What would you do if the love of your life forgot you… and met someone else?
I waved my husband goodbye at the airport, and he vanished without a trace. I sat awake, night after night, looking at photos of our family. I knew he would never leave us.
And then I found him.
Now he lives with the younger, beautiful woman he thinks he loves. And he doesn’t even recognise me.
Who will he choose? Can I forgive him? And will I ever be able to look into his eyes without thinking of his other woman?
From the bestselling author Louise Voss comes a heartbreakingly emotional story about family and forgiveness, that will make you cry and hold on tight to the ones you love. Perfect for fans of Nicole Trope, Kerry Fisher and The Silent Daughter.
I'm delighted to be hosting the blog tour for His Other Woman today. Many thanks to Louise Voss and to Bookouture for inviting me and for my advance digital copy of the novel, received through Netgalley.
I've read a few books by Louise Voss and know to set some hours aside because her writing is always so addictive! This was definitely the case with His Other Woman and although it isn't one of her crime novels, I found this contemporary story to be just as gripping.
When Liam Lodge's family wave him off at the airport, it quickly becomes apparent that he hasn't had any easy time of things recently and is hoping that a solo walking holiday in Spain will help - but as readers discover at the airport, he makes an uncharacteristic decision which results in dramatic changes for them all. Louise Voss spares little time setting the scene before his catastrophic accident but this brief introduction serves a vital role as it explains why he is taking a break, the thought process behind his change of mind and how, as a consequence of his spontaneity, his sudden disappearance becomes such a perplexing mystery.
The accident itself happens off the page because what matters more is the aftermath, and with chapters split between Liam and his wife, Alanda, we discover the emotional repercussions for them both. As Alanda and their adult children, Becky, Jake and Heather desperately try to track him down, they imagine all sorts of possible scenarios, from tragic accidents to cruel abandonment. Meanwhile, Liam's frustrations are eased by his friendship with Katya, who visits her uncle in the same hospital ward.
The obvious attraction between the two means it's inevitable that they will fall for one another but what Louise Voss does so well is to ensure that even though my sympathies always lay with Alanda, Katya is also a likeable character and in another novel their love story could be a heartwarming fairy-tale.
However, their bubble has to burst eventually and the second part of the book follows the events after Alanda manages to find her husband. Louise Voss' skill as a thriller writer really comes into play here as although this isn't crime fiction, there are still plenty of twists and turns which kept me thoroughly engrossed. There are chapters written from Katya's perspective, too and while she could have various accusations levelled at her, I felt she was somebody swept along by her feelings, rather than a cold-hearted schemer who stole somebody else's husband. Nevertheless, she does enter the relationship knowing his amnesia is always likely to be temporary and that he could have a family waiting for him and so although I understood her wishful thinking, I was perhaps moved slightly more by Alanda's situation. Liam's confused moods are completely understandable and his complex predicament is heartbreaking; he clearly loves both women but what does that mean for them all? I genuinely felt for all the characters and sympathised with each of them but couldn't work out if, or how, Louise Voss would give them all the happy ending I was hoping for.
The novel is set in Salisbury - which I know quite well - and in the Haute-Savoie region of France which I don't but felt as if I did thanks to the excellent sense of place. One thing I particularly enjoyed about the book was the evocation of memories and feelings through smell; it's something I could easily identify with and really helped me to believe in these characters and their emotions.
With its absorbing, thought-provoking plot which is complemented by the empathic characterisation throughout, His Other Woman is a touching, intriguing novel which captivated me from start to finish. I thoroughly recommend it.
His Other Woman is published by Bookouture and can be purchased from Amazon UK, Amazon US , Kobo, Apple or Google Play
Don't miss the rest of the blog tour, details are below.
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