Another You by Jane Cable

Another You by Jane Cable

Sometimes the hardest person to save is yourself…

Marie Johnson is trapped by her job as a chef in a Dorset pub and by her increasingly poisonous marriage to its landlord.

Worn down by his string of affairs she has no self-confidence, no self-respect and the only thing that keeps her going is watching her son, Jude, turn into a talented artist.

But the 60th anniversary of a D-Day exercise triggers chance meetings which prove unlikely catalysts for change.

First there’s Corbin, the American soldier who she runs into as she’s walking on the cliffs. He is charming and has a quaintness about him, calling her an ‘English rose’.

Then there’s George the war veteran, who comes to dine at the pub, and his son Mark. George fascinates Marie with his first-hand accounts of the war, whilst Mark proves helpful in making sense of the pub’s financial situation.

And there’s Paxton. Another American soldier with an uncanny resemblance to Corbin. Young, fit and very attractive, Marie finds him hard to resist. But little does she know Paxton is also battling some inner demons.

As the heat of the summer intensifies, so do the issues in Marie’s life.

Why is Corbin so elusive? Why is the pub struggling to make ends meet? Why has Jude suddenly become so withdrawn and unhappy?

Can she help Paxton open up and begin to deal with his pain?

Or will she be shackled to the pub and her increasingly spiteful husband forever?

But as events unfold, Marie finally realises that she is not trapped, but stuck, and that it is down to her to get her life moving again.

Perfectly blending the complexities of twenty-first century life with the dramatic history of World War Two, Another You is a charming tale that will warm your heart.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I noticed with Jane Cable’s previous novel that she has a way with descriptions. Setting this book in Dorset, she did a beautiful job describing the area and creating the perfect atmosphere for a book that is part romance, part history and part–everything else. I wanted to be on that beach admiring Old Harry or in the pub awaiting a drink and a sandwich as I read this.

If you enjoy immersing yourself in emotional novels that are well-paced and have a lot to do with the study of a person’s life, this one will make you feel right at home. This is not a fast paced book, but it isn’t slow or boring either. Marie is a complex character with many different layers that are revealed throughout this novel and even without the addition of great secondary characters, she is enough to make you want to keep reading.

Jude became my favourite character in this novel early on, but there are many that are interesting and will keep you turning pages, wanting to know more about them. This book could have been based on any one of us and it is this feeling of reality and of being able to identify with situations and internal struggles of the characters that makes this such a heart-wrenching book.

I liked the different paths this novel took to get to an ending that is subjective to the beliefs of the reader. Jane Cable gave us enough information to appreciate things that were happening in the story, but not so much that we feel like we can’t use our imaginations just a little as well. I think everyone will walk away from this book with a little bit different opinion on what was really going on.

This is an emotional book, with themes of new love, loss and forgiveness included in the story. If you like literary novels, this would be a good one to choose.

This review is based on a complementary copy from the publisher, Provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.