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The Runaway Woman
No-one thought she had the courage…
Those looking in from the outside think Lucy Lovejoy’s life is like any other, but at the centre of her family there is a big empty hole where all the love and warmth should be. Over the years, her children have watched while their father chipped away at Lucy’s self-confidence. Now the children are following their own paths, and Lucy has never felt more alone.
When tragedy strikes at the heart of the family, it’s a wake-up call for Lucy. Everyone has taken a little piece of her, and she isn’t sure who she is anymore. So when Lucy faces a betrayal from those she loves deepest, she knows that it’s time to make a choice.
Is she brave enough to find herself again?
Those looking in from the outside think Lucy Lovejoy’s life is like any other, but at the centre of her family there is a big empty hole where all the love and warmth should be. Over the years, her children have watched while their father chipped away at Lucy’s self-confidence. Now the children are following their own paths, and Lucy has never felt more alone.
When tragedy strikes at the heart of the family, it’s a wake-up call for Lucy. Everyone has taken a little piece of her, and she isn’t sure who she is anymore. So when Lucy faces a betrayal from those she loves deepest, she knows that it’s time to make a choice.
Is she brave enough to find herself again?
405 pages, Paperback
First published February 13, 2014
156 people are currently reading
278 people want to read
About the author
Josephine Cox
111 books332 followersJosephine Cox was born in Blackburn, one of ten children. At the age of sixteen, Josephine met and married her husband Ken, and had two sons. When the boys started school, she decided to go to college and eventually gained a place at university but was unable to take this up as it would have meant living away from home. Instead, she went into teaching – and started to write her first full-length novel. She won the ‘Superwoman of Great Britain’ Award, for which her family had secretly entered her, at the same time as her novel was accepted for publication. She is now a No.1 bestselling author with over 40 books to her name.
She wrote dark psychological thrillers under the name Jane Brindle.
She wrote dark psychological thrillers under the name Jane Brindle.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
February 4, 2019
3.5★
Lucy Lovejoy was only sixteen when she married her childhood sweetheart and at the time she seemed to be happy and in love and when she discovered she was pregnant with their first child they were so happy. But as the years passed her happiness soon starts to fade and when Lucy hears some shocking news she is more than devastated.
Lucy decides the only one that can make her happy again is herself, but for that to happen she needs to make changes. Will she go through with her plans or will she continue to lead an unhappy life?
I found The Runaway Woman an enjoyable and an engaging read.
Lucy Lovejoy was only sixteen when she married her childhood sweetheart and at the time she seemed to be happy and in love and when she discovered she was pregnant with their first child they were so happy. But as the years passed her happiness soon starts to fade and when Lucy hears some shocking news she is more than devastated.
Lucy decides the only one that can make her happy again is herself, but for that to happen she needs to make changes. Will she go through with her plans or will she continue to lead an unhappy life?
I found The Runaway Woman an enjoyable and an engaging read.
February 23, 2015
WARNING: This is the worst book I have ever read. And I've read 50 Shades of Grey. The writing style was terrible; the plot could've been interesting but was predictable, boring and ridiculous; and the editing was bad - there were so many sections that were pointless and so much repetition of paragraphs and thoughts, which annoyed me even more as I found it tedious to read the paragraphs and characters' thoughts the first time. Eventually I came to the conclusion that the characters must all be suffering from amnesia, that they felt the need to repeat themselves in every second paragraph. Every time I did become caught up in the story, Josephine Cox elected to use the word "Now" or "Moreover" - unnecessarily and for the 100th time - and it immediately drew my attention to the poor writing again. The only reason I read this was because it was chosen as our book club book for this month. And it pains me that I wasted time on this when there are so many well-written books out there that I want to get to. So please don't waste your time.
March 13, 2015
I bought the book at the airport, and on its front page it said it is the 50th book of the writer. If I had written and sold successfully 49 books, I would make my 50th the best. But I guess that is just me... So I made the mistake of buying this book, and it was a huge one...
Whilt reading it I wish I could concentrate on the storyline, but it was boring as hell. The characters were so not well written and generally, the book wasn't what it was sold for. It was a badly written book, that skipped important parts, like, how the characters grew and became better and stronger and ready to deal with all the hardship life brought to their faces...something like that...I don't know..has the writter not lost someone important in her life to know that "that" is not the way to deal with death... But again that is just me...a vivid reader, definately not a writter.
