I couldn’t finish this book, I like the author’s writing and have enjoyed many of their books before but this one wasn’t one I could get into. I will try again when the author’s next book is released as I am a fan of theirs.

This story was truly, insanely, beautiful. There was such energy in the writing and spunk in the characters. I could read it again. This is one of those you cannot stop thinking about. Fans of Nicholas Sparks will love it.

Can you imagine marrying the love of your life, to see him everyday but on most days being unable to get even a glimpse of the man you married? This is Molly's story. Alex is her husband, the sweetest guy, and it seems that the Alex she lives with- the one with the uncontrollable rage- couldn't be more different. She's always having to walk on eggshells, the lightness and joys they shared before are few and far between. Warning: this is not your average 'drifting apart, on the verge of getting a divorce' kind of story.

Is an old flame worth the most challenging of battles?

I loved the story of how Molly met Alex. Rebecca Done definitely romanticises love but then shockingly turns all that on its head. Through flashbacks, Done explores the stories of both Molly and Alex. In terms of the emotional depth, this book reminded me of Griffin and Phoenix (one of the saddest but romantic films I've ever seen- of course, the story is very different.)

Alex has an identical twin, Graeme. Complete opposites but Graeme is torture for Molly- a reminder of the Alex she lost. He is such a help to both of them but the question is can she live with the reminders?

Molly's friends hardly understand why she sticks around, why she became her husband's carer and gave up her dreams. I could relate to this, having to constantly justify a decision you made isn't the most pleasant or easiest of conversations. I could feel Molly's defeat through the page. Just as I could feel her happiness, her life, return when she caught that rare glimpse of her Alex. This is a story of strength, true love and sacrifice.

Don't take a miss on this one.

Molly Fraser wishes her husband would return to her. The smiling, happy, loving, romantic man of before. It isn’t that they have fallen out of love exactly. More that Alex can’t actually remember how to love his wife.

Following a devastating accident three years previously Alex suffered life changing brain injuries. Physically he is fine, emotionally he is confused, frustrated, angry, impatient and doesn't understand why he can't do the things he used to.

The truth is, he forgets where is, loses his temper at the slightest thing - he is volatile. And Molly for the first time in three years is scared as Alex's behaviour worsens.

Her immediate thought is to turn to Alex's twin, Graeme (Gray) for help. The twins weren't always there for each other, but after the deaths of their parents they have made more of an effort and can now rely on each other.

Just as Alex's behaviour begins to deteriorate further Molly's parents throw her a lifeline. An offer for her and Alex to move into an annexe, yet to be built, at the bottom of their vast garden.

Molly is hesitant. What would Alex do all day at her parents? At least where they are now Alex can do some mundane daily tasks without getting in to too much bother.

She needs time to think things over, and then Alex lashes out, the angriest that Molly has ever seen him and she is suddenly afraid. She still loves him dearly. But he is not the man she married. Will she ever be again?

Molly is scared, her husband, a stranger.

‘My Husband the Stranger’ by Rebecca Done is a difficult, depressing story about how the life of a newly married couple is changed when Alex, the husband, has an accident which changes his behaviour. Alex’s wife Molly finds herself living with a stranger who looks like the man she loved. This is a study of the emotional aftermath of living with someone with a brain injury. It is not a romance [as the cover style suggests] or a psychological thriller [as the cover blurb hints].
The story is told in alternating sections, Molly and Alex, then and now, as the story is told of how they met, married, their plans for a life together, and then the accident. The first half is slow reading, sometimes repetitive and emotionally-charged. The only thing that kept me reading was the belief that something had to happen soon. The story follows their daily life as Molly deals with a bullying boss and an ex-girlfriend of Alex’s who flirts with him and sends him text messages. Molly feels isolated but is too proud to admit it.
When Alex sets fire to the kitchen he is rescued by a neighbour, an elderly lady who asks Molly how she is coping; she explains how she cared for her husband who had dementia and recognises the difficulties Molly is facing. As Molly mourns the man she fell in love with, she struggles to dutifully care for Alex. She wants to take care of him and brushes off well-meaning offers of help from friends and family. Alex’s twin brother Graeme is a little creepy, and Molly’s parents are too good to be true and crass in the way they pressure her to start a family. Meanwhile, her employer in London is offering her old job back. Should she move Alex away from Norfolk, away from the village where he grew up? Or should she leave him behind and go on her own?
A couple of things jarred with me: contradictions in the portrayal of what Alex is capable of on a day-to-day basis. He has a temper tantrum in an electrical store, but is okay going to a noisy pub or finding his way to the golf club on his own.
This is a tale about the realities of life and how romance can be lost in the most brutal way.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/

Molly knew that Alex was the man for her as soon they met. He was kind, considerate and romantic. Everything that she wanted a partner to be. When he suffers devastating head injury their life is turned upside down. Alex has become a completely different person. An angry impatient man who barely seems to acknowledge Molly now.

