5 Star
`Affairs are easier to have than you`d think.`
Jill and Rob are happily married - until they discover that Rob is infertile. It isn`t the end of the world for Jill. She`s just happy to have a trustworthy husband who loves her deeply and presses all the right buttons in the bedroom. But Rob`s gone off sex and refuses to discuss it. In fact all communication between them has come to an infuriating halt. And Jill just yearns for a bit of fun.
It wouldn`t be so bad if one of her best friends wasn`t having the best sex of her entire life `albeit behind her husband`s back` while her other friend has a stunning husband she`s still in lust with.
But are things ever what they seem? How well do we ever know our husbands, our best friends, or even ourselves?
Jill is about to find out when she faces infertility, infidelity and the truth head on...
Lydia - 5 Star
The Secrets of
Married Women is an absorbing read and wasn't anywhere near as frothy and
fluffy as I might have believed it to be from the cover and description.
Instead, I discovered a thoughtful novel about love, marriage and friendship
that covers a topic we don't often see in chick lit, which is always a
refreshing change. Often we see infidelity from the women's perspective when
she is the wronged party. The Secrets of Married Women explores the topic of
women led astray.
This novel is
full of flawed, real characters. The
main character, Jill, whose marriage we witness as issues fester and begin to
splinter and erode their relationship, is a wonderful character to root for. I
wanted to shake Jill and shove Rob in her face so she could see how wonderful
he is, yet I could completely emphasize with how lonely and bereft she feels
once he emotionally vacates. I don't condone cheating, and I was slightly
surprised that their issue hadn't been going on for longer, but this novel
provides multiple angles on the subject of infidelity. You can compare women
and men and draw your own conclusions - who ends up miserable, who is redeemed,
who is released and why. I think Mason
does a fabulous job at making you think with this novel.
The Secrets of
Married Women isn't just about marriage and infidelity. It's also about
friendship. I loved how different the three characters are and I enjoyed
following their stories. The relationship between the three women is intriguing
as they didn't always confide their deepest secrets to one another, and I could
completely relate to this. Some women tell each other everything, which we have
one character do, and others keep quiet until there's an explosion or others
confide only to some friends as opposed to others and I found it intriguing and
characteristic of even some of my own relationships.
Mason's depiction
of marriage in The Secrets of Married Women is fascinating to me, as I found
her other novel, The Love Market. She hits it on the nose every time and
manages to write about marriage without the fluffy coating some novels manage
to layer on. She stips away the layers
and portrays it in all it's greatness and listlessness. Her portrayal of how
wonderful and intoxicating it can be, juxtaposed at how lonely and aggravating
it can be is fabulous. Marriage is hard, and this novel tells it like it is for
these characters. There is no sugar coating, no reality dodging and I loved
that. The fact that Rob isn't a terrible person, but loving, and kind with one
large exception that becomes a growing problem in their marriage makes what
happens even harder to swallow. I love novels that hit hard with reality, and
The Secrets of Married Women definitely delivers.
There were
definitely a few surprises in The Secrets of Married Women, which I loved along
with Jill, whose character I really enjoyed . If you're looking for a deeper
novel, exploring marriage, pick up one of Mason's novels today.
Thank you to Carol Mason for our review copy. All opinions are our own. Connect with Carol here:
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