Based on the cover I definitely didn't see the story playing out as it did. Three women, their lives, their marriages & so many twists & turns your head will be spinning.

I couldn't put it down & finished in a day, would recommend to anyone

This was not the chick-lit that I was expecting. The story follows three women who each come to a crossroads in their marriages and the paths they choose end up changing their lives.

The characters in this book were extremely well-written. Their individual stories weave well in the overall plot and the book moves along at a nice pace.

What I was surprised with, perhaps because I don't typically have this sort of reaction with most women's fiction, is how I connected with each of the characters. Some of them I loved and felt their struggles, while others, I wanted to shake because I was so angry with them. You can certainly put yourself in each of their shoes and I like that about a novel. I was pleasantly surprised with this book.

*I received an advance reading copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.*

This book made me cry several times! The closer friendships bonds, the speed they can be torn apart and an ending that made me well up! a lovely read, kept me hooked all the way through to see the next development in these women's lives.

The Secrets of Married Women is an enthralling book that will keep readers entertained with each page.

The Secrets of Married Women would probably be more aptly titled if it were called "Do I Have the Affair?" While it starts off fun, it gets a little sexy, and somewhere it gets deep...but not in a fun way. I was hoping this would be a fun or quick read, the hook seems simple enough, but the endless hours of thinking that followed it makes it more than a beach read for me. The plot is easy to follow, the characters will take you on a bit of a roller coaster ride, and there are a couple that I felt could have been better. It doesn't feel like all the stories get finished, but that always makes me hope for a sequel, or I just figure out my own ending. However what I truly loved about the book, even though it drove me crazy, was that it did leave me contemplating relationships, affairs, and marriage even after I'd finished the book. My husband wasn't so thrilled with the barrage of questions that came his way haha, but we had some great conversation. If you read this book be prepared to expect more from it. Mason hides the depth and emotion well into this book, but you'll find them, and you'll be glad you did.

Started off slow, but things really picked up! I enjoyed the twist and turns and the overwhelming detail that was put into this story. Humor, drama, heartache- a must read!

This is a hard one to rate- these women were not really likable. It's odd to judge characters on their bad decisions (they aren't real people after all) but these women do seem to make some whoppers. Jill, Leigh, and Wendy all have issues with the men in their lives. They also, if they are honest , have issues with each other. Mason's writing carries the story along. It's short, there are some twists, and all in all it's a decent read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Please note this was originally published in 2012 and you, like me, might have read it the first time around.

This book has its moments and I love that it centered around friendship and women coming together to help each other.
However, I cast this book aside for four days. I had just requested to read it from NetGalley and once approved, I found myself rolling my eyes and clicking my tongue when I started reading.
My impatience was due to the start, which came off a bit shallow- and with time, the characters grew on me. I loved the dialogues. There were some parts where I felt the author was giving too much instead of trusting the reader to fill in the gaps, but all in all it was a good read. You have three friends all going through some tough times and how they work through these times made this quite an interesting read for me.

Wow!

I'm not a married woman, I've never been married but of course it's natural (at least I think so) to think about marriage. At least when the topic comes up, even if it's not for you. There are often the questions about age and whether you are ready.... What you rarely get asked is the commitment. Not many dare to ask whether you plan to stick by your partner through it all- as companions for life. That's the dangerous territory, not appropriate small talk. But that's what this book subtly explores: what if you aren't happy with your husband of ten years? What if there is a man more interested in you? What if there is a new life for you to live? What if this is the end of the line?

This is a book that will get people talking. Think: a bucket load of gossip, closeted lives and powerful secrets.

You get the 'good' wife, the 'bad' wife and the wife 'easily led astray". Three best friends and their respective husbands. They share the shortcomings of their marriages and they decide they want things to change. This book is about women taking control, putting themselves first, making their own discoveries- even if that means subjecting themselves to scandal and possibly, guilt. Men, be careful.

But more than that, this novel is an intricate exploration of serious, personal, relationships: the web of entanglements we create and the way they mould us and carve their way into our lives. A delicate book but very much a must read. This is the kind of book that would once have been on the list of banned books. The fact that this is too close to reality would once have been interpreted as a threat to the framework of most societies. We've come a long way since then, for better or for worse.

I received this book through NetGalley

I really enjoy this book. It's a quick read but very satisfying with a lot of twists and surprises.
Definitely worth reading, I could not put it down.

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

This started of as a bit chick lit but then got much heavier. Flew through it. A story of 3 friends and their marriages. Well worth a read.

Uggghhh, I hate it when this happens but I truly don’t know how I feel about this novel! Although not a fan of the overall premise of infidelity, I suspected that would be a part of this novel and chose to review it anyway, however, I’m finding myself left with a sort of “blah” feeling.

There are three friends: Jill, Leigh, and Wendy. Jill is married to Rob but found out that he was unable to get Jill pregnant, so their marriage has become more like a roommate situation. Leigh is married to Lawrence and they have a daughter, Molly. Lawrence was a teacher, has OCD, and took “a year off” from work to deal with his OCD. Instead, he has become Leigh’s minion, answering to her beck and call, and Leigh is sick of him. Then there are Wendy and Neil who have two sons and lost another baby not long after her birth. On the outside, they appear to be nothing less than a happy, healthy couple and Wendy never suggests otherwise.

