User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
This is a very high emotionally charged story mostly involving two women who unexpectedly become very good friends.
As they reveal more things that has happened to them in their lives and they get to know each other more the relationship cements.
It’s by no means an easy read in places as you put yourself in each woman’s lives.
I enjoyed seeing this new pregnant neighbour becoming friends with the lady next door.
The inner most secrets and revelations weren’t shocking, more upsetting and encouraging as they supported each other.
It’s a bit of a “lump in your throat” kind of read sometimes, but there’s an awful lot of caring. I took that from this book.
Talking of books, there’s a book they go by, things that spark joy, and it made me think, there are physical items, people, things in life itself that doesn’t give us joy. So what should we do?
I watched as these two lovely women started to spark joy in their lives.
One part said, you had to ‘feel’ emotions to go forward, you just can’t slam it in a cupboard (physical cupboard or metaphorically speaking) and be able to go forward.
The book gave me all the “feels” as a female.
If you like a good read about friendships, relationships, grief, pregnancies, the ups and downs of life itself with being raw. This is the book for you.
I’ve discovered I do love this authors style of writing so I want to read more by this author for sure.
Rating: really liked it
This s is a new author for me, but one that I will look out for as I devoured every word and thoroughly enjoyed this amazing book!!
Shelly meets her new neighbours Lara and her husband Matt. Shelly is still coming to terms with her husband leaving her a year ago and has a spare room full of his belongings.
Shelly and Lara gradually becomes friends, they are both hiding secrets from each other and are both feeling lonely and isolated. Lara offers to help her clear Shelley’s spare room as she is heavily pregnant and feeling bored at being home all day on her own. This chore is therapeutic for the pair of them.
The book is told from Shelly and Lara’s points of view. I loved the way their secrets were slowly revealed and how how this created a strong bond between the two neighbours.
A heartwarming story about the importance of friendship and trust. For me it was an emotional journey making me both laugh and cry.
I would definitely recommend this book and author!!
Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.
Rating: really liked it
A beautiful and heartbreaking story about friendship, grief, and moving on. Bust out the Kleenex, this is a tearjerker! Two Women who come into one another’s life at the perfect time establish an unbreakable bond and find solace. Shelley is simply existing traveling between work and home, but never really living. Her husband Greg the love of her life left over a year ago and she can’t seem to MoveOn, she still has an entire room of his stuff that she can’t seem to get rid of. When Laura moves in next-door married and pregnant, Shelley is certain she has it all. But as the women begin to get to know one another they learn that they both have heavy burdens to bear. What transpires is a beautiful friendship built on honesty, trust, and respect.
A remarkable story about a special female friendship. I loved the friendship in this story. Both these women really got so much comfort and joy out of it. Loved how the tidying up book was incorporated into the story, thought that was a fun touch. As Shelley and Laura’s friendship develops and deep secrets are revealed they both begin to find more clarity in their lives. A moving story about the power of friendship.
this book in emojis. 👭 🤰🏻 📦 🏠 🧺
*** Big thank you to Bookouture for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***
Rating: really liked it
Review coming soon.
Rating: really liked it
This, once read, is probably not a book I would usually choose, its a book on how an unlikely friendship between 2 neighbours Shelley and Lara changes them both as they battle with their past and present day problems, to hint at those problems would give the story away so I wont!!
Saying that I DID enjoy it, it was a quick read but full, full to brimming tbh with emotional content and ‘situations’ but then right out of the blue ( when actually I was moaning in my head about how easy the main ‘secret’ of the book was going to be ) there was a massive change of direction and it will catch you, as it did me, unawares and it’s really clever and game changing for the book
Both Lara and Shelley are ok character wise, I think they will get empathy from all readers and their path to friendship is interesting in so much as they skirt around it then bang they are inseparable
A moving read covering many subjects that is well written and reader friendly and leaves you feeling good!
7/10
4 Stars
Rating: really liked it
Shelley is lonely after her husband leaves her and when new neighbours move in next door she finds a friend in Lara.
