Good novel about coming to terms with the truth of a painful, past relationship.

Thanks to NetGalley for ARC ecopy for my Kindle.
"A Perfect Marriage"- how can you define a perfect marriage? You make decisions based on what you know about a person but after you marry them, do you really know him/her?
This was a good story with both physical and emotional abuse and an ending that I did not expect.

I received a digital ARC of #AperfectMarriage from #NetGalley for an honest review.

This book is slightly confusing in that not only does it have a "then" and "now" timeframe and story going on, but also the plot goes backwards in the "then" timeline. It is told in reverse chronological order, which is unusual. It makes it difficult to follow for a while.

This story didn't grip me and I had guessed the twist fairly early on. Not a bad read but I have read better.

A very ‘ok’ book, which I enjoyed, rather than loved. The story of Sally whose husband died several years earlier, which dips back and forth to Now and Then, I was expecting more detail of their marriage, and was a bit disappointed by the storyline and the depth. Very average read.

I was disappointed in this book. It went back and forth to 'now' and 'then' but with still further back-and-forth in each time period, or so it seemed to me. So it was a bit hard to keep track of what happened when. Apart from the usual thoughts the reader might have about an abusive marriage (namely, why put up with it, especially when the wife is an intelligent woman with her own career, family network etc - but yes I know it is more complex than that), the 'surprise' ending was a damp squib. I'm sorry I continued reading against my better judgement.
Thanks to the publisher for a review copy.

Sally Lachlan married young. She expected to be married forever to her clever, handsome, wonderful husband. But the honeymoon didn't last long.

Today she is a mature woman with a teenage daughter .. a daughter who wants to know more about her father .. the man Sally rarely ever talks about. And there's a good reason for that.

By chance, she meets a geneticist, Anthony Blake, who makes her wish for someone to share her life with .... a love that won't turn deadly. But before she can do that, she must come to terms about her now deceased husband and her feelings of guilt.

Told in alternating chapters, the reader sees how far Sally has come, even though she still has issues. The reader also sees how her earlier life played out.

This was an interesting read, although not a mystery/thriller as it was listed. There is really no suspense and the only mystery would be why a woman stays in such a violent marriage.

This is more a story of a friendship between two women whose lives were affected by a man who knew no boundaries.

The subject of mental and physical abuse in a marriage was handled very well by this author. It is not for the faint-at-heart or anyone who has personally been involved in such a destructive force as an abusive spouse.

Many thanks to the author / RedDoor Publishing / Netgalley for the digital copy of A PERFECT MARRIAGE. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

A Perfect Marriage is Sally's story, a widow, trying to hide the fact that her marriage wasn't a perfect one after so many years of lying to her daughter, Charlie, who starts to question the past. Sally realizes she needs to tell Charlie the truth, but there is never the perfect time to tell her. Sally meets a new man, Anthony, and he deserves to know the truth also, but she can't seem to tell him either. At a party, Charlies overhears mention of an incident that fits perfectly with the timing of her father's death and start to research it. Sally is then forced to explain all to them.

I normally don't love books that tell the story by switching between the past and the present, but this format fits this story perfectly. The past would give just enough information to explain the next few present chapters, until the past was fully explained. It was seamlessly between the past and present. I loved the characters and was cheering for them throughout to understand each other and the past. Both Sally and her daughter Charlie, grew and changed as people. Overall, I loved this book and the story.

A Perfect Marriage is a story told from 2 different POV's "then" and now". I was getting a little confused in the "then" because it wasn't in the order that it had happened. There's ALOT of physical abuse in this book and I found myself skimming through most of it. This book was given to me by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

What I loved about this book, is although you feel like nothing much is going on so much really is going on, even if you have figured out the ending.

