The Accidental Wife

by Rowan Coleman

A witty and warm-hearted novel about knowing when your life has taken a wrong turn, from the author of The Memory Book.

Alison James thinks she might be living the wrong life. She loves her husband Marc and their three children but somehow, in the process of building a perfect life for her family, she seems to have lost herself. And sometimes she worries that she's being punished for how it all started - for the day she ran away with her best friend's boyfriend.

Catherine Ashley knows she's living the wrong life. She adores her two daughters, but she'd always thought that at thirty-one she'd be more than a near-divorcee with a dead-end job. In those dark middle-of-the-night moments that come all too often these days, her mind still flicks back to the love of her life: Marc James.And she still wonders whether Alison stole her life as well as her boyfriend.

Alison and Catherine have been living separate lives, a hundred miles apart, for fifteen years - since Alison and Marc ran away together. But now Alison's moving back to Farmington, the town in which they both grew up. And they're about to find out just how different both their lives could still be ...

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction, Romance, Family, Contemporary, Family Drama, Womens Fiction

416 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2008

About the author

Rowan Coleman lives with her husband, and five children in a very full house in Hertfordshire. She juggles writing novels with raising her family which includes a very lively set of toddler twins whose main hobby is going in the opposite directions. When she gets the chance, Rowan enjoys sleeping, sitting and loves watching films; she is also attempting to learn how to bake.

Rowan would like to live every day as if she were starring in a musical, although her daughter no longer allows her to sing in public. Despite being dyslexic, Rowan loves writing, and The Memory Book is her eleventh novel. Others include The Accidental Mother, Lessons in Laughing Out Loud and the award-winning Dearest Rose, a novel which lead Rowan to become an active supporter of domestic abuse charity Refuge, donating 100% of royalties from the ebook publication of her novella, Woman Walks Into a Bar, to the charity. Rowan does not have time for ironing.

Reviews

[Kiran Jabeen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, the reason I read Rowan COleman's novels is because she keeps everything REAL. I've read The Accidental Mother and now this book and I'm convinced that I'll read anything and everything that has her name attached to it.

I LOVED this book. I hated Marc, I loved Jimmy, I disliked Alison (at first) and I liked Catherine. See? My feelings are diverse because these characters were diverse in every aspect. I loved it! And how can I forget Kirsty? She was adorable (in her own way)! :D

Anyways, the only thing that I thought was missing, was that Alison's family didn't get closure in the end. At least it didn't feel like it to me... There were a few things which would have made this a perfect story if they had been added but it was great!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although it wasn't a page turner it was good. And although the topic of fidelity in relationships is not one I love I thought that this book more accurately portrayed real human relationships than any other book I've read recently. That people aren't either good or bad but a constantly changing and evolving mixture of both. Also I loved the author being able to capture both perspectives of two characters interactions so well. It was real and believable. And in the end I got my happy ending which worried me a bit throughout.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just an okay book. I couldn't put it down because I cannot not finish and book and I just wanted the story to be over already. It was kind of slow and drawn out. The characters were hardly likable. The main character, Alison, was extremely immature, almost unimaginable or realistically immature. The other main character, Cathy, was so flat and boring it was frustrating. It's a bit predictable, but overall it's an alright read. I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone unless you've got nothing else available.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a decent novel, definitely of the chick lit genre, but with a British accent. It reminded me a bit of a book I read several years ago, "The Reading Group" .

The basic premise is that one friend stole the other's boyfriend when they were 17. Now she's returned to their hometown, married to the boyfriend in question. Neither of the friends' lives have turned out the way they imagined, and the boyfriend stealer becomes convinced that she stole the life her friend was meant to have.

While it was a fun read, I saw the ending coming half-way through the book. I spent the second half waiting for the main characters to pull their heads out of their arses.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a good book, story-wise. But, good heavens, the characters were like spoiled middle schoolers. One minute, Alison wants to revive her friendship with Catherine. She regrets how she betrayed Catherine as a teenager and she is furious with her husband for cheating on her and lying to her throughout their marriage. The next minute, she is considering seducing Jimmy, Catherine's husband. Catherine, although seemingly more mature than Alison, almost sleeps with Marc (you guessed it!), who is Alison's husband. Yikes. These characters give "women's fiction" a bad name.

[Notbagels · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually like Rowan Coleman's books for quick, fluffy chick lit, but this one kind of slogged for me. It was almost exactly halfway through the book before any of the characters realized they were living in the same town again and spoke to each other. It felt simultaneously like it had taken forever to get started and like there wasn't much story left to tell.

Also, I felt the reconciliation of all of the relationships was a little too easy and rather unrealistic. I hated half of the characters, even when I supposed to love them. And now I think I'm taking back a star.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a slow read for me and I felt like I glossed over some passages. It just didn't hold my interest like her other books. I never really felt connected to the characters. I wasn't sure if I was suppose to like Alison. I loved The Accidental Mother and Mommy by Mistake.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, but sadly not enough to give it 5 stars. It felt like it took me forever to read but in reality it wasn't that long. I never did come around to like Alison's character, though I'm not sure I was supposed to. I really felt for Catherine throughout the entire book, she was just such a sweet woman. I like that we got closure at the end with Catherine but I wish there was a little bit more for Alison.

