Runaway Wife by Rowan Coleman

Runaway Wife by Rowan Coleman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sometimes you have to have the courage to start over…

Rose Pritchard has fled her home and her abusive husband with little more than the clothes on her back – and her most precious possession, her seven year old daughter Maddie.

But Rose does have one other thing left – a glimmer of hope that she can build a better life for herself and her daughter, whatever it takes…

Poignant story of an abused wife after years of misery decides to take her 7 year old daughter Maddie in search of a better life in the village of Millthwaite. Spurred on by a letter written to her some years ago she goes in search of its author Frasier in the hope that his kind words will be enough for her to start a new life. Once she gets to her destination its not as easy as she hoped it would be and faced with many obstacles she starts to wonder if she has made a terrible mistake.

I did look at this novel in a realist way, I wondered if I would have chased across country looking for someone who I hardly knew and risk everything taking my 7 year old daughter into an unknown future. I think if you were driven to do this it would be a last desperate act and maybe Rose was at this point but I'm not sure it was realistic enough. During her 'search' she meets her lost father and they build a relationship between them and Rose also meets Rowan her fathers' agent with whom she embarks on a romance.

This is a tale of self-discovery, romance, love, fear and friendship and how Rose and Maddie finally find themselves. It's not a fast paced novel, in parts I found it very dull and it did drag a little but it was gently and sensitively written and for that it deserves 3 stars.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.