From Goodreads
The tragedy and comedy that is Jack’s life; is there a future for him and Anna, or is the past too destructive?
Jack Redman, estate agent to the Cheshire set and skilled juggler of complex relationships. Someone to break all the rules, or an unlikely hero? In this sequel to Wild Water Jack and Anna return to discover that history repeats itself. Anna’s long-awaited success as a serious artist is poised to happen, but her joy, along with her relationship with Jack, is threatened by old scores.
Simon Banks is a depressed and unstable man with a plan. He wants to wipe out his past by buying a brighter future, but Jack Redman stands in his way. Will Jack ever escape the legacy of lies and deceit left by his ex-wife? Can Jack and Anna hold it all together, or will tragic repercussions from Jack’s past blow them apart forever?
This publication is written in British English. Spellings and grammatical conventions are conversant with the UK.
My thoughts
My oh my. Just as Jack Redman thought things were going well for him, his life begins to disintegrate before his eyes. With spending most of his time in Cheshire, he only has the weekends usually in Wales when he goes home to Anna. The descriptions of the Welsh countryside make you feel like you're there and it's plain to see that it's a place dear to Jan Ruth's heart.
Jack is a successful estate agent and has a nice stable relationship with Anna, but sadly the status quo doesn't last long. History often has the habit of rearing it's ugly head just when you least expect it. Patsy his ex-wife and mother to his children, is always in the background as he shares custody of his children wth her. Patsy knows how to manipulate Jack and she manages to do this very well, usually appearing to get her own way most of the time or setting the seeds for situations to work in her favour.
Simon Banks is a blast from the past, and is a man on a mission. How his mission affects the extended Redman clan is revealed slowly. He is a past acquaintance of Jack, Patsy and Anna but whether he is an acquaintance that they are happy to be reacquainted with remains to be seen.
Poor Jack, just when you think things can't get any worse for him, that's just what they seem to do. He can't seem to do right for doing wrong.
Anna tries her best to keep everyone happy and often goes the extra mile to please other people in the family, but she is soon at the end of her tether with certain situations that arise.
In Wild Water I found Patsy despicable, but at times in this story I found myself feeling a little sorry for her, don't ask me why though. Leopards never seem to change their spots and this much can be said of Patsy too. She unfortunately is her own worst enemy.
With a great mix of secondary characters, with the extended Redman clan and their friends, we have the makings of a great story with lots to tell and believe me there is plenty to tell.
I was sent an ARC of this story from the Author in exchange for an honest review. This is a definite 10/10 from me and will be a cracker of the month. It's well written and is a darker read than Wild Water. There are plenty of moments of humour and comedy, having me laughing at times to myself. Mixed with this humour though, are darker parts and as the story develops you'll be wondering where the story is taking you. At times I found myself hoping that all was going to work out well in the end, but there is no guarantee at all that it will. No one ever said life was all hearts and flowers all the time.
So grab yourself a cuppa or a nice glass of wine and settle yourself down and enjoy the rollercoaster of a ride that you'll be taken on.
No comments:
Post a Comment