Over You by Lucy Diamond

Over You by Lucy Diamond

As I read the final page of Over You by Lucy Diamond I found myself letting out a loud cheer. This was not a cheer because the story had ended as I could quite happily have read another ten chapters. It was a loud cheer because Josie did not get back together with her cheating husband Pete. There were many times when I thought Josie would cave in and welcome Pete back into her life with open arms, if only for the sake of her children, but she did not give in to temptation – common sense prevailed! I can fully understand why she wanted to get back together with her husband and in her situation I would probably have wanted the same thing but after evaluating all of the evidence I think it was clear that welcoming Pete back into her life would have been the biggest mistake of her life.

Over You is an honest, frank and sensitive portrayal of a marriage disintegrating and the repercussions of that relationship ending on everyone involved. It is not just the husband, wife and children who suffer and see their normal lives shattered and torn apart. We see in this story for example how Pete’s mother fears that she will never see her grandchildren again because Pete has split up with Josie. So many marriages fall apart for one reason or another, I think this story deals with the demise of Pete and Josie’s marriage in a truthful and emotional way. The characters seem believable, like they have been plucked from real life. The emotions are honest and genuine throughout, never over done and always very realistic. Lucy Diamond takes the reader on a journey – Josie’s journey. In this story Josie learns an awful lot about herself and through all the ups and downs, of which there are many, she gains a new insight into life and finds her inner strength. She regains her identity and finds over time the courage to move on and face the world once more despite what has happened. I am sure the character of Josie will be an inspiration to many who find themselves in a similar situation.

This story for me was actually three stories rolled into one. The main story was a story about betrayal and the break up of a marriage. The second was Josie’s personal journey. Seeing her hit rock bottom and pull herself back up. This was an emotional journey that for me as a reader had me hooked. I could feel Josie’s pain and suffering every step of the way. The betrayal of her husband and her best friend and the constant yearning for a baby girl – something, which became a bit of an obsession and was perhaps the catalyst for driving Pete into the arms of another woman? The third story for me was about friendship and how three friends, once flat mates, remained friends and supported one another even in the darkest of days. At the end of the day even though friendships had been severely strained they remained close friends. Friendship was a bond that could not be broken.

Josie for me was a truly realistic and believable character. I could sympathise with her throughout the story. She was likeable and for me she always acted and reacted as any woman in her situation would. As Josie was the pivotal character in the story it was important for the author to make her likeable and as realistic as she possibly could. Readers have to be able to empathise with the character of Josie or the story would not be a success. Lucy achieves this with ease making Josie seem like the woman next door. She could be anyone from any neighbourhood and any background and I think that was key to the plot of his story.

At the start of the story it is clear that Josie’s life revolves solely around her marriage and her two children. She hasn’t worked since they were born – life is all about being a stay at home mother. When Josie goes to London to meet up with her two best friends - Lisa and Nell it is obvious that time has changed them all. Josie has little in common with her friends. Lisa is a career woman on a top salary wearing nice clothes and living in a lovely house. She appears on face value to have it all. Nell has travelled the world and seen things Josie can only dream of. Josie instantly feels left behind, old and out of place. Whilst she misses her children and husband like mad her friends are more interested in getting drunk and shopping.

From the start we are aware of some tension between Lisa and Josie regarding a romance from the past. Although it happened years a go it is clear that Lisa has neither forgotten nor forgiven Josie for stealing her man, not that he was her man to steal, but that is how Lisa appears to have seen it. When Josie finds the photo of Pete under Lisa’s bed it is the start of something big. Lisa brushes off the photo making up a lie to explain why the photo is there. The lie is plausible but it is obvious that Josie doesn’t believe it. She keeps quiet to keep the peace. It is that lie that starts everything off – from that moment on Josie’s life will never be the same again. It becomes like a row of dominos that crash one by one to the ground.

I cannot imagine being Josie, finding out that your beloved husband is leaving you for another woman because you have become boring and he no longer loves you. It must be like a slap in the face or a kick in the teeth. When Josie comes home early from her trip and finds the house empty she starts to imagine all sorts of terrible things. She imagines that Pete has run off with the boys to start a new life. It is clear that Pete and the boys have not been in the house the whole time she has been away. When Pete returns she is happy to see him and the boys. All her fears are brushed aside for a short while. Whist she is planning a night of sex and baby making Pete is planning to tell her he is leaving her for another woman. When Pete tells her he is leaving her Josie thinks it is a sick joke. She cannot believe that he would do that to her, they have the perfect marriage or so she thought. She realises that whilst she was off meeting the girls for the weekend he had dumped the children onto his mother so he could see his mistress. Her original fears that he had run off with the boys to start a new life were not all that far from the real truth. When Josie finds out that Pete also had an affair with her best friend, Lisa, I think that is the icing on the cake. One affair is bad enough to get your head around let alone two. Suddenly Josie’s cosy world comes crashing down around her. She is left with two boys to look after, a house that she might not be able to stay in if Pete decides to divorce her and wants his share of the money and bills to pay with no income and no husband to support her. It is a situation that I am sure many people find themselves in every day. In a matter of minutes her life is in tatters.

