THE HOTLY ANTICIPATED SEQUEL TO THE No.1 KINDLE BESTSELLER 'THE HALF-LIFE OF HANNAH'
Hannah and Cliff’s marriage is over. After a traumatic family holiday, Cliff’s lies have been exposed and Hannah has been reunited with her lost love, Cliff’s brother, James. But after fifteen years together, and forever bound by love for their eleven-year-old son, Luke, breaking free and starting again seems impossible.
A new life in Australia with James beckons for Hannah – but can she embark on this adventure without losing the love of her son? And can Cliff finally face up to issues he has suppressed since adolescence and find happiness in a confusing world?
Amid the turmoil of separation, and with Luke caught in the crossfire, both Hannah and Cliff face the challenge of rebuilding their lives. To make the other halves of their lives count, theyneed courage and determination. But perhaps it’s more than they possess . . .
The Bottle of Tears (2016) (also published as Let the Light Shine).
The Other Son (2015)
The Photographer's Wife (2014)
Two novels featuring Hannah: - The Half-Life of Hannah. - Other Halves (Dec 2013)
Two novels featuring CC: - The Case Of The Missing Boyfriend - The French House (May 2013)
The Fifty Reasons Series, following the life of lovelorn Mark - 50 Reasons to Say Goodbye - Sottopassaggio - Good Thing, Bad Thing - Better Than Easy - Sleight Of Hand
And the standalone novel - 13:55 Eastern Standard Time
The Case Of The Missing Boyfriend, The French House, and The Half-Life of Hannah have all been huge kindle hits, reaching number #1 in Amazon's kindle chart.
I live in the southern French Alps with three mogs (Mangui, Pastel & Pedro) and a very special ferret.
Other Halves, by Nick Alexander is the sequel to the excellent The Half-Life of Hannah.
This book was better.
The first in the series told the story of a disastrous family holiday in France which culminated in the separation of husband and wife (Cliff and Hannah). In this first book, Hannah seemed to desire a life other than her own – a life like her sister, the carefree and impulsive Jill. Hannah also had a longing for Cliff’s younger brother James. This longing erupted somewhat during the holiday resulting in Hannah shacking up with James, and Cliff all alone. Cliff didn’t really cover himself in glory in this first book, both present and past actions put paid to that.
In this second book Other Halves, we see what happens to both Cliff and Hannah post separation, as they try and get on with their lives and deal with the messy business of extricating themselves from a 15-year marriage, with a son (Luke). We also see them find themselves in their new relationships and the ups and downs of their journeys – it really is wonderful!!
Again, I found this character-based story riveting. I was heavily invested in each conversation and genuinely interested in what happened to the characters. One major difference in this second book was the different way I perceived Cliff – this time, I became far more sympathetic towards him, and in a small way, the converse happened with Hannah.
Each chapter alternated between Hannah and Cliff, so we really got to understand the inner workings of each of them. To be fair, no matter what the reader’s perspectives on each character, the truth remains – separations such as this are horribly messy, massively emotional, frustrating and there is collateral hurt to innocent bystanders. Alexander really depicts this very well and maybe more importantly he describes the inner turmoil both Hannah and Clive are experiencing.
Anyone who has ever been through a separation, probably many/most of us – should identify with so much of what is written here. I know I did.
We can all hanker for a life other than our own, for whatever reason. Sometimes we act on this yearning and no matter how attractive the picture is ahead or unpleasant the story you leave behind the upheaval during this change is always enormous. For me, this was the main message, and it was beautifully portrayed by the author.
Being parochial for a second, even though this book is set in the UK, there is a very significant Australian element to this story. Including my own state of Queensland and even, get this, my home town of Cairns - in Tropical North Queensland. The descriptions of our beautiful town, the beach the surrounding rainforest, the monsters lurking in the waters and beaches were spot on. All good apart from the spelling of the word Qantas as Quantas – small criticism though, petty even.
