Review: 'The Other Wives Club' by Shari Low (2016)

Three women are thrown together on a Mediterranean cruise to celebrate a milestone birthday of the man they all once loved. What could possibly go wrong?
Tess Gold - the current wife.  When Tess married Drew Gold, she knew his two ex-wives were still in his life. 
Now Drew has planned a luxury cruise to celebrate his birthday... and the former Mrs. Golds are all coming too.
Mona Gold - the second wife.  When it comes to style, fashion editor, Mona, never puts a Louboutin wrong. 
Now it’s time to reclaim the only man she ever really loved... if she can tempt Drew away from his new wife for a second time.
Sarah Gold - the first wife, the original.  When Drew left her for Mona, Sarah’s emotions went into hibernation. 
Now she’s decided to shave those legs and start living again...
It seems like the past few weeks I've mainly been checking out new authors and I love it! I've read some thoroughly enjoyable reads and it's great to be able to add new names to my list of authors-to-look-out-for. Today I've got a review of a book by an author that's also new to me, even though I've heard and read about her quite a bit over the past few months. Shari Low's 'The Other Wives Club' straight away looked like a promising read to me, also because of its title which reminds me of the film 'The First Wives Club', which I love. The novel was released on November 1st by Aria and I was really looking forward to sitting down with this novel and being introduced to Shari Low's writing.
Drew Gold has his 50th birthday coming up and what better way to celebrate than to go on a luxury cruise around the Mediterranean? Drew's young wife Tess can't wait to spend some quality time together with her husband, but Drew has decided he wants this to be a family party, which includes his two ex-wives and their new partners and children. Sarah, Drew's first wife, never really got back into the dating game after her divorce, but she might be ready for some adventure. Second wife Mona is a successful fashion editor who still works with Drew, and has decided he is the only man for her; she just has to find a way to get rid of Tess. All three women are in for an interesting week away from home in the Mediterranean sun, but not one of them has any idea how much is about to change...
I have to admit I had pretty high expectations of 'The Other Wives Club' and I'm glad to see Shari Low managed to live up to them with her latest romantic comedy release. The novel focuses on the three Gold wives: Sarah, Mona and Tess. They have in common that they are all in a way connected to businessman Drew Gold, and a Mediterranean cruise to celebrate his 50th birthday brings them all together. I enjoyed the whole cruise setting a lot more than I thought I would; it was a great setting to bring all the characters together in this way and the visits to the different ports made it fun and interesting as well. I really like books that focus on different characters and various storylines and Tess, Mona and Sarah each had their own story to tell and I liked all of them in their own way, especially since they are all three of them very different personalities, struggling with different things.
Shari Low's writing really fit the genre; it's easy to get into, flows well and was relatively quick-paced, which I personally liked. The different storylines and events really held my attention and I think I could have easily finished this book in just one or two sittings if I'd had the time. The book has something for almost any reader, I think, with big and global themes like family, friendship and romance at its core. I really enjoyed this book and hope I will be able to pick up another novel by this author in the near future. All in all, I thought 'The Other Wives Club' is a light-hearted, fun and thoroughly entertaining read and one I can recommend to any chick lit fan looking for their next read; this is a great one!

Rating:9,5/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.