short the chapters were, with names rather than numbers, which increased the pace at which I read, almost devouring it in days.
Zuzu is a complex character for me. I loved her immensely. In fact, multiple points throughout this novel I wanted to just reach in and give her a long, soothing hug as I just felt for her. However, she is morally quite grey, making terrible decisions constantly.
James ‘Cash’ Cashel and Zuzu’s relationship is confusing and complex. As college students, Zuzu’s love for Cash is, again, consuming. Sadly, that hasn’t changed much for present day Zuzu who is married with a child.
This is a very enjoyable novel, told by the main character using snippets of her past to paint a very clear picture of her current circumstances. I would heavily recommend this novel to those that enjoy character driven narratives and thought-provoking women’s fiction with themes of self-discovery. However, this could be labelled one of those stories where “nothing really happens” and so if you prefer a more plot-driven story, this may not be for you.

Firstly, I’d like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with this stunning work of fiction.

‘The Other Wife’ follows the story of Susan (or Zuzu, as she’s so often called) as she narrates the portrait of her life. She does so in a way that’s easy to follow with each chapter adding a new piece to the puzzle. As readers, we get to immerse ourselves in both her past and present, which highlights a key theme of the book - what could have been.

As we uncover feelings and desires buried deep within Susan’s mind, we see the complexity of human behavior and how we ultimately fall victim to our own emotions. The themes we see most are those of love, desire, identity and resilience. In other words, we witness something very raw and very human.

I enjoyed accompanying Zuzu along her journey and I believe that she would be a nice companion to many a reader. I know that I’ll be carrying the feelings this book left within me for a while still. It’s not often that we see such a consistent and sincere portrayal of a character’s inner world and I would like to applaud the author for that.

Thankyou net galley for this arc copy, I really enjoyed this book as it showcased the main character trying to navigate through the decisions she made in life as a means of being a easier life, I loved the flashbacks and seeing the dynamic of her relationship with her childhood best friend. This book is a really good thought provoking book that showcasing the true meaning of this book sometimes comfortable isn’t always the right way to go