I hate spoilers and will avoid them in this review, although it makes it more challenging. The overall plot and theme of The Secrets of Married Women basically is about, “o.k., things are boring, maybe I should have an affair.” Or possibly, “regardless of how shitty things get, I would never cheat.” So much of this novel is centered around “will she, or won’t she?” It honestly drove me crazy. Women – if you are unhappy with your lives, that doesn’t necessarily mean that a random roll in the sack with a random guy is going to make your life better. And on the flip side, if you think your beloved is fooling around on you, don’t turn the other cheek!

O.k. done with my ranting, let me continue. I cannot ignore Carol Mason’s wonderful writing, although there were a few things here and there that I didn’t quite understand considering that I live in the U.S., but I felt that everything flowed well and made sense. I’ve seen other reviews hating the ending, but I personally loved it. I thought it truly portrayed people with huge hearts and passion, showing that true love does prevail at times. Each woman’s life changed throughout the novel, some good, some bad. The plot seemed to slow a bit during the last 1/3 of the novel, but I still enjoyed it and honestly, I was unable to put it down. Despite my distaste for the subject of infidelity, I literally could not stop reading this story. Similar to passing a car accident, I just couldn’t tear my eyes away from the words on the page. However, I am still on the fence with this one. I certainly don’t regret reading it, if nothing else I’ve hopefully learned from the complete, utter screw-ups that the characters made in this novel. But is it the greatest thing I’ve read in a while? Unfortunately, it’s not.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Secret Lives of Married Women was very well written, and captivating. I were drawn into each character and into their story quickly. I was shocked at times at what was going on, but also felt sad for everyone at the same time. Overall, this was a great book, and I look forward to more.

The Secrets of Married Women by Carol Mason was a huge surprise to me. First of all, I read it within two days as I just couldn't put it down! When I read the synopsis I was a bit sceptical that I would enjoy it but I went into it with an open mind due to reading good reviews on Goodreads about it. I am so glad I did, it was not what I was expecting at all.

Three friends, Jill, Wendy and Leigh are seemingly happily married at the start of the book but we soon discover each of these women are unhappy due to different circumstances. Jill desperately wants a baby but her husband Rob is infertile. He refuses to talk about it and in the process is shutting Jill out of his life.
Wendy is married to Neil with two sons however they lost a daughter some time ago. Wendy is still hurting badly from this and doesn't know how to move on.
Leigh is bored in her marriage, married to Lawrence with a daughter, she wants to spice things up by embarking on an affair with Nick.

Throughout the book, we travel with the women through the ups and downs of their marriages. I loved Carol's writing style, just when you think everything is fine, she twists it on its head and shocks the reader. I loved this, I couldn't get too comfortable when things were going well as I was anticipating the next twist.

The story is from Jill's perspective which is great as we really get to know Jill as a character. The ending was just fabulous, it ended exactly how I wanted it to.

I'm looking forward to reading more from Carol Mason in the future.

Confronting the realities of the every day marriage this book examines them and asks the questions of how well do we really know our spouses, ourselves and our friends? Three friends and their respective relationships all woven together in a well written and quite enjoyable novel. Thank you so much for the opportunity to have read this book prior to publication -- I love it!

A wonderful story about relationships, both romantic and otherwise. It draws you in and makes you appreciate what you have. Gritty and bittersweet, it's a truly brilliant read.

It is not often that I don't finish a book, as I know that sometimes it can take a while to immerse yourself in the story and for the plot to pick up. I persevered until 50% with this one, but even then I did not have the impetus to read until the end.

The Secrets of Married Women tells of three different women and their differing relationships and how they manage these. I did not feel particularly invested in any of characters, and found myself getting muddled up with all three of the women, such was the way their stories were told; in my opinion none of the women stood out very much from the others, and I had to keep refreshing myself on who was who. There simply wasn't enough character development to relate to any of them.

It was difficult to power through this book without as I did not have the desire to find out how the womens' stories panned out, as often happens with romance novels for me. The plot developed very slowly, to the point that even at halfway through it did not feel that it was going anywhere fast. Now admittedly I could have persevered to the end, but books are to be enjoyed and there are too many books to be enjoyed, without spending time on ones that don't particularly grip you. I'm afraid to say that this one wasn't for me, but I will look out for others by Carol Mason and see how they fare.

I usually read a mix of different genres such as Chick lit, General Fiction, Crime and Thrillers. My favourite genre is Thrillers. Maybe, that could be part of the reason why I did not really really enjoy this book. It started off okay, but afterwards I couldn't be bothered to read it, I skipped most of it and went to the end to see what happened. It is not a terrible book but was just not for me. I will try other books by this author, perhaps it was just this book that did not grab me.

Great story! Looking forward to reading more by this author! Highly recommend!

This wasn't my favorite book. I enjoyed reading about the friendships among the three women and how their friendship changed throughout the year.

However, reading about adultery is not my favorite topic, and this book is full of it. The main character's mom has dementia, and that whole part of the book made me sad. I skipped through parts of the book because of the topic.

That being said, many other people would enjoy this book, as it is well-written with relatable characters. This is why it earned an extra star from me.

I was given a copy of this book for my honest review.