Wednesday 15 May 2013

Books Read: Emma Heatherington - One Night Only

Polly's marriage has gone off the boil big time. Her husband ignores her, her children take her for granted and she feels as glamorous as a dirty dishcloth. 
She needs a break and she needs one now. 

Gorgeous schoolteacher Tess is under pressure. Her husband wants a baby now. She wants one never. 
She needs a break and she needs one now. 

Mousey housewife Gina has had enough. Her life is a misery and she is living on the edge of her nerves with her bullyboy husband Trevor and his bit on the side. 
She needs a break and she needs one now. 

When blast from the past, Ruth Monaghan, comes back to live nearby, the ladies meet up and agree to arrange a girly night out. 

Just one night away from it all - one night to recharge their batteries, to let down their hair and to discover what it really is they want in life. 

But throw in a raucous stag party, a handsome policeman and a charming man called Marco and these four desperate housewives get a hangover and a whole lot more in a hilarious night out that they will never forget!

One Night Only is the story of four thirty-something women who are all in need of a break from their everyday lives for very different reasons.

Polly feels like her life is slowly slipping away from her without any support from her husband James or her kids who all take her for granted expecting her to do everything for them.   Her sister Tess is still in the early throes of marital bliss to husband Rob but there's just one snag, he wants them to try for a baby straight away but she's in no rush...

Gina, Polly's neighbour, is a woman afraid of her shadow as she's had the confidence beaten out of her over the years by her brute of a husband.  After one beating too many she's finally had enough and decides that it's time that he's shown the door to go and live with his bit on the side.   

Ruth, used to make Tess and Polly's lives a misery when they were at school, so it's understandable that Polly tries to avoid her when they meet up again after all these years in a local shop.  But when Ruth suddenly turns up at her door to apologise for everything that she'd done whilst they were at school, Polly soon realises that Ruth is a lonely unhappy woman.  There's obviously a story about her return back to her hometown after all of these years but Ruth is not quite ready to tell it yet...

When Tess turns up with a voucher for a cheap weekend away, Polly decides to also invite Gina and Ruth who are in as much need of a break away from their lives as herself and Tess are.  But what follows is an eventful night out that none of them will ever be able to forget but also a night where great friendships are made and healed...

Having read all of Emma Heatherington's previous books, including her two books written as Emma Louise Jordan, I knew that I could expect plenty of humour and she didn't fail on that score, there's definitely plenty of laugh out loud moments amongst the drama.  One of the storylines that literally had me chuckling like a madwoman involved Tess and the doorman...!

This was a book that could have been written about you or me, although I'm not quite sure that I've ever had any raucous nights out to that extreme, as I'm sure that we've all hidden what's going on from those closest to us at some stage in our lives.  I know I have.  It's a story about how with the support from our friends and family we can overcome the speed bumps that we may encounter along the way.

I'd like to thank Poolbeg for sending me a copy of this book to review.

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