Not the best way to spend Boxing Day - being told by your husband Kip that he no longer loves you and wants a divorce! Louisa his wife is shocked and devastated. She had no idea he was unhappy, they had three children and all seemed well1

Bigger shock; Kip has been seeing a much younger woman and to add more upset, it's the former girlfriend of their youngest son, who is till nursing a broken heart. Louisa is a stalwart and after Kip moves out is left to sort things out. She returns from a short break and finds the house up for sale without being consulted and things moving on for Kip as if their years of marriage and family mean nothing!

But Louisa is made of strong stuff and sets about making a new life for herself starting with the purchase of a new home as well as keeping relations as normal as possible with her children and grandchildren. She is moving on but Kip finds his new life challenging.

This is a great family drama, filled with challenges, sadness, anger, forgiveness, hope and resolution. I loved it and all of the characters!

Louise is shocked when her husband, Kip, announces that he is leaving her for Zoe, an ex girlfriend of their son Angus. This family drama follows the next year in the family's life.
Excellent character portrayal really hooks you to find out how each family member copes with the fallout.
Definitely recommend.

An Ideal Husband by Erica James

Louisa is shocked when her husband Kip tells her he is leaving her on Boxing Day after 40 years of marriage and three grown up children. Even worse, he is going to live with Zoe, their son's ex-girlfriend. Louisa has to build a new life when their family home is sold and rises to the challenge, whereas Kip struggles once the honeymoon period with Zoe is over.

I loved this book so much - so warm, witty and wise. Lovely to read about older characters and the challenges of mid-life, adult children and their partners, alongside the younger characters. Very VERY highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Another great book by this author I know I am always in for a treat with her books. Although a difficult subject to be uplifting about this book keeps your interest and is heartwarming throughout and a book that stays with you after you have read it

Louisa and Kip have been ‘happily’ married for a long time until Kip announces on Boxing Day that he wants a divorce. He’s been seeing a much younger woman who also happens to be the ex of his youngest son. He starts the process of selling the family home to the disgust of Louisa but she manages to find herself a new unusual home and maybe a new beau. But then things start taking a turn for the worst in Kip’s life. Is he really an Ideal Husband? I really liked this book.

I’ve read a few Erica James novels and An Ideal Husband is my favourite to date!! I was totally immersed in the story and read the book in just over a day. A heartwarming and sad story of divorce and the impact it can have on the whole family but also how happiness can be found again after such a life changing event.

An Ideal Husband by Erica James was a little too 'happily ever after' for my liking.

The plot of the book is about a husband who has an affair and leaves his wife for a much younger woman. This obviously brought a lot of turmoil to the wife and their grown children, as the affair partner is the ex-girlfriend of their youngest son.

With that as the plot, I was expecting a lot more depth into the raw emotions of those affected. Louisa (the wife) was a saint, she went above and beyond what most people would do, and it just felt all a bit unrealistic.

A really wonderful story demonstrating the difficulties that can surround marriages and relationships and how different people can react.

An ultimate feel good after a bouncy ride to get there.

I really love the characters Erica James creates, and this is another wonderful example of a story that contains many threads and such different challenges faced by families.

At the heart of the story are Louisa and Kip who have been married for 40 years and seemingly happy, or so Louisa thought! Kip demands a divorce and has already moved onto a new relationship with a much younger woman, who just happens to be an ex of his own son!! Talk about make life complicated for yourself!

So we are left to witness the fall out and the impact that such a big change has on the whole family, as each character gets their own POV told. It's a book that really plays with your emotions as from the outset you expect to feel sympathy with Louisa and being inside her head you see all the insecurities play out as to why this is happening.

We also see the impact on each of the adult children, alongside going through their own challenges within their relationships and it really brings to light the blended family issues that can arise!

It's all about starting over, forgiveness and finding that good in a bad situation and I think each character gets that chance to put their perspectives across so that you can empathise and see just how complicated the emotions of a human can be! It would be very easy to stay bitter and seek revenge in such circumstances, but the storyline allows the characters to see how negative that could be for their own headspace! A really absorbing family drama read!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I've read other books by Erica James and I felt that this was a more "grown up" chic lit. The characters were older and their lives were more complicated.