My Husband the Stranger is an interesting book in that it makes you think about the things that you take for granted. The new Alex is aggressive and likes different things. He doesn’t understand why they now have financial issues.

The book is mainly told from two different points of view. Molly, in the present day, narrating her issues with her inconsiderate boss and the much changed Alex. The other chapters are the old Alex, from the day when he first met Molly right up the day that changed everything. The day of the accident.

It is a very engrossing story if a little predictable at times. I had worked out most of the plot twists in advance but it is still a good solid thriller with interesting characters.

Supplied by Net Galley and Penguin in exchange for an honest review.

My husband the stranger by Rebecca Done.
What you would do if your husband became another person overnight?
A tragic accident.
A terrible injury.
And in a moment the man you fell in love with, that sweet, caring, charming man, is transformed into a total stranger. One who snarls and one who shouts. And one who doesn't seem to love you very much at all anymore. You swore to love each other in sickness and in health, but how would you cope? What would you do? And would you be strong enough to stay?
This was a lovely moving read more great characters. I really felt for Molly. 5*. Netgalley and penguin UK Michael Joseph.

Really liked this book. Liked the character of Molly and how she was there for her husband even when he made it hard to be.

This novel follows the story of Molly & Alex, a young married couple whose happy life together is rocked by a tragic accident which leaves Alex with a traumatic brain injury. What follows is the fallout from this accident and how they struggle to cope with the impact this has on their lives and relationship with each other and those around them.
Told from Molly's perspective in the present and Alex's perspective through flashbacks from before the accident this is an emotional but gentle read. There is a mild twist towards the end relating to the accident which I did see coming.
All in all an easy and enjoyable read.

I started reading this book and got really in to it, couldn't put it down and I thought this is going to be good!! Unfortunately I guessed the "twist" pretty early on, and it wasn't much of a twist at that. I expected something more to happen and blow my mind but....it didn't. Bit of a let down I'm afraid.

What a brilliant book and a great story. I have to say, I wasn't sure which way will it end, but I was pleasently surprised.

Molly and Alex were happily married and seemed to have the perfect life – that is, until Alex suffers a tragic accident one night whilst staying at his twin brother Graeme’s house and from that moment on, everything changes. Whilst he recovers physically from the head injury he suffers, Alex is no longer the same man – once a kind, loving and devoted husband, he is now easily distracted and moody with a quick and vicious temper. Trying to balance her own life with caring for the total stranger that has replaced her husband, Molly struggles to cope and turns to Graeme for help. Unsure whether she’ll ever get her Alex back, she soon discovers that there may be more to the night of his accident then she first realised and the consequences of this could challenge her relationships and life as she knows it.

Whilst the subject matter of ‘My Husband the Stranger’ makes it feel wrong to call it ‘enjoyable’, I still found reading this book to be an entertaining if quite emotional experience. The idea of someone you love becoming a totally different person overnight is both devastating and terrifying and the author does an excellent job of conveying Molly’s conflicting feelings as she cares for Alex. Throughout the story, she experiences both sympathy for Alex’s difficulties in navigating his daily life (forgetting to put milk back in the fridge so it spoils, for example) and hope when he seems to show hints of his old self but also frustration at her need to do everything for him, as well as anger, regret, sorrow and fear of his unpredictable mood swings. Every reader will consider what they would do in her position and wonder if they are a good enough person to stay with their loved one as she does, and as a result you empathise a lot with her character. The story also alternates between Molly’s point of view in the present day and Alex’s own point of view in the past, describing how he met Molly, the progression of their relationship and the events leading up to his accident. This builds a background for the characters and again adds to the investment that the reader has in them as well as adding support to Molly’s decision to care for Alex despite his ungrateful and aggressive attitude towards her. In terms of writing, the narrative flowed well and the book was easy to read, although there wasn’t as noticeable a difference in tone or voice between Molly and Alex’s differing sections, meaning that occasionally the timeline became a little confusing.

Despite an extremely well-written first half, I found that the book petered off a bit in quality towards the end and lost what would have been a five-star rating. It’s difficult to say why the ending disappointed me without giving away spoilers, but I found that aspects of it were a bit too predictable and others slightly unrealistic. The twist was not at all a shock and from that point on, I didn’t really connect as much with the last part of the story, and as a result I finished the book disappointed that it didn’t have the impact on me that the first half made it feel like it could have done. Another minor criticism was that the love story between the two main characters (as told in Alex’s POV) was a bit twee and cheesy, and I didn’t really connect with Alex as a character so much as a result.

