England's Lane by Emma Woolf is about the lives of characters affected by an extramarital affair and the consequences of infidelity.

I just could not get into this book long enough to finish it. Nothing about the story line grabbed my interest. I was disappointed because the synopsis given on NetGalley sounded promising.

This is a book on depression and the writing style captured depression and sort of the humdrum of living. Yes, there was love and yes there was family but no theme underpinned the book as much as the depression and finding joy in the mundane.

England's Lane is the story of two women and one man. An affair and complex serious subjects that I won't tell you. The story is depressing and sad. I didn't enjoy it because of the weight of it. It's a downer. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautifully tragic and, in the end, hopeful book. Lily, a young woman in her 20's has an affair with her much older, married boss. Pippa, Harry's wife, suspects her husband of an affair. The reader bears witness to the affair and the fallout for each of the characters. This is a deeply emotional book, dealing with suicide, depression, anxiety and bereavement. Emma Woolf is a talented writer, pulling at heartstrings and bringing the power of family, friendship and forgiveness to the forefront.

Thank you to Three Hares Publishing and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this novel. All opinions are my own.

My high-school English teacher preferred British literature to American, and thus I spent my junior and senior years reading Dickens, Shakespeare, Hardy, and, of course, Virginia Woolf. We studied stream-of-consciousness and point-of-view, and now I know enough about contemporary fiction to wonder if To The Lighthouse would have been rejected for too much interior monologue, not enough plot, and that crime against humanity, head-hopping.

Woolf’s great niece, Emma, has a debut novel out, although as a non-fiction author she is already well-known in England for books about eating disorders.

Click on the link below for the full review.

A romance for modern times muktilayered. Full of heartbreak betrayal depression.Picked it up was drawn right into the world on England Lane the families the drama wonderful read,#netgalley#EnglandsLane.#threeharespublishing

I was hooked by this book instantly, finding it to be a well written, engrossing read. The story and the characters were entirely believable and even though they were not all likeable, the situation they found themselves in made it nearly impossible to put down. Lily, a young professional editor has begun an affair with her older, married boss, Harry. Harry has a wife and two children as well as a bad back, a serious drinking problem, plenty of money and a tendency towards periods of dark, nearly crippling depression. The relationship begins in earnest when they travel together to Paris on business and while both fall deeply in love, Harry suffers greatly as a result. Pippa, Harry's wife, observes the changes in their relationship and home life, but doesn't dare say anything. She hopes things will work themselves out and Harry will return to his usual loving, attentive ways. Unfortunately, Harry is so deeply hooked by his love for Lily that this is not to be. I don't want to give away any more of the story as it is truly a very satisfying read with some interesting turns in it. Strongly recommend.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a review copy. This is my honest opinion.

England’s Lane is a love story. It is written from the perspective of two women, one the wife and one the younger girlfriend who met the man of the story at work.
It includes storylines that involve mental health, growing older, grief and motherhood, which is what drew me to the book. It goes beyond the obvious and went some way to show the emotions involved.
Sadly I wasn’t entirely convinced about the grief. It was difficult because having had a similar experience I didn’t identify with either of the women characters in this regard. But that wasn’t the authors fault as everyone is different and maybe the book was a little too close to home for me. I also wondered if the author had experience of having a baby, as it was no where near as messy, unorganised and emotional as I remember. But I respect her for trying to include these big issues in the book. It was brave.
I would have liked more of the wife’s blog, it wasn’t used as much as it could have liked.
I enjoyed the setting and some of the wider characters.
Thank you to #NetGalley, the publishers and the author Emma Woolf for the opportunity to read and review the book. Always such a privilege.

Two women, an affair and an unexpected event that tears them up, each clinging to their pain and hoping to heal with time. If you are a fan of women's fiction and love a bit of drama without much confrontation, then this book would be ideal for you. I believe the story is good and in terms of keeping me completely invested in the story, I'd say that sadly speaking it did not. Thank you Netgalley for the read.

From reading the initial details of the book. I knew I was going to enjoy this one.
A true romantic story. Yet there is a lot beneath the surface and not all of it pleasant. Such is true in life.
Thank you to both NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this wonderful book.

Thank you NetGalley and Three Hares Publishing for the eARC.
This was a very enjoyable read for me, I couldn't put it down and finished it in a day.
The subjects of marital infidelity, mental health and single motherhood were written with sensitivity; one couldn't help but feel empathetic with all the characters, even when getting annoyed with them at times.
For someone who generally dislikes romantic fiction, I was surprised at how much I liked this book. Definitely recommended!

