Afternoon Everyone,

Hope you’re all well and have had a good week so far. My focus this week has been bookstagram. I’m trying to make more of an effort to do bookstagram stuff as it’s not something I’ve really done before. There are a tonne of lovely people over there so hopefully it’s something I can get into. Other than that I’ve just been reading this delightful book.

Book 📖

I had an ARC of Other Parents by @sarahlovescrime but it was sitting on my TBR list whilst I was on my blogging hiatus. I’ve chosen to bail on some of the ARCs I had outstanding as I never would have caught up, but this was one of the few that I definitely wanted to read. Thank you to @HQstories for the copy of this book in return for an honest review. Other Parents was published on 20th January 2022 and you can get a copy here.

Description 🔖

We all know what small towns are like. Everyone knows everyone’s business and it is near impossible to keep things private, never mind to keep a secret. But it’s a reasonable price to pay for a nice, rural area and outstanding schools.

Rachel Saunders is the most recent talk of the town. She divorced her husband and moved her new girlfriend into the family home with her three children. They have one of the biggest homes in the town and Rachel is known to almost everyone.

Laura Spence has her son in the school that all the wealthy kids go to, but that’s not what home life is like for her and her son Max. They live in a small flat on the not so nice side of town. Laura is constantly on edge, frightened that Max’s behavioural problems will unveil her secrets.

When the school that both women’s children attend announce a new LGBTQ+ friendly curriculum, Rachel and Laura find themselves on opposite sides of an argument, neither prepared to back down. However, when you invest so much time in something outside of your own home, you can easily lose sight of what’s happening right under your nose.

General Thoughts 🤔

This book was everything that I thought it was going to be and everything that I wanted it to be. It was full of scandal and local gossip and people judging others without having all of the facts available to them. What I wasn’t expecting from the book was the stark difference between the rich and the poor. We unfortunately live at a time where the gap between the two is getting bigger and bigger and it’s heartbreaking. I really liked that the book explored how communication between two people who come from totally different worlds can be so difficult. Especially when one party is in a constant state of fear.

Characters 👫👭👬

There are lots of characters in this book and I loved that about it. It increases the chances of there being at least one character that you can relate to or empathise with. I would say my favourite character was Erin. I thought that she was very calming and helped to keep the other members of her household level headed and rational. She sacrificed a lot to follow her heart (with no regrets) and that is something I can relate to.

Laura frustrated me but only because she wouldn’t get out of her own way a lot of the time. She was a stubborn person in my opinion which ultimately ended up being something she probably wished she could change. As a member of the “Right Way to Live” group, I’m not sure Laura even felt that strongly about the cause. I think she went along with it to fit in with the other parents and detract any attention from herself.

Writing Style ✍️

I am a sucker for a story told from multiple POVs and this book had so many of them it made me almost giddy with excitement. So many opinions, so many view points, it makes for such great reading in my opinion. The author did such a good job of ensuring that all of the characters meshed together as they were supposed to and there were no loose ends left.

I liked that this book was more than just gossip and scandal, there were some pretty hard topics covered too. It certainly made me think a lot more about the wealth gap we have in the UK and how it might feel to be on either end of that gap. I came away from this book wondering what I would do in the shoes of many of these characters and I put that down to the fantastic writing.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

This was a great book that I really enjoyed. It was the perfect partner for snuggling on the sofa or cuddling up in bed. Once I had started, I was hooked and I couldn’t put it down. If you like drama and secrets with great characters, you should give this book a go.

😍😍😍😍😩