Book Review: Tempting Fate by Jane Green

Tempting-Fate-Jane-greenTitle : Tempting Fate
Author : Jane Green
Publication date : 12 September 2013
Publisher : Penguin
Purchase eBook: Kindle
Purchase paper book: Amazon
Rating : 5 out of 5 LeeLee’s!

Number one bestselling author Jane Green gives a powerful portrayal of a marriage rocked by betrayal in the stunning Tempting Fate.

When Gabby first met Elliott she knew he was the man for her. In twenty years of marriage she has never doubted her love for him – even when he refused to give her the one thing she still wants most of all. But now their two daughters are growing up Gabby feels that time and her youth are slipping away. For the first time in her life she is restless. And then she meets Matt . . .

Intoxicated by the way this young, handsome and successful man makes her feel, Gabby is momentarily blind to what she stands to lose on this dangerous path. And in one reckless moment she destroys all that she holds dear.

Consumed by regret, Gabby does everything she can to repair the home she has broken. But are some betrayals too great to forgive?

Praise for Jane Green:

‘A heartbreaking tale of love and family, truly compelling’ Closer

‘Compulsively readable. I raced through it’ Daily Mail

‘Green is women’s fiction royalty . . . a compelling family drama’ Glamour

My Thoughts

When this book landed on my doorstep I couldn’t wait to get started, it climbed straight to the top of my reading pile.
The last Jane Green novel I read was ‘The Accidental Husband’ which I really enjoyed and was  hoping this would be just as good if not better. Of course Jane didn’t let me down.

Gabby and Elliot are a lovely couple, married for twenty years with two daughters they seem just as in love now as the day they met. They have what can only be seen as a perfect relationship, the only thing that has ever come between them is Elliot having a vasectomy against Gabby’s will while she still held hope that he would come around to the idea of a third child.

Gabby is a middle aged stay at home mum trying to make something of her life, she doesn’t want to be like all of the other mums who find they have nothing to do and no career driven skills once they are no longer needed constantly by their children. Going back to college at 43 or scrubbing the bathroom for the eighth time in one week is not for her. In a suburb where everyone competes and every day is like keeping up with the Jones’ Gabby tries to concentrate on herself, Elliot often works away and she starts to focus her days on her hobby, ‘up cycling’ old furniture. The girls are growing up and her time has come to do something for herself before its too late.

Whilst on a girls night out young bachelor Matt comes on the scene, he’s charming and rich and most important he makes Gabby feel young again, alive and wanted. He’s flirtatious and sweet. Of course Gabby is married and wouldn’t dream of cheating on her husband, she is loyal and committed to Elliot and their family. At least this is what she keeps on telling herself.

After Gabby has given into fate one weekend while Elliot is away on business she is left to deal with the consequences of her mistake. Now she unintentionally  has what she wanted but loses everything she had. Can she put right everything has done wrong?

Verdict

Giving into temptation has severe consequences and it isn’t pretty. Seeing Gabby suffer for what she had done turned this into a real love/hate relationship for me, of course I thought she was a terrible woman for what she had done but I also felt sorry for her when she has nobody there  to support her. I particularly loved how unlike most womens fiction novels centred around cheating and affairs Gabby has to live with the consequences and everything isn’t okay, what she did was not okay and she wasn’t going to get off lightly for it. What I enjoyed most is what I felt was lacking in the last Jane Green novel I had read and that is the male side of the story. Understanding things from Elliott’s perspective and how the events affect him really brought the story together for me. It wasn’t just about how one woman cheats on her husband and ruins their relationship, it was about what happens when you’re entire social circle is shared with that person and everyone can see what you’ve done wrong. What happens when your children find out what you did to their perfect father and how nothing is going to be easy.

Jane Green has done it again and the hours dwindled away once I was emerged in this story. I was invested completely in the characters and didn’t want the book to end. Overall Tempting Fate is a fantastic read and had me rooting for the characters relationship and screaming when I thought she was going to do something she was undoubtedly going to regret. A realistic take on how one mistake can tear apart everything you have.

Jane will now be publishing two books per year so we don’t have to wait long to get our next fix!

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