Where I struggled a bit was with the tone. Is the novel a slow-burn family drama? Or a domestic thriller? It felt a little like what you’d get if Anne Tyler and Lisa Jewell decided to co-author something. Comparison to either of those two writers is far from a bad thing, but I’m not sure they’d make great collaborators. Readers in the U.S. have really been loving The Love of My Life. I get it. Rosie Walsh’s latest novel is full of twists and turns, and I never was fully certain where the story would go.

Leo and Emma seem to have it all, especially as she nears the end of her cancer treatment, but one day Leo perceives Emma is acting differently, which in turn leads to him doing something he would never do - snooping in her things. A thread unravels from there and develops into this whole story. While there were definitely secrets to uncover, it wasn’t exactly what Leo (nor I!) thought. What do you do when you find out everything your wife ever told you about herself is a lie? Allow Rosie Walsh's love story slash mystery, The Love of My Life, to explain.” The writing was competent and many reviewer's seem to love this story (a lot more than me). I just found the various plot points unlikely and the reveals a bit of a let down. In a Nutshell: Great in bits and pieces but doesn’t come together into a cohesive whole. This might have ended up a strong favourite of mine if I could have connected with the writing style better. But the disconnect with the plot and the decisions of one MC resulted in a strictly average experience.

which i dont think is inherently a bad thing if the transition between genres is seamless, but the flow and pacing in this definitely feels disconnected at times. i enjoyed reading the mystery section the most. i think the misdirections are done well and it creates a really good plot for a domestic thriller. i would have loved for this vibe to remain throughout the entire story. but the other sections are decent - i love how quintessentially british the talk about relationships and jobs is. And she might just have got away with it, if it weren’t for her husband’s job. Leo is an obituary writer; Emma a well-known marine biologist. When she suffers a serious illness, Leo copes bydoing what he knows best – researching and writing about his wife’s life. But as he starts to unravel the truth, he discovers thewoman he loves doesn’t really exist.Even her name isn’t real. How do we really build a new life? About the mystery of identity and the sometimes cost of love, Walsh’s latest is a stunner.” I didn’t much care for Ghosted by this author at all, but then I got it confused with another book with a similar title since I’m an idiot and was all about trying to get an early copy/first dibs at the library for this new release. I’m happy to report I wasn’t disappointed once I finally got my hands on it.

this was a such an odd reading experience because the story is pretty much a hybrid. the book begins as if its just a contemporary fiction story, but then starts to transform into a mystery/thriller, only to finish as a womens fiction novel. its as if the author didnt know what kind of story she wanted to write, so she just combined them all into one. Brilliantly plotted and beautifully written, what really elevates Rosie Walsh’s book above the competition is the characters. Contradictory, flawed and entirely human, I loved and rooted for them like real people.”Combining the gripping pace of a psychological thriller with the tenderness and sorrow of a love story gone wrong, this one’s a winner.” This reminded me a little of a Lisa Jewell book because of its readability and addictiveness. It’s not an edgy, murder-centered thriller, but it IS suspenseful and tense throughout. The last third was very dramatic and entertaining as well. Emma loves her husband Leo and their young daughter Ruby: she’d do anything for them. But almost everything she’s told them about herself is a lie. When journalist husband, Leo stubbles across some documents his wife of ten years, Emma has been hiding, he is more than a little perplexed. He begins doing some research and realizes that a few friends have hinted that they know more about her than he does. Emma has been through many rough times, even recently struggled with cancer while pregnant. He has attributed some anomalies in her behavior to her bouts of depression. Now he isn't sure what is going on. Emma has secrets she has never shared with her husband, the man she deeply loves. She never imagined her past life would surface in such an ugly, hurtful way. It is the last thing she would have wanted to happen, for Leo's sake. For her sake, too.