The story follows Sally, it is the journey she has been on and the journey she is currently on. It touches on mental and physical abuse behind closed doors which can be a tough subject to write about and how it impacts the people around you.  The book if you haven't guessed, focuses on the past and on the present day, and the author pretty much teases you with both throughout the book. Just as you are hooked on the past, the chapter stops and you are brought back to present day, making the book more exciting and intriguing and I didn't want to put it down. (Unfortunately life didn't let me read this as quick as I wanted!)                                                                                                                                                                         

The two men in the book could not be more polar opposites if they tried. Jeff the husband, the abuser and betrayer. Anthony the lover, the friend and carer.  I appreciated how Sally's past was dark and clouded as she was living through the ordeal, but when we moved back to the present the shift in her character when Anthony was in her life, made it lighter.  There was emphasis on Anthony Blake being someone Sally recognised. At one point he was compared to Celia, I was waiting to see a big revelation with this but it did not come. The only thing I could think is that they are both perceived as happiness to Sally, and she associates this by comparing the two together.                                                                       

Charlie, her daughter, and Zoe, her friend, are the women in her life, her rocks and you feel that emanate from the pages. All joined together by their links to the same man, Jeff.  When all revelations have been made at the end of the book, you, the reader, feel like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders as you have live those moments with Sally and there is a sense of peace.  I loved the relationship that Zoe and Sally have, a bond, one that could never be broken.  The theme of hope, redemption and forgiveness all played a part here by the three side characters of Anthony, Zoe and Charlie. 

*I received a copy of this book on Net Galley from Red Door Publishing for my honest review*

Go buy the book, what are you waiting for?

Contemporary fiction about abuse, self-doubt, strength, redemption and forgiveness; and finally love and an unlikely friendship.

Sally Lachlan knows that her secret can destroy her relationship with her daughter, Charlie, but Charlie is too young to know the truth. Years later, when Charlie is old enough, Sally can’t bring herself to tell her, even after years of therapy. Having difficulty coming to grips with the past, Sally is guilt-ridden. If only the secret can stay buried forever.

I enjoyed the book, it was a short story and an easy read. However, I would have liked more information on the villain. Perhaps because the story was so short, it couldn’t delve too deeply in his character but I felt it wasn’t sufficiently developed. I was left with questions. I always want to know why people behave the way they do, what is their driving force. Whether that reason is “pure evil” and inexcusable, I’d still like to know.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and RedDoor Publishing for allowing me the opportunity of reading this book and giving my honest review.

Sally Lachlan was only eighteen when she married Jeff, but they were in love – Sally knew they would be together forever, she was so deliriously happy. The first sign of a ripple in the relationship was on their honeymoon but the next morning, Jeff was the same man she’d fallen in love with.

Sally’s daughter Charlie was seventeen when she started showing an interest in learning more about the father she barely remembered. Sally was terrified at the thought. But she also knew it was time she let the past remain in the past – after all it was ten years ago, and she deserved a future. Her unexpected meeting with Anthony Blake when they were both at a conference made her even more determined to move forward; to find happiness.

But first she needed to tell Charlie about her father…

Set in the THEN and NOW, A Perfect Marriage by Aussie author Alison Booth alternately steps back in time to Sally’s past and works through the current day and her attempts to find a sense of contentment within herself. A traumatic and harrowing look at love and loss, forgiveness and hope; of a daughter’s enduring love for her mother and a mother’s quest for peace of mind. I’ve loved all this author’s previous work and this one didn’t disappoint. Highly recommended.

With thanks to RedDoor Publishing via NetGalley for my digital ARC to read and review.

This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for a review. Don't want to give a thing away. Read this book. Now!! SO great! You won't be able to put it down!

Sometimes Netgalley throws you some real curve balls. I requested this title fully expecting a fast paced thriller, it is after all listed under the 'mystery and thrillers' category. It really shouldn't have been as it is neither of those things - it is especially not a thriller. I mean, there is perhaps some information that you learn at the end that could be construed as a slight twist, if you ignore the fact that said twist was heavily hinted at right from the beginning. ​​

OK, so this wasn't at all what I was expecting and although the telling of emotional drama and reflection on an abusive relationship is not something I may have picked up otherwise, there was plenty to like about it.

Sally's story is told through both the past and the present, in alternating chapters. The past is told backwards (sounds confusing, but I just mean starting from present day and working backwards) and it's quite a clever technique to slowly reveal why the main character is as she is.


