Between the Pages

This was another audiobook, and the third Lucy Diamond book I have listened to. I really enjoyed ‘Sweet Temptation’ and ‘On a Beautiful Day’ so I had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, while it did have a fair but going for it, it did not match up to the other two, and had I not listened to those two already, I’m not sure I would listen to any more by this author. I note that this book was written before either of the other two, so for me at least, her books get more enjoyable the longer she has been writing.

The story revolves around the three Jones brothers and their wives / partners / potential partners. The brothers’ parents Lilian and Eddie run a holiday cottage in Dorset, but it’s starting to get too much for them – and more worryingly – Eddie’s memory seems to be failing him – and they decide they might have to give it up. They hope that one of their sons might take over, but the only one who initially seems interested is youngest son, loveable but unreliable Charlie…

Oldest son Hugh is married to Alicia. Alicia is approaching 40 and feeling older – she loves Hugh, but feels as though she is stuck in a rut. Maybe it’s time to shake things up a bit.

Middle son David is married to Emma, but they are going through a rough time, as David has recently lost his job, and their plans to have a baby don’t seem to be amounting to much.

Izzy Allerton has recently moved to the area with her two young daughters after escaping a violent marriage and swearing off men forever. But then Charlie Jones comes into her life, and despite her instincts telling her to leave well alone, there’s just something about Charlie!

The book is mostly told from the three female points of view, in alternating chapters. I liked Emma the best but Alicia and Emma were also likeable characters. I think what put me off the book was that apart from some fairly shocking events that take place about halfway through, the whole thing is so very ‘twee’. I also found the narration a tad irritating. Jilly Bond has such an upper class English accent that it really grated – please understand I have nothing against such an accent, just that it didn’t seem entirely appropriate for this book. Also, I hated pretty much all of the character voices she did. Hugh was so incredibly posh that he was basically a caricature, and the voices of the children were awful. I’m sure she is a great narrator, but not for this particular story, which required some regional accents and those didn’t come over very well.

Nonetheless, the book held my attention to the end – I think it could have done with a bit of editing, as for some time the story seemed to get stuck – and based on the other Lucy Diamond books I’ve listened to, I would give this author another try.