4 out of 5 stars
On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads
How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.
In a Nutshell: Quirky Aussie domestic drama
Poor Jasper Scragg doesn't have a very good opinion of himself, and the fall-out from his impulsive decisions makes him feel a heck of a lot worse. Capable wife Zoe, who he adores, is dealing with her own inability to carry a child, and they hope their move to the small town of Woolloolobah will give them a fresh start, especially as Zoe's best friend Sabine and her husband Ned live there. Sabine and Ned have a large family, and a close relationship with the children gives Zoe and Jasper some comfort in their childlessness, at the same time as, sometimes, twisting the knife.
Jasper has a secret to contend with - three months before the move, he was unfaithful to Zoe. Just once, a drunken mistake, but it's coming back to haunt him.
I very much liked the tone in which this was written; I'd been dreading that it might be self-consciously 'humorous', which could have been ghastly, but it wasn't at all. There is a certain dark humour to some aspects, including the characterisation, which really worked, but it is, essentially, a straight domestic drama.
The story kept me interested all the way through, though I was not too sure I liked any of the characters very much. Zoe seemed like a cold fish (though one had to understand all that she went through), Jasper needed a good shake (though we later find out more about his upbringing, which explains a lot), Sabine and Ned irritated me in small ways, though I rather liked the younger Yasmin - any bad decisions could be put down to the self-obsession and craziness of youth. I came to the conclusion that my feelings towards the characters showed how real they were, in all their positive and negative traits.
At times I felt it could have been chopped down a little and given a bit more 'oomph', but basically it's a solid family drama that I'm happy to recommend.