Emily and Caroline have something in common - Pete. Caroline was married to him for over twenty years. Emily is married to him now. However, Pete dies in an accident which leads Emily to deliver their unborn son before his due date. Pete's death hits on several levels. For one thing, Caroline and Pete have never recovered from the death of their son. Emily feels completely lost without Pete and what is more she is coping with more emotions than she can handle as she tries to navigate motherhood completely on her own.

When Caroline offers to step in to help Emily, it is a true godsend. Will the two women be able to put their tragic pasts behind them in order to see to the safety and care of the child? What is more is whether or not the secrets that both women hold will be their undoing? Can a friendship be forged between these two women?

This sensitive reads touches on some very serious subjects, and they include postpartum depression, loss, grief and recovery. This book also searches the tentative issue of trust and friendship. The balance is uncertain at times, and quite emotional more than once in this fabulous book by Emma Robinson.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

She’s done it again! Written a fantastic, heart wrenching, powerful story.

When Pete suddenly dies he leave behind pregnant wife Emily and Caroline, his first wife with whom he shared a life changing tragedy.

I thoroughly enjoyed Emma’s first book and loved this one too, but again, have the tissues at the ready! This is an emotional tale of love, loss and finding friendship and support in the most unexpected places.
Something I particularly love is how different the story lines are. Some books tend to follow a predictable pattern and a lot can be quite similar but I’ve not read another book with similar themes to this one.

Emma has a way of deeply developing the characters, you may just change your opinion of them as the book goes on, then change it again.
Everything is well thought out and flows well, she has a way of pulling you into the book and not letting you go until it finishes! I would have read it in one sitting if life allowed!

I don’t want to write too much or else I might give things away, but if in any doubt, read it, you will love it!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and most importantly the author, for the chance to read this book, in exchange for an honest review.

His First Wife's Secret is another beautifully written book by the amazing Emma Robinson. This story is written from the perspectives of Caroline and Emily who have both loved and lost the same man. Both these characters are well written, developed and extremely likeable.
This is the second book I have read by Emma Robinson and they have both been extremely emotional and brought me to tears on both occasions.
I highly recommend His First Wife's Secret but make sure you have a box of tissues to hand when reading it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC.

The tears began to flow. ‘I can’t do this on my own,’ Emily sobbed. ‘I don’t know how.’

Emily has been married to Pete for a short while when she discovers she is pregnant, just a few weeks later and Emily is told that her husband has been killed in a tragic accident, she doesn't know how she's going to cope on her own with a baby on the way, it's these terrible circumstances that bring her into contact with Pete's first wife, Caroline. Pete and Caroline were together for twenty years until a tragedy blew their marriage apart, but unbeknown to Emily they were still in contact. With Pete now gone and Emily struggling to survive, the two women build up an unlikely friendship when Caroline offers her support and they grow closer when Emily's baby makes an early appearance. But can Emily trust the woman her husband loved before her, and what is the secret that Caroline is hiding?

His First Wife's Secret is a dual narrative told by Emily and Caroline in alternating chapters, it's a tale of love, friendship, motherhood and loss and has been written with compassion and integrity by an author that knows how to draw her readers in, with characters that are endearing and realistic. I felt every bit of the sorrow and heartache that was being portrayed by both women and just wanted to hug them both! I loved the friendship that evolved between them, but also the caring relationship Caroline has with Faith & Gabby, everybody deserves to have friends like them! This is an emotional read, so you'll need tissues, it is only the second book I've read by Robinson but she is fast becoming one of my go to authors and I now have another four of her books on my tbr list!

I'd like to thank Bookouture and Netgalley for the auto approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

It’s a daunting task to do this book justice with mere descriptions of what it may or not be about. One thing is clear, it is a beautifully written novel about secrets, grief, and betrayal but it is also about motherhood, identity, and self-acceptance.

Emma Robinson has produced a rare book with stunning writing that takes the reader through what it feels like to be a new mother dealing with grief with rare sincerity and realism. I do believe it presents a very accurate and at times gut-wrenching portrayal of the real experience of motherhood for many new mothers: the unbelievably painful exhaustion and, at times, frustration and despair.

This book will take you through a gauntlet of emotions and when the book ends, it feels like what the book is supposed to feel like: like we have taken a journey, both awed and scarred by some of what we’ve read, and a little bit wiser than when we turned the first page.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this advanced reader's copy.

This book was great! I never could have predicted the ending or the way that the relationships turned out. Just the right amount of twist for me!

The book blurb says His First Wife’s Secret is “about friendship, motherhood and loss.” It sure is. But it’s also about another serious topic: post-natal (and pre-natal) depression, a topic that needs to be talked about and written about way more. Robinson writes about everyday people in stressful situations, and this one is a doozy. It’s not a spoiler to say that there are two women who mourn the same man, and it’s an oddly touching relationship that develops between the two.