[Coll · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good read. It's set in England, and ususally I don't enjoy books written in the English style, what with all the "mums" and "snoggins" and all, but I did enjoy this. It was quick moving and emotional, about 2 childhood friends that fall out over an older boy and how they reunite as adults. It's a love story, but more a story about women and friendships.

[Niki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!!! Rowan Coleman is an amazing developer of characters. You just really feel like you know them. Great story of friendship. Makes you think about forgiveness and how sometimes it's necessary even when you don't think you are ready - not because it's the GOOD thing to do, but maybe because the one who hurt you is really the one person you need most in your life.

[Audrey Wennink · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought the concept for this story was great. I could not put it down. My only complaint was that a few bits of dialogue were unrealistically harsh. But mostly I thought it was a great story and well written.

[Becky Finfrock · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those that I would classify as a beach read. It wasn't amazing, but good enough to keep me hooked and an easy read. This is the first book I've read from Rowan Coleman and it was enough to interest me in trying out more from her.

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave up on this book as I found it all a little 'samey'.

[Tracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was okay, at best. YAWN.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a character-based book involving a love quadrangle... in particular two women who were best friends at school until one betrayed the other by running off with her boyfriend. They are both married with children when we meet them, but haven't seen each other or been in any contact for fifteen years.

I didn't entirely believe in all the characters, in particular a nymphomaniac neighbour; I didn't like some of the main cast, in particular the guy who ran off with one friend after being in a relationship with the other. But I really liked one of the main characters, and I thoroughly enjoyed the interactions with the children.

It's well-written, just the right pace for my tastes. There is a lot of introspection, but it's not repetitive. There is also a fair amount of discussion about intimacy and a great deal of off-stage bedroom activity... but thankfully nothing in any detail. The bad (often 'strong') language is more than I'm comfortable with, yet it's not inappropriate in context.

All in all I liked this book very much; by the time I'd read a few chapters it was almost impossible to put down. Definitely recommended if you like light-hearted women's fiction that touches upon some quite serious issues.

Four and a half stars would be fairer.

Full review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/...

[Tina Wainscott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've loved some of Coleman's previous books, particularly We Are Made of Stars, but I had a hard time getting into this one. I found it hard to buy that Catherine's best friend who had made so many plans for their future would run off with her boyfriend. I felt sorry for Catherine all around, but most of the characters were hard to root for. I confess that I did skip to the end from midway, and the ending was very satisfying. I wasn't sure where the story was going to go, and thankfully it went in the right way. That was very easy to buy, and I shall continue to read her books!

[Bethany Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

2 girls 2 boys a story of love hate and betrayal. But in the end it all comes together. Allison who moved away young moves back to her hometown where her best friend Catherine lives or used to be best friend. One boy wanted both worlds and destroyed a friendship and lives. Through it all they learned to forgive and live life. Sometimes it doesn’t always have to have a happy ending but that’s what finding yourself is all about

[Natasha du Plessis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A marriage is not always moonlight and roses and that is what we see in this book. This book also deals with the consequences and how we deal with infidelity not only by partners but also by the children. I really loved this book and the characters, Marc however was not my favourite person. Another great read by Rowan Coleman.

[Vee Orrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was gifted this book after reading other novels by the same author under the pseudonym of Bella Ellis.

Whilst this book was an easy read with likeable characters & a story line which was easy to get into, it wasn’t a match on the authors period drama novels which I fell in love with.

If you’re looking for an easy read love story that spans through teenage years to mid-life then this ones for you, but for me it was easy to pick up & easy to put down!

[Cat of Perdition · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up expecting pulp fiction (which was not helped by the atrocious proofreading job evident from the get go) and found about halfway through that I was actually very invested in the characters and what will happen with them. Although it has a lot of naff tropes, overall this is a fun book and I enjoyed it.

[Diana Donnelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a new author for me. Alison and Katherine were friends growing up. Then they are estranged for 15 years not even existing in the same part of the country. When Alison’s decides to move them back to that town she is not pleased and feels it is a terrible idea. Well written and had my attention throughout.

[KFK · Rating 1 out of 5]

On the acknowledgement the writer talks about strong women. And then they go on to have a character, Alison, who is a horrible friend. I skip-read this to see if the end was going to be horrible. It was as bad. But honestly having women portraited by someone like Alison really makes me wonder what this person thinks a strong woman is.

[Anne Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the idea behind this novel of living the wrong life - and the first half of the book is very good indeed. However, it outstays its welcome by quite some length and I was skipping towards the end. It needed cutting by about a third and then it would have been very good indeed.

[Andrea Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a creative premise that was not entirely predictable. I would have liked to see a deeper, more mature character development in the main characters. In some ways, it seemed the children were more mature than the adults. Mental health and self-esteem issues could have been explored.

[Debbie Okrainetz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy ready but interesting enough.

[Lynn · Rating 1 out of 5]

After reading The Summer of Impossible Things this was so dreary and uninspiring
. Shes clearly developed her writing and changed enormously in the intervening years !

[Anita Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put this down!

[~ riv ~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️3.2/5⭐️

[Amy Latta · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best I an say is that the book is meh. It's an easy read, I had to find out how it all worked out, but it wasn't much more than a soap opera with no one to root for.

[Novelle Novels · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
This is a good contemporary that shows the importance of friendship.