Book Review: Tempting Fate by Jane Green

When Gabby first met Elliot she knew he was the man for her. In twenty years  of marriage she has never doubted her love for him- even when he refused to give her the one thing she still wants most of all. But now their two daughters are growing up Gabby feels that time and her youth are slipping away.  For the first time in her life she is restless. And then she meets Matt...
Intoxicated by the way this young, handsome and successful man makes her feel, Gabby is momentarily blind to what she stands to lose on this dangerous path. And in one reckless moment she destroys all that she holds dear.
Consumed by regret, Gabby does everything she can to repair the home she has broken. But are some betrayals too great to forgive?

I loved, loved, loved this book! I have always enjoyed Jane Green's writing but I was completely taken with this one.
Tempting Fate is interesting from the very beginning but I was very much engrossed in the story and characters after the first third of the book; I really struggled to put it down.
Gabby risks everything for one night. Jane Green shows the consequences of Gabby's behaviour, she is still a likable character but it was refreshing to see that she didn't play the victim. Gabby knows that she was wrong, no one forced her and now she must face up to what she did.
Tempting Fate looks in great detail at family relationships. They take years to create yet they are so fragile; one betrayal and those ties and loyalties can be shattered. Gabby goes looking for a bit of excitement but in reality all she wants is the security and familiarity of her husband and their marriage.
Tempting Fate is an excellent read, the story and characters are well thought out, I would highly recommend this book and any others by Jane Green.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 5/5

Publisher: Penguin

Pages: 416

Many thanks to Francesca at Penguin for sending me a copy of the book to review, Tempting Fate is out now!

Book Review: The First Time I Saw Your Face by Hazel Osmond

Jennifer had it all. But a terrible accident has taken almost everything. Moving back home, her future isn't looking too bright. Until she meets Mack.
Sexy, dishevelled and just a little clumsy, he starts to make her believe that she can move on from the past and embrace life all over again. But he has a secret he'd do anything to protect and he'll have to betray her to keep it...

The First Time I Saw Your Face explores what happens when you betray those that you love. Mack Stone is a freelance journalist, he is blackmailed into taking on a job which will mean him betraying someone in the worst possible way.
Mack travels to Northumberland under the guise of Matt Harper, a writer writer working on a new book about walking in the area. His real aim is to befriend Jennifer Roseby; she is the cousin of Cressida Chartwell, a  Hollywood starlet. Mack needs to gain Jennifer's trust in order to find out who Cressida is sleeping with in America. Gaining Jennifer's trust will not be easy. Mack was not informed about her accident, a car accident that has disfigured her face and stripped her of any confidence. Mack did not want to take the job in the first place but he has no choice. However, he had no idea that he would fall in love with Jennifer and still have to betray her.
This book is 501 pages long but I read it very quickly. The book is clearly set out to deal with Mack being given the job, carrying it out and falling in love with Jennifer and then finally, the aftermath and consequences of his betrayal.
What Mack does is truly horrible but I did have sympathy for him. I don't think he would have taken the job on unless he had been blackmailed and he really didn't expect to fall for Jennifer. Regardless of what he has done in the past, Mack is clearly a good guy and he is completely devastated to hurt those close to him. Jennifer is quite a complex character, the injuries she sustained in the accident have obviously changed her life. But her interactions with Mack show us glimpses of the woman she used to be. They are only brief glimpses but Jen cannot believe how different he makes her feel, which makes his duplicity even worse.
Hazel Osmond gives you a lot to think about and she keeps you guessing right to the very end as to whether Jennifer will be able to forgive Mack.
As I said, I did read this book very quickly, there was a lot going on to keep me interested. You want to know how Mack will gain Jennifer's trust, will she allow him in, can he really betray someone he has fallen in love with, will Jen ever be able to forgive Mack and face the world again?
The First Time I Saw Your Face is a book that I would highly recommend.

Dot Scribbles Rating 4/5

Many thanks to Quercus for sending me a copy of the book to review, it is out now!

Book Review: The Darker Side of Love by Jessica Ruston

Lies: we all tell them. To protect those we love, to disguise failure, to hide disappointment. To mask betrayal or deceit. But what happens when they start to catch up with us? When our lives begin to be shaped by the lies of others?
The late 'noughties'. A global recession looms. A group of old friends, all leading outwardly successful, interesting lives. All in apparently loving, secure relationships. Yet all, in some way, lying to those closest to them, concealing secret worries, jealousies or desires. This group of friends is about to discover that the truth won't stay buried forever.
Welcome to the darker side of love.

I very much enjoyed Jessica Ruston's book To Touch the Stars but I must admit that I enjoyed The Darker Side of Love even more and was sad to get the the last page.
There are four main female characters. Izzy who is married to James, they have two beautiful children but she is in definite need of something more. Stella and Johnny have a baby together but Johnny's band is about to hit the big time and his life-style is leading Stella to self-destruct. Caroline is newly married to Bart and should be enjoying the honeymoon period but things aren't always as perfect as they appear. Harriet is the final character, she has been with Will for what seems like forever but she still doesn't have a ring on her finger; maybe it's time to issue him with an ultimatum.
They are four very different women and it was really interesting to see how they slotted together. I think that I identified the most with Izzy but I was as equally interested in all of the others. As the title suggests, Jessica Ruston is exploring the darker side of love. This book is beautifully dark, full of lies, betrayal, sex and jealousy but I also felt that it was brilliantly honest. It didn't paint pretty pictures but stripped these women's relationships back and showed how they really are rather than how they look from the outside.
I really struggled to put this book down and it is one of the best that I have read so far in 2012. I think this is the most powerful of Jessica Ruston's books so far and I highly recommend it.

Dot Scribbles Rating 5/5

Many thanks to Headline Review for sending me a copy of the book to review, The Darker Side of Love is out now.