I liked how the author explored how an abusive relationship slowly develops. So many women out there just write off the behaviour of abused women that stay in relationships as 'ridiculous'. Ugh, such a pet peeve of mine. I'm really sure it must just be that simple. Especially when you're in love with someone, have grown up together, have a family together etc. This to me seemed like a real understanding of how a woman slowly but inexorably backed into a corner would lose all of her confidence and begin to feel as if she had no options.

Other things I really liked:


The characters were great, really subtly written and developed, especially the teenager daughter, Charlie.

The slow developing romance between Sally and Anthony was exquisitely done.

It dives straight into the action on page one with no long preamble and it was a super quick read

I just really wanted more from the ending, it did seem a bit inconclusive. For that reason and for the fact that the book really doesn't seem to match up with the tone of its blurb at all, I can't give it more than 3 stars. I don't understand why the blurb hints at this big secret , which makes you think there will be some big twist or reveal that just never comes. However if billed as more of the emotional drama that it is, I think it will find far more receptive audiences.

This book was not what I was expecting at all, but because the author had the characters so developed, which helped you understand the relationships both publicly and hidden, I was able to quickly read through it and enjoy. It was a very fast paced read, because the author wrote it in a style that kept my attention. While not my typical, definitely one I would tell people to give a chance.

Thank you NetGalley and Red Door Publishing for letting me read the Arc of A Perfect Marriage. What a great story! It definitely kept my interest and was page turning to see where the story went to next. Sally and Charlie’s mother daughter relationship reminds me somewhat of my own relationship. The book truly does show that you never know what happens behind closed doors. You should never judge anyone or anything until you know the fact. I would love to see a sequel to see where Sally and charlie end up, Sally’s relati ship with anthony and to see if anything g happens with zoe.

This book piqued my interest starting from its cover design, then synopsis and the fact that the protagonist was a scientist and there were intelligent remarks about genetics that I thought would lead to some kind of metaphors.

I was wrong.

This book is a step higher than a chick lit.

It felt so surreal to read the inside of a woman's head who's supposed to be really intellectual and a scientist and at the same time, her idea of romance and lust were some odd descriptions and commentary about nature around her, and her hotel room, even how they meet and every next encounter. It just felt lame, not passionate.

She also sounded really pathetic, unbelievably so even. I didn't really believe that she'd been even sadder for the last ten years and didn't do something about it. And then, BOOM, along comes a man and SNAP, she's inevitably changing. Books don't need to necessarily be realistic, but if you're trying to convince me that such is someone's reality - Yes, you need to write it realistically.

I found her language confusing and the plot boring and was surprised to see that this was not a debut.

They say don't judge a book by its cover. Well, this time I kind of agree. Sadly.

Sorry.

I received this book from #NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review. I had requested this book because it was listed as a mystery and thriller. That was not the case however. It’s one long book about a woman’s view of her failed marriage ten years after it came to an end because her unfaithful and abusive husband dies. There is no mystery unless you count the unsaid background if she caused the death or not and there is not even a solution for that. I never read books about abusive relations because I think you should be strong enough to leave at the first indication of abuse. I cannot recommend this book other than to say that it is beautifully written but this is just not enough for me.

This was good....................................................................................................................

There are some books that just don't click.

The writing doesn't click. The characters don't either. Nor does the plot. This was that book for me.

I am sure that there are readers out there who will enjoy this story - Sally is at crossroads in her life - 10 years since her husband died, she has met someone who could perhaps be more than just a friend. But first she needs to come to terms with her "perfect marriage", as well as answer questions that her 17-year old daughter has about her father and his death.

Told completely from Sally's perspective, but jumping back and forth between the past and the present, I just didn't click with Sally's narration. I felt that by not having a second narrator (her daughter Charlie), that the urgency of telling her daughter about the past doesn't really feel ... urgent. How does Sally know that Charlie wants answers? They never discuss him. This gap in the plot bothered me far more than it should have ... and I can only say it's because I just wasn't buying the plot.