The Blurb...
Can one woman’s marriage survive her best friend’s divorce? Veronica Henry meets Erica James in this summer’s must-have read.

Octavia Shelton thought she’d have a different life. One where she travelled the world with an exotic husband and free-spirited children in tow.

Instead she’s married to safe, reliable Jonathan, and her life now consists of packed lunches, school runs and mountains of dirty washing. She’s not unhappy. It’s just that she can barely recognise herself.

So as Octavia watches her best friend’s marriage break up, it gets her thinking. What if life could be different? What if she could escape and rediscover the person she used to be? Escape back to the island she visited years ago? And what if the man she used to love was there waiting for her?

I adored the cover as soon as I saw it and thought to myself that I really needed to read this book.
I am so pleased I did, it is the perfect holiday read. It is a witty and a book full of escapism... Fab Fab Fab..
( )

The Blurb...
Can one woman’s marriage survive her best friend’s divorce? Veronica Henry meets Erica James in this summer’s must-have read.

Octavia Shelton thought she’d have a different life. One where she travelled the world with an exotic husband and free-spirited children in tow.

Instead she’s married to safe, reliable Jonathan, and her life now consists of packed lunches, school runs and mountains of dirty washing. She’s not unhappy. It’s just that she can barely recognise herself.

So as Octavia watches her best friend’s marriage break up, it gets her thinking. What if life could be different? What if she could escape and rediscover the person she used to be? Escape back to the island she visited years ago? And what if the man she used to love was there waiting for her?

I adored the cover as soon as I saw it and thought to myself that I really needed to read this book.
I am so pleased I did, it is the perfect holiday read. It is a witty and a book full of escapism... Fab Fab Fab..
( )

I don't know Kerry Fisher but who could resist this book cover?! I have to agree with the reviewer below, Michelle.Ryles, that the way the novel starts is very far from the picture however, and continues that way for almost half the book. Octavia and Roberta, two long time friends, both have their own voice. Both have unbearable husbands! Octavia is funny and practical and spontaneous; Roberta is glamorous, inhibited and more of a romantic/wishful thinker. I did not find Octavia's story so interesting and it would have been better if her part was 1/3 of the book, not shared equally. I found the depiction of Roberta's Australian husband, Scott, particularly illuminating! His narcissism is not unique to Australian men of course, but wow! it's mighty perceptive! As a mature Australian woman, I'd like to think that kind of man is a dying breed. ( )

What an amazing story! I thought I was picking up a summer/beach read but this has to have the best opening page to a romance-style novel EVER!! I thought I was reading the wrong book, so bravo Kerry Fisher!

Octavia and Roberta are best friends who have married unsuitable men. Octavia's husband, Jonathan, is anal and pernickety whilst Roberta's husband, Scott, is a controlling selfish bully. The story is therefore two-fold with Roberta and Octavia being the subject of alternative chapters.

Roberta, not surprisingly, leaves Scott and has to adjust to single life and find somewhere to live with their teenage daughter, Alicia. Roberta eventually dabbles her toe in the shark-infested waters of internet dating and meets the lovely Jake. Of course Scott is still hanging around in the wings like a pantomime villain trying to spoil her Happy Ever After.

Octavia's marriage has clearly gone stale, although she has three beautiful children. Jonathan loses his job but eventually gets offered a position in Sardinia. He is reluctant for Octavia to visit him (we can guess why, the snake!) but she eventually does. As Jonathan has no spare time to spend with her she takes the ferry over to Corsica where she revisits the haunts of her teenage travels and the homeland of her first love, Xavi. Will fate intervene and bring them together again?

Do not mistake this for a no-brainer chick-lit book. This is an engaging story of two best friends and their quest for happiness, with a sprinkling of humour along the way. It is beautifully written, it made me laugh and almost made me cry, especially with the line "maybe hands were like memory foam mattresses, carrying the imprint of people they've loved forever." Food for thought, indeed.

If you think I've overdone the exclamation marks, go read the book yourself - you won't be disappointed!!!

I received this e-book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

An easy predictable read ( )