As for the book, the ending seemed rushed, and most of all, there were many unnecessary scenes, like the bus-lady that was not polite, or the other bus person that was polite... Characters that made no difference in the ending but just happened to be there were given 3-4 pages each... With that in mind why not start including every passenger in the story...the milkman, or the boy that delivers the newspapers, he would love Lucy..that's for sure...let's adress 3-4 pages in how much he likes her and then forget about him...because in the end.. he is not important!!!!
plus, the main character, and at a certain point, all characters, speak to themselves... that is not normal!!!
anyway, if you want to read a book from this well known writter, I suggest you look for any of her other 49 books..That way you might like both the book and the writter.
Whilt reading it I wish I could concentrate on the storyline, but it was boring as hell. The characters were so not well written and generally, the book wasn't what it was sold for. It was a badly written book, that skipped important parts, like, how the characters grew and became better and stronger and ready to deal with all the hardship life brought to their faces...something like that...I don't know..has the writter not lost someone important in her life to know that "that" is not the way to deal with death... But again that is just me...a vivid reader, definately not a writter.
As for the book, the ending seemed rushed, and most of all, there were many unnecessary scenes, like the bus-lady that was not polite, or the other bus person that was polite... Characters that made no difference in the ending but just happened to be there were given 3-4 pages each... With that in mind why not start including every passenger in the story...the milkman, or the boy that delivers the newspapers, he would love Lucy..that's for sure...let's adress 3-4 pages in how much he likes her and then forget about him...because in the end.. he is not important!!!!
plus, the main character, and at a certain point, all characters, speak to themselves... that is not normal!!!
anyway, if you want to read a book from this well known writter, I suggest you look for any of her other 49 books..That way you might like both the book and the writter.
February 11, 2015
Review also found at http://kristineandterri.blogspot.ca/2...
I received a copy of this book from the publisher HarperCollins via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. According to Edelweiss the expected publication date is February 10th 2015 however I believe this to be a re-release.
This is a story about a woman who has put others before her for her whole life and in doing so lost who she was. Also in doing so it caused people to walk all over her and take advantage of her. At first I thought this would make a really interesting story.
Lucy's husband and sister were utterly despicable. How two people can treat family the way they did I do not know. My problem was that as they continued to treat Lucy as less than a person I started to find Lucy a little bit annoying. How can somebody not stand up for themselves? How can someone have no interests outside of caring for others? I wanted to scream at Lucy as much as I wanted to scream at the people in her life.
As the synopsis suggest this is a story about Lucy finding her way in the world and as a result herself. For me it took too long to get to this point. I could only dwell on Lucy's unhappiness for so long. When it finally gets to the point of her journey it felt rushed and happened so quickly I was questioning what happened.
If you like your stories wrapped up nice and neatly with a big shiny bow this may be of interest to you. Although a potential spoiler here this story does not leave any loose unhappy ends. It was almost too neatly wrapped up.
All in all it was an OK read for me
I received a copy of this book from the publisher HarperCollins via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. According to Edelweiss the expected publication date is February 10th 2015 however I believe this to be a re-release.
This is a story about a woman who has put others before her for her whole life and in doing so lost who she was. Also in doing so it caused people to walk all over her and take advantage of her. At first I thought this would make a really interesting story.
Lucy's husband and sister were utterly despicable. How two people can treat family the way they did I do not know. My problem was that as they continued to treat Lucy as less than a person I started to find Lucy a little bit annoying. How can somebody not stand up for themselves? How can someone have no interests outside of caring for others? I wanted to scream at Lucy as much as I wanted to scream at the people in her life.
As the synopsis suggest this is a story about Lucy finding her way in the world and as a result herself. For me it took too long to get to this point. I could only dwell on Lucy's unhappiness for so long. When it finally gets to the point of her journey it felt rushed and happened so quickly I was questioning what happened.
If you like your stories wrapped up nice and neatly with a big shiny bow this may be of interest to you. Although a potential spoiler here this story does not leave any loose unhappy ends. It was almost too neatly wrapped up.
All in all it was an OK read for me
October 6, 2017
The Runaway Woman tells the story of Lucy Lovejoy, a woman who discovers around the time of her 40th birthday that her husband has been having an affair with her sister. Understandably heartbroken Lucy wants to escape, and this desire is only compounded when both of her parents die. With a little help from her friend Kathleen, Lucy sets off to decide what she really wants from life.
Whilst this was a good book in the beginning, it felt like there wasn’t enough character development, or any development that was there was extremely sudden, and the ending was way too rushed. We don’t see Lucy even leave Bedford until around sixty percent of the way through the novel, and suddenly a handsome man is dropped into her lap and at this point we can kiss goodbye to any moral high ground that Lucy may have had.
The character development that most annoyed me though, had to be that of Martin’s character. He’s an arrogant git who has the occasional stab of guilt over cheating on Lucy, but then suddenly after his altercation with Ray, he’s become a changed man and is suddenly honest, loving and supportive. It just stung of unbelievable crap. I’m sorry, but it had to be said.
