Set in Wisconsin and Saint Louis, MO in the early 1900s, this story about a wife who pretends to be pure when she really has a history as a party girl (though they didn't call them that back then) was hard to put down. Nonetheless, I didn't really like it. The writing is off-putting. The author keeps the reader at bay. Plus the melodrama of the story didn't do much for me. I only read it because my Book Club made me. :-) I am mystified by the incredibly low rating and focus on sex that other reviewers have given. I cannot reconcile the low review of this novel with 50 shades of gray, which is currently such a bestseller. This is an excellent novel ripe with many complex themes. We are all dealt a difficult hand in life. It is what you do with that difficult hand that makes a difference in the end. You were the only one who suffers if you play your cards wrong. Each of us has a choice, a path of destruction and a path of beauty. Life is hard for everyone. It is the ability to forgive, whether others or even ourselves, which helps define our future. This is a fantastic book club read, ripe with complex themes that will have your friends talking!
Do You like book A Reliable Wife (2009)?
Would actuall almost give it 4 stars but started to lose me at the end
—Honey