Can I Give My Husband Back? By Kristen Bailey #netgalley #book #review @bookouture @mrsbaileywrites

Can I Give My Husband Back? by Kristen Bailey

Published by Bookouture

Publication Date: 19th June 2020

Genre: Womens Fiction/Humour

Book Description:

It’s normal to prefer getting a filling at the dentist’s to spending time with your husband, right?

I thought I was sorted on the life front. I was a heart surgeon with a loving partner and two gorgeous little girls. Except my husband’s version of ‘loving’ is lying, cheating and sleeping his way around London. Which means I definitely deserve a refund.

Unfortunately, moving on isn’t that simple. Just because I know how to operate on a heart doesn’t mean I know how to fix my broken one. Plus, I lost the receipt for him years ago so I’m definitely getting short changed.

But now I’m single, am I ready to mingle? There are a few minor issues:

1) The last time I went on a date double denim was in fashion and my eyebrows were horrendously overplucked.
2) Men wear stupidly skinny jeans now.
3) I don’t know how to use dating apps but at least I don’t have to get changed out of my pyjamas.
4) Sometimes the most promising thing you have in common with a guy is a shared love of prawns.
5) I don’t know whether to open a date with ‘hi’ or ‘hello’ or ‘hey’ and once I ended up saying ‘howdy’.

Everything happens for a reason, they say. There’s plenty more fish in the sea. But what happens when everything falls apart and you haven’t got a clue how to go fishing?

My Thoughts:

I didn't realise until after I had requested this book from Netgalley that there is another book 'before' it although it isn't exactly a series. The main characters of each book are sisters - they are a fierce bunch and I was going to say I pity any man marrying into the family, but the way Simon Chadwick has treated Emma soon put paid to any sympathy. 

We are introduced to Emma as she tries out the world of internet dating, guided by the more worldly of her sisters, Lucy. The text exchange we are privy to is hilarious but sadly the date is little short of a disaster, leaving Emma wondering whether she really is ready to return to the search for a partner.

Luckily for her, a close work colleague has other ideas and sets her up with someone she believes would be a good match, an anaesthetist named Jag.

 Alongside Emma's search for a love life, we also get the story of her ex husband and serial philanderer Simon. He really is unbelievably arrogant and the perfect representation of a sleazeball. Most people who have been through the process of divorce will be able to relate to the 'game' that he is playing and will love the scenes when karma comes calling to make him face his misdemeanours. His true colours are well and truly on display for all to see and this time there is no veneer of sleaze he can hide behind. He gets to feel the wrath of the Callaghan women good and proper and even his own mother questions his morals.

The sisters personalities are extremely diverse and perfectly drawn - I would love to have a cohort of loving siblings like these in my life. The storyline is relatable and its ups and downs will have you crying with laughter, feeling all warm and fuzzy with affection or angry enough to join Lucy in her personal crusade against Simon.

A fun look at the world of divorce and how to make a new life in the world of singledom.

About the Author:

Mother-of-four, gin-drinker, binge-watcher, receipt hoarder, enthusiastic but terrible cook. Kristen also writes. She has had short fiction published in several publications including Mslexia & Riptide. Her first two novels, Souper Mum and Second Helpings were published in 2016. In 2019, she was long listed in the Comedy Women in Print Prize and has since joined the Bookouture family. She hopes her novels have fresh and funny things to say about modern life, love and family.

You can find out more about her at her website: www.kristenbaileywrites.com.
You can also find her on Twitter (@mrsbaileywrites), Instagram (@kristenbaileywrites) and Facebook