That said if you overlook those glaring flaws, then this is a good bit of chick lit.
Whilst this was a good book in the beginning, it felt like there wasn’t enough character development, or any development that was there was extremely sudden, and the ending was way too rushed. We don’t see Lucy even leave Bedford until around sixty percent of the way through the novel, and suddenly a handsome man is dropped into her lap and at this point we can kiss goodbye to any moral high ground that Lucy may have had.
The character development that most annoyed me though, had to be that of Martin’s character. He’s an arrogant git who has the occasional stab of guilt over cheating on Lucy, but then suddenly after his altercation with Ray, he’s become a changed man and is suddenly honest, loving and supportive. It just stung of unbelievable crap. I’m sorry, but it had to be said.
That said if you overlook those glaring flaws, then this is a good bit of chick lit.
September 17, 2020
I found this book boring. The plot is obvious from the start and the author keeps revisiting the emotions of the main character. Please give it a miss.
September 1, 2017
I feel awful saying this, but this book is probably one of the worst novels I've ever read. EVER. I have absolutely nothing good to say about it. What I don't understand is how a book is so badly written when the author is a veteran of 50 novels! This is the first book I have read of hers, and I'm wondering, are all of her books written this badly, and if so, how did this author get published in the first place? I'm at a bit of a loss. This is the kind of piece you would expect from an author just starting out, not one with such experience.
Although part of me never wants to read another one, part of me does, just to see if this particular work was an exception. Regardless, if I do read another, it won't be in a hurry. Disappointed to say the least.
Although part of me never wants to read another one, part of me does, just to see if this particular work was an exception. Regardless, if I do read another, it won't be in a hurry. Disappointed to say the least.
May 5, 2014
Started off really enjoying this book but it went a bit flat and seemed to come to an abrupt end.
The beginning made me cry because it mirrored my own life, but once Lucy got back from her break it was like a totally different story and unbelievable.
The beginning made me cry because it mirrored my own life, but once Lucy got back from her break it was like a totally different story and unbelievable.
August 26, 2014
Started out loving this book and couldn't wait to see Lucy's character develop and follow her journey through this turning point in her life. At the end I found myself disappointed that it had become a bit predictable and slightly unrealistic. Everything was a little bit too perfect.
March 8, 2015
Lucy was so weak and annoying.
January 9, 2018
I needed my tissues when I read this book. Really enjoyed, even if I did cry when I was reading this book. Recommended.
March 26, 2023
Easy read but not my cup of tea personally.
August 8, 2024
DNF. Not her best one unfortunately. Still a great writer though.
July 16, 2021
I loved it. A very easy read that kept me excited until the end
July 24, 2015
Boring, badly written with repetitive narrative and pointless scenes. Little character description let alone development, and extremely 'wooden' as well as poorly edited. It was like reading the script from an ancient episode of Coronation Street. Probably the worst book I've ever read and it challenges belief that this author has written 49 other books that people have actually bought and , in some cases, enjoyed. I vow never to bother picking up another book by this author.
October 30, 2015
This was the first Josephine Cox book I have ever read and unfortunately will most likely be the last. The cover of the book and the fact that Josephine is a bestseller attracted me to it, and the title and blurb seemed very exiting.
The book just seemed very simply written and was predictable all the way through. I didn't find the characters easy to relate to. This just didn't do it for me.
The book just seemed very simply written and was predictable all the way through. I didn't find the characters easy to relate to. This just didn't do it for me.
February 15, 2023
Terrible! The main character, Lucy is basically a ‘doormat’ for her entire family. She has absolutely no backbone! The people who claim to love her cause her such emotional pain and she just forgives them.
October 9, 2020
My friend passed this book, along with a few others by Josephine Cox, on to me. I forced myself to finish the book but it most certainly wasn’t that interesting or entertaining.
November 11, 2022
Womens fiction. Divorce. Romance.
Story: Lucy is about to turn 40 and is full of regrets.
Characters: Lucy works full time in a factory, takes care of her husband, Martin, takes care of the home, and always has a helping hand when any of her family comes calling.
Language: suburban England, near present, separated by chapters, multiple perspective, themes of family, divorce and romance.
A lot of fluff! I was unsure to call this women's fiction or romance, but as the main plot of the book is Lucy's independence, I'll go for the first.
I found Martin's character unrealistic - too nice and considerate despite his actions.
I didn't care for the ending. It was wrapped up way too fast and with a bow for my tastes.
