Rumours, prejudice, and resentment in the community around a primary school cause a situation to spiral out of control, leading to five women having to re-evaluate their lives.

Maia is almost 16 and resentful of her mother, Rachel, who has divorced her father and moved in her lesbian lover, Erin.

Laura is a single mum with a small son, Max, and is struggling to make ends meet so has a night job as a sex worker. She volunteers for the PTA at the local primary school, also attended by Rachel's youngest child, Tess.

Jo Fairburn is headteacher at the primary school and has a son, Luke, in his early twenties.

The main storyline is around the introduction of an inclusive sex curriculum, which Laura opposes along with the bossy head of the PTA. Jo, who is good friends with Rachel, has to tread a difficult path of diplomacy, whilst secretly loathing the PTA women and their narrow-minded homophobia.

Maia, meanwhile, moves out of home and in an attempt to get back at her mother makes some poor decisions that have unforeseen consequences.

There is an act of sexual assault described in the story which, whilst shocking, is dealt with sensitively and realistically.

Sarah Stovell is adept at linking the characters' stories as the narrative moves forward. Some are more likeable than others, but all have their good points. I liked Erin particularly because she was empathetic and a good balance for the much feistier Rachel.

This story certainly highlighted a lot of issues that primary schools have to face, in particular with pushy parents, SEN (special educational needs), and safeguarding. It also showed how easy it is to misjudge people and presume too much from appearances.

Sarah Stovell is an author I would be happy to read again.

I received an ARC of this book from HQ, in return for an honest appraisal.

I absolutely loved this book. I couldn't put it down. It drew you in immediately and the characterisation was brilliant. Each chapter is written from the perspective of one of the leading characters involved in the events that unfold. Academic Rachel's husband Mike has moved out as she has fallen in love with journalist Erin and the book follows the repercussions of this not only on the family but also on the wider community. There's single Mum Laura and Rachel's best friend, Ruth the primary school headmistress. All of their lives and secrets are skilfully interwoven and there are many surprises too. I don't want to give anything away in my review! Thank you so much Netgalley for giving me the chance to read and review this brilliant book.

Description 🔖

We all know what small towns are like. Everyone knows everyone’s business and it is near impossible to keep things private, never mind to keep a secret. But it’s a reasonable price to pay for a nice, rural area and outstanding schools.

Rachel Saunders is the most recent talk of the town. She divorced her husband and moved her new girlfriend into the family home with her three children. They have one of the biggest homes in the town and Rachel is known to almost everyone.

Laura Spence has her son in the school that all the wealthy kids go to, but that’s not what home life is like for her and her son Max. They live in a small flat on the not so nice side of town. Laura is constantly on edge, frightened that Max’s behavioural problems will unveil her secrets.

When the school that both women’s children attend announce a new LGBTQ+ friendly curriculum, Rachel and Laura find themselves on opposite sides of an argument, neither prepared to back down. However, when you invest so much time in something outside of your own home, you can easily lose sight of what’s happening right under your nose.

General Thoughts 🤔

This book was everything that I thought it was going to be and everything that I wanted it to be. It was full of scandal and local gossip and people judging others without having all of the facts available to them. What I wasn’t expecting from the book was the stark difference between the rich and the poor. We unfortunately live at a time where the gap between the two is getting bigger and bigger and it’s heartbreaking. I really liked that the book explored how communication between two people who come from totally different worlds can be so difficult. Especially when one party is in a constant state of fear.

Characters 👫👭👬

There are lots of characters in this book and I loved that about it. It increases the chances of there being at least one character that you can relate to or empathise with. I would say my favourite character was Erin. I thought that she was very calming and helped to keep the other members of her household level headed and rational. She sacrificed a lot to follow her heart (with no regrets) and that is something I can relate to.

Laura frustrated me but only because she wouldn’t get out of her own way a lot of the time. She was a stubborn person in my opinion which ultimately ended up being something she probably wished she could change. As a member of the “Right Way to Live” group, I’m not sure Laura even felt that strongly about the cause. I think she went along with it to fit in with the other parents and detract any attention from herself.

Writing Style ✍️

I am a sucker for a story told from multiple POVs and this book had so many of them it made me almost giddy with excitement. So many opinions, so many view points, it makes for such great reading in my opinion. The author did such a good job of ensuring that all of the characters meshed together as they were supposed to and there were no loose ends left.

