The Boatman's Wife- Book Review

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. 

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