REVIEW: The Other Half by Sarah Rayner

In The Other Half by Sarah Rayner, Maggie and her husband Jamie have a cozy life with their son Nathan in the suburbs outside of London. With Jamie’s career on the fast track, and her stable freelance work writing recipes and magazine articles, Maggie should be content. But she would love to have another child. And when she broaches the subject, Jamie not only outright refuses, but seems to drift away. Months later, his peculiar actions and neglect has Maggie thinking the worst. Could Jamie be having an affair? And if so, what in the world should she do about it?

‘…He’s the father of my child, she reasoned. My husband. Surely deep down he’s still the man I married?’

Chloe has been unsatisfied with her current job for a bit and is hoping to change things up with a sensational new project. If she could just get it off the ground. Chloe’s meeting with a potential magazine publisher turns into something much more when James shows interest in both her project and her, personally. His being a married man should give her pause, but she believes him when he says things are not good at home. Surely if Chloe keeps things casual, no one will get hurt, right?

‘At last she could see what Rob had warned her about: the situation was too much for her to handle. No matter what she did, there was no way she could come out unscathed.’

Written from the view points of Maggie, the wife, and Chloe, the mistress, The Other Half was a raw and rather realistic story about falling in love, falling out of love, and everything that lies in between.

Reviewing a book about infidelity is a weird thing sometimes. Especially when trying to connect with the characters who are being unfaithful. In this novel, however, I spent the first half wondering when James and Chloe would show remorse for their actions and how they could be so laissez-faire about it all. It was difficult for me to get past that casual attitude where they just brushed off Maggie and Nathan, only thinking of physical gratification. Now, don’t get me wrong. Overall the story was rock solid with a nice, easy flow to the scenes that made this a snap to read. I think I just had a sort of moral battle going on personally with the selfishness displayed by all three characters throughout the book.

There were definitely parts I enjoyed quite a bit. The dialogue was interesting and smart. The secondary characters were just as well developed as the main characters were. And I thought this was an honest, intimate look into how all parties involved felt, and how they handled this situation. The plot was complex, giving Chloe, James, and Maggie no easy resolution, which made it seem more realistic to me. Sarah Rayner created diverse, flawed characters struggling to find happiness and balance in their lives. Something I think we can all relate to.

A cheating trope is always guaranteed to make readers feel strong emotions, one way or the other. I’ll leave you to decide if this story is the right fit for your reading needs.

Book Info:

Published March 25th 2014 by St. Martin’s Griffin

In the internationally bestselling author Sarah Rayner’s The Other Half, Chloe, bright, hip and single, is a feature writer with ambitions to launch a magazine of her own. When she meets James, her potential new boss, she knows she shouldn’t mix business with pleasure, but finds it impossible to resist…

Maggie appears to have it all. She’s beautiful, a talented writer, and has a gorgeous husband. But something’s not quite right: his job as a magazine publisher is keeping him in the city until late most evenings, and some nights he doesn’t come home at all…

Told in the alternating voices of the mistress and the wife, this story of an affair is a sharp, seductive take on modern love.

Who, if anyone, comes out unscathed?

In writing that is lively, sexy and sharp, the international bestselling author Sarah Rayner explores modern-day relationships and age-old moral dilemmas.