August 22, 2013, admin, Books, Reviews, , 0
Book review of The Good House by Anne Leary
As I am always posting children’s book reviews it was really nice to be offered one for me not so long ago! I do enjoy reading but don’t always get much time to read as I always seem to have something else to do! Once I had read a few chapters of The Good House it had me gripped and I made sure I found time to read it!
What is it about?
The book tells the story of Hildy Good, a lifelong resident of an historic community on the rocky coast of Boston’s North Shore, and an alcoholic. Hildy runs a successful real-estate business and knows everyone in the town. During the day she is a stable and popular member of the local community, however, at night she becomes lonely and drinks alone, not telling anyone, for the fear of being sent back to rehab. Hildy tries to convince herself that she is only having the odd glass (bottle!) of wine and therefore she is not an alcoholic, she just likes a drink as much as the next person.
When a wealthy young woman moves to the town with her family, Hildy finds a friend in her and lets Rebecca in on her secret, escaping their worries together with some harmless gossip and a bottle of wine by the fire in an evening. Hildy soon regrets her friendship when she becomes embroiled in Rebecca’s affair with one of her oldest friends, Peter.
Not long after events take a chilling turn and Hildy is left trying to piece together reality and her drunken imagination…
What did I think?
It did take me a while to get into the book, however, after a few chapters I had really taken to the characters and as the story progressed became enthralled with what was happening and wanted to carry on reading to the end. I found it very easy to become gripped by the characters in the book, particularly the main character, Hildy who you really feel for at times but at other times want to shout at her to get a grip!
I am always a little wary with books set in America and am never sure how well they will translate being in the UK. I did not feel it mattered at all with this book it could happen anywhere and I don’t think I lost any of the story not being American.
I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the likes of Jodi Picoult as it is very similar in style and story.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and I would definitely read others from the author.
The book is available to purchase for Kindle now and is released in the UK in October.
Disclaimer – For the purpose of this review I was provided with a copy of the book free of charge. All opinions are honest and my own.
