Marriage and Other Games

by Veronica Henry

When girl-about-town Charlotte discovers her husband has been arrested for fraud, she flees to the wilds of Exmoor to nurse her broken heart. But she's not the only person with a life in turmoil.
Sebastian - bad boy of the British art scene - is determined to drink the local pub dry while his wife lives it up in London.
Fitch married the high-spirited Hayley hoping for wedded bliss, but is struggling to keep up with her outrageous demands.
Penny is recently divorced and determined to have fun.
As Charlotte adapts to life without L K Bennett and Starbucks, she turns to her new-found friends for advice. But can she forgive her husband for what he did, before it's too late?

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction, Romance

423 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Veronica Henry was a television script writer before turning her hand to fiction. She has published sixteen novels which she describes as realistic escapism - her setting are gorgeous, but her characters have problems and dilemmas everyone can identify with.

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was ok, ultimately forgettable I imagine, nothing to rave about.

Will try one more book from this author and see how I feel.

Two stars.

[Sara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful!

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlotte is absolutely mortified when her husband is arrested for a committing a crime that implicates her in his bad behaviour. She decides to flee to her friend’s ramshackle house in the small Exmoor village of Withybrook where no-one knows whats gone on between her and Ed. She’s surprised to find the villager’s lives are all as peaceful and calm as she imagined either, and she soon befriend local bad-boy and celebrity Sebastian. His marriage isn’t going too well, and is drinking himself into oblivion while his wife works in London. Fitch, married to Hayley is also struggling but with his wife’s wild demands and juggling fatherhood too. Finally, GP Penny is free and single, and is determined to make the most of love this time around, but with who? Will Charlotte regret her move to Withybrook, or is it going to turn out to be the best move she ever made?

I first came across Veronica Henry when my mum told me to read “Love on the Rocks” by her, and I absolutely adored that book – it was well written and such an enjoyable read. I have Veronica’s “Honeycote” series on my shelf to read, and I can’t wait to get around to reading them. I was so excited to get a copy of Veronica’s latest book, the stand-alone story “Marriage and Other Games”, which is Veronica’s 7th book. I was expecting an absorbing and brilliant read, and that is certainly what I got from the book! I passed the novel onto my mum as well, and she enjoyed just as much as I did, proving Veronica’s novels appeal across the generations!

The story, although primarily and initially following the life of Charlotte, does branch out into several characters and I really liked this. There was always something new happening and it totallly held my interest, I didn’t want to put it down at all. The book begins with the breakdown of Charlotte and Ed’s marriage and quickly moves to Withybrook, where the rest of the novel takes place. Withybrook sounds so charming, and quint-essentially English, it sounds so perfect I just want to move there now! The quiet village life, everyone knowing each other’s business and the millionaire artist – who wouldn’t want to live there?!

The character development is beautifully done during the novel – we see Charlotte turn from a very angry and isolated individual to one who fully embraces village life and Withybrook’s inhabitants too.I really liked Charlotte from the beginning, she’s the wronged wife and you can sympathise with her turmoil as she’s forced to leave behind everything that makes her Charlotte. Henry writes with realism about the struggle to settle into an established community, and writes village life so well, you can immerse yourself in it and imagine you’re in Withybrook with them.

As well as Charlotte, all the other characters are brilliant and fit into the story perfectly. I loved the eccentric Sebastian, a misunderstood artist and you can’t help but warm to him because he seems so lonely. Fitch was another character I really liked, I felt so sorry for him and wanted everything to turn out nicely for him. There’s a huge shock towards the end of the book for Fitch and I totally didn’t see it coming at all! For some reason, I couldn’t warm to Penny at all even though her story was again a bit sad. Overall though, they are so well written and believable as people, I could really care about them as the story progressed and that for me is key to enjoying a book!

I loved this book. It started out totally differently from where it ended up but I liked that – it felt like I went on a journey with the characters and I was disappointed that it came to an end. It’s the sort of book you can absorb yourself in, and even though its fairly lengthy, I finished it quickly because I couldn’t stop reading as I wanted to know it was all going to end for the Withybrook residents! Charlotte is the perfect heroine of the book, women will like her and care about her story, and the other characters flit in and out creating a superb novel. It’s fully deserving of its 5 stars from me, and fans, both new and old, of Veronica Henry will love it. Summer reading at its best, just brilliant!

