Genre: Fiction | Womens Fiction | Romance

Release Date: 16th June 2021


Natalie is a wife, a newlywed. She's finally found someone she can actually stand to spend all her time with and she is very much in love with Carl. He's full of surprises, but not always good ones. Like buying their new house at an auction without even showing her a photograph first ... that just so happens to be in walking distance from his beautiful ex-wife Antonia and their perfect children.

But it's the dream house she was promised - it's falling apart, and she's living in second hand clothes, painting her second hand furniture, and now feeling like she's got a second-hand husband. Antonia is perfect in every way, the Queen of the village, and has a rage-inducing habit of calling Carl 'Our Husband'. While Natalie tries to relocate her career, adjust to a new way of life and stop the rain from flooding her bedroom, she also has to figure out if she's really Carls Partner or if she's always going to be just 'Wife Number Two'.

A Second-Hand Husband felt somewhat obvious - but in warm and familiar way. I could kind of guess a lot of what was about to happen but it was comforting and made me want to go along for the journey. Natalie and Carls relationship was not a dream marriage - the charm wore off almost instantly and he was almost entirely led by a fragile male ego that took him from a sweet husband to a petty jerk in just moments. The constant bickering and passive-agression from the beginning made me hate him - and I wasn't sure if I was desperate for him to realise the error of his ways or just get left behind in the dirt.

Their entire marriage was rushed, and it felt very much like a high-school relationship at times - they were very different people but while some might say this isn't realistic at all, I've seen plenty of relationships that look exactly like this one. Most of the characters were exaggerated and dramatic, but still had a very authentic streak that I couldn't help but love.

This was a really easy read, although there was quite a lot of chunks of descriptions that felt a little forced and could've been left out - but it still only took me one sitting to get through the whole book.

I expected a straight-up rom-com going into this but instead I found a charming story about family, friendship and forgiveness.


RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to Claire Calman, Boldwood Books and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

What a lovely intense love story. The swimming theme running along the love story. I thought the cottage sounded lovely and Natalie made an ace job of doing it up. You had the terrible x wife, painful step children and the husband being controlling. It was brilliant and throw in a town where everyone know your bussiness. I loved it

This book could be better. The characters lack depth. Carl's for his age sure acts like a teenager. For a man who has been married before should have known better. The storyline great needed some humor or something to break up the monologues. The over descriptions also got to me. It just seems to be words filling the pages instead of adding onto the story. Natalie and Carl's relationship is a mismatch in a way that doesn't work. There's a certain chemistry that's missing.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

We meet Natalie, newly married to Carl. She agrees to move from London to Kent to enable him to be closer to his two children. Just as they are about to begin house hunting Carl buys a run down cottage which comes as a complete shock to Natalie!

As they adjust to their new life Natalie realises that maybe everything isn’t exactly as she thought it would be. There’s also the added issue of Carl’s seemingly perfect ex wife Antonia now lives just a stones throw away. Can Natalie establish herself in a brand new village with Carl’s old life constantly over her shoulder?

Bittersweet and emotional but with a good dose of hope thrown in. This book surprised me. I thought I was going the way of a feel good romcom style story. It wasn’t but it certainly was different.. I do enjoy a story surprising me.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

So this wasn't what I entirely was expecting to read! It was a little bland to me didn't really care too much for it! I'm was hoping for more of romantic vibe to it!
Honestly I got over half way through and put it to the side for now!
Maybe I'll come back to it at a later time!

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

This one was just meh. It was literally bland and middling. You could do better on here.

Really didn't like it.
Conversations were childish and so trivial.
Do not finish for me.
I liked the idea of the book but it's a shame it didn't live up to it.