A review by nicolem_young
Just the Nicest Family by Alison James

4.0

Book/Story: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Book Cover: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

TRIGGER(S): INFEDELITY, RAPE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, MURDER, EXTORTION

POV: Multiple, Third Person
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Part of a series: No
Safe or Dark: Darkish (see trigger warnings above)

“But, you know, no family is perfect, right?”

First, I just want to mention something that I personally believe to be important. 

Spoiler

I noticed that a few people feel that the situation that happened in this story happened because Tim Cutler (the MMC) couldn’t keep his penis in his pants. I, however, beg to differ. What happened in this story was based on the fact that Tim Cutler was raped. Christina raped Tim. Sure, he didn’t try very hard to stop what was happening in his state of shock. But he never gave any inclination that he wanted to make a pass at Christina, let alone have sex with her. At one point, he asked her what the hell she was doing, and she ignored him. That’s rape. Men can get raped too. I think we sometimes forget that.

 

I’m so jealous that I’m not at a villa somewhere in the south of France, sipping cocktails by the pool. Well, I was up until a certain point. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, I could not put this book down! It had me in a chokehold from start to finish! 

This book was a breeze to get through. The chapters were nice and short, and the writing was engaging. A great “popcorn thriller." This would be so fun to read on the beach or while tanning at the pool. The colorful cover definitely has me wishing that summer were here already! Most of the chapters left off at a place where you just HAD to read the next one to find out what happened. 

The changes in point of view were made smoothly, and you were very aware of who was telling the story at what point. The past and present timelines were also done well. They were woven beautifully together. They flowed nicely, didn’t jump around, and didn't seem choppy. 

The character diversity was awesome. We had the good, the bad, and the others. Some were very likeable, while others were near insufferable

Spoiler

*cough* Shona *cough*

. It was a great balance. 

As hard as I tried, I just didn’t like Louise Cutler (the FMC). I felt like she was whiney and throwing herself a pity party.

Spoiler

She was unable to go to the French villa on the same day as her husband and children due to a work conflict. She joined her family and friends on vacation three days later (as was decided by Tim and herself) and acted like it was the end of the world. Louise constantly reminded us about how she felt left out of the conversation and “inside jokes,” but instead of trying to get involved, she just wallowed and closed herself off to the group. She was also mad that her husband wasn’t paying enough attention to her, even though she knows they are on the trip to try to seal a business merger deal for his veterinary practice and that he needs to shmooze with Renee Weber, the bigwig interested in buying his business. When Louise arrives, she has a headache and goes to bed early. When she wakes up in the morning, she is upset that Tim has already gone down to breakfast and isn’t there with her. He wanted to let her sleep since he knew she didn’t feel well. That’s sweet. But she was very childish about it. Most people want their spouses and friends to still enjoy themselves on vacation, even if they don’t feel well. Honey, stop being a party pooper and enjoy your time at this gorgeous villa! I found Louise to be hypocritical at times. While Tim did do something that put the foundation of their marriage at risk, Louise almost did as well. When she went back to France with Guillaume, she damn near kissed him. She also went to his hotel room after MIDNIGHT! That is just asking for trouble, my dear. She hinted more than once at her attraction to Gillaume and almost made it seem like she was developing feelings for the guy. Outside of the financial aspect of Tim’s mistake, to me, this was worse than what he did. Louise was livid when she found out that Tim had been hiding the fact that Christina was extorting him for quite some time (rightfully so), yet she had found out about the payments that were being made to Christina years prior to his confession but never once confronted Tim about them. She so badly wanted her marriage to be perfect that she just brushed that crap under the rug. Look at the pot calling the kettle black. At the end of the book, Louise blames Tim for Hannah’s death! Like what in the bloody hell? Girl, THAT IS YOUR HUSBAND. THAT IS THE FATHER OF YOUR CHILDREN. HOW COULD SHE EVEN SAY SUCH A THING? Not to mention she abandoned her husband in the middle of a murder investigation—an investigation where he was the prime suspect!  I didn’t like Louise at all. I didn’t feel bad for her, and I didn’t enjoy her character.

 

However, I felt very bad for Tim Cutler and had a lot of empathy for him. He so badly wanted to be the perfect husband. He worked hard on his marriage, and his love and adoration for Louise were obvious.

Spoiler

Imagine keeping a life-crushing secret from your spouse for ten years. Imagine doing what you thought was your only option to keep your marriage from falling apart, even though it was an awful one. He put up with a lot and still tried his best to keep it together. While I don’t agree with the fact that Tim hid what happened to him from Louise, I can see why he felt the need to do it given the circumstances. I was truly sad for him when the rug was pulled out from under him in the end.

 

Christina Locke was an atrocious human being. Point blank. She was disgusting. I wanted to punch her in the face on multiple occasions.

Spoiler

She kept up her blackmail and extortion scheme against Tim for ten years. Ten bloody years! Who does that? Well, who blackmails and extorts someone in the first place? I’ll tell you who—someone who is horrible!

 

The side characters, for the most part, were all rather enjoyable and fun. Most of them were also very relatable. Especially the ones in the group on vacation at the villa. More than once, a character did something, and I rolled my eyes, telling myself, “We all have that one friend.”. 

The twists in the story were done to perfection. *Chef’s kiss*. Hats off to Alison James! They were just absolutely beautiful. When I read the first twist, I actually said out loud, "What the hell is happening right now!?” It has been a while since I read a book that had twists and turns this good. I was certain that I had figured out one of the plot twists about halfway through the book, but Ms. James did a wonderful job of throwing us all off the trail of the real one. 

Not much bothered me about this book to be honest but I did have my qualms.

The terms “soccer” and “football” were used interchangeably. This may have been done intentionally so those of us who more commonly use the term “soccer” knew which sport was being referred to. But it did throw me off somewhat. Especially since this was done with no other terms that are more commonly used in the UK versus America. That is a minor flaw, though, in the grand scheme of things. 

Spoiler

At the end of the story, we were given the clue that Louise was torn between working on her marriage with Tim and pushing past their struggle or starting over with Guillaume. We don’t get an answer to that, though. We are left with Tim sitting in the house with Louise, and Guillaume making his way to the front door. I would have loved to see how that played out. What did Louise decide to do? Who did she pick? Her comfortable life with Tim or a new one with Guillaume? We will never know.

 

This tale is a wonderful reminder that looks can be deceiving. While a couple, marriage, family, life, or person can look perfect from the outside looking in, there is often more going on beneath the surface than we know. We are never privy to what goes on behind closed doors. Keep that in mind the next time you see someone who seems like they have it all. 

This story gets you thinking about how well you know the people around you and, more importantly, how well you know your spouse. 

It's time for me to go read through Alison James's catalog. I am looking forward to her next release. She will for sure be a new go-to author of mine. 

I would like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book.

This is my voluntary, unbiased, and honest review.