A slow moving story of friendship and secrets.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
When a new couple moves in next door to Shelley, the wife, Lara wants to befriend her. Lara is pregnant and Shelley immediately feels deep pangs of loss. She is still grieving the fact that her husband Greg has left her. What is more is that she is hiding something special away, a baby blanket among the things.
Lara all but barges into Shelley's life. Before she knows it, Lara is helping her to declutter her home, with a book she read giving both women direction. Meanwhile, Shelley begins to notice things about Lara, even wondering about the state of her marriage. Their friendship grows closer, yet each woman is keeping secrets from the other.
The Forgotten Wife is a very good story that hits hard. I found a kinship with each woman and their losses. As we read the book, we are getting the story delivered in both of their perspectives. It is easy to see how two strangers could easily become so close. Grab some tissues, because they will definitely be needed. Despite the tears, the story ended with hope, so this delivered a very good balance. This is my second book by Emma Robinson and I highly recommend it. She writes deeply emotional stories that will stay with the reader for a very long time.
Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
Rating: really liked it
Robinson is fast becoming my go-to women's fiction novelist if I need a break from crime and psychological thrillers. She writes so well about female friendships, the early second guessing and insecurities that can feel almost like a courtship. Robinson recognizes how important kind, safe friendships are and how, if you want to have that kind of relationship with your friends, you need to take a leap of faith and learn to trust. Her books depart from the belief that, no matter what differences lie on the surface, you can always find a point of connection beneath if you're prepared to take the time to look deeper. She shows us that everyone has a story and that most people, no matter how blessed they appear, have been though something painful. Without retelling the story or giving any spoilers, this novel brings together two women at points of crisis in their lives and explores the painstaking process by which they attempt to find their way to one another and help each other face their respective challenges. It is a heart-warming, emotional read with real depth and it reminds the reader, as all Robinson's books do, that, yes, not everyone is perfect, but most people are fundamentally good. Right now, this feels like an important message.
Rating: really liked it
4.5 stars - This one hit me hard in the feels! There were definitely a couple of "Oh NOOOOO!!!" moments where the rug gets pulled out from underneath you. So what's it about? Well, many things actually - losing yourself in your relationship, what happens when you're no longer a part of a couple, lost friendships, the importance of having that person you can tell all your secrets to, being afraid to open up because you feel your secrets are too big or your story is too sad but doing so anyway, figuring out who you are now and who you want to be. See, many things!! It was a deeply touching tale and I'm glad to have read it.
Rating: really liked it
OMG. OMG. OMG. The author made me cry. I still had a book hangover when I started writing this review. There was still a lingering lump in my throat all through the day.
There are books which leave their wispy trails around you that remind you to find your happiness. This was one such book of friendship and bonding. It started with 2 women Shelley who met her pregnant new neighbor Lara, and both became friends. Shelly’s husband had left her a year ago, and she still had his belongings shut in a room. Both the women decided to get rid of it one by one. Secrets were revealed and friendship strengthened.
My first book by author Emma Robinson, and I enjoyed every word of the prose, even the ones which caused me to read through the film of my tears. Written in dual viewpoints, the author showed me how we women were so strong even when we never believed it. To see them finding their way through life was something I would cherish for a long time. Beautiful writing by the author.
The author’s words kept the intrigue of the secrets along with the growing trust between the women with each chapter. There were laughter and tears all interspersed as I read… Have to admit, a couple of tears made their way on the screen. Sighhh.
A beautiful story which had me turning the pages slowly, living each word, feeling each emotion, laughing and crying with them.
Rating: really liked it
This author and book is a first for me.
This book shocked me alitte as i thought the title gave it away, the story, however it wasn't what i thought I was expecting but in a good way, and I was glad my first assumptions we're wrong.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I always like books that deal with real issues.
This book took me on a extreme emotional rollarcoaster ride and I felt like I felt for the characters in this book.
Shelly's life is abit up and down. She has become accustomed to her own routine, and she tries to manage and cope and takes everyday as it comes. To the outside world she's coping however inside she's screaming. Everyday she tries to act like everything is normal. Pretends.