I think the way that Josie conducts herself is admirable. She tries to keep things as normal as possible for the sake of the children. Even though her life is falling apart she always tries to maintain some sense of normality and stability for the children’s sake. Yes Josie goes off the rails a bit at first but who wouldn’t given her situation? She finds solace in alcohol but she soon realises that it isn’t the answer to her problems. She lashes out at her mother-in-law, she refuses to speak to Lisa even though she calls her constantly and she leaves irate messages on Pete’s voice mail.

She tries to hide her marriage breakdown from her own parents because she knows her parents will frown upon the situation. They are of the old school where marriage is for life. When her parents do discover the truth through the children they seem incapable of offering help and understanding more worried what their own friends and social circle will say and think. They see it as a stigma. Josie’s marriage break up comes at a time when her brother is busy introducing his latest girlfriend Mel to the rest of the family. It must be hard for Josie to congratulate her brother on his latest relationship just as hers is falling apart.

Luckily for Josie an angel appears in the form of her best friend Nell. She comes to stay out of the blue and takes charge of the house and the children. She is like a breath of fresh air, coming in with her carefree attitude and her cheery personality. Just what Josie needs to get her life back on track. Nell’s friendship is what gets Josie though the darkest of days. She makes Josie realise that she can stand on her own two feet and face the world without Pete by her side supporting her every step of the way. When Nell, Josie and the boys embark on their adventure holiday to Devon we see a different Josie. This Josie is happy and living for the moment. She is still upset over Pete but she starts to see life clearly again.

I like the way that Josie worries over everything. Suddenly all the things that were once Pete’s responsibility are now hers. You can sense her fear and nervousness. How is she going to cope? What if something goes wrong? She has spent years relying on Pete to deal with things around the home and now she is the one in charge left to deal with any disasters that might occur. I think it was important for Lucy to get these feelings across in the story. These are feelings that real people would have if they were put into this situation. Suddenly where once there were two people in the relationship there is now only one. The one person left has to pick up the pieces and continue to live on a daily basis no matter what is thrown at them. I think Lucy is very honest in how she portrays this kind of dilemma though Josie in the story.

When Josie meets Rob, Nell’s brother, it is clear that once many years a go Josie had a bit of a crush on him. Perhaps because she is lonely and afraid to face the future alone she starts to have feelings for Rob once again. She even has a sexy dream about him seducing her. At the end of the day though it is Pete she wants and by the end of the holiday she has a plan to win him back. Her plan is simple – she will go to Pete’s office and seduce him wearing very provocative clothes. She makes it to his place of work, even takes the lift to his floor but then she chickens out and runs away. It is interesting that no one in the office where Pete works seems to know that they are no longer together. Possibly Pete hasn’t told anyone for fear of being labelled a home wrecker, after all he is the one who had the affair and walked out on his wife and two children.

Throughout the early part of the story Josie constantly compares herself to Pete’s new woman. Isn’t that something any woman in that situation would do? Josie constantly puts herself down assuming that this new woman is much prettier and sexier than her. She also worries that no man will ever find her sexy or attractive again. She has been with Pete for so long she has forgotten how to date or be romantic with other men. She worries that her body will let her down. A man will see her stretch marks and run a mile. Most of all she is sad that she will never be able to have the baby girl she so wanted to have. When Josie meets Pete’s mistress by accident in the local pub Josie’s suspicions are confirmed.

When Toby becomes ill and is rushed to hospital we see a different side to Pete. He refuses to accept Josie’s frantic call to him at the office and then when he brings Toby home from the hospital he leaves him unattended downstairs on the sofa whilst he goes off upstairs to pack the rest of his belongings. When he first takes the boys out after the health scare he forgets to give Toby his medicine. Pete becomes the enemy. Throughout the story as a reader I disliked Pete enormously. He had been unfaithful to his wife on two occasions that we know of. He had never once seemed sorry for what he had done or ashamed of putting the blame on Josie for his leaving. Pete had walked out leaving Josie to tell the boys. As a loving father shouldn’t Pete have spoken to the boys himself? If Josie had never found the photo of Pete under Lisa’s bed would she have found out about his affair with her? I also felt angered at the way Pete had planned his departure waiting for Josie to come back from her weekend away to tell her he was leaving.