England's Lane, by Emma Woolf is a modern romance one cannot stop reading until the end. Trust me all my today's schedule set aside the moment I opened the book.

A thoroughly enjoyable read! The characters were all complex and well written and the book delves into some pretty heavy subjects. It is romantic and melancholy, inspiring and heartbreaking. Written from three characters points of view, it gives very different perspectives on the events that unfold within it's pages making an interesting and enjoyable read that did not take me long at all, I couldn't put it down.

The plot (probably with lots of spoilers): Lily is having an affair with Harry, who is married to Pippa, and apparently is only still married to her for the sake of their two youngish sons. Lily does not want Harry to leave his marriage for her, Pippa spills her guts about her boring life and her marital fears on a blog, and Harry is having counselling, which is unsurprising given the mess that he is in. Harry gives Lily a whack of money for a flat deposit, impregnates her then kills himself. Thereafter, everything for everyone gradually becomes oddly wonderful and lovely.

Type of book: ‘Flashes of (perhaps unintended) brilliance surrounded by the literary equivalent of excess plastic packaging’

The author: Emma Woolf, who has previously written several non fiction books on wellbeing. Writing’s in the blood.

What appealed to me...was the suicide of a main character, and how that would affect everyone he leaves behind. Also, the cover has leaves.

You’ll want to read this if ...you are interested in a career in publishing and want to follow Lily’s example of getting a 450k mortgage. (Spoiler alert: he pays that off too! Moral of the story...get a sugar daddy?)

You shouldn’t read it if...your eyes strain easily from too much rolling.

The good stuff...it throws the spotlight onto paternal mental health, something which is still rarely discussed (even if I do think that the men in the novel open up far too easily). It’s also refreshing to be reminded that anyone can suffer from poor mental health, regardless of class, status or how impeccable their haircut is.

The stuff that sucked...a) no one in this story seems to be able to handle singledom b) Lily acts like a bellend when she meets the next guy, goes cold on him then scolds him for doing just that, gets pissed off that only a few months into their relationship he doesn’t want to spend Christmas with her family and wants to take her away skiing and pay for it all (I mean, come on woman!) c) everything turns out all rather lovely, considering d) the novel plays down the effect that infidelity, lies, betrayal and deception has e) Lily has a bizarre obsession with looks, particularly hair, and the more needy and paranoid she gets with Julien, the worse this gets (I am someone who only paints her nails when all of the previous polish has chipped off, clearly I don’t think too much about looks) f) further to the last point, at times the level of detail regarding vanity goes off the scale, which brings me on to the standout sentences in the novel...

Best line of novel... ‘Already she was reaching for her handbag and pulling out her reading glasses, her slim fountain pen and her crocodile skin Smythson notebook.’ Such a beautiful image, it’s convinced me to trade in my little blue swiped-from-Argos pen.

Worst line of novel... ‘She pulled on her J Brand skinny jeans, a pale pink cashmere jumper, jacket and Hunter wellies, grabbed the keys and made her way downstairs.’ Hold up, hold up! What kind of jacket was she wearing? Are we talking denim or leather, this seasons or last? And were those keys silver or brass, door keys or piano keys? And please, I ask you, how many stairs, carpeted or bare, did she go down? Without those extra details I just couldn’t visualise the scene.

Rating 3.5/5

Final thoughts: I know that anyone reading this review might wonder how I can take a large shit on a novel and still give it such a good rating. There is so much that is ridiculous about this story, but everything in ‘the good stuff’ (see above) outweighs pretty much all of it, almost. The novel demonstrates so well that the only prerequisite to mental illness is being a human. As a sufferer myself, I still look at people and think to myself ‘you own a house, what is there to complain about?’, and I know that it’s just as ignorant as assumptions about those that don’t have money, and a general misunderstanding even amongst sufferers themselves as to how mental health works and the causes of mental illness. So, even with it’s stupid amount of eye-rolling inducing aspects, England’s Lane is a great contribution to the conversation of mental health.

England’s Lane was published on 2nd July 2018 by Three Hares Publishing. Thank you to Emma Woolf, Three Hares and NetGalley for the ARC. Also my apologies.

England’s Lane might be named after a place, but it’s a novel about people, and the relationships between them. Emma Woolf’s debut novel is a warm and heartfelt read about three people and the connections between them.