[Jo Dorman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book, but it ended so abruptly and with no real end, which was a bit strange. Unless theres a 2nd one I dont know about that carries on the story?

[Sara Matilda · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book but I was a little bit disappointed it didn’t develop more at end ie tell you how charlotte and Fitch developed into a couple
Easily could have another book or even an epilogue ?

[Sarah Hills · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like Veronica's books and so purposely went out and found this one to buy. Sadly I was quite disappointed with the story.
I found it hard to understand how Charlotte reacted to her husband for so long but on the other hand when we find out not just about his fraud but also Melanie I ended up more on her wavelength.
I enjoyed the setting in a village and really felt for Sebastian and could have cheerfully throttled Catkin for not listening to him.
Other characters left me quite cold but I truly felt for Fitch and would love someone like him in my life!
A good few surprises in this book were the redeeming features for me but I do feel her more current books are better written. However, I loved 'The beach hut' which was written before this one and it makes me wonder if this one was a bit rushed out due to contractual obligations?

[Paula Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The entwined stories of the central characters in a small idyllic village in Devon was a real page turner, and even though the lifestyles of Charlotte and Sebastian are not familiar to me (or many others) they were written well, as was the story of Fitch. I wasn't really enamoured with Penny, but I suppose maybe we aren't really supposed to until near the end. I found her rather annoying and whiny! But this didn't detract from the story too much at all.

Just like the Beach Hut series, this was an easy read - one to be enjoyed on holiday or over a rainy bank holiday. What you see is what you get, and a great get it is indeed!

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up at a thrift store because the synopsis sounded good. I truly enjoyed sitting down to read this novel. It has a lot of different stories happening, but you start to feel like they're your friends and you want to see how they develop. This is a book that I could easily see made into a series. In fact, I want to know more about how the characters end up. Their "happy endings" are unwritten and left to the imagination....

[Sue Lilley · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a miserable collection of characters! I didn’t buy into any of them, apart from maybe Fitch. Penny was a complete waste of time – what was she even there for? There was hardly any plot and nothing much happened. I made a point of finishing it, just in case I was missing something. In the end I had to read the last page again as I hadn’t realised that was it! Normally like this author but this wasn’t up there.

[Sarah Goodfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely book! Really enjoyed it. Although I was left thinking maybe there could have been a little epilogue, what happened after? Maybe Charlotte moved in with fitch when myrtle cottage was sold, and the guy who bought it was a vet or something, and he became penny's new man. And they all had a big party at the christening of catkin and Sebastians new baby.... just saying...

[Negin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun comfort, escape-type read. Veronica Henry has yet to disappoint me when it comes to that. A word of caution to anyone considering her books: some of them, the older ones more so, are extremely (and unnecessarily) graphic, the sort of books that I would be embarrassed to write. So be warned, this one is one of those.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried to look past the antiquated gender stereotypes (antiquated even taking the genre into consideration) but when the widower shakes his late wife's lovers hand at her funeral, a few weeks after said lover punched and raped the wife, I lost it. Wtf.

[Kim Solleder · Rating 5 out of 5]

enjoyable read, love Veronica Henry,

[Sharon Bernice Mehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice light read

Enjoyed this book -easy reading and interesting characters.I enjoyed the descriptions of the English countryside and the community of the village.

[Marjan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leest lekker weg !

[Zoe Barber · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending was a bit abrupt for me and not tied up properly.

[Juliet · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was ok, not as good as previous books by this author

[Agnes Stanley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful! Loved the stories, and the extras the author put at the end of the book. I'd be happy to read more from this author. She was effortlessly thorough with the details in the stories.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Fiona Groves]

An easy and enjoyable read.