I liked that this book was more than just gossip and scandal, there were some pretty hard topics covered too. It certainly made me think a lot more about the wealth gap we have in the UK and how it might feel to be on either end of that gap. I came away from this book wondering what I would do in the shoes of many of these characters and I put that down to the fantastic writing.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

This was a great book that I really enjoyed. It was the perfect partner for snuggling on the sofa or cuddling up in bed. Once I had started, I was hooked and I couldn’t put it down. If you like drama and secrets with great characters, you should give this book a go.

3.5 out of 5. This was a decent read, easy going and engaging, though I have to say I found it not particularly exciting.
It’s not my usual crime/psychological type thriller, more of a dark family drama.
It focuses on the parents, headteacher and pupils of Burntbridge First School, set in a leafy middle class village. While they seem on the surface to have normal lives, each family has underlying secrets and the novel explores the characters’ thoughts and demonstrates a dark side. The story culminates at the school’s Christmas fair and the ending was ok, it did wrap up the story effectively. Good as an easy holiday read maybe?
Thank you to the publisher and net galley for providing an advance copy in return for my honest review. I have also published this review on Goodreads.

I loved, loved and loved this book. A real page turner. The main characters are Rachel, Jo and Laura. They all live in the small village, where practically everyone knows each other. Rachel is newly divorced ,living with her partner Erin, she has 3 children and is a big supporter of the LGBTQ community. Jo is the headteacher of the local primary school, divorced with 2 grown up children. Laura a single mum, with a 6 year old boy, lives in a small flat and works as a sex worker to provide food for her child.
All three women have their problems, secrets and doing what they think it's the best for their family. If you haven't read this book yet, I strongly recommend it.

Small town West Burntridge has the perfect rural landscape, and outstanding schools - the perfect place to raise a family, but the worst place to keep a secret. Gossip spreads like wildfire. When a new inclusive curriculum threatens to bring LGBTQ+ information into school classroom conversation, it becomes devisive. Two women: Rachel and Laura find themselves at either end of the debate. However, the scrutiny means that their lives increasingly become the focus, and there are things they do not want uncovered. Let the drama unfold! #otherparents #sarahstovell #netgalley #HQ

I love Sarah Stovell’s writing and this book was so good! It follows a group of parents and all the politics that go along with PTA meetings and different viewpoints. Jo is the headmistress and tries to keep the peace; her good friend Rachel has left her husband and is now in a relationship with Erin; and Laura is very against same sex relationships and doesn’t want her child being taught about homosexuality at school. Everyone in this book has secrets and slowly the pressure builds leading to increasing tensions and an inevitable fall out. I love reading about groups of people in small villages and tight-knit environments so this book was perfect for me and I really enjoyed it. I recommend it!

I so much enjoyed this, it’s a brilliant marriage of complex moral and social issues in a really thrilling style. There are so many different themes addressed in the book; it’s really quite involved and these are carefully and delicately handled, as well as making for really entertaining and enthralling reading.

Family themes are very delicately woven in and the author allows us as a reader to really feel for the characters, and the situations they find themselves in. Difficult decisions have to be made, really testing the characters own moral compass’ about how they should react and handle situations, I so much enjoyed the tension and waiting to see how characters would handle things and the repercussions which would follow.

The relationship between Rachel and her new girlfriend starts a controversy in certain circles of the school community, I loved the interactions between Rachel and the head of the PTA who was a bigot; the altercations between them both verbal and physical make for very entertaining reading!

Rachel is hot news in the town, the gossips like to watch her every move and it doesn’t make life easy for her family being under such scrutiny. We read about the implications on life for her children and her ex-husband and the consequences of the choices they go on to make.

Some really serious situations come up in the book and these are both shocking and sad but, completely gripping to read about as we discover how each of the affected characters react to things. There were relationships which came as a surprise and the author cleverly brings these characters together, I like that it isn’t all straight-cut and too easy to determine. I love how it all works out.

This really kept me hooked and I know will stay with me as one of my favourites, purely for the way so much is brought in and intertwined with emotion and real depth of feeling. There’s so much to think about and I really like the style in which it is written.

This felt like a cross between Big little lies and Little fires everywhere and I completely loved it.

A fairly generic school-gate drama - does what it says on the tin, but just doesn't feel as edgy or unique as other, better entries in this genre. It's enjoyable, but not memorable.

Wow. Just wow. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, reading about the small town, the school, the community and their stories I felt I was in it too. I loved the characters I loved their journey. Amazing!

