Totally bought into the premise - Leo an Obit writer starts to write a stock obituary on his wife Emma, a successful Marine Biologist and former TV presenter, and begins to realise that there are discrepancies and blanks to his wife’s life and that he doesn’t really know who she is!

I was totally gripped and would have loved to have finished reading the book in a day, but I had to go to work!

This is the first book I have ready by Rosie Walsh and it won’t be my last for sure.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Pan Macmillan / Mantle, for the ARC for a fair and honest review.

The title makes it sound like a slushy romance, but although love in its various forms is certainly an important theme, this book is definitely not that.

Leo, an obituary writer, and Emma, a marine biologist, are a very happily married couple of several years with a young daughter, Ruby. When Leo starts delving into Emma's past, though, it quickly becomes apparent that she is not exactly - or indeed at all - the person he thought she was. She's not even really "Emma"...

Emma's mysteries and deceptions seem inexplicable for quite some time, and although I sometimes thought I knew what was going on, the rug was pulled out from under me quite a few times.

The story has elements of family drama, psychological thriller, and romance, but it's not solely any of these. We hear from both Leo and Emma, and it's evident that whatever secrets she is keeping and mistakes she has made, Emma is not a malign character.

I found this an incredibly engrossing and at times emotional read. Some difficult scenes (I don't want to say more than that) are very well rendered and sensitive subjects carefully and believably addressed.

Many thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy. I loved it.

"The problem with lying to your husband is that it changes everything and nothing."

Emma was late to her own wedding because she had to stop and photograph the tide … in her wedding dress. But Leo married her anyway, because that was Emma and he loved her regardless.

But the woman he's loved for a decade, the woman he married and raised his daughter with isn't Emma. Emma doesn't exist. His wife is a stranger, and he doesn't even know her real name. He only found out by chance; when she got sick he started to write about her, about her life, but even his job as an obituary writer couldn't prepare him for trying to write about someone like Emma.

His digging didn't just bring up dirt, it brought up something worse - little loose threads in her life that began to unravel. And now Emma needs to try and prove to her husband that despite all the secrets, he is the love of her life. But do that, she'll finally have to reveal who she really was, and the love of her former life.

"It's only when something's damaged beyond repair that we realise how beautiful it was."

A simply stunning tale about love, loss and life - a story where nothing is as it seems, and the line between good and bad blurs depending on which way you're looking and who's talking. There was a spellbinding sense of mystery and intrigue, not in the end-of-the-world way but in sense of the very worst thing that can happen in real life and can be even more heartbreakingly terrifying.

This was intensely compelling, I tore through the pages desperate to find out what Emma was hiding and just what events could've made her leave an entire life behind her. Told from the perspective of Emma and Leo, each of them had such uniquely strong voices - they jump between the revelations happening now and the memories of their joint and separate pasts, creating a vivid picture of their lives naturally.

The Love of my Life takes the reader to the darkest, most desperate parts of the human condition and tries to search for the beauty of redemption in whichever form it takes.

"Like a solo traveller in the arrivals hall of an airport; that absurd hope we hold, as humans, that we're not alone, even when all the evidence tells us we are."

Having read her previous book The Man Who Didn't Call by this author, I was really looking forward to what her next book would bring, and I wasn't disappointed. I like Rosie Walsh's style of writing and the fact that she doesn't shy away from writing about difficult issues. Certainly a book I'm going to recommend.

A totally gripping story which is a real page turner with so many twists and turns keeping the reader totally engaged. Good portrayal of characters which develop as the plot unfolds with a rollercoaster of emotions whilst dealing with some really serious issues. Another excellent read from Rosie Walsh and a definite 5 star.

Normally I wouldn't share a bool I had read so far from its release date but I loved this so much I had to share and it is already available to pre order and I know these sales make a huge difference for authors, so if you like the sound of it, go order!

The book deals with some heavy issues including postpartum psychosis and infertility but I couldn't pit it down! The author handles these issues really well and I found the characters were likeable which meant I got invested in them and wanted things to work out well.

A fab read that I would really recommend and I will be checking out the other book by this author!

So good. So clever. Devoured in a day because I needed to know exactly what happened next at every stage. A really excellent read.

I don’t think I’ll be able to articulate quite how good this book actually is.
I loved it and I’m disappointed to have gotten to the end. I think I might go and read it all over again!
It’s beautifully written, emotional and engaging. I’d probably say it’s one of the best books I’ve read and I get through lots of books.
If I could give it 10 stars I would.

Just like her first book, this new one takes the reader on a page-turning ride with lots of twists and turns. Just when you think you have it figured out, she throws in something else to keep you guessing.

Leo thinks he knows his wife of 10 years very well, but all that changes when he stumbles upon some papers she has kept hidden away that just don't add up to the story of her life he has been told. Written from different characters' perspectives, Emma's real story gradually emerges. This is a very clever story that tackles sensitive issues extremely well. Highly recommended.

Having really enjoyed The Man Who Didn’t Call, I was really looking forward to reading Rosie Walsh’s latest book - and it certainly didn’t disappoint!
Emma loves Leo and their daughter Ruby but she also has another love from another life that she can’t ever forget.
As the past collides with the present, hidden secrets and forgotten memories resurface and her marriage starts to crumble.
I couldn’t turn the pages quick enough to see how this book was going to end and I smiled and cried in equal measures.
The author tackles the difficult subject of postpartum psychosis and my heart went out to Emma.
With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.