Hellllllo readers, hope you’re all well and happy bunnies as of today! It’s getting soooo close to Christmas and I’ve had no time at all to get any festive books read. In trying to get my review inbox clean and sorted I’ve had to really put my TBR on hold and that means lots of Christmassy books aren’t getting read *boo* – however I’ve had the chance to read some utterly fantastic books too. Without delay – the review.

The tragedy and comedy that is Jack’s life; secrets, lies and family ties.
Jack Redman, estate agent to the Cheshire set. An unlikely hero, or someone to break all the rules? Wild water is the story of forty-something estate agent, Jack, who is stressed out not only by work, bills and the approach of Christmas but by the feeling that he and his wife, Patsy are growing apart. His misgivings prove founded when he discovers Patsy is having an affair, and is pregnant. At the same time as his marriage begins to collapse around him, he becomes reacquainted with his childhood sweetheart, Anna, whom he left for Patsy twenty-five years before. His feelings towards Anna reawaken, but will life and family conflicts conspire to keep them apart again?

As the blurb suggests the book follows Jack Redman – a successful and wealthy estate agent who realises that something is terribly wrong as he and his wife’s relationship takes a tumble. As his life begins to sway and he finds himself struggling to juggle the balls in his life – one person, his first love, Anna is keeping him sane, but she’s involved with another and she would be crazy to try anything with him again after he left to marry Patsy? Wouldn’t she?

This novel is utterly wonderful – the characters are so strongly built and created that I really felt emotional investment towards them. Patsy is a deplorable character and to see Jack trying so helplessly to keep it all together it really pulled on my heartstrings. I really rooted for Jack throughout and that is a real merit to the author. To create something that makes the reader believe it is almost real, shows serious writing strength and I found myself sucked into the book and the characters. Jack, is also a little bit of a hot mess but in an utterly rogueish way. I could imagine him surrounding by the Welsh landscapes, hair blowing in the wind *sighs.*

The plotline although not swift moves with a reliable pace and that helps with the overall story line. This tale is unfortunately one that we hear over and over again. Affairs, heartbreak, broken families this novel doesn’t try to do anything clever and that’s why  I think it works so well. The writing is strong and smooth and feels mature. There is no bitty writing and it feels so real. The story, the characters, the location it all jumps off the page and envelopes you in a wonderfully bookish fug.  My only fault could be that there is does feel a little predictable, there aren’t many twists and turns to really confuse the reader. But, and it’s a big but, I didn’t feel like I needed that here – it tells a tale and beautiful one at that.

Would I recommend this book – yes? It is the perfect mix between a lighter romance and a truly distressing romantic tale. It makes for a really lovely telling tale, with great characters, a well thought-out plot and a real understanding of describing a landscape and transporting the reader to another place.

Linnnnnks

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