From bestselling author Melanie Summers, comes a heartfelt and uplifting tale of love, loss, and letting go…After losing her husband, writer Abigail Carson has all but given up on life. Having spent the last year cocooned in her Manhattan apartment, Abigail is suddenly forced to find a new home where she can stretch her dwindling savings. Intent on isolation, she moves to a tiny village in Nova … to a tiny village in Nova Scotia where she’ll have no one to interrupt her solitude.
Little does Abigail realize that small-town life offers far less privacy than the big city. With neighbors knocking on the door bearing homemade treats and invitations, Abby soon finds herself immersed in the lives of the people of South Haven. She forms an unlikely friendship with Liam Wright, the handyman renovating her dilapidated cottage, and his daughter, seven-year-old Olive.
As the dark cloud engulfing Abigail lifts, she starts to think she may have found love again. But just as Abigail is ready to leap, she discovers Liam carries with him a shocking secret that will ultimately cause everything to unravel. Abigail must decide if she will turn away from his pain or open her heart in the most hopeless of circumstances.
Insightful, heartwarming, and filled with hope, The After Wife reminds us of the importance of human connection and the inseparable nature of love and survival.
more
This was a great read with characters that are well developed and engaging. The storyline is well written and flows smoothly from page to page.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is a emotional story with Abby who has lost her husband and moves to a small town to start over but she never expected to have the town to want to know her business. She meets Liam who is a single dad and is going through some big changes in his life all the while raising a child on his own. This shows the real emotions one goes through when you have a life altering change in your life.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Love, loss, despair, recovery and then the cycle returns. Life is all about highs and lows. The After Wife certainly covers the peaks and valleys of Abby’s life. There is joy and sadness coupled with the roller coaster ride of a lifetime. You’ll laugh and then cry but you will “feel” this book. Liam, Abby and Olive’s lives become woven in a love so strong that it can and will overcome all challenges. When you read it, you won’t want it to end.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Without giving away spoilers, I can’t completely speak to how amazing this book is. I read some of her romantic comedies and loved them but wasn’t sure how a more serious book would go. She still inserted a great amount of comedy but also handled the balance with the serious side of things. This was a well developed story and definitely had multiple unexpected areas. I look forward to all that she continues to write.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is a very different style of book for Summers to write. This is a very powerful emotional read. I lived the journey that Summers took us on.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The After Wife – This is my first read by this author and I was surprised at how good the story was told and without any Hollywood-style drama to create chaos.
There are multiple storylines blending with a variety of characters into a well thought out and well written fabric of second chances and self-discovery and changes. The pace is steady without bogging down with fillers and repetitions. The emotions run the gamut and there are several rollercoaster rides.
Just a mesmerizing story filled with equal parts heartaches, heartbreaks and heartwarming endurance and support and more. There is no explicit sex and the profanity is infrequent and used for emphasis. I did not put the book down until I finished it. I found this book on Booksprout. 4*
Amazing. A powerful love and life’s story. Melanie put you through some deep emotions as fear, loneliness, grieving but also through love, happinness. Because this is livw, you must feel in order to be alive. Abby, Liam, Olive will show how love is worth no matter how it can make you suffer as well. One of the best books I ‘ve ever read.
Melanie Summers has written a truly endearing novel which is exactly as described, “a heartfelt and uplifting tale of love, loss, and letting go…”
“The After Wife” tells a story that will sit and resonate after you are finished.
Abby’s relationship with Liam throughout the story was touching and emotional yet complicated in so many ways. My favorite character was Olive, Liam’s daughter. Olive was so honest and memorable. And well of course Walt the cat – he was a fun character in this novel too.
You will laugh, smile and probably shed a tear or two throughout the novel. I know I did.
At the end, I asked myself, would I have made the same decisions that they did or would I have chosen a different path?
This is my first book by this author but am very glad that I found her!
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.
This is not your typical love story, it’s filled with sadness, sorrow, laughter and love. It does not end on a happy note, but it also does not end on a seriously sad note. It’s set on the beautiful Cape Breton Island, the most beautiful part of Nova Scotia, Canada. I love Melanie Summers descriptions, you feel as if you are there seeing it. This story will stay with me for a long time. Please do yourself a favor and read this book. I totally recommend this book to be read by all!
