I'm not sure why but it took me something like 5 years to move forward from the first chapter. I would start the book, get bored, put it down and start it again after a year or so.
This time I decided to commit and I actually had fun reading this. Like, I actually laughed out loud very often.
This book is a light read if you want it to be. But if you take it seriously, it fills you with feelings, with questions. What would I do in Ella's place? What is up with Sebastian? Why is her mom so mean?
In the end I got so attached to these characters that I never wanted the book to end.
( )

Warm, genuine and a lovely read. A lot less story and a great deal more description than similar novels but very enjoyable. A great winter holiday read ( )

Ella’s marriage to the celebrated artist Sebastian Montclair has not turned out to be the success she had hoped for. Now in her mid-thirties and with two lazy teenage children lolling about the house, her husband has moved out to live in an outhouse elsewhere on the farm, leaving Ella to look after the children, the holiday guests, the animals as well as doing his laundry.

When her parents have marital difficulties too, and her mother decides to come and stay in one of the holiday lets on the farm, Ella’s life become even more chaotic and its only her growing friendship with handsome gardener Ludo (also married) that is her salvation.

By comparison, Ella’s bossy sister Ginnie seems to have a perfect life – she is a lady that lunches, she fills her time with charity committees and by all appearances seems to have the perfect children. Only appearances are never what they seem.

I was really looking forward to reading this as I had very much enjoyed Catherine Alliott’s previous book, A rural affair however I found this disappointing. It was an easy read but both characters and storyline were bland and forgettable. Ella seemed to be a pleasant enough ditzy character but I didn’t warm to her, I became irritated by her indecisiveness and dithering and thought some of the minor characters like Ottoline, Ella’s mother and even Sebastian were far more interesting and would have liked to have seen more of them in the book.

There were some amusing moments – most notably with the chickens. Monsieur Blanc and his little gang raised a smile but it’s quite sad really when chickens are more interesting than the main characters!

At nearly 500 pages I felt the book was a bit too long and Ella’s will she/won’t she friendship/affair with Ludo became repetitive. Even the reveal of the “secret” hinted at in the book description wasn’t enough to pick the story up for me. There were some insightful moments when I had a moment of sympathy for Ella, especially when she felt her family were excluding her from their decisions but sadly this book just didn’t hit the spot for me.

Although this was only a so/so book for me, I’m sure that many other people would enjoy it and I would still read other books by this author.

My thanks to Real Readers for the opportunity to read and review this book. ( )

My Husband Next Door – Catherine Alliott

You know when you turn on the TV and catch a programme that you saw advertised in the listings? But you didn’t think it was your thing so you didn’t bother watching it? But when you do watch it you think that it wasn’t as bad as you thought it was going to be? That sums up my feeling about this book.

I’ve never read any books by Catherine Alliott before although I have heard of her and know that she is very popular and her books have sold well. So when Real Readers sent me this advance reading copy I cannot admit to feeling much enthusiasm.

But I’ve now read the book and I can admit to enjoying it reasonably well. It’s competently written and the writer knows her market very well. But I simply cannot identify with the characters and life styles described in the book.
Some are stereotypical it seemed to me and were there as functional to the plot rather than as people to relate to. There was something almost farcical in some situations and I found certain courses of events predictable.

For most of the way through it seemed that it was just a good old yarn being spun of country and creative life, or marriage and parenting, of friendships and fidelities because it was possibly three quarters of the way through where the point of it all became apparent. It’s a good point; the one thing in the book I could relate to. I’m not going to issue any spoilers but it gave a final credibility to the story for me.

I won’t say I’ll never read another Catherine Alliott book but I can’t see myself actively seeking them out. They’ll have to find me!!! ( )