After a not so successful holiday in the south of France, it is clear that Hannah and Cliff’s marriage is over. Hannah is back together with the love of her life, Cliff’s brother James, and wants to start a new part of her life with him. However, her marriage to Cliff lasted fifteen years and resulted in their wonderful son Luke, and Hannah quickly realises it might not be as easy as she thought to cut the ties and start over again. The separation forces both Hannah and Cliff to rethink their decisions and once and for all decide what it is they want in life.
‘Other Halves’ is the second part of Hannah and Cliff's story and I’m personally really happy the author decided to write a sequel. It felt like the characters had much more to tell, and this book shows that is indeed the case. I really enjoyed that Cliff got his own voice in this story, much more than in the first part. The reader gets to see everything from both Hannah’s and Cliff’s perspective which really added another layer to the story. In the first book, I was definitely rooting for Hannah, while the sequel also shows you Cliff’s perspective on it all and I couldn’t help but feel for him as well. It was wonderful to see these two characters develop and trying to find their own way after their marriage has ended. As the reader I found myself stuck in the middle of the divorce as well, in a way, and Nick Alexander did an amazing job conveying this feeling onto paper, making this a rather emotional read.
After finishing ‘The Half-Life of Hannah’ I first read some other books before starting this one. It was really easy to get back into the story, and I guess you could also read it as a stand-alone, though I don’t recommend it. The first book centres on an important part of Cliff and Hannah’s story, and the two books together make a strong whole and complement one another. The story and the characters are incredibly real, and it made me think about how my own life has turned out because of the decisions I’ve made. ‘Other Halves’ is a wonderful sequel within this realistic, gripping and emotional series; definitely recommended!
Hannah and Cliff’s marriage is over. After a traumatic family holiday, Cliff’s lies have been exposed and Hannah has been reunited with her lost love, Cliff’s brother, James. But after fifteen years together, and forever bound by love for their eleven-year-old son, Luke, breaking free and starting again seems impossible.
Following on from The HalfLife of Hannah this is the continuation of Hannah and Cliff’s story as they find new lives after their separation.
Once again a terrific character driven novel, we get to hear from both Hannah and Cliff. Emotionally compelling, for someone like me who is currently going through a separation herself, this book spoke volumes.
Having been very much on Hannah’s side during the first novel, I found myself sympathising with Cliff as we learn more about his inner turmoil.
If I had one complaint it would be that I wanted more from some of the characters I fell for in Book One, Tristan and Jill particularly, but you never know – whilst this gave closure there is also room for more. Here’s hoping.
All in all I loved both these novels and would Highly Recommend reading one after the other. As a whole it was wonderfully compelling with a high standard of writing.
If, like me, you read and enjoyed The Half Life of Hannah and wondered what happened next after that fateful summer holiday in France, then this is a must-read. We follow Hannah and Cliff through the aftermath of that holiday and once again I was totally hooked and immersed in their world. The story is narrated alternately by Hannah and Cliff, so we get both sides of the story. I particularly loved Hannah’s chapters. I loved the way that, even if she was behaving like a bitch then she was still honest with herself as to why she was behaving that way. She has a very natural voice, is very believable and likeable. She is the kind of woman I would be friends with and I really felt that I was sitting listening to someone talking to me rather than just reading words on a page. I felt also that I came to understand Cliff more. I can’t say that I found him to be 100% truthful with himself 100% of the time, but I felt kinder to him than I did at the end of the first book. He is confused for a lot of this read, but I felt he was a warmer, more generous person and less remote than in the first book.
Once again the book is character led, and these are characters who feel real, whose lives you really get involved in. During Half Life of Hannah I felt like the holidaymaker in the next French villa watching over the fence, in Other Halves I am most definitely the next door neighbour, watching what is going on. This is a really enjoyable read that concludes the story nicely which in some ways is a shame, because I could really read more and more of Hannah.
This book took me on such a rollercoaster of emotions, I didn't know what I felt about whom at some points!
As a sequel, this book looks at the aftermath of the marriage break-up of Hannah & Cliff. Unlike it's prequel, 'The Half-Life of Hannah', this book looks at the story from Cliff's side as well as Hannah's, and as such I found my loyalty shifting from Team Hannah to Team Cliff and back at the end of every chapter!
