Fiction Review: Nobody's Wife

Nobody's Wife - Laura Pearson

 Blurb:

Emily and Josephine have always shared everything. They’re sisters, flatmates, and best friends. It’s the two of them against the world.

When Emily has the perfect wedding, and Josephine finds the perfect man, they know things will change forever. But nothing can prepare them for what, or who, one of them is willing to give up for love.

Four people. Three couples. Two sisters. One unforgivable betrayal.

From the best-selling author of Missing Pieces comes a heart-wrenching story about family, loyalty, and obsession that will have you racing to the finish.

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Review:

Quality of Writing  ♥♥♥♥

Originality  ♥♥

Plot  ♥♥♥♥

Setting  ♥♥♥♥

Character ♥♥♥♥

Overall  ♥♥♥♥

Nobody’s wife is a well-written, lyrical novel but without sounding over pretentious. It is a character driven novel – there is a small plot element that adds to the character dynamics, but the characters mainly ARE the plot itself. Without giving anything away, the story centres on infidelity and the act of betrayal between siblings. These are two very unoriginal tropes which at first was a bit disappointing but it was as easy read, and the writing made it bearable! I did find it quite emotional at times – it really is a hard-hitting topic that mustn’t be written or read lightly.

I have a slight issue with this book. There is an abortion scene in it which I believe was not well-written. It was too short and abrupt – and I think something so trivial cannot be skimmed over. There was no emotion in the scene or between the two characters involved. It was barely mentioned again in the book. I just feel it lacked depth or meaning and that made me feel sad and annoyed.

Moving on, the ending also, in my opinion, made the whole book feel pointless and flat. However, I can understand that this book was just about the infefility – there doesn’t need to be much more added to the story. The ending, however, was also really sad and shocking – making this a rather depressing read!

That said, the writing was generally good throughout – especially the first half. I liked the mysterious tone throughout and how the narrative switched between the four main characters. I couldn’t put the book down – it was a depressing, but engrossing book to read and I really wanted to finish it. I loved the tension between the characters, and the chemistry between the two sisters.

Overall the whole story leaves you feeling sad – but in a good way that good writing should make you feel – especially over a topic like this.

Overall: 4 stars