Book Club Book Review: My Husband Next Door By Catherine Alliott

My Book Club's first pick for the year, for the month of January, was My Husband Next Door by Catherine Alliott

This is a story set in an English village and told by Ella who married an artist Sebastian when they were young and in love. Now in their thirties, their marriage didn't work out and they separate and Sebastian moves out of the farmhouse and into an outhouse with other holiday lets on the property.

Add to this uncomfortable setting, their two teenage kids in the middle of the separation going from one parent to another, the town folk, gossips, and family involved and interfering in everyone's business.

The story kicks off when the couple are already separated and Ella backtracks to explain how things came to be as they are now. So the reader doesn't know the real reason why they separated until the very end of the book when 'a big secret' emerges - if this secret had been told at the beginning I think the story would have more substance and a greater understanding and appreciation for the lives they were living.

Life in the village and on the farmhouse had some nice moments but the story as a whole was painfully slow from start to end and a bit of a bore. While there were some fun parts that made me smile and the writing was good, the story progressed too slowly without anything really happening.

I recommend this book to Catherine Alliott fans who enjoy light romance and chick lit.

I give this book 2 stars out of  5

Jarrah Jungle's Star Rating:

1 Bad - I'd rather eat brussel sprouts topped with anchovies than read this again
2 Not Good - I'd rather watch paint dry than read this again
3 Ok - I'm sitting on the fence - its not great but not terrible either
4 Good - I'd give up a bottle of the worlds best champagne for this read
5 Great - I'd pass up a date with Johnny Depp for this read

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[Image via Penguin]