Julie's Review: The Second Wives Club

Summary: The Second Wives Club is made up of four women--Fiona, Alison, Julia and Susan--who are grappling with the specters of their predecessors. Fiona has to contend with a surly stepson whose mother is trying to turn him against her. Sofia, the ex-wife of Alison's new husband, Luca, is using their two children as weapons in order to manipulate Luca. Beautiful Julia is floored by her husband's insistence on maintaining a friendship with his first wife. Though not married to Nick, Susan lives with him and is raising his daughter, living in the shadow of her predecessor, the perfect Caitlin, who died tragically young. The women come together to support each other and help each other through their problems. Together they come up with ways to tackle their problems: Alison and Julia decide to confront the first wives, Fiona tries to befriend her stepson, and Susan makes a move to get Nick to appreciate her. Readers will eat up this fun, frothy novel to learn how the wives fare in their attempts. ~amazon.com/booklist

Review: I was looking for an easy, breezy book to read in a day or so and I found it in The Second Wives Club: A Novel I've read her 3 previous books: The Ex Files: A Novel, Fourplay: A Novel, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0767916913?ie=UTF8&tag=girjusrea-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0767916913 and enjoyed them so I knew I wouldn't be disappointed. I also knew that at least one of the characters would be a stereotype and I wasn't disappointed. What I found best about the book was the friendship the 4 women created by essentially having one thing in common...being 2nd wives. Each of the women had a different cross to bear whether it be step-children, ex-wives that won't let go or living up to a dead woman's memory.

I enjoy books where the characters evolve and for the most part the women did, except for one and it wasn't that much of a surprise. There wasn't one of the characters I identifed with but I pretty much could feel for each of their situations and each was vastly different. I felt that the ending was a bit abrupt and still had some lingering questions but overall it was a satisfying read. This is what I would consider your "traditional or typical" chick-lit fare, it didn't really deal with any huge social, political or economical issues.

Final Take: 3/5