While I loved having characters in a relatable age range, I wanted more: either weirder or deeper. Though the impulse to give away the family dog on a whim is very relatable.

Caitlin is in the throes of a midlife crisis and doesn't know if she's struggling, mentally struggling with her body, or is it just the age that she's grown into? This was an interesting take on women's fiction that I enjoyed.

What do you do when your son refuses to walk the dog - the one he named Banana? You give the dog away, of course, to children you meet on the street. And, of course, the children’s angry mother will return the dog while you are entertaining neighbors. This is Caitlin’s life. She’s menopausal and miserable. Her sister Samantha has lost her job and is convinced her husband is having an affair. She might not be wrong. And Caitlin’s best friend Lou is gaining weight and thinks her husband is losing interest. Add Tony, Caitlin’s husband’s best friend and a compulsive womanizer to the mix. Caitlin has a secret history with him and Samantha would like to get to know him better, much better.

Caitlin’s Not Sorry, a true comedy of errors, continues to a very real conclusion. Caitlin, Samantha and Lou are so well described you would know them if you saw them in the supermarket. This novel is genuine. All the situations could (and probably do) exist from Caitlin’s postpartum depression to Isobel and Jonny’s secrets to Giles’ lies and Charles’ avoidance. This is Wendy Kenyon’s debut novel! I can’t wait to read her next! 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Troubador and Wendy Kenyon for this ARC.

I really enjoyed this one, but I also think I read it at the absolute perfect time in my life. I literally celebrated my 20th wedding anniversary the day before this book released, and Caitlin is coming up on her own 20th anniversary while basically having an is this really my life? moment. 😂

Now, I am very happily married and Caitlin and I are definitely NOT making the same choices here, but I would be lying if I said I couldn't relate to some of the feelings she was having. After 20 years of marriage, raising kids, working, taking care of everyone and just LIFE, I think it's pretty normal to sometimes look around and wonder where the younger version of yourself went. That part of Caitlin really resonated with me.

Caitlin is menopausal, her teenagers are making her crazy, she's frustrated with her husband Charles, and at one point she literally gives their dog Banana away to random kids because her son won't walk him. 😂 That should give you a pretty good idea of where Caitlin is mentally.

But I actually loved that this wasn't only Caitlin's story. Her sister Samantha is going through it too. She's lost her job, she's convinced her husband Giles is cheating on her, and she's trying to figure out what she's supposed to do with herself now. I really enjoyed the relationship between Caitlin and Samantha because it felt like an actual sister relationship. They love each other, but they can also annoy the absolute crap out of each other.

And then there's Lou, Caitlin's best friend, who is struggling with getting older, gaining weight and worrying that her husband isn't interested in her anymore. All three women are dealing with that is this it? feeling, just in completely different ways.

Of course we also have Tony, Charles' best friend and resident womanizer, who Caitlin has a secret history with. And Samantha is interested in him too. Because apparently these women didn't already have enough going on. 😂

There were definitely times I wanted to shake Caitlin and say, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! I didn't agree with all of her choices, but I understood her more than I expected to. And honestly, Samantha and Lou had their moments too.

This was funny, messy, sometimes ridiculous, but also surprisingly relatable. These women felt like women you actually know. Nobody has everything figured out, everyone has their own insecurities and secrets, and they're all just trying to navigate marriage, kids, friendships, sisters, getting older and figuring out who they are at this point in their lives.

Maybe this one hit me a little harder because of the timing, but I really enjoyed it. And for a debut novel, I'm definitely interested in seeing what Wendy Kenyon writes next.

Thank you to NetGalley, Troubador Publishing and Wendy Kenyon for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A whirlwind of a story touching on delicate subjects marriage, infidelity, teenage issues and menopause skilfully written into an enjoyable story - very relatable

Caitlin's Not Sorry was a great debit novel by Wendy Kenyon, lots of twists and very relatable. The beginning hooks you in, I found the middle got a little confusing and drawn out, but the ending brought it all back together again.

Thank you to Troubador and NetGalley for the ARC, all reviews are my own.

This starts off HILAROUS, right off the bat. I can so imagine that someone is just DONE with stuff, I love this type of story. Then, a lot of people were introduced and I got a bit confused, but that soon cleared up because everyone is really different.

After the initial great start, the story fell flat for me. There was a lot going on with everybody and things mixed a lot, but I feel that the story was being kept up by everything that was happening, and not as much how the characters responded to it all, and that made the book feel a bit detached.

Even though you spend a lot of time with the characters, they still feel very cliche and not well built. After finishing, I knew nothing more about their motives for actions or anything than in the first chapters.

It was not bad, but not as good or as fun as I expected. 2,5* rounded up.

Pretty good read. The characters are great. It’s sent in England so a lot of talk and slang that I’m unfamiliar with. But was able to get through ok.

Many humorous scenes throughout. And finally coming to figuring out its “the menopause” LOL

Thank you NetGalley for the copy

alot of woman will be able to see themselves in Caitlin. if not all then certainly some of her thoughts and or behaviours. there are many reasons for Caitlin to feel this way. like why is this woman still carrying the mental load? and not just that in her nuclear family. it seems her friend and sister are also sloshing water in that already over full bath. and we know what happens then dont we? yep, bath spilloth over.
but will this lead to a bigger disaster or actions she cant come back from?
does she wants to come back from it?
will anyone even notice if she did such acts, or even if she got abducted by aliens?
what do you do when you get o certain place in life where we are told, or like to believe tings will finally be sorted, happy to live in forever content bliss or at least something close to it? what if you find yourself asking is.this.it?
Wendy writes so well in this book. she bought her families and characters to life so it genuinely felt like i could walk down the stats into their kitchens/lives. i had empathy for so much of what was felt here but also immediately wanted to press the stop button on some of what was going on before it became irreversible.
adding the two other woman in Caitlin's life to the mix allowed nuance and variations of both Caitlin's feelings and what other woman would be going through in their own lives too. or someone we know.
i felt that feeling of it all building for Caitlin. of it just being enough. but also what comes after that even if she does blow, admit it?
there is that dry humour and wit that i really liked. some funny moments that had me smiling but also had me feeling for those involved. this helped when we touched on some of those pretty topical issues. and sensitive issues too. you definitely know someone has gone to far when their inner thoughts of giving away the dog because the children wont walk him, goes to actually acting out such a imagining. Caitlin does it. she literally gives the dog away!this is really where you can see even in this event just how enough of enough Caitlin has had and just where her head space might be.
by Wendy bringing the other woman into Caitlin's life and therefore story it really allowed a full scope of understandable feelings. i didn't always want their choices to play out but i also felt for them when i saw the nuance at just where these woman were. most of the time i actually just wanted these woman to feel better.
the sister relationship was told by someone who knows siblings. it was great but also had all the other bits i between great that comes with sisters!
this isn't a book that relies on shocks or stories that seems unrelatable and just for kicks in the story line. its all real and feels real to these woman you might know. and in that way it hits hard enough all on its own merit. i wanted to know how all these woman would be left at the end of the read. i genuinely felt like id come to care for them which is always a sign for me that i liked a book and got fully involved..
this is my first read by Wendy and i really will be looking for more from her.