I appreciated having a mid life protagonist, it sometimes feels as if women are forgotten about in books. The family dynamics make the book interesting and keeps the reader guessing. The characters are well thought out and even Kip (the straying husband) elicits feelings of empathy by the end.

It was also thoroughly satisfying in its conclusion which realistically is what you want when you're reading this type of book. A perfect summer holiday read!

Easy to read
Beautifully written, I was totally engaged in reading the families perspective on a difficult situation. it's always interesting to read everyone's opinion on the same situation and Erica wrote this beautifully.
Everyday encounters that are easily relatable

Kip decided to tell Louisa, his wife of many years, on Boxing Day that he was leaving her for an ex-girlfriend of his youngest son.
This alienates him from all of the family as they rally around Louisa.
The book tracks the next year and how bridges are made, broken and mended.
An interesting read.

I always enjoy an Erica James book and this one was no different. A great story, with fab characters, which created a wonderful family saga. So many life events take place, with loads of emotions on display but the overriding theme I got from the story was one of how wonderful it was that they all supported one another. OK, so not all the time and in every situation, but ultimately they all come together and are there for each other. I would highly recommend this book if you love a good old family story, with plenty of relationship issues along the way.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review, which is what I have given.

So disappointed in this latest from Erica. Too much bickering between the husband, wife and the children. It was so depressing not like her usual books at all. Hopefully better next time. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

The unexpected events are always the ones which surprise you but can lead to a better outcome for everyone. You do not warm to Kip and feel he is being ridiculous and his bombshell continues to reverberate and disrupt the family dynamic BUT as the book unfolds you see that sometimes change can be good and settling isn't always for the best.

Heart warming and a good read.

I've loved reading Erica James since I read A Breath of Fresh Air back in the 1990s. An Ideal Husband didn't disappoint. A family drama with a theme of relationships. Is the grass greener on the other side? Sometimes and sometimes not.

Erica James does family sagas so well. An Ideal Husband deals with the dynamics of family life when what seemed like the perfect marriage of Louisa and Kip breaks up as Kip meets someone new after 40 years of marriage. You get to know each individual character and their own story.
Always an easy read with short chapters.

Despite some of the distressing events, this is a herta warming read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read An Ideal Husband.

I did enjoy this story and liked most of the characters. I did feel for Louisa, especially how and when Kip told her he was leaving. I was so glad she was able to come to terms with it and become a stronger person. Kip was a real jerk, very shallow and self centred. He really wanted things on his terms and the way he went about things was cowardly. At times, I was also felt sorry for Zoe, the other woman. This story tells how it affected the whole family and how they found a way to move on. I was hovering between a four or five star rating but as I had read this a while ago and even though I had read a number of books since, these characters stayed with me. I have read a number of books by this author and she always has such memorable characters. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A delicious treat of a novel!

Louisa and Kip have been happily married for almost forty years; they have built a home and a family together and are looking forward to a bit more freedom, with time for each other. Or, at least, Louisa is .. until, on Boxing Day, after another triumphant family Christmas, Kip drops the bombshell that he's leaving. Louisa is, understandably, knocked for six then, over time, it transpires that Kip has a younger woman in his life - and not just any woman; Zoe is the ex-girlfriend of their son . . .

I know, when I have an Erica James novel on my list that I am in for such a treat and this one - oh, it's just packed with goodies from beginning to end! Beautifully written, as always, and written with real insight and understanding of any family breakup. Life just stopped around me while I read, immersing myself in Louisa's life and riding the ups and downs along with her. A tremendously satisfying read and easily earning all five sparkling stars!

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

I enjoyed this book. Louisa finds herself single again after 40 years of marriage. Her ex-husband Kip is loving life with his new, much younger lady who just happens to be his youngest son’s ex-girlfriend.

It was an easy, gentle read. I liked Kip, but I found myself getting irritated with Louisa as well as her daughter-in-law Caro. Louisa was just too good to be true and so saintly. And Caro was a know-it-all. I couldn’t empathise with either of them and I feel that the reader should at least feel empathy for Louisa.

A good holiday read.