The Work Wives by Rachael Johns

EXCERPT: As Deb headed into the kitchen, Quinn picked up an old magazine from a neat stack on the coffee table. She guessed it belonged to Ramona – she loved how Deb’s daughter was obsessed with all things vintage. She flipped through the pages, shaking her head at the images of women in aprons, pearls and pretty dresses advertising kitchen appliances alongside slogans like ‘wifesaver’ and ‘my washdays are now holidays’. As if these ads weren’t preposterous enough, an article about romance made her laugh so hard she almost spilt her drink.

‘What’s so funny?’ Deb asked, returning with a plate of cheese, crackers, dip and carrot sticks.

‘Have you seen this? It’s an article about how to get a husband. Seriously, no wonder I haven’t found Mr Right yet. Turns out I’ve been doing it all wrong.’

ABOUT ‘THE WORK WIVES’: How well do you really know the people you work with?

For work wives Debra and Quinn, it’s a case of opposites attract. They are each other’s lifelines as they navigate office politics and jobs that pay the bills but don’t inspire them.

Outside work, they are also friends, but where Quinn is addicted to dating apps and desperate to find love, Deb has sworn off men. Although Deb is not close to her own mother, her teenage daughter is her life and there’s nothing she wouldn’t do to protect her. But Ramona has other ideas and is beginning to push boundaries.

Life becomes even more complicated by the arrival of a new man at the office. One woman is attracted to him, while the other hoped she’d never meet him again.

But when Deb, Quinn and Ramona are forced to choose between friends, love and family, the ramifications run deeper than they could ever have expected.

MY THOUGHTS: I blew hot and cold throughout The Work Wives by Rachael Johns. There were parts that had me chuckling and amused, parts that had me scratching my head, and a couple of times I flirted with the temptation to simply close the covers and not reopen them.

The Work Wives covers a lot of topics – far too many – and a lot of pages – again, far too many at 500+. Topics: romance; bullying (in just about every form imaginable); abuse; misogyny; identity theft; rape; early onset Alzheimer’s; aging; family and friendship. And there’s probably more. For me, it just didn’t work. There’s too much going on, and it all takes far too long to explain and evolve.

Ramona, Elijah and Lucy are the outstanding characters. Tristan was too nice and good to be true, and Deb – I could neither warm nor relate to her. I often didn’t understand her decisions. Quinn was zany and entertaining, but again . . .

If you are looking for an entertaining rom-com, you’re only going to find it sporadically here. No matter what you’re looking for, you’re only going to find it sporadically.

Overall – disappointing. This was my first book by Rachael Johns, and although I didn’t much enjoy this, I’ve been assured by friends who are solid admirers that this isn’t her best, so I’m sure that I will be reading more by her.

⭐⭐.2

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T: @HarlequinAUS

#contemporaryfiction #familydrama #friendship #romance #womensfiction

THE AUTHOR: Rachael Johns is an English teacher by trade, a supermarket owner by day, a mum 24/7, and a writer by night. She lives in rural Western Australia with her hyperactive husband and three mostly-gorgeous heroes-in-training. (RachaelJohns.com)

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harlequin Australia, HQ & MIRA via Netgalley, for providing a digital ARC of The Work Wives by Rachael Johns for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

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