This was a unique human interest story, with interesting, likable characters. Abby Carson is 39 years old when her older husband dies of cancer, leaving her devastated and broken. She’s an author, who is now unable to find that next novel, unable to shake the grief and mourning that consumes her.
She leaves NY and her small circle of friends, after buying a fixer up cottage on the water in Canada, sight unseen, with the forecast of months of repairs and a flatter wallet.
Moving to a small village, where everyone knows your story, before you arrive, is a culture shock, as she tries to isolate herself from the busy body town folk. Abby and the handyman Liam get off on the wrong foot, but she is drawn to his young daughter Olive. This novel by #MelanieSummers is funny, sad, loving examples of new friendships, caring neighbors and the affection you’ll feel for a sweet motherless child, just trying to be like the rest of her 8 yo playmates.
We see how a woman that wanted no children, can find her maternal feelings, when that child is in pain.
This is a perfect Beach read and I thank #NetGalley #GretzCorp for the ARC It’s definitely a 5 star. These independent opinions are my own.
When I received this book I did not read anything about it prior to starting. I liked the cover and the title and I love new to me authors. Melanie Summers did not disappoint! I opened to the first page and literally did not stop reading this book until I was finished. Abby’s journey made me cry, laugh and do both at the same time. I loved her journey yet at times I hated the journey she had to go through to emerge as her own person. Melanie takes the reader on an incredible roller coaster of emotions that are so real. I don’t know how to describe the story without spoilers so all I will say is this is a must read! What a fantastic book to start a new decade of reading.
This is truly my own and very honest opinion.
Melanie Summers is a new author to me, and after reading this book, I’m thinking I’ll be reading more of her books. I was pleasantly surprised with this book. I don’t know why I didn’t think I’d love it, thought it’d be another okay Hallmark-ish type book. Yeah, it could possibly be a Hallmark movie and that’s fine. Okay, I admit I do watch Hallmark movies and like most of them, predictable as most of them are, but putting that aside now, this book was heartwarming but bittersweet, and I just loved everything about it. It’s about a woman dealing with the tragic loss of her husband, starting over in not only a different town but a different country, and learning to trust others and have the courage to find love again. I loved Ms. Summers’ writing style. There’s some witty and humorous dialogue that I really enjoyed, and the characters were lovely and so relatable. This is definitely a must read.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.
This book really is something. It kept me engaged and glued to the pages. To review it is difficult because I really enjoyed most of it, even the hard parts, but the ending threw me a bit and left me a little unsatisfied. Despite that, because I believe it’s just personal preference, this story resonates with me on many different levels. A women’s fic novel about a 39 year old widow, from her point of view, who upends her life for an isolated change in a new environment who slowly ends up rediscovering herself, her feelings on love and life, and the choices she made as a young woman. Aiding in this life shift is a man who became her fast friend and confidant and his young, curious daughter.
The heroine’s slow burn type of development felt organic and true as people don’t suddenly see the light after 15 years and how she takes those mottled feelings and reshapes them into something she can live with and understand really struck a chord. The male main character was perfectly understanding, patient, and kind despite his own personal tragedy and subsequent growth. There’s hope in the pain and love in the banter. The small town setting lends itself nicely to the story and really just fits. There are some truly special and touching moments with the aforementioned child that really make you think and want to believe in the unfiltered faith that children hold close.
This author is new to me and I really enjoyed her storytelling style. The chapters are short and the writing tight and concise without a lot of superfluous detail but still packing a lot of meaning and emotion. The After Wife isn’t your typical romance story in style or structure. It’s about loving and understanding one’s self to truly give to another and understand them. The ending is one that I think I love to hate but that’s the beauty of a well written, engaging story.
I’m not crying you’re crying-
Phew, that was a wringer!
One of those beautifully devasting hearts wide open raw stories I wanted to hate, but I just couldn’t!
Emotionally charged, brimming with chemistry, laughs, broken hearts and the savagery of ripping off the bandage, to find time doesn’t heal all wounds, life isn’t always fair and last but not least ” thats the way love goes ” — for all the *ahem* 9O’s folks around!
An all-encompassing story that feels like it needed to be written!
I encourage all to grab a box of tissues, your choice of beverage, and settle in for a heart squeezer that has turned my world on its axis!
