Hi there!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.
Today, we’re teaming up with Rachel’s Random Resources to bring you a stop along her current tour featuring a Contemporary Fiction title with a lot more than second-hand furniture. I mean, we all love bargain hunting, and antique shopping for that one thing that is just so perfectly us, but a husband? Umm, let me take a rain-check on that as we step between the epages of today’s featured title and blog tour guest...
A Second-Hand Husband
by
Claire Calman
About the book...
Natalie and Carl are newlyweds, but the honeymoon period is over already.
Carl has just announced he has bought their first home at auction without telling Natalie where it is, never mind showing her a picture of it.
Natalie is horrified to discover that the dream home is in Little Wyford, mere minutes away from Carl’s ex-wife Antonia. And to make matters worse, Antonia’s palatial country mansion has a fully-functioning roof (and a heated swimming pool!), unlike the ramshackle cottage Carl has bought for them…
Antonia is Little Wyford’s Queen Bee, mistress of the book club, organiser of the Christmas Fair and leader of the ladies-who-lunch. No matter how hard she tries, Natalie just doesn’t fit in, and when Antonia insists on referring to Carl as ‘Our Husband’, Natalie’s dreams of happily-ever-after take another nose dive.
Second-hand furniture has much to recommend it, especially when doing up a country cottage, second-hand clothes can be ever-so chic, but second-hand husbands are proving to be a very bad idea indeed… Can Natalie ever escape the label of Wife Number Two or is she destined to share her husband forever?
Hilariously funny, wickedly witty, but with a heart of gold and a warmth and wisdom that are all its own, A Second-Hand Husband is Claire Calman’s tour de force.
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Once upon a time, two people fell madly in love…
...until, they weren’t.
They divorced, shared time with the kids, and found their new someone’s…
...only their connection was more like a competition to out do their replacement, causing much strain for some parties, and exasperation for others. Is the love they’ve found enough to see them through? Or is it better to call it quits while still ahead?
Honestly, I don’t know how she did it. There are SO MANY reasons I would have said kiss my patooty and drove off into the sunset, I simply stopped counting. I guess it’s as the saying goes, love is blind...although, in this case, only just. Natalie does eventually stand her ground, albeit long after the blind house buy, work shenanigans, and manly shows of how manly he is between himself and his ex’s new “him”, but the point is...enough is enough for even her at some point! It wasn't even so much the first wife, although I admit, I wasn't a huge fan of her for most the story...read it, and you'll see why...and even the daughter's cold shoulder to Natalie was expected, or at least bearable; it was simply Carl. Yes, Natalie...you had a much kinder heart than I would have, but it made us feel for you all the more...and I loved how she kept trying with those around her, both to understand where they were coming from as well as to make them feel welcome even if the same wasn't returned.
So, if you’re looking for a story filled with swoon worthy courting, and marital bliss that leads to a happy ever after...wrong book! BUT...if you’re looking for a story with real people from every day life, seizing the day while still learning from their yesterday’s...this might just me the tale for you.
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About the author...
Claire Calman is a writer and broadcaster known for her novels that combine wit and pathos, including the bestseller Love is a Four-Letter Word. She has appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and Loose Ends. Her first book for Boldwood was published in June 2020.
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Special thanks to Rachel at Rachel's Random Resources for the chance to bring this tour to you as well as the ecopy for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, this promotion, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is available now, so click on over to your favorite online retailer to snag your copy today and be sure to check out the rest of the tour for more bookish fun!
Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!
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