It is interesting how the mother-in-law thought of by Josie as the enemy and a bit of an ogre actually became a good friend. She wasn’t as horrid as she appeared. In fact she stood by Josie apparently taking her side over Pete’s when the full story of Pete’s betrayal came out. In many ways Josie’s mother-in-law was more supportive and understanding than her own mother.

Annette was also I believe instrumental in helping Josie move on with her life and reclaim her independence. Annette had already experienced what Josie was going through so she could advise Josie on what was to come next and be there to comfort her and jolly her along when needed.

When Josie finally confronted Lisa about her affair with Pete I have to say I was shocked at the secrets that were revealed. I liked the way that the author made Lisa out to be a victim rather than a villain in the end. For so long I had felt a strong dislike towards Lisa for what she had done but when she told Josie her heartbreaking story I suddenly felt some empathy towards her. It was a shock to find out that Lisa had fallen heavily for Pete, she was deeply in love with him but obviously he did not feel the same way about her. Worse still was the fact that when she fell pregnant he dumped her just like that, no second thoughts. I was surprised that Josie forgave Lisa so easily for what she had done but Josie was a very maternal woman and I think Lisa’s story about the death of her baby – Rose, was enough to bring Josie around. Suddenly Lisa was no longer the career woman with the lovely clothes and the great salary – she was a human being with flaws. She had suffered a great loss all on her own with no one to confide in. Lisa’s betrayal and lies had cost her dearly in more ways than one. I think Pete severely went down in my estimations at this point in the story, not that my estimations of him were that high to begin with. He was meant to be a loving father and there he was abandoning the mother of his unborn child. I guess once Lisa got pregnant he realised he was in too deep and that if she had the baby there would be awkward questions and he would have to support two sets of children forever more. Even if he didn’t leave Josie for Lisa being as they were best friends the situation would be very difficult for all concerned. It was easier to dump Lisa and pretend the affair never happened. What a callous man! As a reader I am left wondering how Pete could not be curious to find out the fate of his child. Did he ever bother to find out if Lisa had an abortion or gave the child up for adoption? The more Lucy revealed of Pete the more hatred and revulsion I felt for him. He was clearly not the man Josie had fallen in love with. The question for me as a reader was did he change once he was married or did he always have a reckless streak running through him?

It is nice that by the end of the story Josie has got her life back to some sort of normality again. She has got a job at the playgroup a couple of mornings a week, which she obviously enjoys and she has started the college course with the aim of getting more permanent work in the future now that she is a single parent.

The night that Pete comes over drunk asking for a second chance was for me a highlight of the story. It was a test for Josie and I was anxious to find out which way she would go. Throughout the story all Josie ever wanted was a second chance. She longed to get Pete back and return to normal. Her friends told her that Pete wasn’t worth taking back. They kept on telling her that he would hurt her again. Having admitted to two affairs it was highly likely that Pete would stray again and have yet another affair. I prayed that Josie would not be foolish enough to take him back. I hoped that she would realise before it was too late that he would let her down again. Thankfully she did wise up and fast. I liked the way she sent him packing with his tail well and truly between his legs. Just what he deserved! I am sure Pete thought Josie would have him back just like that but Josie had grown in strength since his abrupt departure and she no longer needed or wanted him as her husband. As it turned out Pete soon went back to his mistress and carried on as if nothing had happened that night. This proved to me that Josie would have been a fool to take him back.

I will willingly admit that as the story progressed I was rooting for some kind of romantic relationship to develop between Josie and Rob. It was obvious that there was some attraction there and that Rob was more than a little bit interested in Josie. It was nice that nothing was rushed or forced. Josie did not jump into bed with Rob. She didn’t go from Pete to Rob overnight to was a slow process with much thought and consideration. Again I found this to be very realistic of real life situations. She allowed herself time to get herself together first. She gave herself chance to clear her head and regain her individuality. Josie never once appeared to me to be the kind of woman who would rush into a relationship especially after the pain she had suffered at the hands of Pete. I think the development of the new relationship/romance was handled with great sensitivity and diplomacy. It was nice at the end of the story to find out that Rob and Josie had taken the boys away together and that Josie was pregnant. It was a fitting end to the story and our introduction to the characters in the story. In an odd way Josie kind of got her happy ending. All she had wanted was another baby and now she was having one.

Pete started off the story being a loving father and husband, every woman’s dream man. It just goes to show how wrong perceptions can be. Pete was in fact a home wrecker who gave little value to the thoughts and feelings of other people especially the people he was meant to love and care for. Pete had his first affair with Lisa when the boys were born. He wanted love and affection and because he wasn’t getting any at home with Josie as she was busy being a new mum he went elsewhere to get it. So much for being a devoted dad.

