The Almost Wife

by Jade Beer

[zooloo1983]

I am not going to lie, but I sobbed in this book. Not just a little trickle of tears, I sobbed where it got plain ugly. God, I loved this book! What a debut too!! As it says in the tagline, this book stays with you. I feel like I have made new friends when reading this book, enjoying all the highs and lows and the god-awful. I cried with them, laughed with them, cheered with them and my heart broke with them.

So the four women in the book, let's meet them.

Jessie, she is the girl brought up on the council estate, she has struggled for money all her life. (I can relate to this!) Then by the 3rd day of her job, she meets Adam and they go on a date. Adam, who quite frankly is loaded, swept off her feet and now she finds herself in a new world where she does not fit in, and her old world where she does not fit in. When we meet her, god she was a cow. But as her story unfolds you see why she has behaved the way she has!

Dolly, the girl with the hot photographer fiancé Josh who spends all day with half-naked gorgeous models and then in the evening a douche to Dolly putting her down and ignoring her (unless he is feeling a bit turned on by being around the models all day). She tries to compete, she literally does every crash diet possible to lose the weight as she doesn't want to be 'fat' walking down the aisle.

Emily, the girl who has the perfect fiancé. The guy she has met at University. The guy who completes her. Some of her story reminded me of my best friend whose just literally married her best friend, so I felt more protective of her character. She is so in love with Mark, they are perfect together.

Finally, Helen, the lady that joins them all together with her wedding shop. Each visiting her to get the perfect dress, each of them sharing their fears and concerns. While Helen is grieving for her husband who passed nearly 4 years ago. I loved Helen, she made me cry, but I loved her. Learning to live again and to give hope to all these women.

Each chapter flits between the different women building up to their special days, interjecting with Helen's life. I loved the countdown at the beginning of the chapter, and the little links to each other without them realising it.

This is definitely the perfect summer read and the stories flow so well. Jade has done a fantastic job in making you care and making you feel like you have made new friends and family along the way. I really can't wait to see what else she writes!

Thank you so much to Kim at Bookouture and the author Jade Beer for a ecopy of this book
Check out my other reviews www.zooloobookblog.co.uk