Book picks similar to
An Unsuitable Marriage by Colette Dartford


marriage-in-trouble
cheating
groveling
older-characters

It Was Just Sex (It Meant Nothing!)


John Locke - 2018
     This is the lesson 28-year old Cameron Poole learns from her philandering husband, Jake, who readily admits he’s not likely to win any Husband of the Year awards. The question Cameron must answer is this: now that she knows what Jake’s been up to, what’s she going to do about it? PRELIMINARY REVIEWS: “If I ever catch my husband cheating on me, I’m calling Cameron Poole!” “Forget the tired, worn-out vigilante stories where a gang rapes and kills the hero’s wife, kills his kids and his dog, and the hero tracks them down one-by-one and murders them (yawn!) Locke’s latest novel is next-level revenge from the female perspective: cunning, diabolical, and delicious.” “Locke is such a prolific writer it seems like years since his last book. Thankfully, he’s back, and in excellent form. Sweet Cameron Poole is the nicest person ever. Until she isn’t.”

With or Without You


Helen Warner - 2013
    Her gorgeous husband, Jamie, is happy being a stay-at-home-dad while she pursues her career. But appearances are often deceiving. One day, Martha makes a discovery that rocks the very foundation of her world and she begins to question everything she thought she wanted. Then, during an interview with a famous actor, Charlie Simmons, Martha finds herself pouring her heart out. And soon their friendship turns into an intense relationship… Now, Martha must make the toughest decision of her life. Does she fight to keep the life she loves? Or are some betrayals just too big to forgive? PRAISE FOR HELEN WARNER 'Four women, one wedding and unexpected results. Great good fun' Woman & Home 'The kind of book beach holidays were made for' Red

Saving Saffron Sweeting


Pauline Wiles - 2013
    But her design business is floundering and when she discovers her husband is cheating with her best client, she panics and flees home to England.The tranquil village of Saffron Sweeting appears to be a good place for Grace to lick her wounds, but the community is battling its own changes. Reluctantly, Grace finds herself helping her new neighbours as they struggle to adjust and save their businesses. However, not everyone has the same opinion on what’s good for the village. The charismatic new man in her life may have one speculative eye on Grace, but the other is firmly on profit. How will she navigate the tricky path between her home and her happiness?With gentle humour and generous helpings of British tea and cake, Saving Saffron Sweeting explores one woman’s need to define herself through her career and community, before she can figure out who should be by her side.

Mistakes: A Novel


Amanda Wilhelm - 2014
    When she finds out her husband was cheating on her, she doesn't tell anyone, not even her best friend Alex. Alex's marriage isn't perfect either but she's never confided in anyone about it and she's not about to start now. Together they go about their everyday lives raising their children. Separately, Lauri attempts to fix her marriage and Alex struggles to decide what to do about hers. Neither realizes their choices are intertwined. Until it's too late.

Contingency


Paula Wiseman - 2010
    The email teases, "My whole evening is free again." After an angry confrontation with Chuck, she is left with the broken remains of an eighteen year marriage. Where is God? Bobbi agrees forgiving Chuck is the right thing, the God-honoring thing to do, but it leaves her empty and isolated. Teaching her second-graders is a burden. Taking care of her boys saps all her energy. It seems God Himself has walked away, leaving her to struggle alone. Is God faithful? Bobbi can't deny the transformation in Chuck, but genuine forgiveness requires trust, and trust is a risk she's not willing to take. Can she let go of her deepest, most primal fears and save her marriage?

The Girl in Seat 24B


Jennifer Peel - 2014
    Her journalist husband and her two adorable children were everything to her. But soon she would find out that her dream life didn't fall in line with her husband's expectations. Left alone to sort out the pieces of her crumbling life, Carly finds strength in her children and her growing relationship with her in-laws. Most importantly, she finds her greatest strength as she builds a friendship with herself. This is a beautiful story of one woman's strength and determination as she finds the will to move forward and be happy while the life she had grown to love crumbles around her. It is a story of a man who has lost his way and may lose it all if he can't find his way back. The Girl in Seat 24B is a story of love and forgiveness.

Think Again


Isabel Lucero - 2016
    He thinks he's getting away with it. He thinks karma won't come back to get him. He needs to think again. Men think women are vindictive, and maybe they're right. But when we get to the point of being cold, calculating, and vindictive, it's because they pushed us there. Not only is my husband unaware that he's pushing me too far, he also doesn't realize that I just met a man who's ready to catch me. I think he's just my new co-worker. I think it's just innocent flirting. I think I'll be able to keep my morals. I need to think again. *Contains adultery themes.

His Other House


Sarah Armstrong - 2015
    He'd always thought of it as a decisive abandonment of the truth. Instead, he realised, it was simply a matter of one word slipping into the place of another.'Dr Quinn Davidson and his wife Marianna have endured years of unsuccessful IVF and several miscarriages, and Quinn can't face another painful attempt to conceive. Marianna is desperate to be a mother and their marriage is feeling the strain. At a small-town practice a few hours from their home, Quinn meets Rachel, the daughter of one of his patients. Drawn to each other, it's not long before they find themselves in a passionate affair and Quinn realises he must choose between the two women. Then Marianna announces a surprise natural conception, news that will change the course of all their lives.Set in the lush Australian subtropics, this taut emotional drama poses questions about moral courage and accountability, and asks whether love means always telling the truth.

