Is her new husband really who she thinks he is?
When young doctor Lauren Matheson meets Joe, an older divorced businessman, at a glittering poolside in California, it’s a chance encounter that seems life-changing for them both. Back home in London, their feelings only strengthen. But Lauren soon discovers that building a happy future with Joe is going to be an uphill struggle…
She’s determined to be a good stepmother to his children, four-year-old Toby and complicated teen Grace. But under the watchful eye of Meredith, Joe’s intimidating ex-wife, Lauren can’t seem to do a thing right. Why won’t Joe ever take her side against Grace? And what really happened between him and Meredith?
As her husband retreats into a cold, secretive version of the dashing man she met in California, Lauren starts to wonder if she’s made a costly mistake. Was Joe ever the man she thought she married?
My Thoughts
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The story is told from the perspective of Lauren, a hardworking woman who is training to be a Doctor when she meets – and marries Joe. He is a divorced father of two, and Lauren is drawn to him instantly.
Lauren’s relationship with Joe’s teenage daughter Grace, along with his ex wife Meredith is difficult – and that really is putting it mildly. Lauren is determined to be the best step mother she can possibly be to four year old Toby along with Grace, but she somehow never seems to get things right, and with Joe reluctant to take her side when she clashes with Grace, Lauren is quickly coming to realise that the happy life she pictured is far from the life she is actually living.
When Joe then starts retreating into himself, and leaving Lauren to struggle on her own, he is far from the dashing man she met back in California, and as the situations surrounding them escalate Lauren finds herself questioning whether she actually knows her husband at all…
Everything about this book was wonderful! The storyline itself is perfectly structured and has so much depth and detail throughout. Each of the characters have complex personalities, and each of them have flaws – as all humans do!. This made them all the more realistic and even relatable at times. I really felt for Lauren as she struggled to adjust to becoming a step mother to a reluctant teenager, and the constant power struggles that arose between herself and their mother Meredith.
A tense, suspenseful read that had me well and truly hooked. This is an absolute page turner that I urge you all to read!.
You can purchase a copy of this book by following the link below
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Pu9BCM
About the Author
Carol Mason is the Amazon Charts and Kindle #1 bestselling author After You Left (more than 300,000 copies sold), The Secrets of Married Women, The Last Time We Met, The Shadow Between Us, Send Me A Lover and Little White Secrets which hit the Bookstat digital bestsellers list top 3 in the week of its launch. She was born in the North East of England where most of her novels are set. She now lives in Canada with her Canadian husband, a rescue dog from Kuwait and a three-legged cat. When not writing, Carol loves to read, cook and binge watch Netflix.
Social Media Links https://www.facebook.com/CarolMasonAuthor
*Thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources and Carol Mason for providing me with a gifted copy of this book in return for my honest review. All thoughts are entirely my own and not influenced in any way.*
Victoria Wilks 