3.5 stars

I received a free copy of this book from Penguin Ireland in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a quiet, character-driven story about a woman called Alice and her time married to an Irish man and the affair she has that subsequently destroys the union. I wasn’t too sure what to expect going into this book but it ended up being a rather lovely-told story about a woman who loved her husband but just didn’t quite seem to fit in to married life as well as she thought. One of the things I liked about this book was that there was nothing particularly nasty about it even though the main plot was about the breakdown of the marriage between Alice and Eddie. They both obviously love each other, they just couldn’t make it work and it was a quiet ‘uncoupling’ I guess even though Alice had done a bad thing.

I liked her examination of her marriage and her actions years later following the death of her mother which appears to make her think a lot about the past. I also liked the inclusion of her new friend and confidant Harry, who to me appeared to be a mix between Eddie and Cauley and therefore a perfect romantic partner for her. There is some examination of her relationship with her mother and i liked this as well.

This book isn’t some action-packed crazy tale. It actually reflects its cover a lot - it’s quiet, calm and oddly serene and beautiful.