Secret Lives of Second Wives

***** I think that I enjoyed this book so much because I identified with it greatly---it was about a "second wife", married to a man with grown children and a local ex-wife, and all of the problems that occur in such a situation. I stayed up until 2am reading it and finished it the next day! The author has a dry wit and the book is hilarious---I laughed out loud repeatedly throughout it. The main character is a late-forties second wife on her second marriage who has to deal with all that ensues when her husband has difficult and dysfunctional grown children and can't set boundaries or say no to his ex-wife. So the second wife begins to attend a support group called "The Anne Boleyn Club" to get new coping strategies and ideas to deal with her difficult life situation. More experienced second wives give her useful advice as she attempts to cope with all of the surprises that come when your new spouse has baggage from a former marriage. I would call this book amazing and wonderful chick-lit. I loved it. It made me feel less alone in my current (and similar) situation. I loved the intelligence and humor of the author. I would recommend it to all second-wives, especially those of middle-age, but anyone who is curious about what it's like to be married a second time. Issues brought up in this book are not often talked about or written about, and I really enjoyed how the author courageously brought such issues out into the open, and in such an entertaining way, too. Highly recommended. *****

Lynn Bartlett is a bright and beautiful immigration lawyer in her forties who embarked on her second marriage with great expectations. Her new husband, Jack Hughes, is a kind, loving, funny, and intelligent man. Unfortunately, when Lynn married Jack, she underestimated the problems that she would have with Jack's grasping ex-wife and his two spoiled adult children.Catherine Todd, in her funny and entertaining new book, "Secret Lives of Second Wives," explores the well-worn territory of how excess baggage from a first marriage sometimes drags a second marriage down. Todd's novel is not a rehash of old material, however. It is a refreshingly original story of a woman who is self-confident and comfortable in her own skin. Lynn is not willing to settle for second best either in her professional or her personal life. Her husband, laden with guilt about how he may have shortchanged his first family, incurs financial and psychological burdens that threaten to sabotage his relationship with Lynn.Todd imbues Lynn's and Jack's story with a light and satirical touch. She takes amusing potshots at the materialistic and shallow lifestyle of certain Californians. The dialogue in "Secret Lives" is sharp and clever and the writing is crisp and fast-paced. Yet, underneath all of the lighthearted banter, there are serious undertones in this novel about the complexity of family relationships and the importance of commitment and compromise in a marriage. Catherine Todd's breezy prose style and her intelligent treatment of the dynamics of second marriages make "Secret Lives of Second Wives" a first-rate and very appealing contemporary novel.

Lynn Bartlett is a bright and beautiful immigration lawyer in her forties who embarked on her second marriage with great expectations. Her new husband, Jack Hughes, is a kind, loving, funny, and intelligent man. Unfortunately, when Lynn married Jack, she underestimated the problems that she would have with Jack's grasping ex-wife and his two spoiled adult children.Catherine Todd, in her funny and entertaining new book, "Secret Lives of Second Wives," explores the well-worn territory of how excess baggage from a first marriage sometimes drags a second marriage down. Todd's novel is not a rehash of old material, however. It is a refreshingly original story of a woman who is self-confident and comfortable in her own skin. Lynn is not willing to settle for second best either in her professional or her personal life. Her husband, laden with guilt about how he may have shortchanged his first family, incurs financial and psychological burdens that threaten to sabotage his relationship with Lynn.Todd imbues Lynn's and Jack's story with a light and satirical touch. She takes amusing potshots at the materialistic and shallow lifestyle of certain Californians. The dialogue in "Secret Lives" is sharp and clever and the writing is crisp and fast-paced. Yet, underneath all of the lighthearted banter, there are serious undertones in this novel about the complexity of family relationships and the importance of commitment and compromise in a marriage. Catherine Todd's breezy prose style and her intelligent treatment of the dynamics of second marriages make "Secret Lives of Second Wives" a first-rate and very appealing contemporary novel.

Immigration attorney Lynn Bartlett's first marriage was a disaster. For approximately a decade, she avoided serious alliances though that made the nights lonely. Tech business executive Jackson Hughes is divorced also, but unlike Lynn he has two children, supposedly adults. Lynn and Jackson are perfect for each other and marry. They settle in Silicon Valley, which is ideal, as his company is near and she has a strong client base in the green card professionals who lost employment due to the downturn in dot.comOne year after they tie the knot, Lynn throws a fiftieth birthday party for her spouse. Though contented, she is not totally into the gala as she finds a Russian scientist more interesting than her husband. She also detests having his children around as they treat her like a fungus; even worse his son plans to move in with them. His first wife has made a martyred appearance that deserves an Oscar. Only her peers at the Anne Boleyn Society provide any relief for the beleaguered second wife.THE SECRET LIVES OF SECOND WIVES is an amusing often-melancholy character study. Lynn and Jackson work on (or ignore) family issues that make them seem real. Her clients also add depth to Lynn's character. However, his children behave so blatantly and appallingly nasty towards Lynn, readers will wonder why Jackson fails to divorce the duo. His first wife is subtler in her tactics so that she comes across as a sneaky, nasty, but clever schemer. Catherine Todd provides a solid tale that could have been a great novel if she had created realistic antagonists.Harriet Klausner