Overall, it's a wonderful study of how people cope in such a stressful situation, and, more importantly, how their personal baggage drives them to act in the way that they do.
I liked this book a lot more than the first. For starters it had way fewer mistakes !! I think in the first I felt more sympathetic toward Hannah but I didn't in this one. I found Cliff much nicer here and I thought she was an utter cow at times ! You also had to feel for Luke although he appeared to take everything in his stride. I did spot the name Ramsey suddenly morph into Ramsley on another page and I'd spell Ozzy as Aussie but that was the limit of the mistakes so this story was way better presented by miles. A couple of times certain passages had me in tears and there were some amusing lines in it too. One I'd recommend but you do need to read The Half-Life of Hannah first, I'd say.
A brilliant sequel to the Half Life of Hannah, if anything I enjoyed this book even more. It was great to hear Cliff's side of the story and my feelings for him totally changed as his back story was told and I really liked him. I will now read more by this author even though I wouldn't say its my usual genre of book I read but they were such a good pair of books, with very real characters that I will now try more
When you enjoy an authors work there is always that slight fear that, when you start a new book of theirs, you might not enjoy it as much as previous ones. As yet this has never been the case with Nick's books.
Other Halves was a joy to read from the opening words to a slightly teary (for me as well as the characters sometimes) end. As with all good books I was torn between the desire to read it all as fast as possible so that I could see what happened and yet take my time and make it last... the former won out in the end as I just couldn't resist the "one more chapter" urge.
This book is a wonderful sequel to The Half Life of Hannah and I think you benefit from having read that book first, although I'm sure it would be an enjoyable read without trying the first book why miss out on that part of this great story?
I think one of the strengths of Other Halves is how the narration is split between the two main characters - giving a balanced view of each makes you sympathise with them equally whereas if it was just from one POV the other character could have ended up coming off badly - after all they do both make some major errors in judgement along the way.
A great book with laughter and tears and love... my only real complaint would be that I WANT MORE!!!
Another great read. Nick has finished off the story nicely leaving the reader in no doubts about how the characters are thinking and feeling. It's clear that a lot of heartfelt emotions went into creating this book, and Nick has done a great job.
Found this a bit tedious to read. My sympathies lie strongly with Cliff, how did he manage to put up with awful Hannah as long as he did? Hannah’s characterisation was awful, she came across as psycho selfish!
I really enjoyed this book, every bit as much as I loved The half life of Hannah. It was so easy to get into even though its months since I read the prequel.
I selected this second part of the Hannah series and discovered that to my bewilderment that I originally read this back in 2013 (Kindle to the rescue). The original first part I have only read this last month! Nonetheless a second reading has now put a different perspective on my original enjoyment of the novel and despite my earlier recollections of the theme (and my self appreciation that dementia is not imminent and that déjà vu is alive and thriving in my head) I have to say that I thoroughly, and once again, found the novel ‘unputdownable’. That really should be a word? The theme is multifaceted and is considered so very well that I hope those with homophobic tendencies can take something from the stories of the characters. Well written and also well worth reading (twice!).
I loved this book, after finding the first 'Hannah' book quite hard going. I struggled to relate to either Hannah or Cliff in the first book and, surprisingly for Nick Alexander just didn't buy into their relationship. But I feel that book was really just a scene setting for this amazing exploration of marriage, sexuality and relationships. Written alternatively from Hannah and Cliff's perspectives, I found myself oscillating between empathy for each of them and was gripped til the end. Definitely back on top form Nick Alexander!!!
Nick has written some great books that I really enjoyed but this isn’t one of them. I believe he should have stopped at the previous Hannah book as this was a very stretched out follow up to the inevitable end. Too much angst, crying and unbelievable bitchiness From Hannah whilst Cliff tries to find himself. Can’t see why so many gave this 5 stars and called it wonderful. I jumped pages at the end as it was so tiresome. Save yourself the bother and instead read another book by Nick. As I’ve said there are lots, just not this one.
