Review: The Other Woman by Jane Green (audio book)

From the back of the audio case: Ellie and Dan are living proof that opposites attract. She’s impulsive; he follows all the rules. He loves sports’ she’s allergic to any form of exercise. Ellie doesn’t have a mother. Dan does – a very involved mother.

At first, Ellie is thrilled to be accepted into the loving Cooper clan and have Dan’s mom, Linda, as her “adopted” mother. But then Ellie starts to wonder, how has the intimate civil ceremony she always dreamed of turned into a black-tie affair? And what can Dan and his mother possibly have to talk about on the phone twice a day?

Ellie’s problems have just begun. When she discovers she’s pregnant, she realizes that Linda has only been rehearsing for the real takeover. When a crisis strains family bonds, Ellie turns to her friends – glamorous Lisa, who always looks like she’s just stepped off a runway, and wonderfully frazzled Trish – and tries to rediscover the independence she once had and the man she still loves. But it seems that having a child and saving a marriage means growing up in ways she’d never imagined.

In The Other Woman, Jane Green delivers a warm, witty, and touching look at mothers-in-law and marriage and what they teach us about ourselves.

Read by: Josephine Bailey

My thoughts: I have read many of Jane Green’s books and find them to be funny, light-hearted chick lit. While most chick-lit stories are about finding and keeping a man, this one touched on family, intimacy, and overbearing parents.

The Other Woman tells the story of Ellie and Dan Cooper’s marriage, and the other woman in Ellie’s life, her mother-in-law. It takes an interesting path, because it doesn’t reflect the typical “not good enough for my son” sentiment of mother-in-laws. Rather, Linda adores Ellie, but to the point where she becomes overbearing and obnoxious in her efforts to be a part of her and Dan’s lives. 

Using flashbacks and present-day narrative, we are able to trace Ellie and Dan’s marriage. And while the book starts off on a very humorous note, as things get worse for Ellie and Dan, the tone turns quite different. Ellie and Dan’s marriage is now on the rocks and it doesn’t look like anything can save their marriage.

I happened to like this book and at times found both Ellie and Linda to be likeable as well as unlikeable. It’s different from her other books, and while it is not my favorite of her’s, I still liked it just the same. As I slowly make my way through all of Jane Green’s books, I find that her writing isn’t the same old pattern and that works for me. Did you read this one yet? If not, do you have a favorite Jane Green book?

(I borrowed this audio book from the library.)