But overall, I enjoyed the writing and character development and the fluffiness of the whole book. This was my first Josephine cox, and I'd read another.
Story: Lucy is about to turn 40 and is full of regrets.
Characters: Lucy works full time in a factory, takes care of her husband, Martin, takes care of the home, and always has a helping hand when any of her family comes calling.
Language: suburban England, near present, separated by chapters, multiple perspective, themes of family, divorce and romance.
A lot of fluff! I was unsure to call this women's fiction or romance, but as the main plot of the book is Lucy's independence, I'll go for the first.
I found Martin's character unrealistic - too nice and considerate despite his actions.
I didn't care for the ending. It was wrapped up way too fast and with a bow for my tastes.
But overall, I enjoyed the writing and character development and the fluffiness of the whole book. This was my first Josephine cox, and I'd read another.
April 17, 2020
It might take a little while for all of us to realise the tough, proud and magnificent Lucy Lovejoys hidden inside. But once we find the hidden treasures, life gives us a roller coaster ride, reminds #JosephineCox. Josephine Cox is not an extraordinary #author, at least according to me. But the character ’#LucyLovejoy’ and the portrayal of her transformation from gullible women to bold and beautiful made me fall in love with the author. Also, it took me two years to find another woman to adore after #SidneySheldon’s #LaraCameron from #TheStarsShineDown.
December 17, 2018
Josephine Cox is a great writer, but she desperately needs an editor to cut back the repetition of her dialogue and description. A large number of pages could be reduced to one sentence, there is so much nonsensical repetition.
I don't suppose that a rich publishing like Harper Collins has the funds to pay for an editor. If this is the number one Sunday Times bestselling author, well I pity you poor readers.
I don't suppose that a rich publishing like Harper Collins has the funds to pay for an editor. If this is the number one Sunday Times bestselling author, well I pity you poor readers.
January 8, 2025
The first book I chose to read in a new year and that's the only motivation to finish it. 50th book - a best-seller, I'm curious now!
3/4 of the book is repeated with 1/4 of a content. I wish it had a strong presentation of characters and more depth to how the runaway woman transformed amidst hardships.
Not so frustrating I'd admit but neither interesting. Wish I had picked one of the other 49 books!
3/4 of the book is repeated with 1/4 of a content. I wish it had a strong presentation of characters and more depth to how the runaway woman transformed amidst hardships.
Not so frustrating I'd admit but neither interesting. Wish I had picked one of the other 49 books!
October 9, 2017
The first few pages and lovable main character drew me into this book during a Waterstone's visit. Quality writing, believable dialogue and convincing story lines are what I look for in the books I read, but in my opinion were lacking here. I did make it about 3/4's of the way through, but had to leave it there...
February 4, 2018
Definitely not the best Josephine Cox book I've read but it was not as bad as some of the reviews I read which nearly put me off reading it.
A bit predictable in places.
I don't think I would have been as forgiving as Lucy to her sister and husband and times I wanted to shake her, but it was all right, what I would call a holiday read.
A bit predictable in places.
I don't think I would have been as forgiving as Lucy to her sister and husband and times I wanted to shake her, but it was all right, what I would call a holiday read.
May 27, 2023
Dreadful writing style to this book. No depth to the characters or story, predictable with a rushed ending. It could be mistaken for an essay written by a fourth year for the end of year exam rather than the 50th book of an acclaimed author. Did she need a quick financial injection so knocked this one out in her lunch break, who knows. Give this a miss.
December 23, 2023
A bit too dragging. I could skip entire chapters with reading just the first paragraph as that was elaborated for much of the chapter and I hadn't missed much. Also it was a bit too tiring to read the main character Lucy talking to herself all the time and her swinging needs to choose this way or that..
The story could have been written more crisply in my opinion.
The story could have been written more crisply in my opinion.
June 13, 2025
The book is a compelling read. The characters are well developed especially the protagonist Lucy. Her character was so well written that I knew her hopes, insecurities, issues and mindset. The story unfolds slowly and I was surprised when towards the end the author speeds up the book and it felt rushed.
November 8, 2021
A really easy read and what I needed to get back into reading again. The start was heart breaking and I was quite hooked however, it did become slow and it sometimes lacked the emotions and character development I would have expected. Overall I enjoyed it however, it may not be for everyone.
October 2, 2022
Most of the book was really good and I would have given it a four. However, I disliked the ending as it felt rushed and had a silly style to it that I felt do not match the tone of the rest of the book
February 7, 2023
A derivative but enjoyable enough read, cliche in parts but captured the protagonist's roller coaster of emotions beautifully. I was tempted to rate this 4 stars but have to dock one due to how incredibly rushed the ending was.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews