Now this is a review of two halves.

Firstly... the story of an obsessive affair. I LOVED it. I loved the creepy stalking, pure obsession and the fact that it was an older couples relationship explored for a change.

A tale of how one wrong act can have awful consequences, could your relationship get through an affair unscathed?

The plot was chilling, suspenseful and raw with a believable ending.

Now secondly.. repetition, unfortunately the whole story was full of it which at times drove me a bit bonkers and in truth dimmed the shine that the book could otherwise have.

The first half of the book slowly builds up the relationship between Connie and her husband Devan, their life together and Connie's travels. The second half was definitely my favourite, things became sinister and the suspense starts building brilliantly.

Basically a slow building suspenseful tale with an 'out of nowhere' ending that had me invested the majority of the time. I just wish the constant repetition had laid off a bit!

3.5*

Thanks to netgalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for the ARC.

When I started the novel I was sure I knew which character was going to have an affair, but I was surprised when I was completely off the mark. The story revolves around Connie and her husband Devan. Connie works as a tour guide and Devan is struggling to come to terms with retirement after having a busy career as the local GP.
Without giving away the plot, one of the characters embarks on an affair which not only threatens to destroy their marriage but also their sanity as the affair partner becomes obsessed with them to the point of infiltrating their life.
The consequences of an affair are far reaching and I think this was explored well in the book, how it not only affects those involved but the wider family and friends as well.

Such a shame but this was too slow for me. Enjoyed the characters and the storyline but it just didn't keep me hooked.

Thank you Netgalley.

The Affair Hilary Boyd

5 stars

How an affair can become an obsession.

This is the first book that I have read by this author and it won’t be the last. I am pleased to see that another book is due next year and I would really like to read it.

However back to The Affair, the clue is in the title but it is not the usual type of affair.

Connie McCabe has been happily married to Devan for many years. They have a daughter Caitlin and an adorable grandson Ash. Connie has a job that she loves accompanying elderly holidaymakers around lovely parts of Europe as their hostess. It is her ideal job which still gives her time to spend with her family and friends for large parts of the year.

However as the book starts she is having problems with Devan. He had been a local doctor for many years, always busy and loving his job. At the age of 61 he had decided to take early retirement as he was having problems with his back. He had plans to take up various hobbies and enjoy his retirement. This had not happened, he spends most of his time on his mobile or down the pub and worse is beginning to dislike the fact that Connie is still doing a job that she obviously loves. He becomes increasingly resentful of Connie and tries to force her into retiring. Their sex life, that had always been good, if not overly exciting, has also ceased to exist despite Connie’s efforts to rekindle it.

It is not particularly difficult to see how Connie can be swept off her feet when on her tour to the beautiful area of Lake Como, she meets Jared, an attractive man at least 10 years her junior. He is accompanying his elderly godmother and immediately shows Connie that he considers her totally beautiful and desirable. Although Connie tries very hard to resist his charms when she eventually gives in to him, she has the best sex she has ever experienced and finds herself unable to resist Jared.

Consumed by guilt she determines to stop Jared’s attentions and try her hardest to rekindle her marriage with her husband. Things start to improve but then Jared appears on every place where Connie is working. She tells him bluntly that the affair is over but then discovers that he has rented a cottage in her village.

I really enjoyed reading this book, I could really empathise with Connie and the way the affair becomes more of a stalking is so well described. I will leave it to future readers to discover how the story ends but I thoroughly recommend this book.




Dexter

Elite Book Group received a copy of the book to review

Provocative and intriguing with just the right blend of drama and suspense. This book touches on the taboo and raw emotion of an affair and the inevitable emotional rollercoaster that often occurs once the affair ends. A slow burn, intense family drama for those who love the extremes in human behavior.

I quite enjoyed this book, not one of my favourite reads as I found it hard to get into the storyline and I was waiting for something to grip me, which unfortunately, it didn't. The ending felt a little rushed and I felt I was waiting for more.
Thank you to Netgalley and Publishers for allowing me to read a free copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review

The Affair was a decent read and kept my attention throughout, this isn’t my usual genre but it was a good option.
Connie McCabe is the main character in this book, she is married to Devan, a retired doctor and it is because of this she has an affair. Devan is in a rut, he doesn’t want to go anywhere, he doesn’t want to do anything, he’s just happy drinking and drinking and staring into his wine and clearly not happy that Connie is still working. Connie is feeling unloved and unwanted and as she works for a tour company leading tours across Europe this is the perfect backdrop to be swept off your feet by a stranger. Even if he does become the weirdest man ever!! The book follows the outcome of the revelation to her husband and if they can ever get back together and forget about it.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin Michael Joseph for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to #NetGalley for allowing me to read #TheAffair by #HilaryBoyd
Connie is in her early sixties, but while she is still happily enjoying her work as a European tour guide her husband Devan retired 2 years ago and no longer seems interested in Connie or indeed anything else. So when Connie arrives on the shores of Lake Coma and Jared a young handsome man pays her some attention, Connie is swept away. Follow what happens as Connie realises what she has to lose, but will Jared agree to end the affair ?
I found the story addictive and slightly unsettling but I was expecting a different ending.

I was drawn to this book by the Lake Como setting. I was there last year - so beautiful. I loved Connie's career - A Tour Manager - I work in the travel business and am familiar with this role so it was good to see it come alive in this story. It was also great to have a character who was older than the usual protagonist. A summer away leaving behind a retired husband who has lost his vitality leads to a dalliance with a younger man. Connie is happy to move on and try and forget this happened but Jared has other ideas. The story gets darker and gripping from here.

Too much of a slow burner for me! I did mange to finish it but took me a lot longer to get through unlike other books ive read by this author! The story is well written and the characters are believable but other than that i cant say anymore.

The affair by Hilary Boyd is available now.
I always thought that love shouldn’t have an expiration date but unfortunately, I think it becomes more of a transformation into something else. The main characters in this story are older than I’m used to read about and probably that’s why I was drowned in in the first place.
All clues lead to make us believe that the husband is the one who is having an affair but it’s actually the wife, a woman that feels her husband’s withdrawal and is affected by it in many ways.
Not everything is as good as it looks like and soon enough things change into unexpected ways.
It’s an interesting book overall and I know that many people will enjoy it no matter what age they are.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

A brilliant story in an amazing place! I loved this heartfelt and emotional story. However, there are surprises throughout and the ending was amazing.

The Affair by Hilary Boyd was a lovely read and perfect for a holiday read. especially as it's a new author for me and I am so glad I found her. I was gripped from the very first few pages and centre's on the challenges faced by retired couples and women in their 60s and 70s. and started to wonder what my life would be like when I get older omg its only ten years away!!!! Yes I know I should not wish my life away!!! But I wonder???

Thank yo to NetGalley, Penguin Michael Joseph UK and Hilary Boyd for this ARC

The emotion and intensity of this immersive family drama draw the reader into Connie's world. She is believably flawed and easy to empathise with. The affair is brief and easy for Connie to compartmentalize from her daily life. Her crumbling marriage and lack of response from her husband make her vulnerable to flirtation, and the inevitable consequences are devastating for her and her family. Her friendships are strong, which help her come to terms with her imploding life. The twist is cleverly woven into the story and allows for an impactful, poignant conclusion.

This is an absorbing read with relatable characters and scenarios.

I received a copy of this book from Penguin UK Books - Michael Joseph via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I had such high hopes for this book - but unfortunately it didn’t quite meet expectations. I found it too much of a slow burner and I couldn’t connect. However. I thought the characters were highly relatable and the authors writing was brilliant.

A HUGE thank you to Penguin Michael Joseph UK and NetGalley for providing me with and eARC of this book to read on exchange for an honest review!

Will I read more from Hilary Boyd? Definitely Yes.

Connie is an extremely relatable character. Who amongst us has never felt unappreciated, We'd all like to think that it would never happen to us, but chances are it has, or it will.

Devan, Connie's husband is a retired Cop who, now he doesn't have a purpose in his life, is try to make his wife retire from a job she loves.
She won’t.

Wife’s get bored.
ESP when men nag!
loves.

Jared is a younger man dancing attendance on his elderly godmother on one of Connie's tours. One evening, he kisses her . . . and Connie's life will never be the same.

The Affair is a great cautionary tale, one everyone should read, because what happens after?

The Affair is about a woman who meets a man and starts off a steamy affair only to find out later things aren’t as they seem and she regrets her actions.
The main characters are Connie (a holiday tour guide), Devan (her recently retired husband) and Jared (one of Connie’s passengers). Connie and Devan’s relationship has been strained ever since he retired. I actually thought he may be the one having an affair for the first half of the book as his relationship with Connie was so strained. Whilst on an Italy trip and feeling low, Connie succumbs to the advances of Jared, who makes her feel wanted.
Their affair continues but when Jared moves into her village, Connie realises things aren’t what they seen.
I enjoyed reading this book, however, it did leave me wanting more. As I said earlier, I was convinced Devan was having an affair as there was a lot of focus on his behaviour with his phone etc so I was shocked when nothing came of those details. As shocking as the ending was, I still would’ve liked it to have been different.
Thank you to netgalley and penguin for the digital copy. The book is out now.