Sarah Stovell wields her pen like a scalpel slicing through the heart of a small community living with the precision of a top-notch surgeon. Revealing narrow mindedness, prejudice, secrets and scandal she rips into the lives of those living in and around West Burntridge, Northumberland leaving no stone unturned, sifting through the debris like a scavenger picking over a carcass. Darkly humorous as well as shocking, every aspect of family life from love, sex, parenthood, divorce and friendships comes under the microscope in this no holds barred exposé. If you’re partial to a gossipy, mud-slinging behind closed doors type drama then you won’t be disappointed with this one!

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

I felt that there were a lot of themes to cover in this story however, it was an enjoyable and easy read that was quick and easy to relate to.

This was one of my 2022 anticipated books and it didn’t disappoint me.

Gossip
People poking noses in where they shouldn’t
Rumours
Lies
Backlashes

Right up my street!

It covers the insight to some who think they aren’t prejudiced but actually their way of thinking actually is!

One of my top 20 so far.

An enjoyable read. The plot was unusual in that the storyline leaves you wondering, until nearly the end of the book who, how and where the crime, if any, was to be committed. Despite much protracted second guessing, the storyline comes together realistically and logically in the end. I throughly recommend this as a good read.

Other Parents follows the lives of several parents whose children attend a primary school.
Jo, the headmistress, new to the post and trying to keep everything running smoothly. Rachel, who has just split up with her husband and moved her lesbian lover Erin into the family home. Laura, who is disgusted by the inclusion of discussion of same-sex relationships in primary school classes, but who struggles to raise her own troubled little boy as a single mother.

I enjoyed the start of the story which was primarily dealing with the reception of Rachel and Erin's relationship. There was a lot of PTA sniping and petitions, like an English Big Little Lies. It managed to be both funny while also raising thought provoking questions. Later in the book, though, I felt the issues got much heavier and while they were worthwhile issues to discuss, I felt they didn't all need to be handled in the same book as it all became a bit bleak. It was still a good book, however.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I found this to be a really enjoyable, easy, quick and relateable read. It did feel as though there were quite a few story themes to be ticked off but it would make a great book club or holiday read.

I enjoyed this book in the sense I wanted to keep reading and get to the end to see what happened, however there seemed to be a lack of plot. It was like ready several people's diaries with no particular direction.

There were parts that were good but could have been much more in-depth to create a better understanding of the individual's story.

I felt it was a let down that Laura spent 7 years struggling to look after her child on her own and rather than offering any support the initial decision was to remove the child to the father who had just returned. This wasn't necessarily the wrong decision but there was no help for Laura and it just perpetuated her existing beliefs.

Other Parents is a dark family drama that I enjoyed and thought the storyline was good and moved forward at a good rate.
The book centres around two families really and some dominant playground mothers. Rachel has caused a stir in the playground by splitting from her husband and moving in her girlfriend, Erin. Two out of her three children aren’t happy with this as you can expect and with the new school curriculum including classes in same sex relationships this heightens the hatred as some mothers get together to stop this being taught. Laura is one of the mums trying to get this stopped but she has things she needs to keep hidden and struggling on her own with a son that has violent tantrums is starting to take its toll.
I enjoyed this book, I thought Erin was the character that seemed most normal and calm and enjoyed her chapters. I thought the way consensual sex was brought in was done well and sensitively.
I would like to thank Netgalley and HQ for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Other Parents is a gripping read that deals with some heavy subjects such as sexual assault, poverty and homophobia.

Jo is head teacher at a primary school. As much as she enjoys her job, the PTA mafia are the bane of her life. Especially Kate and Laura who raise a petition against including same sex relationships in their children's education.

Rachel is starting a new life with her partner Erin, and two of her three children are deeply hurt and angry with their new living situation.

Laura is a single mother with a son she can't cope with. She's hiding a dark secret, and feels like she's failing Max every day.

A crime is committed that is to affect all the characters in some way.

Whilst the issues in this book are current and handled sensitively, I did feel at times that some of the narrative lacked nuance and was a little clumsy. Overall, an enjoyable read though.

Was it a page-turner? I am a sucker for books with multiple points of view because they always make me want to read a good book even faster. And this is a good book! Motherhood is a leitmotiv throughout the novel and - at this point in my life - it made the novel resonate even more than it might have done at another time.

Did the book meet my expectations? When I read the synopsis, I thought Laura’s secret would be something different but I am 100% happy that I didn’t have everything figured out before I even started reading. This book surprised me and seriously tugged at my heartstrings. I would definitely recommend it.

Three words to describe it. Moving. Thought-provoking. Relevant.

Do I like the cover? It’s a nice enough cover but I’m not sure I would have picked it up for this book. Somehow, it seems too light-hearted.

Have I read any other books by the same author? No, but if they are all this good, I’m in!