[Synopsis]
Weekend wife n. 1 a wife whose husband works away and only comes home at the weekends. 2 a wife who misses her husband when he’s gone, but wants him gone when he’s at home.
Emily’s vision of country life was building dens with the children, walking a glossy hound and cosy nights in by the fire. But her kids are more interested in their smartphones, the family dog has ‘issues’ and she’s permanently freezing. And when husband Matt is home, he still seems worryingly distant.
Sasha and her husband Ned used to have a great connection, but nowadays the only connection between them is via Skype. And when a woman from Ned’s past comes with news that threatens the perfect life she’s built for her children, Sasha feels further from her husband than ever before.
Tamsin’s husband might be away during the week, but he’s never truly gone. He seems to know her every move, which is fine, sort of – until her first love reappears in the most mysterious of ways…
[My Rating]
I wasn’t really sure what to expect from The Weekend Wives by Christina Hopkinson. At the beginning, or at least within the first 50 pages or so, I didn’t feel overly impressed. The characters seemed really vapid and annoying and the story wasn’t interesting me at all. However, I carried on with it, and was soon hooked!
Christina Hopkinson has managed to craft really likeable, intriguing characters in this novel that you can’t help but rarher like. We learn more about not just Emily, Tasmin and Sasha, but about their families and everyday life too, and it makes for a refreshing and entertaining story. There seems to be lots of shrewd observations on relationships and family life- especially as a ‘weekend wife’- with all its problems and many challenges, without being too downbeat or negative. I ended up really liking all 3 women, and I felt very sorry for Tasmin whilst really hating her husband John!
The element of mystery that was wound into many of these narratives kept me guessing throughout and meant there was lots of simultaneous storylines going on which I really enjoyed. The novel addressed some serious issues (which I won’t go into here to avoid giving too much away) and I felt that the author presented them really well, considering the fact that some of them were tricky subjects. She managed to blend humour with serious subjects both skilfully and sensitively, resulting in a novel that I really enjoyed reading and would have happily read a lot more of!
I raced through this novel at a rate that surprised me; it’s not very long- my copy is just over 300 pages long- but I didn’t expect to get through it as quickly as I did! I would definitely recommend this novel for readers who fancy something fun, fairly easy to read and surprisingly thought-provoking.
I am glad you enjoyed it 🙂 It’s on my TBR, I’m planning on sandwiching it between two thrillers. I think it would be the perfect easy read. I am a sucker for every day life stories.
This between a couple of thrillers would be perfect, actually! Good plan ???? yes it definitely grew on me, was quite doubtful at the start but ended up really enjoyed it! Looking forward to reading your review when you’ve read it too ????????????
[…] The Weekend Wives by Christina Hopkinson – this surprised me and wasn’t just a fluffy piece of women’s ficton, like I expected (sorry!). Read my review here. […]