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3.01k reviews for:

The Younger Wife

Sally Hepworth

3.65 AVERAGE

dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

I’m a big fan of Sally, but this one missed for me. Family drama is her work, which I enjoyed.  I felt the ending fell flat and was anticlimactic. 
fast-paced
dark informative mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
dark mysterious medium-paced
dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
emotional sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

It starts off with the present time during a wedding, then in jumps backward and works forward to the wedding again. There are three main narrators, Heather, Rachel, and Tully, with a little part here and there narrated by Fiona. It moved pretty well, and there are trigger warnings āš ļø but the author did well in handling them.  I wanted to not like the characters, but as the story went on, I felt for them. Well, Stephen, I never liked. 
emotional funny lighthearted mysterious sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
dark mysterious tense
emotional mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Loveable characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A few thoughts:
šŸŽ€ My first Sally Hepworth novel, recommended by a recently discovered book-friend from work. Why is it so exciting when you find other readers?  I started it right away. šŸ’šŸ»ā€ā™€ļø
šŸŽ€ The writing was simple & easy to read. I felt like it was written in a very beach/holiday kind of way & had that very Aussie vibe to it. To me it felt like a relaxed thriller, if that kind of thing exists.  Despite this, there were some heavy issues, such as SA, DV, mental illness, alcoholism etc.
šŸŽ€ Got me good around chapter 16 - a few little twists to pull me in, & they kept coming from there! I loved how this unraveled & enjoyed the multiple points of view. 
šŸŽ€ Will definitely seek out the other novels by Hepworth after reading this one!

There was certain darkness lurking around each character. It was a let down that most were not fleshed out towards the end. The characters kept me turning each page for more, but more never came.