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You can’t choose your family – but you can choose your friends... A heartfelt, warm and truthful novel about female friendship.Eve has never imagined herself as a stepmother. But when she falls in love with Ian, he comes with a ready-made family of three children. And, to make matters worse, he's a widower. The ghost of his glamorous and well known wife haunts them.Clare, a teacher and single mother, is Eve's best friend. She is the only person Eve can talk to about how on earth a journalist in her thirties can win round three wary children. But despite Clare's years of practice with her own teenage daughter, it's Lily,her younger sister, who provides the truly sympathetic ear.Mel is sent along to Eve's so-called 'support group' by a colleague. With a fledgling relationship and a new business to get off the ground, she has a very different set of pressures to the other women.And Mandy is the stay-at-home mum, whose relationship comes with stepchildren, and who wants more than anything to stitch together a happy family life for herself, her kids and her new step-kids.As a cup of coffee turns to a bottle of wine and the get-togethers become a regular fixture, conversations about new families evolve into ones about relationships, life and each woman’s deepest hopes and dreams. But the friendship is tested and feelings about lovers, husbands and step-children challenged when the five women are forced to confront new futures as well as unwelcome figures from the past...
When Eve enters a complex new life as a stepmother to three children, she finds herself navigating the shadow of her partner's late wife while seeking solace in a burgeoning circle of women. The narrative follows Eve's struggle to balance her career as a journalist with the demands of a ready-made family, while her friends—Clare, Lily, Mel, and Mandy—grapple with their own domestic and romantic challenges. The story unfolds through a multi-perspective lens, examining the shifting dynamics of these women as they transition from casual acquaintances to a vital support system. As external pressures and ghosts from the past threaten their stability, the characters must reconcile their personal desires with the realities of their blended family structures.
This novel presents a character-driven look at the modern domestic experience through the lens of female solidarity. The narrative structure emphasizes the importance of shared vulnerability, as the characters move from superficial interactions to meaningful emotional support. The prose focuses on the practical and psychological hurdles of blending families, avoiding overly idealized portrayals of step-parenting. By centering the story on the group dynamic, the work highlights how individual identity is often negotiated through the support of one's peers. The pacing suggests a focus on interpersonal growth rather than high-stakes external conflict, grounding the story in the everyday realities of its protagonists.
Page Count:
416
Publication Date:
2009-08-20
Publisher:
HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN-10:
000732152X
ISBN-13:
9780007321520
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