Simona's Corner of Dreams: The Woman at Number 24

Monday, 24 April 2017

The Woman at Number 24 – by Juliet Ashton

Original Cover

My own copy

The blurb:

A house holds the hearts of the people who live in it. Under the roof of The Blue House, a now shabby but previously grand Georgian villa in West London, the subdivided space is home to five separate families and five very different lives.

Sarah has just divorced her husband, Leo, and she's feeling bruised and lonely. And it's not helped by the fact he has moved in with his new girlfriend - Sarah's neighbour Helena who lives in the same house. Her loneliness is compounded by hearing their happiness floating up through the floorboards.

Jane and Tom have just moved in to The Blue House, and there's an instant attraction between Tom and Sarah. But it's too soon for Sarah to jump into a new relationship, and she wouldn't dream of breaking up a marriage as Helena did to her.

Mavis has lived in The Blue House for years. She's the oldest resident by several decades and she's not one for socialising. Then her sister comes to live with her, to spend her dying days under the same roof, and Mavis finds she cannot hide away forever.

As the stories of the different residents intertwine, Juliet Ashton weaves a story of love and friendship and community that will move you to laughter and to tears.

My Opinion:

*Book provided by the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

This book is all about the people living in a rather special house, number 24. we get introduced to all of these characters quickly and they are a great and diversified group.

First up we have Sarah, who’s husband cheated on her, they are divorced and he just got married to his affair. She is also mourning the loss of her friend Smith. Sarah is the main character in this story.

Then we have Leo, Sarah's ex husband, who is now married to Helena. They live in the flat together. Leo, I didn't like from the start, he had this unfaithful and arrogant vibe around him.

Boyces, Jane and Tom have just moved in and Sarah is very much attracted to Tom, but also thinks she still has feelings for Leo.

We also have Lisa and her daughter Una, who is going through some things, Sarah is there to help.

Last but nit least we have Mavis, an older woman who lives in the basement flat. She complains a lot and is always in a bad mood, but a friendship is built between her and Sarah throughout the book, this was lively to read about.

Sarah is forced to still see Leo from time to time and also spend time with him. I didn't like her around him, she became insecure and made weird decisions. She has a lot to do with renovating her flat, moving out soon and other things. Apart from spending time with Leo and old feelings coming up, she makes new friends and also flirts with other men. I struggled a bit with that part of the story, which seemed a bit unrealistic to me. Other than that I really adored the story, it's all about community and friendship in several ways. Juliet Ashton captured that beautifully in her writing.

the Woman at Number 24 is an absorbing story full of wonderful moments and cute scenes. This was my first Juliet Ashton book to read and I really fell in love with her accurate, vivid, cute and flowing writing.

Rating: