Title: The Love of My Life
Author: Rosie Walsh
Publisher: Mantle
Synopsis:
I have held you every night for ten years and I didn’t even know your name. We have a child together. A dog, a house.
Who are you?Emma loves her husband Leo and their young daughter Ruby: she’d do anything for them. But almost everything she’s told them about herself is a lie.
And she might just have got away with it, if it weren’t for her husband’s job. Leo is an obituary writer and Emma is a well-known marine biologist, so, when she suffers a serious illness, Leo copes by doing what he knows best – reading and writing about her life. But as he starts to unravel her past, he discovers the woman he loves doesn’t really exist. Even her name is fictitious.
When the very darkest moments of Emma’s past life finally emerge, she must somehow prove to Leo that she really is the woman he always thought she was…
My review:
The Love of My Life completely drew me in and didn’t let me go. I found the characters, story and pacing just right. From the title, and the other book I’d read by this author (The Man Who Didn’t Call) I assumed it would be a romance novel with a hint of mystery, but this is far more of a character study on Leo and Emma, happily married with a young daughter. We learn that Emma has a secret – one she has kept from her husband for years and which threatens to tear their family apart…
As the book continues, we slowly uncover more about Emma’s history and the ‘other’ person in their relationship. Things are not quite as you assume them to be, though – and as Emma deals with a serious illness, her husband – who is an obituary writer – starts to look into her past.
I don’t really want to say much more for fear of giving too much away. I went into this book with very little knowledge about the story, and I’m so glad I did. There are surprises, some great character development and a gripping air of mystery throughout.
None of this novel felt over the top. For me, The Love of My Life struck just the right balance between drama and realism, and I would have happily read about these characters for many more pages.
My rating: 5/5
Many thanks to the publisher, Mantle, for providing a copy of this book on which I chose to write an honest review.