A Village Affair by Julie Houston
Publication Date: 6th November 2018
Published by Aria Fiction
Genre: women's fiction
470 pages
My thanks to Victoria Joss at Aria Fiction for the opportunity to read
and review this lovely novel ahead of publication.
Book Description:
Cassie Beresford has recently landed her dream job as deputy head teacher at her local, idyllic village primary school, Little Acorns. So, the last thing she needs is her husband of twenty years being 'outed' at a village charity auction - he has been having an affair with one of her closest friends.
As if it weren't enough to cope with, Cassie suddenly finds herself catapulted into the head teacher position, and at the front of a fight to ward off developers determined to concrete over the beautiful landscape.
But through it all, the irresistible joy of her pupils, the reality of keeping her teenage children on the straight and narrow, her irrepressible family and friends, and the possibility of new love, mean what could have been the worst year ever, actually might be the best yet...
My Review:
After a fair old stint of reading nothing but crime thriller
novels, the prospect of reading something lighter again made for a refreshing
change. I did hope from the title of the
book that we wouldn’t be taken on the journey of a bitter, spurned woman
seeking revenge – and I have to say that although the very public discovery
that her ‘perfect’ marriage to Mark is not so perfect after all is the basis of
the tale, it is merely the starting point for Cassie to re-evaluate her life rather
than the whole focus.
Something which stood out for me straightaway in this novel
is how the chapters each have a title rather than just a number. I wasn’t sure
at first whether I liked this or whether it would give too much away as regards
to the plotline but as I read on through the book I actually found the titles
drew me on into the next chapter – not that I really needed any encouragement,
as I could quite happily have settled in and read the whole book in one
sitting, given half a chance.
Cassie certainly has a lot on her plate, not only finding
herself unexpectedly single but the death of Priscilla Theobold, the headmistress of the school
where she is due to start her new job, means that she is thrown head-first into
being the person in charge of the whole school on her first day. Nothing quite
like going in at the deep end! Fortunately she has the backing of the majority
of the staff plus the support of her friends and family (with the obvious
exception of former best friend Tina, now mistress of Mark and branded
Serpentina by Cassie) and with them all behind her she finds a whole new inner
strength which she wondered whether she had ever possessed before.
There are some great characters in this book: grandad Norman
is a gem of a gentleman; Cassie’s mum Paula who is a wonderfully hippy and
rather dreamy lady who figures strongly later in the book as she is forced to
reflect on her own youth when Cassie drops her own bombshell into the mix; both
of Cassie’s teenage children bring with them issues and questions which Cassie
never dreamt of having to contend with – and blames her mother for half of the
time; and the omnipresent Bamforth family who own virtually the whole village
where Cassie and her family have been resident for decades and have their own
ideas as to how village life should be brought into the 21st century.
Who will win the battle between the residents and the
developers? How much clout will Cassie’s family have over the final decisions,
and what skeletons does the Bamforth family have in its closet which could create
huge ripples when they finally come tumbling out?
I found this to be a very entertaining read, the pages
virtually turned themselves and I very quickly found myself at the end of the book
wanting to know what happened next for the characters. I would love for there to be more from the
village of Westenbury in future…Julie, please tell me there’s going to be a sequel?
Kobo:
iBooks:
Amazon:
Google Play:
Kobo:
iBooks:
Amazon:
Google Play:
kobo: https://bit.ly/2MF22BW
amazon: https://amzn.to/2MFTI4T
ibooks: https://apple.co/2PEjcCb
About the Author:
Julie Houston is the author of The One Saving Grace, Goodness, G
race and Me and Looking
for Lucy, a Kindle top 100 general bestseller and a Kindle Numb
er1 bestseller. She is
married, with the two teenage children and a made cockerpoo and,
like her heroine, livs in a
West Yorkshire village. She is also a teacher and a magistrate.
Julie Houston is the author of The One Saving Grace, Goodness, G
race and Me and Looking
for Lucy, a Kindle top 100 general bestseller and a Kindle Numb
er1 bestseller. She is
married, with the two teenage children and a made cockerpoo and,
like her heroine, livs in a
West Yorkshire village. She is also a teacher and a magistrate.
Julie Houston is the author of The One Saving Grace, Goodness,Grace and Me, and Looking for Lucy, a kindle top 100 general bestseller and a kindle Number1 bestseller. She is married, with two teenage children and a mad cockerpoo and, like her heroine, lives in a West Yorkshire village. She is also a teacher and a magistrate.
Social Media Links:
Twitter: @juliehouston2
Facebook: @JulieHoustonauthor
Website: https://www.juliehouston.co.uk
Publisher website: https://www.ariafiction.com
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