“The After Wife” by Melanie Summers was one of the best books I’ve read in some time and I did not want to put it down. It was a very emotional story, alternately heartbreaking and humorous, but ultimately uplifting in its depiction of the power of love. I’ve read books by Ms. Summers before so I already knew that she is very good at weaving humor into her stories, but even so, given the focus on two widowed main characters, I wasn’t expecting this story to be as funny as it turned out to be. I love the way that Ms. Summers can always make me laugh even if I want to cry at the same time!
I particularly loved main character Abby’s “writer’s imagination” and the things she dreamed up when she first saw the cottage in Canada she’d purchased sight unseen. Abby’s thoughts about the spiders, rats, and spider-rat hybrids that might already be living in the cottage were absolutely hilarious, and brought to mind the giant spiders from the “Harry Potter” movies. I could picture one of those creatures bursting out of the front door so vividly! I also admired Abby’s bravery and willingness to change her life so completely, learn to be more honest with herself and others, and open up to love again. I’m not sure if I could be as brave as she was if faced with the same situation.
Abby’s contractor, friend, and later love interest, Liam, was also a wonderful character. He was funny, charming, sweet, and a great dad to his young daughter, Olive. She was the sunniest, most adorable little girl, thanks mostly to her dad’s unwavering love and support even when times were tough. Olive’s belief in mermaids and how it kept her connected to her mom and baby brother was both heartwarming and heartbreaking, and the relationship she developed with Abby was quite lovely.
Abby’s quirky, good-hearted new neighbors were also a highlight of the story. Her next door neighbors, bed and breakfast owners Nettie and Peter, were so kind and welcoming even if they were kind of nosy, and Gus the utilities guy was also a lot of fun.
Overall, I really can’t recommend this book highly enough. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and above all, it made me want to read more books by Melanie Summers!
*ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.
The After Wife by Melanie Summers
How does one deal with loss? With grief? For Abigail it was to shut herself off from the world in her Manhattan apartment. She decides to escape the big city and move to a small town in Nova Scotia, where she thinks she can “hide away”. But little did she realize that small towns can be less private than the anonymity of a big city. But it is here that she meets Liam and his daughter Olive. Can Abigail learn to live and love again?
Pick up this book and begin this emotional journey.
It is a great read.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a copy of this book at my request. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Not your typical “Hallmark movie” romance. Though it does start out like one. Abby tries for a fresh start in a new town, after tragedy has instilled itself in her being. There, despite her best efforts, she makes nice with the locals and becomes a part of the community. All is not well, though, and Abby must decide if she’s going to barricade herself away from society (as was her original intent) or take a chance again.
This is not the type of Melanie Summers book I’ve become accustomed to by reading her rom-com series. This is not that, this is women’s fiction, more in the vein of a “Lifetime movie.” That is not to say that I hate it, because I don’t, or that is without it’s charms and funny moments, because it has those as well. Just grab the tissues and be prepared for an ugly-cry read with this one.
A charming story about a woman’s emergence from a cocoon of grief and learning to live again within a new reality. Having to face a few hard truths gives Abby some startling realizations. Living an honest life is not always easy but it’s the best way to live her life. A laid back handyman and his adorable daughter as well as renovating a house finally set Abby on the right path to happiness. Because of Liam and Olive, Abby learns to shun sorrow and embrace the joy of living and loving. Do Abby, Liam and Olive get a happily ever after? Who knows? But they do get a happily for now.
I loved this book. It made me sad and mad me happy in some parts of this story. The heroine was a young strong women who lost but also found herself. I lived her every emotion. This author writes a great story which makes you feel like you are actually living this tale. I lost myself in her words and emotions. This book stayed with me even after I finished reading it. This book is one of those books that I will reread for many years to come. I recommend that you read this book you will love it as much as I did.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The After Wife was a great read that dealt with the many faces of loss and how we deal with our grief, no two are the same. One woman has struggled immensely for the last year to deal with the loss of her husband, shutting her self away from the world until she realises that why she was there, her life completely fell apart. Now having decided to sell and flee her grief she moves to a little town in Canada hoping for a simpler life. Small towns however, even in Canada, have a way of changing you, from the persistent neighbors who just want to talk, to the truly nosy and the gossips, you can’t escape them. Especially the new contractor she hires. A spark is there, wether she admits it or not. Time may not heal all wounds, but it has a way of making each day a little easier to bear. A charming little girl might also have a little something to do with it. I found it sweet and charming, even in the midst of a soul deep sorrow, and I simply could not put it down. A few curve balls thrown in to really pack that punch and all in all its a definite five star cry fest for me!