EXCERPT: The silence in the car was profound, as if she'd suddenly gone deaf.

'Are you completely out of your mind?' she whispered, all strength gone from her body.

With a puzzled frown, he leaned over and put both his hands firmly on her crossed forearms, staring intently into her eyes. 'You look terrified, Connie.' He drew back a bit. 'Oh,my God . . . you're not worried about your husband finding out about us, are you?' He sighed. 'You know I'd never betray you. I will never tell a living soul what happened between us, not in a million years.' He smiled his gentle smile. 'I just want to be near you.'

ABOUT 'THE AFFAIR': Connie McCabe longs for the summer where she spends the days leading tours across the continent.

But it's on the glamorous shores of Lake Como where she is truly swept away, when Jared, a much younger man, falls for her.

Despite resisting his advances, Connie finds that he's got under her skin.

And so begins a long, hot, intoxicating summer where Connie succumbs to temptation - breaking her marriage vows.

At the end of the season, Connie returns home to her husband, ready to put this affair behind her.

MY THOUGHTS: Hilary Boyd writes about how easy it is to make a wrong decision when vulnerable. Decisions, actions and consequences are the theme of The Affair.

Connie is an extremely relatable character. Who amongst us has never felt unappreciated, has never wondered if their significant other may have fallen out of love, be bored by them. Who has never felt exasperated by their partner, lost patience with them? Whose marriage has never gone through a rough patch, where you seem to have lost your connection, to be moving in different directions? We'd all like to think that it would never happen to us, but chances are it has, or it will.

Devan, Connie's husband is a retired G.P. who, now he doesn't have a purpose in his life, is feeling lost and resentful towards his wife who continues, despite his pleas for her to retire with him, with the job she loves.

Jared is a younger man dancing attendance on his elderly godmother on one of Connie's tours. One evening, he kisses her . . . and Connie's life will never be the same.

The Affair is a great cautionary tale, one everyone should read, because what happens after?

Hilary Boyd has written a story that begins as a small meandering stream which gathers power and develops into a raging torrent, one that swept me off my feet.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.1

#TheAffair #NetGalley

I: @hilaryboyd3837 @michaeljbooks

T: @HilaryBoyd @MichaelJBooks

#contemporaryfiction #domesticdrama #mentalhealth #suspense

THE AUTHOR: Boyd was born and spent the first six months of her life in Prestatyn, North Wales, where her father, an army major, was stationed after the war. She was later educated in London, then at the boarding school Roedean. She trained as a nurse at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, and subsequently as a marriage guidance counsellor with Relate before reading English Literature at London University in her late 30s.

After college, Boyd became a health journalist, writing about depression, step-parenting and pregnancy. She began writing fiction as a hobby whilst raising three children and working at various day jobs including running a cancer charity, Survive Cancer, working for an engineering company, and an online vitamin site.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Penguin, Michael Joseph via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Affair by Hilary Boyd for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

Connie is a tour guide married to retired Devan. During one of her trips she meets young Jared, they have an affair and eventually he turns into a stalker.
Surrounding this storyline there's great descriptions of European countries, an easy to read and beautiful writing style for a slow burn domestic noir.
Not my favourite Hilary Boyd, but all in all a good read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Connie McCabe is married to GP Devan and she works during the summer months as a guide, conducting tours across Europe. Connie’s marriage to Devan has gone a bit stale, and when he struggles with adapting to retirement, she seeks solace in her time away from home.

On the shores of Lake Como she is swept off her feet by Jared, a younger man who is on a tour with his elderly godmother Dinah.

And so begins a long, hot, intoxicating summer where Connie succumbs to temptation - breaking her marriage vows. When she returns home to Devan, she tries to put the affair behind her, but everything starts to unravel, and Jared has other ideas.

This is a story of utter obsession! At the start I felt it moved along quite slowly, but it gather momentum and by the end I was left gasping as I was so surprised with how it finished!

There were times when I wanted to shout at Connie as there were so many red flags that she didn’t see, but perhaps she was caught up in the moment, whereas I was a by-stander watching it all unfold!

Devan annoyed me to start with, with his constant whinging and moaning, he was like a petulant child but then he seemed to get a sudden change in character and became more loving and mellow.

Jared was definitely the villain of the piece, and I wanted to boo and hiss every time his name was mentioned on a page!

A wonderful book that I would happily recommend to my friends.