I really loved this book, even though I was disappointed in the actual secret.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

This was a quick and easy read. If I’m honest the storyline wasn’t what I expected but I still really enjoyed it. The story is told from Caroline and Emily’s point of view. I really liked how the story unfolded and the pace was just right with how information was revealed. Really likeable characters that you could identify with. The subject matter focuses on marriage, child loss, divorce, second marriages and pregnancy which we are all farmilar with in some way but it’s interesting to see how it plays out and you can really see each characters point of view. I enjoyed this read and really liked the authors style of writing. Will look forward to reading other books by this author.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review this ARC that was published on the 15th of April.

Oh, the feels...aaaalllll of the feels!! This book is emotional, heartbreaking and bittersweet friendships all rolled into one. Grab the tissues for this one, you’ll need them and you’re not going to want to stop reading until the very end. This author is so talented and I can’t wait to read more from her.

Emotional family drama with all the "feels" built in. Caroline and Pete suffer an unimaginable loss that tears them apart. Pete goes on to create another family with Emily. Tragedy strikes again and tests the mettle of these two women who must figure out how to coexist and what "family" truly means to them.

Many thank to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘His First Wife’s Secret’ by Emma Robinson in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

When Emily’s husband Pete dies in a car accident he leaves not only her and their unborn baby but his ex-wife Caroline. When baby arrives early Emily has no family or friends to help her and struggles to get through the day whilst caring for a baby and grieving for her husband. She turns to Caroline for support, but should she put her trust and that of her baby’s in the woman Pete was married to before?

Emma Robinon has yet again written a novel that tugs at the heartstrings and brings a lump to the throat. ‘His First Wife’s Secret’ has been beautifully written with so much tenderness and emotion that I’ve been unable to put the book down. As the characters of Caroline and Emily tell their stories through alternate chapters they bear such a strong reality it’s difficult to believe they’re not true. At the start I couldn’t understand Emily’s actions but as the story unfolds I’m able to sympathise with her and also with Caroline who her own secret she can’t divulge. This is a wonderfully moving story that has a perfect ending and has left me with a warm and happy glow. I can wholeheartedly recommend it.

Oh what a tender, beautifully written book this is.
Where do I start?
Emma Robinson is absolutely fantastic at creating such likeable and relatable characters, that as soon as I started reading this I felt totally invested in her main characters Caroline and Emily. Even her supporting characters are just so brilliant.
The story just grabbed my heart and I felt so much for Caroline and Emily even though they were living different sides of the story. The feelings and emotions that each woman was feeling just jumps off the page and you just want the best for each of them. The development of their friendship and how it began in the first place is just so well written.
What gets me the most about Emma’s books is the power in her words that instantly brings tears to my eyes. There’s a fair few in this one but I have to say, there’s reference to a tree in the last paragraph and once you read it you will know exactly what I mean. Just absolutely beautifully written words.
I loved this book and would definitely recommend it to others.

In this book, two women come together to help each other through difficult times. Caroline and Emily share their love for Pete. But circumstances have left them without him. Will their love for little Dylan be enough to allow them to heal? This was a good, emotional read.

Emma Robinson's His First Wife's Secret is a gripping and emotional story which highlights depression. It tells the tale across two women's perspectives of horrific losses and how the characters got through them. Marriage, divorce, deaths; something has to give.....

This is a very emotional book so make sure you have the tissues on standby.
That said I did enjoy the book and found it a fast, easy read as I followed both Caroline and Emily’s story.
There were a few times when I thought the author pulled back from the cliff hangers, back into safe territory and it left me a bit disappointed. I also thought the “secret” was a non entity.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this but it’s not as good as previous books by this author. Maybe it’s because the story has a lot of sadness in that I was left feeling quite flat at the end. I rated this as 3.5⭐️ possibly touching 4⭐️ on a good day.

Wow what a book, I went from not liking any of the characters, to LOVING THEM ALL! Even Pete, I am not going to lie, for my mind to be switched like that after its been made up is a miracle, I am not over doing it you guys, this book brought tears to me eyes and I am still feeling Caroline's and Emily's pain. This book is about two women actually, Caroline was married to Pete, and Emily is the new wife, she is also pregnant, and going through it. I cant relate what they both went through because I am not a mother yet, but how Caroline stepped up to the plate to be there for a woman she doesn't even know like that was amazing.

Listen I cant say anymore because its such a sweet book, just make sure you have some tissues, glass of wine, a cozy blanket, one of these or all 3, because before you know it this book will be over, and you will end up just loving it just as much as I did.

I really enjoyed the flow of this book. So many secrets and pent up emotions. Well developed characters that were easy to fall for and feel for. I thoroughly got into this storyline
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

Wow. Just wow. I devoured this book in a day and a half. I thoroughly enjoyed the dynamic between the ex-wife and the current wife. The way the author wrote about postpartum depression was remarkable. I often think people overlook and don’t take it seriously enough. The way the author wrote about PPD, even made me think about my own experience with it. The books was eloquently written. I look forward to reading other books by Emma Robinson!

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC of this book.

This was okay. I kept waiting for something more to happen, but, it was just not going how I thought it would.

It definitely shows relationships, and how even odd ones can work. I didn't particularly like the characters, they just seemed a little far-fetched for me. But that's just me.

A beautifully written portrayal of loss and grief. Heartwrenching and yet hopeful, it’s one of those books that sucks you in, keeping you turning the pages until the end.