When one day a new couple move in to her street and everything changes, the neighbour Lara is pregnant and it seems like she has everything. Shelly and Lara become firm friends who bond over heartache, and the women have more in common than first thought. They are both suffering without giving away any of this story.
This book deals with real issues that real people face, very sensitive matters.
The author has written this book extremely well and researched, it's written beautifully and watching the story unfold was amazing.
This book makes you feel a whole array of emotions. happy,sad, teary upset a completely rollarcoaster ride. The friendship and support that shines through between them both is beautiful and the author has written these characters great.
I couldn't put this book down it's fantastic but also a heartbreaking read, extremely emotional and will bring tears to everyone that reads it. I would highly recommend this book and the author and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.
Thank you netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this early copy of this book.
Thank you.
Rating: really liked it
Although I am an
Emma Robinson novice, I knew from the outset that this novel was going to be a wonderful read for me.
About the Book:It was a wooden box, white with yellow and green flowers. Shelley ran a finger over the embossed lettering – Memories – pressed her lips tightly together, feeling her heart pounding in her chest… and opened it.
When Shelley first met Greg, her life had been full of possibility. A whirlwind romance, a dream wedding, moving into their first house together, thinking about starting a family…
But now it’s ten years since their wedding. Greg has gone. And there’s a room in the house where Shelley has shut a baby blanket away. In a box, under a bed, in a spare room, behind a door that she never opens. If it’s there, she can forget about it. Just like everything else in that room. Just like her other memories. Of a marriage that perhaps hadn’t been perfect. Of a life that hadn’t gone the way she had expected.
She’s been managing to hide from her past. Every day she acts like everything is normal. Going to work and following a routine helps her pretend the bad stuff never happened.
Until one day, everything changes. She sees the couple moving in next door, giggling as they walk up the path to their new home. The woman is pregnant. It’s like she has everything that Shelley has lost. But when Shelley properly meets Lara, she soon discovers she is in fact carrying a heartache to match Shelley’s own.
As her friendship with Lara deepens, Shelley starts to wonder what might happen if she opens the box she’s hidden away. Will the secrets from her past – about what she lost, what she’s hiding from, and what she has been doing her best to forget – destroy her?
My Thoughts:The Forgotten Wife is told from Shelley's and Lara’s viewpoints. I loved the way their secrets were slowly unveiled and the way this gradually created a strong bond between the two neighbours.
In this poignant and refreshing novel,
Emma Robinson writes so well about female friendships and I soon found myself completely immersed in the lives of these two women. This is a heart-warming and emotional read with real depth, elegance and maturity in the writing. There is so much to keep the reader turning the pages and it was a riveting read right through to the fulfilling ending.
The Forgotten Wife is a must for anyone who is partial to a compelling tale about friendships, relationships, grief, loss, and life's vagaries.
I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my request, from Bookouture via NetGalley and this review is my own unbiased opinion.
Rating: really liked it
⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2
What a heartbreaking but also uplifting read!
"Some friendships are short, only lasting while you have circumstances in common......other friendships last longer - you make a real connection. But there are some friends who are there for the long haul"
This is a story about love and lost. A story about two broken women both broken in their own way. Its a story about trying to survive from 1 day to the other; of never giving up and of miracles.
It is beautifully written with so much empathy and it makes you feel thankful for what you have in life
Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Rating: really liked it
Shelley's husband left a year ago but she has a room filled with boxes of memories that she has yet to get rid of. Her days are all spent doing pretty much the same thing and she is fine with it. Then a couple moves in to the house next door, Shelley is not keen to get too close with her new neighbors, however Lara, the wife, is expecting and lonely. She decides to help Shelley declutter the box room with the aid of a book she is obsessed with. Slowly the two women form a bond and eventually realize they have more in common than they thought.
If you're looking for a book with a surprise twist or shock factor, this book is not for you. Whatever "surprises" this book held were very predictable, at least for me. However, if you want a feel good story about friendship and moving forward, this was a nice quick read. I didn't care for either character through the first half of the book, but they eventually grew on me.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC copy of this book.
#netgalley #theforgottenwife
Rating: really liked it
How can it be both brutal and uplifting? Definitely a crying book.