Harry isn’t a likeable character – he’s cheating on his wife – but his depression and subsequent suicide reveal deeper issues than simply misogyny. We’re dubious about Lily, the younger woman having an affair with a married man, but she’s warm, and tender, and loves with all her being. And there’s seemingly strong Pippa, the shunned wife trying to bring up her two sons, fighting despair and humiliation as her marriage falls apart. There are sad moments, and happy ones, complex times and simple pleasures – the range of human experience.

The themes of love, loss, and betrayal are timeless, but this story is very much rooted in modern London, and touches on issues of gentrification, work/life balance and city relationships. The streets of Hampstead are accurately drawn. It’s no Mrs Dalloway (yes, Emma Woolf does have a famous aunt), but it is detailed.

England’s Lane is a great example of good quality writing that will appeal to the commercial market. The boundaries between literary and commercial fiction are blurring, and this novel bridges the two. It’s an easy read, not because it’s simple or dumbed down, but because it’s good.

I didn’t want this book to end. An amazing story about love, forgiveness and mental health. The characters were rich and full of life.

My attention was caught by the description – a little less ordinary than many of the “blurbs”, which made this book sound as though it might be more interesting than a run-of-the-mill love story.

I was right. I found this a really interesting, well-written book. From the onset I was engaged with the characters – although annoyed by one or two, I found each one believable and their actions were consistent with what we knew about them. The one possible exception is Pippa; I wasn’t totally convinced by her voice, especially as it purports to be in a blog. I’m not sure that one would reveal such intimate details in a public blog.

I think the final sentence of the description sums up the themes of the book very adequately “A painful but powerful modern love story, it explores the cost of marital infidelity and the challenges of single motherhood, the legacy of suicide and the healing power of love.” Perhaps the challenges of single motherhood were glossed over a little – the character (I name no names – spoilers!) seemed to have things fall quite neatly into her lap at times, and the baby was remarkably well behaved and considerate, but hey, this is fiction, after all! The effects of one person’s suicide on those around was sensitively described, as was the importance of family, in all its different guises.

It examines some difficult issues – infidelity, depression, family break-up – but is, finally, a book that left me feeling more hopeful for the characters than one might imagine at the beginning of the book.

There were a few issues for me at the beginning, when timelines, voices and stories were not adequately seperated or indicated, so I was a little confused. However this settled down reasonably quickly, and I was able to follow the timeline more easily.

The other issue – possibly just an e-reader issue- was the way paragraphs were laid out. Sometimes there were paragraph breaks in the middle of sentences, or incorrectly placed. Some punctuation was missing too. I hope these will be sorted out before publication as they did rather spoil the reading experience for me.

In all, however, this was an enjoyable, engaging read, which deserves its four stars.

Parts of this book will break your heart. Parts of it will make you smile. And parts will fill you with hope.

Emma Woolf uses three perspectives to tell the story: Lily, a young woman in her late twenties who begins an affair with her married boss; Harry, the married boss, who has always been faithful but who finds himself powerfully drawn to Lily on emotional, spiritual, and sexual levels; and Pippa, Harry's wife, who suspects her husband's infidelity. The driving narrative belongs to Lily, however, and she proves to be a worthy choice.

Several characters in this book struggle with depression and each respond in different ways. Harry, undoubtedly, proves to be the bleakest. He battles not just depression but also near debilitating back pain, and the combination of the two brings him to his knees. Lily brings brightness and vitality to his life. as do his sons. His marriage had become complacent and colorless before Lily, so her emergency shows him what he could have. Yet never once does Emma Woolf want you to believe that another person is responsible for the state of your psyche. You alone can heal yourself.

Another powerful thread in this book is family. You see the pain Harry feels at his betrayal of his sons. He desperately wants to be a good father for them. Lily's family is her tribe. There are several subplots involving Lily's family and extended family, and each of these points to the importance of having the emotional support of the people who know you best. One of the things I loved most was Emma Woolf's choice to not have any conflict between Lily and her siblings and their mother. We have enough mess to deal with, Woolf seems to say. Don't make it worse by squabbling with your family.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved Lily. She has a good heart, and she wants the best for the people around her. She tries to make decisions that help not just herself but her family. Harry is a bit undeveloped--there were things I wanted to know about him that were never revealed--and Pippa is a mystery. I couldn't quite figure out why Emma Woolf used her perspective at all.

There were times when I cried. Hard. I also laughed out loud, and I felt a sort of bouyant hope. This is not always an easy book to read because of some characters' sadnesses and depression, but it's a book you will enjoy.

Not a bad book and the character development was satisfactory but the story seemed to me to make itself more complicated than was necessary and this spoiled the overall reading experience for me.