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heatherv's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Dementia, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death of parent and Alcoholism
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Rape, and Grief
kelly_e's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Author: Sally Hepworth
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 3.00
Pub Date: April 5, 2022
T H R E E • W O R D S
Psychological • Dynamic • Lacking
📖 S Y N O P S I S
THE HUSBAND
A heart surgeon at the top of his field, Stephen Aston is getting married again. But first he must divorce his current wife, even though she can no longer speak for herself.
THE DAUGHTERS
Tully and Rachel Aston look upon their father’s fiancée, Heather, as nothing but an interloper. Heather is younger than both of them. Clearly, she’s after their father’s money.
THE FORMER WIFE
With their mother in a precarious position, Tully and Rachel are determined to get to the truth about their family’s secrets, the new wife closing in, and who their father really is.
THE YOUNGER WIFE
Heather has secrets of her own. Will getting to the truth unleash the most dangerous impulses in all of them?
💭 T H O U G H T S
I've been slowly making my way through Sally Hepworth's backlist over the past few years, and next up was The Younger Wife. I'll preface my review by saying I was way less interested in this one than some of her other books, and my gut ended up being on point.
What I like:
• the prologue. It created so much tension, intrigue and suspicion. I needed to find out how it would all play out.
• multiple perspectives. I thought this structure suited the storyline perfectly, giving glimpses into each woman's life.
• the heavier topics. This one takes on A LOT and Hepworth does so in a sensitive manner, which I appreciated.
What I didn't like:
• the characters. The fact that the women all come across as unreliable and each of the male characters comes across in a good light didn't work for me at all.
• the ending. Underwhelming and predictable. Also some loose ends.
Despite hooking my interest in the beginning and containing some serious topics, my attention quickly waned as the story progressed. By the end, it just felt like a meh and forgettable read. With that said, I look forward to continuing in exploration of Sally's books.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of family drama
• readers who like books that read like a soap opera
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Perhaps the very worst people still had some good in them. And perhaps the very best had some bad."
Graphic: Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Dementia, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Eating disorder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Addiction, Infertility, Pregnancy, Rape, Miscarriage, Violence, and Abortion
Minor: Murder
hgunsch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Chronic illness, Rape, Toxic relationship, Death, Dementia, Sexual violence, and Alcoholism
Minor: Pregnancy, Murder, Death of parent, and Miscarriage
kimveach's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Dementia, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Vomit, Murder, Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Blood, Alcohol, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Sexual assault, and Rape
juliaaa02's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Sexual assault, Miscarriage, and Violence
okiecozyreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
https://m.facebook.com/groups/friendsandfictionofficialbookclub/permalink/821425995900472/
In it, she mentions that many of the characters deal with coping mechanisms, and that is how she tied it together. I can tell that the epilogue made a lot of people frustrated. It didn’t really bother me; I felt like what she was trying to accomplish worked for me - and this part of her story is similar to that of one that she knew in real life. (See above video)
I listened to the audio and enjoyed the Australian accents and the book moves quickly - 73 chapters (most less than 10 minutes - so it’s hard to quit reading!)
The first chapter holds a wedding, with a member of the wedding party splattered with blood, then we go back and meet the family. The father, Stephen is a cardiologist marrying a younger woman (between his daughter’s ages), but most appalling to them - while their mother and his current wife, is suffering from dementia and recently moved to a care unit. We learn about each of their struggles (most chapters have the POV of the two daughters and the new bride) in the weeks leading up to the wedding.
This book has lots of triggers: domestic abuse, kleptomania (“strange compulsions”), eating disorders, sexual assault, loss of pregnancy, etc
Quotes
“His eyes were kind. (Another thing Heather had learned growing up was to assess people’s eyes. Kind. Mean. Lecherous. They could change quickly, so you always had to keep an eye on the eyes.)” ch 16
“Upper middle class hired people to help them pack, take away the things they didn’t need, and unpack again at the other end. In addition to paying them handsomely, Stephen had given the movers a slab of premium beer and instructed her to order pizzas for them. That had been particularly eye-opening. Heather had assumed—from movies and the like—that the more money people had, the worse they treated the staff, but she understood now that wasn’t generally the case. She also understood why. When you were comfortable, you could afford to be magnanimous. Poorer people didn’t help the movers unpack because they were tired from working two jobs. If the movers broke something, poorer people were mad, because they couldn’t afford to replace it. They didn’t order pizza or premium beer for the movers, because when was the last time someone did that for them? It was strange, seeing the world from both sides. Strange, and eye-opening. So few people got to see things from her vantage point. It seemed, to Heather, an awful shame.” Ch 19
“I just mean, don’t beat yourself up for single-handedly saving yourself with the tools you had available to you. Where I come from, that’s called survival.” Ch 29
“And yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that he wasn’t all bad. Perhaps the very worst people still had some good in them. And perhaps the very best had some bad.” Ch 66
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Dementia, and Eating disorder
Minor: Pregnancy and Sexual assault
quietcoastline's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Medical content, Domestic abuse, Dementia, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Murder, Violence, Death, Medical trauma, and Rape
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Infertility, Pregnancy, and Excrement
allyssa_r's review
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Alcohol, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Murder
kerrygetsliterary's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Dementia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Physical abuse, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Violence, Eating disorder, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Death, and Death of parent
brookerachel's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Rape, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Dementia