Denne boken er nr 2 i serien om Hannah og starter med et uventet grep. Her starter historien m Cliffs perspektiv. Hans oppvekst og det dårlige forholdet til broren, og hvordan d var for han da James på nytt stjal kona hans. Den veksler mellom ekteparets perspektiv og dillemmaet kan Hannah følge følelsene og flytte til Australia med James. Kan hun dra fra sønnen? Og hvordan blir det for Cliff når han får sjangsen til å utforske sin egen legning. Lettlest, engasjerende og rom for å reflektere over krevende livsvalg. Jeg har lyst til å lese mer fra forfattern
Nick Alexander has a special way of pulling me into the books he writes and the lives of the characters. In each one there is something with which I can identify, and that's a definite plus here, as Cliff struggles to be himself. None of the characters has an easy path through the book, but it all ....we!! You'll just have to read it to find out for yourself (but maybe read Hannah's half life first).
Part two of a very well written story of a couple who, after being married for fifteen years, separate and divorce because the husband has been trying desperately to hide the fact that he's gay and the wife has always been in love with her husband's brother. The paths they choose are tough, but the ending is very satisfying. I will definitely be reading more from this author!
I liked Hannah in book 1, I could empathise with her situation but book 2 makes her distinctly unlikeable in her actions and the way she seems to condone Cliff’s actions. It makes Cliff out to be reasonable. I can empathise with coming to terms with your sexuality but can you be deemed reasonable if you lie about someone being dead for 15 years and rape your wife? I don’t believe these characters are true to book 1.
Whist I really enjoyed the two books. And didn't want to put it down. It frustrated me. Hannah and Cliff both deserve happiness. And what Cliff did was unforgivable (James). But I felt that Hannah was neglectfull and a bit selfish when it came to Luke. She should have waited until he was older. As a mother I don't think I could have done it.
Never judge a book by it's cover! How true. I was due to take a holiday on a narrow boat, and so picked this book up in a hurry as it had a narrow boat prominently displayed on the cover. How wrong was I... not even a mention of a boat in the whole book! (I notice the book displayed on this site has a different cover to my copy).
In the beginning I felt sorry for Hannah, then I started to really dislike her. I should not judge as I was not in her shoes, I also disliked Cliff. James was nothing to brag about nor were most of the characters in the book. However, I enjoyed the story. As a mother, I felt sorry for Luke. I am glad I do not have these people as my friends.
I don’t know why, probably because a lot of this story is mine. My son stayed with his dad after our divorce. Therefore, the story hit home. I felt for Hannah, her guilt at leaving her son. And I understood why she did what did what she has done. I read the first book in 2 days. I took a little longer with this book, so I didn’t miss anything.
I have never read ant of Alexander's books before the 1st Hannah book. You must read. Them in sequence. It started s!ow for me and then I was hooked. Hard to put down. The character s were right on and it tackled situations that were real in simpathetic and real ways. All I can say is ,Bravo!!
Inconsistent cliff , unrelateable hannah and horrid james
Liked that it rounded up the story. But couldn't stand Hannah or relate to anything she said or did. Cliff went from zero to hero and I guess although I found it inconsistent I enjoyed his story
What an amazing story. I read this close on the heels of Half Life of Hannah and enjoyed this even more. I love the way Nick has split the chapters to give the view of both Cliff and Hannah. Very clever. A great book which I highly recommend.
Follow on to the Hannah book. Ok. Middle aged husband realised he's gay. 12yr old son completely accepting. Wife going of with long list brother and living in Australia and everybody is fine with that. Hmmm
Interesting characters and themes. However the overuse of 'stasis' and 'capitulate' was distracting. Otherwise well written. The entire novel felt like a postscript to the prequel but was still good.
I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the 1st. Both cliff and Hannah started to really annoy me with divorce blame and moving forward. I did enjoy Cliff and Robs story and how he discovered himself, Hannah and James’s was ok... I’m glad I read it but the 1st book was a much better read
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.