Author: Michele Campbell
ISBN: 9780008271862
RRP: $29.99
Publisher: HQ Fiction
Copy: Courtesy of the Publisher
Holidays are really messing with my review time, but I’m happy to say I’m still finding time to read. The problem with that is it’s been quite a while since I finished reading It’s Always the Husband, and now I need to review so I think I will keep it short and sweet.
It’s Always the Husband is a suspenseful read that kept me guessing throughout. I thought I had it all figured out a couple of times, but never actually did. The amount of twists in this one makes it a little difficult to review without giving it all away.
The story is a contemporary suspense told with dual timelines so half the story is told in the past when our trio of best friends, who are sometimes more like frenemies, met at college. This gives the story a very YA feel with so much of the narrative taking place with college kids.
Two decades ago Kate, Jenny and Aubrey were thrown together as roommates. Three girls who were completely different but built a friendship on the strength of their proximity. Friendships built in the beginning of college burn brightly and they sometimes seem to be attachments that would never have been made under different circumstances, and that is definitely the case with these three.
Aubrey worked hard to gain a scholarship to the prestigious Carlisle College after growing up on the wrong side of the tracks, and she doesn’t really want to let her new friends know about her roots. Jenny was born and bred in the New Hampshire college town and her working class family have taught her to do what needs to be done to get where she wants to be. Kate is the old money New Yorker with oodles of charisma who is at Carlisle more for the experience, and to shop for a husband.
I enjoyed the story and the twists kept me guessing but it was not what I was expecting. The blurb led me to believe this was a story about a trio of 40 year olds, and it was but it was also the story of the trio and how their friendship developed.
We meet the college freshman and share their freshman year with them before catching up with them again as 40 year olds. We see how they have grown and what they made of their lives as we spend a lot of present day time learning about the people they became.
It’s Always The Husband explores friendship, relationships and how the passage of time changes us all. Campbell has written an engaging debut that paints her as an author with great potential whose growth will be interesting to watch.
Michele Campbell can be followed on Facebook, Twitter and the Michele Campbell website.
It’s Always The Husband is available now from Angus & Robertson Bookworld, Booktopia and where all good books are sold.
Thanks to HQ Fiction 20 of our Beauty and Lace Club members will be reading It’s Always The Husband so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments. I look forward to hearing what they think.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
Who doesn’t love a good mystery? This book was a complex one, and one where I felt conflicted at times. While the characters were believable, there was an awful lot that was not likable and I found them difficult to relate to at times. The story is well crafted and has enough twists to make up for some of the shortcomings with the characters but I find it hard to keep reading books when the main characters have so many flaws. There’s plenty or drama and sage in this book, with a little bit of thrill. I couldn’t pick the ending and even when I thought I was on the right track I was wrong.
Thank you to Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to read and review. I would give it 3.5 stars.
Great book. Very well written and keeps you wanting more. Keeps you guessing which is exactly what a good mystery should do.
Give It a go. You won’t be disappointed.
Thank you to HQ Fiction and Beauty and Lace for the advance copy.
Absolutly loved this book. The characters were well thought out, all 3 girls have completely different personalities and traits and one would have to think that had they met anywhere else there would be a good chance they never would have been friends to begin with.
Aubrey… nieve and very impressionable
Kate the wild child
And jenny who thinks shes better than everyone.
This book had me thinking from the get go that i knew who it was, and then new clues would arise and i would change my mind and then…..wouldnt u know it…. i had it wrong all along. The ending suprised me big time and i love that. I hate knowing whats going to happen and this book certainly isnt predictable.
Very well written, intriguing characters and twists at every turn.
An excellent read. I will be lookimg forward to reading more of Michelled books in future. Big thanks to beauty and lace for givi g me the chan w to review .
Thank you to the Beauty and Lace Book Club for allowing to read this fantastic book.
I found it to be a real page turner with a twist at the end.
I definitely look forward to reading more books by Michele Campbell, this is the first book of hers I have read.
I recommend this book to anybody who loves a good thriller.