A Most Desirable Marriage


Hilary Boyd - 2014
    Even after thirty years they have lots to say to each other, many interests in common and, until recently, a good sex life.But Lawrence seems wary and restless. Something’s wrong. Just how wrong, Jo is about to discover…Can they use their years of history–all the things they’ve shared–to overcome a devastating betrayal?

The Model Wife


Tricia Stringer - 2019
    Some might say too full. With her teaching job, a farm to run, three grown daughters who have not quite got a handle on things, a reserved husband and a demanding mother-in-law, most days she is too busy to think about whether she is happy. But her life has meaning, doesn't it? After all, she is the one person everyone depends upon.But when an odd gift from her mother-in-law - an old book in the form of stern and outdated advice for young wives - surfaces again, it brings with it memories she thought she had buried deep. Has this insidious little book exerted some kind of hold over her? Could it be that in her attempts to be a loving wife and mother, she no longer knows who she is?On a day when it seems everyone is taking her for granted, and as the ghost of a past betrayal rises, it becomes clear that even this good mother and model wife can be pushed too far ...'A delightful, wise and heartwarming novel about second chances that celebrates friendships old and new.' Rachael Johns, author.

Between Me and You


Allison Winn Scotch - 2018
    They fall in love, they marry, they become parents, and they think only of the future. But as the years go by, Tatum’s stardom rises while Ben’s fades. In a marriage that bears the fallout of ambition and fame, Ben and Tatum are at a crossroads. Now all they can do is think back…A life of passion, joy, tragedy, and loss—once shared—becomes one as shifting and unpredictable as a memory. And as they explore the ways love can bend and break, they recount their individual versions of the story, Ben’s moving backward and Tatum’s moving forward, each wondering what they can do now to make it all right.

Just the Way You Are


Barbara Freethy - 2000
    a life about to be tested by the return of the only woman who can break them up—Alli's sister, Tessa.A baby brought them together—and even though Alli has always loved her strong, sexy husband Sam and the life they've built together, she has decided to set him free to follow his youthful dreams. It is no longer enough for her to be wife and lover when she knows she holds so little of his heart.Sam has always dreamed of a life away from the close-knit world of Tucker's Landing, but marriage and fatherhood ended all that. Now Sam is torn between what was and what was meant to be. He must decide if it's time to rekindle the dreams of the past ... or accept Alli, and her love, just the way she is.JUST THE WAY YOU ARE is an emotionallly compelling, heartwarming, beautiful love story about choices, second chances, the crush of a youthful love, the intensity of a love born from marriage and life. "An exceptional novel from #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Barbara Freethy!"

You, Me and Other People


Fionnuala Kearney - 2015
    . .But what happens when you open the door and they won’t stop tumbling out?For Adam and Beth the first secret wasn’t the last, it was just the beginning. You think you can imagine the worst thing that could happen to your family, but there are some secrets that change everything. And then the question is, how can you piece together a future when your past is being rewritten?For fans of Liane Moriarty, Jojo Moyes and David Nicholls.

Lessons For A Sunday Father


Claire Calman - 2001
    Four lives, one story - of love, loss and learning to be a grown-up.

The Goddesses of Kitchen Avenue


Barbara Samuel - 2004
     Trudy Marino never expected her life to turn out perfectly. But at forty-six, she was content with what she did have: her caring husband Rick . . . twenty-plus happy years raising three accomplished kids . . . and a lovely house in the artistic, vibrantly diverse town of Pueblo, New Mexico. But a heartbreaking discovery and a suddenly shattered marriage now has Trudy looking back on the choices she didn’t make—and where she might go from here. Struggling to pick up the pieces, Trudy finds support from a quirky, eclectic group of friends and neighbors—her goddesses of Kitchen Avenue—all of whom are trying in their own unique ways to navigate life’s little surprises. There’s Jade, a fiery social worker who’s finding unexpected strength to deal with her “player” ex-husband, thanks to a most unorthodox passion; Jade’s grandmother, Roberta, who has just lost her husband of sixty-two years—and through memory and piercing grief wonders what to do with the rest of her life; Shannelle, Trudy’s young neighbor and an aspiring writer, determined to realize her talent despite formidable obstacles . . . including the husband who’s afraid her success will be his loss; and Angel, a young, quietly-knowing photographer who makes Trudy uncover a sensuality she never knew—even as he tries to get over the one love he can never really forget. As Trudy faces her future, she discovers that figuring out what to let go and what to keep is just as difficult as moving on. As she weighs what she and Rick still share against new possibilities, she’ll surprise everyone— including herself—as she tries to reconcile the best of both.