"She's getting anxious. Scratch that. She's been fearful the whole time - before she and Rose even had their first conversation. But now she's way past the point of no return. All those years to prepare for this moment, which part of her always suspected would one day come to pass, and still she doesn't feel ready..."
The Daughter's Choice by S. D. Robertson is a modern domestic drama which explores the high cost of living a lie.
It's a week before Rose's wedding, and she and her bestie Cara are off to a spa to enjoy the last weekend before the big day together. They've been BFFs since they were tots, and Cara is Rose's maid of honour. While they are getting ready for the spa day, Cara receives a phone call from her Dad, summoning her back home with a family emergency. Rose is left to enjoy the spa on her own.
Cassie has been watching the girls' arrival to the spa. Her plan is to get Rose to talk. As Rose feels lonely and miffed with the whole situation, she is quick to accept the company of the older woman. To pass the time on the spa tour, going through all the facilities together, they decide to swap life stories What Rose doesn't realise at first is that Cassie has a specific agenda on her mind. Their meeting is not due to pure chance. Two women spend the whole day together, with the bride to be pouring her life story to the attentive mysterious stranger who intriguingly promises to share her own story later.
Rose is an only child of a very devoted, doting father whom she idolises. Her mother died when she was a baby, and Rose has no recollection of her. Dave is a reclusive writer who wrote one book in his teens which proved to be a best seller. He hasn't written anything since, instead dedicating his life to bringing up his child.
"They've always had a special kind of father-daughter relationship. It no doubt stems from the two of them living alone together for so long".
When it's Cassie's turn to tell her life story, we learn that she has travelled the world and lived in many countries, finally settling in Ireland, with a husband and four step-children. Her story sounds exotic and vibrant, but also sad. She had very tough childhood, her parents were drug addicts who neglected her.
Cassie is meant to appear an intriguing lady, but she is a master at manipulating. As the story unfolds, you are left with an uncomfortable feeling. Rose is too naive and trusting, and watching her open her heart to the complete stranger feels like prying into an unsavoury situation. Cassie knows her story will have a devastating effect.
"Cassie feels a stab of pain every time she sees her like this - radiating happiness. It's exactly what you'd expect of a bride-to-be a week before her wedding. And yet soon she'll have to burst that bubble... Her entire world is about to come crashing down around her, through no fault of her onw, and she doesn't have a clue".
The ultimate reveal is easily predicted, but there is a final twist which you might not expect at all.
Rose's life is crumbling. Everything she knew seems to be a lie. The man whom she's trusted all her life has been keeping the biggest secret of all. What choices does she have now?
Cassie is a complicated character. Her own actions left her with a broken heart, but she has also bullodozed through the lives of the others and damaged them. She is clearly on the run from herself. Though there is a refreshing honesty in Cassie's admission of her own faults and flaws, there is also a partial guilt-shifting on her horrible parents, and tragic childhood.
I couldn't relate to any of the characters. Rose appears very immature and babyish in her enthusiasm. When Rose and Cara arrive at the spa, they behave like five-year-olds who are promised to meet pink fluffy unicorns, over-doing the bubbling-giggling act. Cassie is quite calculating, and even "perfect" Dave is sly. The whole orchestrated melodramatic reveal of lies and secrets is overly devious and Machiavellian.
The daughter's choice deals with love and loss, secrets and lies, personal strength and compassion. This book explores the themes of ethics, forgiveness and the ultimate redemption found in understanding each other. Entertaining, intriguing and engaging.
Purchase Link - smarturl.it/TheDaughtersChoiceEB
This post is part of the blog tour.
Many thanks to S. D. Robertson, Avon and Rachel's Random Resources for my copy of the book!
Author Bio –
Former journalist S.D. Robertson quit his role as a local newspaper editor to pursue a lifelong ambition of becoming a novelist. He lives in a village near Manchester with his wife and daughter and now writes full-time – and it’s safe to say the career move paid off! Stuart is a USA Today and Kindle Top 100 bestseller.
Social Media Links – @SDRauthor (Twitter), @sdrobertsonauthor (Instagram), S.D. Robertson/@sdrobertsonauthor (Facebook).
@AvonBooksUK (Twitter, Instagram and Facebook).
I am not sure what to think about the book, the two women seem so different from each other and hard to relate to.
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