Overall, this was a fascinating and thought-provoking concept for a story which was well worth reading, but didn’t live up to what it could have achieved in terms of emotional punch and lasting impression. I am glad that I read it and would recommend it to others, but can’t help but feel that something was missing to make it a truly excellent piece of fiction. Nonetheless, it was certainly very different and I am certain that any reader who knows someone who has suffered from traumatic brain injury will probably be deeply affected by this book.

Daenerys

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

I loved this book - it was brilliantly written, sympathetic to the issue but giving Molly a strong voice and point of view regardless. I really felt for everyone involved, especially Gray. I read it one sitting, spending my Sunday involved in Alex & Molly's life.

I could really see a sequel in a few years time,

This book promises 'a shocking twist you'll never see coming'. Well, it wasn't much of a twist and I saw it coming a mile off.
The story is about Molly, her husband Alex and his twin brother Graeme. Alex seems to have it all and Graeme has always felt that everything has gone wrong in his life, his father called Alex his golden boy and Graeme resents that and blames himself for the death of their mother.
Molly and Alex live in a dilapidated house in Norfolk left solely to Alex in his father's will. Alex feels guilty and puts Graeme's name on the deeds, Graeme, meanwhile lives a nomadic life in London spending time with various friends and acquaintances. It is when Alex is staying with his brother that he has an accident which causes brain damage and totally changes his personality and the lives of him and Molly as a couple.
From being the perfect husband Alex becomes moody, angry and almost incapable of looking after himself, Molly has had to give up a career she loves in London to work in a dead-end job in Norfolk in order to spend more time as Alex's carer. Graeme does all he can to help and Alex's old friends from his boyhood pop in to look after him when Molly has to go to see her parents in London. From being loved-up newly weds Molly and Alex have become more like a couple married for years. The story is told by the couple in flashbacks and the present time.
As a love story it is an ok read but to market it as a thrilling page-turner is pushing it a bit.

This was a book i read that made me think it was a true story, so we'll done Rebecca Done on the research into brain injuries you must have done.
The book is split into different chapters, present day is told by Molly, wife to Alex who has had the head injury and she tells of how life used to be and what life is like now, the highs and the lows. The past is told by Alex so before the injury, here you get to find out events leading up to that awful night and what he was concealing from Molly.
This book makes you think that this could happen to you and maybe you would feel like Molly. Sometimes I did think Molly was quite self centred and lived in an unrealistically romantic world.
I did guess the twist maybe a third of the way in and didn't think it was that much of a shock when it was declared. I liked the book on the whole though and will be looking out for more by Rebecca Done in the future.
I would like to thank netgalley and penguin random house for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Net Galley & Penguin Books for an ARC of this charming book in exchange for a review.
Alex and Molly are newly weds, have moved to Norfolk to live in and renovate the cottage Alex's father left to him.
A tragic head injury changes their lives, the Alex that Molly fell in love with has disappeared- replaced by a stranger who is quick tempered and sullen. Molly is only seeing glimpses of her Alex.
There are quite a few twists and turns to this story involving Alex's twin brother Graeme and his ex girlfriend Nicola.
Molly misses London, her old job, her friends and being near her parents. Will she be able to persuade Alex as she has his twin brother that they need a fresh start, An enjoyable read well deserving of 4 stars.

My Husband The Stranger by Rebecca Done is the second book that I have read by this author. The first one was This Secret We’re Keeping. It was a well-written book covering a taboo topic of a teacher-student relationship at the heart of the story. I was so impressed by Done’s writing that I totally had to check out her newest book. I am so glad that I did because this turned out to be quite an amazing read.

The story begins with Alex and Molly after Alex’s accident. The two are trying to cope with life after the accident that left him with a head injury that altered his personality. Alex can’t really take care of himself so Molly has to do a lot of things for him as she also copes with the new, unlikable man that she is married to.

It was easy to dislike Alex. I mean, I know he had an accident and couldn’t help how he acted but damn, I did not like him at first. He was moody, angry most of the time and just mean to Molly. On the other hand, Molly was likeable and sympathetic. I can’t imagine what her life must have been like. I mean, she got married to this wonderful man who after three years turns to this horrible, unrecognizable person. Alex is not the man that she got married to but she is still determined to stay with him.

The story started out a bit slow as I got familiar with the characters. In addition to Alex and Molly, their immediate family members also play a key role in the story especially Alex’s twin, Graeme. The story is brilliantly narrated from Alex and Molly’s point of views through alternating chapters. Molly’s narrations are about the present life after the accident. On the other hand, Alex’s PoV is about the past taking us through life since he met Molly up to the time that the accident happened. I enjoyed both POVs and truly think that they were interwoven perfectly. I wanted to know what happened in the past but at the same time, the present happenings were interesting. I usually have a favorite PoV when reading books with multiple narrators but I can’t decide with this one. Both were perfect!

