When Ella married the handsome, celebrated artist Sebastian Montclair at just nineteen she was madly in love. Now, those blissful years of marriage have turned into the very definition of an unconventional set-up. Separated in every way but distance, Sebastian resides in an outhouse across the lawn from Ella's ramshackle farmhouse.
With an ex-husband living under her nose and a home crowded by hostile teenaged children, gender-confused chickens - not to mention her hyper critical mother whose own marriage slips spectacularly off the rails - Ella finds comfort in the company of the very charming gardener, Ludo.
Then out of the blue Sebastian decides to move on, catching Ella horribly unawares. How much longer can she hide from what really destroyed her marriage . . . and the secret she continues to keep?
Copy of book received from publisher - Thank you.
I am ashamed to admit this is the
first Catherine Alliott book that I have read. I have heard many great things
about her books and was very excited to read it but unfortunately I found this
one quite disappointing.
Ella plays the main character in
the book, a middle aged mother of two who fell in love at 19 to her handsome
Sebastian. After years of marriage Ella and Sebastian are now separated and
live apart...but on the same farm - intriguing hey? That’s exactly what I
thought!
The book is very much centered on
Ella and how she is dealing with this peculiar situation. One of the main
reasons I think I struggled to get into the book was because I didn't feel I
could connect to Ella and this was a little off putting. I thought she was very
self-absorbed and feeling sorry for herself all the time, I got a little bored
of her if I'm honest.
The storyline was very family
orientated I did like the way that it explored relationships between
husband and wife, Mother and Father, parent and child and siblings rather than
just sticking to the more common sex and shopping story lines (which I have to
say are my usual fave!)
I did also really like the humour
Alliott included in her book. Many parts had me laughing out loud which is
always a good sign and I did like the way that you really feel like you get to
know the characters very well, even if you are not fond of them!
Overall I rate this book as a
4/10 in the Novel Cafe. It was a warm, light, easy read which was amusing at
times but to me it did seem a bit on the long slow side. I found I was always
waiting for something 'big' to happen or a twist but one never came along. I’m
sure many of you would enjoy, especially if you are a fan of Alliott's, it was
just not for me.
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