Take the best of Marian Keyes, stir in some Cathy Kelly, add a pinch of Bridget Jones and you will end up with this thoroughly enjoyable new book from Diane Blacklock. It is the story of two very different women; Helen who is terribly nice, self-effacing, gentle and kind and the irascible Gemma, who charges through life doing exactly what she wants without regard to the consequences and totally oblivious to the hurt she causes those around her. Helen’s husband is killed in a tragic road accident and, finding herself unable to leave her four-year-old son Noah to return to work as a nurse, Helen is forced to advertise for a lodger to help her pay the fees of the home where her ailing mother lives. Gemma, single and pregnant, with no one to turn to, answers the advertisement-and thus begins an unlikely friendship which eventually leads to a strong bond between the two women. This is a book about love, trust, acceptance and letting go of the past; of finding what you want when you aren’t looking for it. Told with warmth, sensitivity and humour the story totally involves you in the lives of its characters and leaves you wanting more.

Susan Watt is a bookseller at The Next Chapter Books in Wahroonga, New South Wales

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

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