#Blogtour Between You and Me by Carol Mason

 It's my turn on the Blogtour Between You and Me by Carol Mason.

About the Author

Carol Mason is the Amazon Charts and Kindle #1 bestselling author After You Left (more than 300,000 copies sold), The Secrets of Married Women, The Last Time We Met, The Shadow Between Us, Send Me A Lover and Little White Secrets which hit the Bookstat digital bestsellers list top 3 in the week of its launch. She was born in the North East of England where most of her novels are set. She now lives in Canada with her Canadian husband, a rescue dog from Kuwait and a three-legged cat. When not writing, Carol loves to read, cook and binge watch Netflix. 

Follow @carolmasonbooks on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon, on Facebook, Visit carolmasonbooks.com

About the book

Is her new husband really who she thinks he is? When young doctor Lauren Matheson meets Joe, an older divorced businessman, at a glittering poolside in California, it’s a chance encounter that seems life-changing for them both. Back home in London, their feelings only strengthen. But Lauren soon discovers that building a happy future with Joe is going to be an uphill struggle…

She’s determined to be a good stepmother to his children, four-year-old Toby and complicated teen Grace. But under the watchful eye of Meredith, Joe’s intimidating ex-wife, Lauren can’t seem to do a thing right. Why won’t Joe ever take her side against Grace? And what really happened between him and Meredith?

As her husband retreats into a cold, secretive version of the dashing man she met in California, Lauren starts to wonder if she’s made a costly mistake. Was Joe ever the man she thought she married?

Review

Lauren loves her husband and her career, she tolerates the ex-wife and is coming to like the children more each day. However the realisation that she will always come second to both the children and the ex-wife is a disappointment. In fact her status is unstable and always under threat.

I can't give Mason enough kudos for the insight in this story. I'm not sure if it's just research or personal experience, but between the fictional premise there is a solid foundation of reality, and the true emotional turmoil of patchwork and step-families.

The outsider status of the interloper who tries to navigate the roles of new wife and step-mother without crossing the boundaries of actual parenting or rather the parents themselves. Interesting conundrum the bio parents put the step-person in - all the responsibilities of a parent, but treated like a teenage babysitter who is doing a bad job.

When loyalty and connections are cemented within the first relationship and no room is left for the new one then eventually the outsider status will become permanent. Building a new family unit in these circumstances is stressful and complicated, and often goes hand in hand with disruption and acrimony.

I really enjoyed it, and the frank and open discourse. It hurts, it's scary and sometimes you can't do right for doing wrong. The author absolutely hits the nail on the head with this one.

Buy Between You and Me at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Lake Union Publishing pub date 22 Jun. 2021. Buy at Amazon com.