[Nat · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of Veronica’s greatest early reads- great characters, beautiful settings, easy to love. Easily obsessed with the story, couldn’t wait to see which direction she took it.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dose of chick-lit makes the world feel like a brighter place.

[Mrs Deborah Croft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story read in 2 days couldn't put it down

[Trelawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Veronica Henry is fast becoming my go to author for some escapism. She writes interesting plots around believable characters in down to earth settings. I love reading about the not too perfect lives of the inhabitants of sleepy villages, it is perfect easy reading.

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marriage and Other Games is the fourth stand-alone novel by English author Veronica Henry. Sebastian Turner, bad boy of the British art scene, in the throes of artistic block, under pressure from his wife, TV’s “agony sister” Catkin Turner, to produce work to maintain their image, is holed up in his family home, Withybrook House, drinking the local pub dry. Charlotte Briggs, home renovator for the rich and famous, finds herself suddenly homeless, jobless, and friendless when her husband Ed embezzles the funds from a charity fund raiser and lands in jail. Gussie, the only friend who has stuck by her, suggests she renovate a family cottage in the Exmoor village of Withybrook. Local Withybrook stonemason, Fitch fears for his marriage to Hayley, the beautiful daughter of the oldest Withybrook family, the Politmores, when she takes up with the obscenely rich ex-boxer and thug, Kirk Lambert, citing a need to escape, but Fitch is determined to save his young daughters, Jade and Amber, from their mother’s excesses. Penny Silver, divorced mother of teenaged Tom and Megan and GP in a nearby village, hopes to find someone to share her life after Bill. What do these four rather different people have in common? Veronica Henry throws this unlikely crew together in a remote village and lets the chips fall where they may. This novel has an original plot with quite a few twists and completely unpredictable outcomes. Henry crafts her characters carefully, with enough detail to give even some of the lesser characters depth and complexity. The dialogue is authentic and the village atmosphere is well conveyed. This is probably Henry’s best yet.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having enjoyed "The Beach Hut Next Door", I was delighted to find another novel by Veronica Henry. I took to interior designer Charlotte straight away and her devastation on learning her husband was guilty of fraud in appropriating money raised at a mega charity event. She moves to a village on Exmoor to manage the renovation of a friend's cottage (a scenario that appealed to me). But I found my interest waned, as chapters focused on the village characters - artist Sebastian, who has lost his inspiration, his high flyer TV presenter wife; GP Penny, divorced and disillusioned with life, and the very likeable Fitch whose marriage was under stress. I could not be bothered much with Sebastian's dissolute lifestyle and found the media frenzy that met his latest exhibition over the top and hard to credit. However in the second part of the book, the characters started to engage my sympathies - Sebastian's approach to regain his wife, and Penny' personal crisis. The ending was moving with a strong note of optimism for Charlotte's future.

[Hannah Symonds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Veronica Henry is one of my favourite authors. This was such a fantastic read, Veronica seems to be able to put together a beautifully heart warming story with such fabulous characters. I loved how all the characters interact with each other and how Withybrook felt right as a community where everyone sticks together. I think Veronica could of easily made a sequel to this book as I and I am sure a lot of other people would of liked to have know what happens in the future for Charlotte. A real page turner that I couldn't resist reading it in a day.

[Stephen Walton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great gathering of stories within the confines of one story. Veronica is a master of articulate dialogue and the writing is so smooth . The stories within the story are so interesting they draw the reader/ listener into living the parts the characters portray.This gathering of tales this time seem to be a lot harder and more intense than the other books I've indulged in . Fortunately all ends well and I can honestly say it was another enjoyable 13 hrs of listening.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Veronica Henry really does get better and better - I've been reading her books since Honeycote back in 2002, and she seems to have found her niche now somewhere between Jilly Cooper and Rosie Thomas. Raunchy, sad, romantic and outrageous in turn, this was a thoroughly enjoyable read with excellent writing and a little more depth than you might expect. Loved it.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book with a country feel. If you have ever dreamed of escaping the city and being accepted into a small country community then this book is for you. It has elements of real life and some totally predictable moments that you just want to happen. If you want a good light read that makes your heart glow you won't be disappointed.