Darren, Andrew and Mrs Hall – review
I was kindly given an electronic copy of Darren, Andrew and Mrs Hall by R J Gould in exchange for an honest review*.
Darren, Andrew and Mrs Hall book blurb
A tale of two husbands, two wives, and the woman in between.
It is a June day and the rain is lashing down as Emma and Andrew move into the house of their dreams in an affluent London suburb. Two doors away, dejected Darren and Kelly are downsizing into their new home.
It doesn’t take long for the women to hit it off despite being opposites in many ways. Meanwhile Andrew, a teacher and poet, and Darren, an alarm systems installer, are at loggerheads from the word go.
When Emma and Kelly decide to take breaks away together – to a spa, a countryside retreat, the Scottish Highlands – their men feel abandoned.
Their animosity grows and the loyalty to their wives is tested when Mrs Hall moves in as their in-between neighbour.
But who exactly is this woman and what game is she playing?
The wives return from a stay in Scotland to discover that a lot has changed. Will their marriages be robust enough to survive?
My overall thoughts on Darren, Andrew and Mrs Hall
Having thoroughly enjoyed Nothing Man and Dream Café I was looking forward to getting stuck into Darren, Andrew and Mrs Hall.
And like Dream Café I thoroughly enjoyed R J Gould’s writing style and finished it within just two days!
Darren, Andrew and Mrs Hall is part of this author’s Dream Café series, but could be read and enjoyed as a standalone.
I can’t wait to read the rest of the series!
Two very different couples have just moved into new properties on the same day just a house apart from each other.
One couple Emma and Andrew have moved into a home which has retained its wonderful original period features which they appreciate.
The other couple Darren and Kelly have moved into a property that has been modernised and is more their style and taste.
Andrew is just about to become a published poet and has received an advance bonus making their move from a dark basement flat into this lovely house possible.
Darren and Kelly have downsized to raise some much needed funds for Darren’s struggling security alarm business which Kelly thinks because of his less than positive attitude.
The two women soon become close friends enjoying Wednesday afternoons in Dream Café, going running and then going away on breaks together.
When Mrs Hall moves into the house in between them the new balance is thrown off kilter as things between the couples have changed. Can both sets put things right?
A totally realistic, gentle tale of relationships, friendships and life – set in Muswell Hill, London.
The characters are the sort of people you might know and the events in their lives are told with wit and empathy.
This is very much a story of life’s ups and downs and how sometimes the genders differ, or not.
It’s a really enjoyable read that I very quickly took to and found myself wanting to read more.
I love how we get different perspectives of something that has happened in each chapter which is told from a different character’s point of view.
I enjoyed watching the friendships develop and the character ARC of them all!
I’m looking forward to meeting new characters and spending more time at the Dream Café!
About the author
Richard writes under the pseudonym R J Gould and is a (rare male) member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA).
His first novel was shortlisted for the Joan Hessayon Award following his participation on the RNA New Writers’ Scheme.
Having been published by Headline Access and Lume Books, he now self-publishes.
He writes contemporary literary fiction about relationships, loosely though not prescriptively within the Romance genre, using both humour and pathos to describe the tragi-comic journeys of his protagonists in search of love.
Dream Café is his sixth novel, following The Engagement Party, Jack and Jill Went Downhill, Mid-life follies, The bench by Cromer beach and Nothing Man. [It is a rewrite of A Street Café Named Desire].
Ahead of writing full time, Richard led a national educational charity.
He has been published in a wide range of educational journals, national newspapers and magazines and is the co-author of a major work on educating able young people.
He lives in Cambridge, England.
Follow R J Gould
Website: www.rjgould.info
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*Disclaimer
This review has been written with 100% honesty.
I was not financially compensated for this post. I was given a copy of this book for review purposes. The opinions expressed in this post are completely my own based on my own experience.
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