At her brother’s party, book editor Luisa feels a spark with his friend, Jarvis. Her marriage to Luke has gone stale and sculptor Jarvis promises to bring passion back into her life. But she is not willing to have an affair. Instead she comes up with a plan to find a new love for Luke, so after he has left her for this other woman, she can be with Jarvis – guilt free. The most important thing is not to hurt their eight-year-old son, Max, in the process. So Luisa is on the lookout for a woman who can catch Luke’s eye and become a caring stepmother. But will she be happy with the outcome if there is a successful match? Luisa is an unlikeable character – she regularly puts her foot in her mouth, her infatuation with Jarvis reveals her immaturity, and she’s obsessive about her mission to manipulate her husband into a new relationship. As she gets herself into a deeper mess, you know it’s hardly going to end well. This was a short read that I finished in one sitting but it certainly didn’t feel as if the plot or character development suffered from its brevity. It’s an interesting, well-written story with a ‘careful what you wish for’ moral. It will no doubt divide readers because of its subject matter – but I think it’s well worth a read if you keep an open mind.
