The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review an advanced reader's copy of this book.

The Younger Wife was a satisfying, fast-paced romp of a read. Sally Hepworth has become a reliable favourite for books that I can't put down! She has a way of writing dark subjects lightly, and her characters are always richly developed, full of flaws and quirks— which I love. I find with her writing, I never quite know how things will turn out in the end, and The Younger Wife was no exception.

The book is told from the perspectives of Tully and Rachel, two adult sisters, as well as from the perspective of their father's new fiancé, Heather. Tully and Rachel's mother has dementia and is in a nursing home, so understandably, their father, Stephen, wants to move forward with life and has found love with Heather, who is notably younger than him, which doesn't sit well with the sisters. I found the characters well-fleshed out, especially Tully and Rachel, but I'd have loved to know more about Heather to more deeply understand her.

I appreciate how Hepworth always has you reflecting on your own character judgments and reconsidering what you once believed. If you've enjoyed any of Hepworth's previous books, like The Good Sister or The Mother-in-Law, you'll be delighted with this one as well.

Comments

Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling by Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen

I haven't been so utterly besotted with a character as I was with Aisling in a very, very long time. I also think this audiobook may have broken some records on the number of times it made me snort laugh out loud with the endless Irish-isms, and the genuine hilarious earnestness of our dear Aisling. It's no secret that I love/am fairly obsessed with any and everything Irish. I'm Canadian as can be, but my paternal grandmother has roots in Ireland (and shared many of the cultural perspectives that came up in this book for the country folk, it turns out), and my mother's grandmother had family from Northern Ireland, I think. Anyway, like I said, I'm Canadian af, and so are my parents and their parents, so I'm certainly not claiming citizenship here or something. But I do think some very old family traits and traditions have made it down the line to the things we still find ourselves doing today. Additionally, many of my fond memories are due to a tiny, spritel...

The Midnight Library and Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore

I love Dolly Parton. For so many reasons, including that she's a badass feminist with a massive heart of gold who has contributed to kid's literacy among other charitable causes, including contributing to funding of the Moderna vaccine. Oh, and her incredible musical catalogue, of course. But this story only about Dolly peripherally. Recently, Dolly did an interview with the NY Times , and she mentioned that she's been reading a book called The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll have heard of this book as it's on all the lists this year. It's about a 35 year old woman called Nora Seed whose life is just not working out the way she hoped it would — in any area at all. She decides it's time to end things, and after she tries to do so, she finds herself in a place between life and death called The Midnight Library where her childhood library explains that she can try on different versions of her life to see what w...

Meg Reads

Search This Blog