My Husband The Stranger by Rebecca Done has a bit of mystery. As mentioned in the blurb, there was a possibility that Alex’s accident wasn’t an accident after all. This is one of the reasons I couldn’t put the book down once I started reading it. In addition, I kept wondering how the marriage would work out. Will Molly eventually leave? Will Alex ever change back? There were so many questions to keep me totally engrossed in the book. I loved everything bit of it including the ending. Parts of the story were so sad; others made me smile while others had me feeling apprehensive. This book is brilliant and I recommend it to everyone. If you haven’t read Rebecca Done’s books yet then you need to start now. I can’t wait to see what else she comes up with.

When I read the description for this book it hit close to home. My ex-husband was in a severe car accident while we were first dating in 1995 and suffered a head injury. This changed everything for him and although he was nothing like Alex there were some similarities. Especially right after the accident. His head was still swollen to about twice the size and he wasn't acting like himself. He would get angry very quickly and had trouble with his memory. I remember thinking (I was 19) what if he stays like this? It was scary. We were told that once the swelling went down he should get back to normal. For the most part it did. That's not to say there wasn't lasting effects. Anyhow, this is a book review and not my life story so I'll leave it at that.

I was very intrigued and excited to get reading.

In one moment EVERYTHING can change....

What you would do if your husband became another person overnight?

Molly and Alex seem like the perfect couple. Very in love, busy planning their future together. But after a terrible fall her husband sustains a severe head injury. This injury changes him into someone Molly has a hard time recognizing.

Told from Molly's perspective in the present and Alex's perspective prior to his accident. I like how it was written. It added insight into their early relationship and helped us get to know Alex - before.

For the next few years, Molly struggles to keep things together. Alex is distant, gets very angry, and has problems with his memory. On top of taking care of Alex. Molly is trying to hold on to a job she hates but desperately needs. She's exhausted all of the time. Every morning she wakes up hoping it will be the day that Alex turns back into the man she fell madly in love with.

But everything may not be exactly what it seems....

This book was well-written and I was intrigued to see where it was going to go. I was pretty sure I had everything figured out and although I was partially correct, there were a few things I didn't see coming.

It was quite emotional at times. I really felt for everyone involved. But I could relate to Molly as this person was not the man she married. But glimpses of the man she once knew kept her hopeful. The guilt at her feelings and at the same time wanting to care for him. This definitely relates to the vow "in sickness and in health".

We may think we know what we would do in the same position, but like anything else until it happens to you....you just don't know.

I enjoyed this novel. I will definitely be looking for more of Rebecca Done.

Thank you NetGalley, Rebecca Done, and Penguin UK Michael Joseph, for providing an advanced readers copy of this book for me to read in exchange for my honest review.

This book follows two timelines - the main one being Molly and how she copes with the changes in her husband, Alex, after he suffers brain damage causing personality changes after an accident.

The second timeline follows Alex in the time leading up to his accident.

This book was ok... although I finished it feeling flat and a bit 'meh'. It was ok. I think the main problem is that the blurb and tagline 'an emotional page turner with a shock you never see coming' gave me the wrong impression to start with. I thought this was going to be a fast paced action packed book with a shocking end. It just wasnt. Instead it is more of a look at how such injury and transformation impacts on a relationship.. Fine if you are looking to read such a story. I was not.

And the end just isnt shocking as it was pretty clear early on what was happening.

It was a poignant love story in places but a little over-sweet and tacky for me. I have to be frank that the twins tedious bickering and rivalry was uncomfortable but Molly's whining really got on my nerves. She was consumed in self pity and jealousy and seemed rather shallow. It didn't seem that she had a clue how to be positive and show empathy towards him. She just thought of herself and the effect it had on her. My sympathy rested with Alex, the weaker twin whose mother was dead because of his wayward twin, his father who drank, a bossy, nagging, selfish wife and a bullying twin. It doesn't get much worse. It rested on others to be constructive about Alex and help him cope. Very thought provoking. I shall submit this review to Amazon and my blog.

Whilst the idea was interesting, this novel just didn't have that special something to force me to become invested in the characters. I sympathised with Molly and found myself frustrated with her predicament, but I grew tired of her complaining. I wanted her to think up new and exciting ways to bring the old Alex back, or stand her ground when he flirted shamelessly with his ex. Graham was immature and selfish, and I found myself growing irritated with him.

There was a lot of back and forth with the narrative and what I thought would be its conclusion. I was almost willing Molly to take a break from her marriage and move to London for a bit to pursue her career, wondering if perhaps her absence would somehow break Alex out of his new angry and uninterested mind-set. It almost felt like the author was suggesting that she would be right in making this decision, but then suddenly the author changed her mind and decided to almost preach the sanctity of marriage. I found this change confusing.

The novel was well written but the characters weren't likeable or at least interesting enough to leave me desperately wanting to know how their stories would end. Instead, it was a pleasant but uninspiring story by a good writer.