Book Review - My Sweet Revenge by Jane Fallon - #AroundTheUKIn144Books #GreaterLondon

Amazon UK

Title: My Sweet Revenge

Author: Jane Fallon

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Michael Joseph

Publication Date: 12th January 2017

Rating: 3 Stars

I want to make my husband fall back in love with me.

Let me explain. This isn't an exercise in 1950s wifeydom. I haven't been reading articles in old women's magazines. 'Twenty ways to keep your man'. That couldn't be further from the truth.

I want him to fall back in love with me so that when I tell him to get the hell out of my life he'll care. He won't just think, 'Oh good'.

I want it to hurt.

Paula has had Robert's back since they got together as drama students.
She gave up her dreams so he could make it.
Now he's one of the nation's most popular actors.
And Paula's just discovered he's having an affair.

She's going to remind Robert just what he's sacrificing.
And then she's going to break his heart like he broke hers.
It will be her greatest acting role ever.

Revenge is sweet. 
Isn't it?

I started off really enjoying My Sweet Revenge, but the longer everything was drawn out for the more my interest started to wain. I am not sure that I could do what Paula does in this book, which is find out my husband has been cheating on me, and not let on to him at all, for months until she is ready to try and enact her revenge.

There was a lot of porky pies being told by Paula, but also by Robert, Saskia and Joshua, the focal characters of this book.  In some ways I do admire Paula, as her initial plan for revenge seemed solid, by making her husband fall back in love with her, before admitting she knows the truth and kicking him off. 

However as the story progresses she realises that won't be enough, and that she really needs to try make sure he and his piece on the side have broken up, so that he can't have either of them. It is from those thoughts that she attempts to befriend Saskia, the other woman. 

What I have neglected to mention is that Robert and Saskia work together on a drama series, as does Saskia's husband, and they are both trained actors. So when Saskia and Paula start meeting up, it is hard to know what information to trust. 

My personal thoughts about the characters personalities aside, this is a likeable book, with a story that will certainly appeal to others. I enjoyed Jane Fallon's writing style, and  there were moments where I was loving the book. I really enjoyed the few times Alice was mentioned, she is Robert's sister, and is self obsessed and reckons she is an actress too. I also really felt for Georgia, their daughter, at some points, especially since this was all happening during exam time. 

Towards the end I think I was more confused and befuddled than anything else, as I couldn't work out who was supposed to know what, and I had lost track of what the truth for any character really was, which is unfortunate as I don't like feeling confused in the run up to the end of a book. 

If you like books with complex revenge plots against a spouse, and involve manipulation of people's emotions then My Sweet Revenge will be your sort of story. 

Thank you to Michael Joseph and Netgalley for this copy of the book that I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Book Review - Strictly Between Us by Jane Fallon

Amazon UK

Title: Strictly Between Us

Author: Jane Fallon

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Michael Joseph

Publication Date: 14th January 2016

Rating:  4 Stars

Rumours, secrets and lies. It's all in a day's work.

Tamsin and her best friend Michelle have been inseparable since they were teenagers. Even now they spend all their time together, along with Patrick, Michelle's handsome husband.
So when Tamsin hears a rumour that Patrick is having an affair, she is furious. Unwilling to ignore it, Tamsin plots a scheme to catch Patrick in the act, using her assistant Bea as live-bait. It should be fool proof.

After all, Tamsin can trust Bea with anything. From her daily coffee order to fetching her dry-cleaning, writing reports and doing all the filing - Bea does everything with a smile on her face.
Except Tamsin never considered Bea might have her own agenda.
And if she does, then Tamsin really needs to watch her back . . .

It's been a while since I last read a book by Jane Fallon, and now I'm wondering why, as I really enjoyed Strictly Between Us.  This is a funny story, that so long as you don't judge pretty much any of the characters, and take it all at face value, is full of cheating, lying, double crossing and general all around dishonesty. 

Thankfully everything is explained in such as way that you can easily follow with who knows what about the situation, and the only person who is entirely blameless is Michelle, Tamsin's best friend. 

They have been best friends since school, and Tamsin used to get on really well with Michelle's husband Patrick. However Tamsin starts hearing rumours that Patrick is being unfaithful, and decides that the best way to try and find out one way or another is to use her assistant Bea as a honey trap. 

Bea is meant to be Tamsin's very loyal assistant, and just from the setting this honey trap in motion, it sets off a chain reaction that no one could have forsen, with various consequences. 

By part 2 of the book, we start getting Bea's perspective on the situation, as well as Tamsin's its from there that the book really gets going, as you can see things from two of the main players, and it works really well, as the lies start to fly.  

There are hidden agenda's all over the place, and Tamsin seems to be on a mission to prove Patrick's true character, although she makes some severe error's of judgment herself. I really don't want to give much away, as the story moves a such a quick pace, I may accidently spoil a great story. 

Strictly Between Us, is a comedy of errors, very funny, and a really nice book to read. I can't say I loved all aspects of the characters, but I did generally understand most of the decisions made. The main thought that I came away from this book with, is just how well can you trust anyone. 

Thanks to Michael Joseph and Netgalley for this review copy. This is my honest opinion.