The Boatman’s Wife by Noëlle Harrison
Publication Date:
14 Jan 2021
Genre: Women’s
Fiction
4 Stars
From Maine to
Western Ireland, the book deals with love, loss, and hope in the lives of two
women whose lives are connected in the most unexpected way. The story runs in
two timelines, every alternate chapter dedicated to either of the women.
Lily from Maine
travels all the way to Ireland after the death of her husband, Connor. There
are secrets in his past, and she is determined to know them. Two decades ago,
Niamh led a turbulent life in a small Oceanside town.
How do their lives
intersect? What had happened in the past, and why does it affect the present?
Why was Connor secretive about his life in Ireland? Will the truth break Lily?
The premise of the
book sounds like a mix of women’s fiction and a thriller. But let me tell you
that this is pure women’s fiction. The hints of suspicion don’t lead anywhere.
The threatening email Connor receives doesn’t live up to its hype.
But, set that
aside, and you’ll see the book deal with complex emotions of love and loss in
different ways. We have three women who lost their loved ones. Each of them
responds differently, and it’s their actions that lead to a series of events.
The book is quite
heavy with grief. It ends well, though. Predictable but positive and warm. As a
fan of happy endings, I have no complaints here.
The descriptions
of the settings were a highlight. I enjoyed them the most, especially the way
the author wove the weather and human emotions together. I wish she did the
same towards the end when the story went into full-on ‘tell’ mode about how a
character spent her life in the past few years. It felt as if the author wanted
to give us a summary and get over with it so that she could move on to write
the ending.
Rosemary, Niamh,
and Lily are the three main characters of the book. Niamh is my favorite and
looked like she was created and developed with a lot of care. Rosemary has two
sides, both of which were interesting to read. Lily seemed a bit overdone.
Guess it highlighted the difference in their lives and their backgrounds.
Overall, this was
a bittersweet book to read that will touch our hearts at some places and
inspire our wanderlust at others. It is a sad yet beautiful story.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bookouture.
#TheBoatmansWife
#NetGalley
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