Sandra has a sordid secret, and Harriet is landed with her ailing mother-in-law. Tessa is looking for something to fill the gaping hole left by her youngest daughter's departure for uni, where it seems she's now engaged in all sorts of unsavoury activities, if Tessa's obsessive late-night Facebook stalking is anything to go by.
When Tessa impulsively responds to an online message from an old flame, she soon finds herself waiting at Heathrow Airport for The One That Got Away.
But what will the plane from New York bring her? The man of her dreams, or a whole heap of trouble?
And could this be the long-awaited moment for Tessa to seize her life, for herself, with both hands?
Another unexpected review copy landed on my doorstep a few weeks ago and I decided to squeeze it in just before I’m closing down the blog by the end of this month… (I can’t believe how fast time has flown by and my review pile only consists of one or two titles left to read and review)! ‘Invisible Women’ was released by publisher Bonnier Zaffre at the start of May, and I’m glad I received a surprise review copy of the novel. Not only did I like the sound of the story, but I also liked being provided with the opportunity to check out author Sarah Long, who I wasn’t yet familiar with before picking up this latest release of hers!
Tessa, Sandra and Harriet have been good friends for years and as they are getting closer to hitting 50, the three of them take a close look at their lives and ask themselves whether they are really happy where they are at right now. Now their kids are taking care of themselves and their husbands no longer seem to pay attention to them, it might be time for some significant changes. Tessa’s husband is more focused on making money than her, so when an old crush of hers suddenly pops up in her life again, she can’t help but love the attention. Sandra is dealing with the aftermath of her husband’s mental breakdown, and Harriet is being treated by her husband as a servant, having to take care of her sick mother-in-law. Will the three women decide to make some drastic changes in their lives and is hitting 50 the trigger they needed to start thinking about themselves for a change; or perhaps some of the recent events will make them see what it is they really want from both their husbands and life in general.
Sarah Long’s ‘Invisible Women’ is a read I think especially female readers between the ages of 40 and 60 will be able to really enjoy and relate to in one way or another. However, as a twenty-something female reader I also enjoyed reading about best friends Tessa, Sandra and Harriet and what they are going through in their lives. The women are all reaching the milestone of becoming 50 and they are getting tired of feeling as if things don’t matter anymore. This leads to some more risky behaviour; the question is, is this really what will make them happier in the end? I liked how the story focused on the three different storylines, while at the same time linking all of it together because the three characters are best friends and share everything with each other.
I think there were just a few things in the novel I didn’t particularly like, and the combination in the end resulted in me giving the book a 7,5. First of all, I did find it difficult to put myself in the shoes of the characters, mainly because of their situations and age. However, that is something I can definitely put aside; the main thing was the male characters in the novel were just all pretty horrible, and I couldn’t understand why the women were still married to them or interested in them. I like it when there is a romantic and happy element to a novel, where I really root for the characters, and I just missed that here. Therefore, I do think ‘Invisible Women’ is an enjoyable read about women hitting middle age and trying to deal with this in their own way, but in the end it just wasn’t entirely the read for me.
Rating:
7,5/10
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