ARC Review: His Other Wife - Deborah Bedford

Release Date: February 22, 2011
Publisher: Faith Words 
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 294
Source: Hachette Books
Challenge: 100 Books in a Year

New York Times bestselling author Deborah Bedford sweeps readers into this compelling drama with her trademark style of beautiful, lyrical writing.  Since her divorce from Eric, Hilary has done everything she can to control life for herself and her son.  Beneath a calm surface, she is terrified of failing Seth.  She's worked hard to raise him on her own and succeeded -- he's now set to graduate from high school and enroll at the University of Illinois with a full scholarship.

But Hilary's worst fears are realized when there is a rock-climbing accident at a post-graduation campout.  A young girl is hurt, and Seth is arrested.  Pamela, Eric's new wife and Seth's stepmother, blames Hilary for letting Seth go to the campout in the first place.  With Seth's college scholarship now just a distant memory and his entire future at stake, the two women must come together for Seth's sake.

Is Hilary strong enough to save her son and release him to her ex-husband's other wife?

First Sentence

"Boo never moved until Hilary got up."

My Thoughts

Deborah Bedford's writing style is incredible, I was swept in from the first page, and didn't let go until the last page.  The storyline was incredible and flowed perfectly!  I am not one to usually read Christian fiction books, as I am not a religious person, but this was a great book.  I looked past a lot of the prayers in it, and a lot of the references to prayer, although I'm sure someone that likes Christian fiction would love this as well.  

I really felt for Hilary throughout the whole book.  Pam, Eric's new wife is supposed to be annoying and a horrible person (as is our perception of all of our ex's new love interests), and she was awful.  However, there were many times I kept thinking that I couldn't really blame her for being so bitter and spiteful.  I was very surprised at the audacity she had when she would make snide comments.  

I did wish that there was more detail surrounding Laura's accident and what happens to her throughout the rest of the book.  It seemed to me like there wasn't a whole lot of explanation and I was left wondering how everything happened.  

The relationship between Seth and Hilary was remarkable, and I enjoyed watching it grow.  I can't imagine how hard it is to let your child go after so many years.  Hilary seemed like she was so worried about making sure that Seth and his friends thought she was a "cool mom", that she lost sight for a little while of what really mattered.  Throughout the entire ordeal with Laura and the campout, Hilary was able to regain that sight, but you could see and feel her struggle through it all. 

This was a great book, and I would highly recommend it to readers everywhere.  I would like to give a special thanks to Hachette Books for sending me an Advanced Copy of this book.

Quotes

"We all have to deal with what we have to deal with.  I don't care that you feel sorry for yourself because you aren't perfect.  So you made a big mistake that hurt someone.  You don't get to check out;  I'm not going to let you.  Life doesn't work that way."

"What would it be like to be locked away for seventy years and, upon your departure, have the exact coins handed back to you?  The ones that had been in your pocket a lifetime ago?  The ones that had been there when you'd been a different person?  The coins would be the same, but you wouldn't be."

Ratings

Likes: The dynamic of all of the relationships, and the way you can see them grow.

Dislikes:  It was a Christian fiction novel, but I don't really like all of the Jesus and God reference.

Favorite Character: Hilary

Least Favorite Character: Pam

Cover: 3/5

Characters: 5/5

Writing Style: 5/5

Plot: 5/5

Ending: 5/5

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

Happy Reading!