My thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this debut novel. This was just an okay read for me. The main character was underdeveloped and had rather dispassionate reactions events happening around her and within her.

I tried to get into this book but after several pages I had to let it go because it just didn't draw me in and I couldn't relate to the main character.

Virginia Johnstone leaves her marriage and children to live in Hilliard, fifty miles north of Seattle. She is a restless soul and needs to find some passion in her life.

Marlene Lee writes well and her descriptions are elegant. The characters are fleshed out and rounded and the narrative moves along at a good pace. At first I felt uncomfortable because I couldn't relate to a woman who would leave her children, Matt and Lawrence aged just eleven and nine, in search of more fulfilment in her life. Why couldn't she do this within her marriage? The abandonment issues she causes her children seems to elude her. By the middle of the story I was thoroughly engaged in how she would work through the various complications of her relationships with her lover, her piano teacher and her family.

Towards the latter half of the book I began to feel confused about the character of Virginia. She seemed to be written as a very middle aged person - indeed the character describes herself several times as being middle aged. But she is only thirty-four! When did thirty-four become middle-aged? Did the writer change her mind about the age of the character at some stage during the writing?

In addition, I could not work out at what period this story was set. I assumed it was contemporary but there are no references to our modern day. The names of the characters, her husband Ron, her lover Greg and so on all seem to be names from the 1950s.

And the ending seemed hollow. But it was an interesting read with some beautiful writing and good insights into people and behaviour.

A simple easy to read story about Virginia who is trying to find her place in the world and happiness after her marriage ends. This book is well written and questions happiness and your responsibilities as a parent after a marriage ends. Virginia's 2 boys stay with her ex husband and he thinks she is selfish for trying to have a life of her own. The feelings of all the characters in the book are considered and the changes in everybody's lives are well described. A fairly short book but definitely worth reading.