This is... Denise.
Married to Ray, her first and only love,
Denise has never for one moment regretted putting the husband she idolised on a
pedestal above everyone and everything else. But, after forty years of
marriage, he is gone, leaving Denise to discover that their perfect marriage
was fatally flawed. Now she faces a future alone, but first she must face the
betrayals of the past.
This is... Claire.
The estranged daughter of Denise, the
woman who put her husband before her children, Claire took the opposite path
and devoted her life to raising her family, sacrificing her marriage along the
way. With her teenage sons about to flee the nest, she realises she may have
left it too late to find her own happy ever after.
This is the
story of two women, both alone, both cautionary tales of one of motherhood's
biggest decisions.
Who is more important, your partner or your children? And what
happens if you make the wrong choice?
Buy links:
My Thoughts
Well hello you fabulous emotional roller coaster! This book stirred up a wide range of emotions for me and I am sure it will for many others. The reason being is that it is so realistic, quite frankly it could be called This is Life, because it sure is true to life!
The focus is on two women, Claire and her mother Denise and their dysfunctional relationship. Choices have been made in the past that have torn them apart. Denise has chosen to put her relationship to her husband Ray first and has chosen to cast her children aside to please him. After growing up in this toxic environment, Claire decides she will never be like her parents. Claire's focus is on her children and nobody will come in between that, not even her own husband.
I was completely shocked at Denise and her husband Ray and how they treated their children. It made me angry and sad. Yet I guarantee we all know a Denise and Ray. Denise was so blinded by love that she became obsessed with Ray and he could do no wrong. When Ray dies suddenly, her world is tipped upside down. I must admit I had trouble feeling sorry for her. She fell victim to the manipulation of Ray and wanting to be a good wife to her wonderful husband. Was he that wonderful? You be the judge. As she struggles to function after his death her world continues to crash down around her and she is all alone. Denise has burnt all her bridges- no friends, no family, complete isolation as Ray would like it.
Claire on the other hand was a more likable character and I could relate to her more. I am sure we all know a Claire too in our lives. She was just trying to be a good mom and was fueled by her own experiences. She did allow her relationship with her husband Sam to suffer and she did pay a price for it. As we all know there is a fine balance with relationships and it is often tipped unevenly on the scale.
I flew through this book as I was fascinated with the family dynamics and I wanted to know how this would unfold. This is my first book by Shari Low and I loved her writing style. She made me feel like I knew the characters and truly got my emotions going. I feel that an author that can pull you in so strongly that you get angry, sad and truly having empathy for her characters has done an amazing job.
A huge shout out to Victoria Joss, Aria and Shari Low for having me along on this fabulous blog tour!
Shari
Low is the No1 best-selling author of over 20 novels, including One Day In December, A Life Without You, The
Story Of Our Life, With Or Without You and her latest release, Another Day In Winter. And because she
likes to over-share toe-curling moments and hapless disasters, she is also the
shameless mother behind a collection of parenthood memories called Because Mummy Said So. Once upon a time
she met a guy, got engaged after a week, and twenty-something years later she
lives near Glasgow with her husband, a labradoodle, and two teenagers who think
she's fairly embarrassing except when they need a lift. For all the latest
news, visit her on Facebook, twitter, or at www.sharilow.com
Follow Shari
Website: www.sharilow.com
Twitter: @ShariLow
Facebook: @sharilowbooks
Follow Aria
Website:
www.ariafiction.com
Twitter:
@aria_fiction
Facebook:
@ariafiction
Instagram:
@ariafiction
Lovely review! The cover of this book is gorgeous and it sounds like something that'll definitely pull the emotions out of me. I wonder if I'd feel frustrated at the characters' actions while reading though? But will add this to my list!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Dini! The cover is stunning isn't it?! It is a bit of an emotional read, but I really enjoyed it.
ReplyDelete