Tuesday, October 9, 2012

The Secret of Married Women by Carol Mason

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. 

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