Two things really annoyed me about Pete. First off he claimed to really love his boys yet he was willing to go off and have an affair straight after they were born. He then proceeded to have a second affair, which resulted in him leaving his beloved boys for a new woman and home. Secondly he picked Josie’s best friend to have his first affair with. Did he never think that the affair would be discovered? Pete was playing rather too close to home for comfort. It is hard to believe that Pete would dump Lisa as soon as she told him she was pregnant. Possibly all the reasons he’d had the affair in the first place were coming back to haunt him. After all he had turned to Lisa as he was feeling left out at home with the arrival of the new babies, if Lisa had a child the same thing would happen all over again.

Josie’s fixation with the baby ‘Rose’ were probably a catalyst for his latest affair. Sex became mechanical based on dates and hormones. It was no longer fun or spontaneous. Josie was so busy obsessing on having a baby girl and preparing their bodies for conception with supplements and potions that she lost sight of Pete’s needs and feelings. I felt a small glimmer of sympathy towards Pete when Josie’s obsession with having a baby girl emerged. Her out buying baby clothes all of the time for a baby that didn’t even exist. It must have driven Pete up the wall. In many ways I can see why he felt the need to escape and seek solace in the arms of another woman. I do not condone his actions for one minute though. Maybe if he had not had the first affair with Lisa I would not have felt so much anger towards him, I might have even had some empathy for his situation but in truth he was not worthy of empathy. I did find myself wondering constantly throughout the story if Pete’s current mistress found herself pregnant would he dump her like he dumped Lisa or would he stand by her and bring the child up? The other question that I kept wondering was whether Pete would get bored with his latest conquest and dump her for a newer more attractive model as he had done with Josie?

When Pete asks Josie to take him back I was left pondering why. Why was he so keen to go back to her after all that he had said and done? Did he only say those things because he was drunk or did he really want Josie to take him back? Had he had an argument with his mistress and was seeing solace in the arms of someone he thought it would be easy to win over once again? The whole incident in the kitchen, when a drunken Pete tries to grope Josie in an attempt to win her back is pitiful and made my skin crawl. It shows how far Pete has fallen. The roles have been reversed and now Josie appears to be the strong one with the upper hand. She is strong enough to say no to Pete and send him on his way and she does so in excellent style. I don’t think Pete knows quite what has hit him when Josie not only rejects him but sends him packing. Definitely a time for loud cheering!

Lisa doesn’t appear that likeable right from the start of the story. It is hard to imagine just how Josie became friends with Lisa in the first place. They seem so different and have such opposite lives. Lisa seems bitter towards Josie because of a boy years a go. She doesn’t seem to have ever got over that incident and Josie’s betrayal. As the story unfolds as readers we are left wondering if that bitterness is because of Josie and Pete’s relationship rather than anything to do with what happened years a go. Pete was the love of Lisa’s life yet he was never truly hers. When she got pregnant he dumped her and went back to Josie. He didn’t stick by Lisa when she needed him the most. Whist she was busy falling head over heels in love with her best friend’s husband he was just passing time and amusing himself. I felt slightly warmer towards Lisa by the end of the story. When she told Josie what had happened with the baby it was easy to see why she was so bitter. She had fallen in love with a man she could not have, she had got herself pregnant, been dumped and then lost the baby she was going to keep and bring up on her own. Lisa had dealt with a lot on her own. Although she was wrong to have had the affair she was punished cruelly for her actions. At least by finally revealing the truth to Josie about the past Lisa could finally move on.

Nell is a great fun loving character and a much needed breath of fresh air in this often sad and emotional story. Nell is a free spirit who likes to live life the full. She is full of energy and sweeps everyone along in her enthusiasm for life including Josie. Nell’s arrival at Josie’s house marks a change in Josie’s mood. She is forced to face the future and make plans. Nell helps Josie get her life back on track. It is interesting how different Nell and Josie are. Josie is desperate to get her husband back even after all that he has done to her and the children. She wants to be a wife and a mother and can’t see herself being anything else. Nell on the other hand as we find out mid way through the story has left the man of her dreams because he has asked her to marry him. Nell hates the idea of being married or of having to stay in one place for long and for that reason she has run away even though she was in love. Eventually Josie and Rob make Nell see sense. She cannot walk or run away from the man she loves just because she is afraid of commitment and wants to remain a free spirit. Nell goes back but things don’t work out because of her refusal to commit to anything long term. In the end however a compromise is reached, which satisfies both parties. Nell and her beau, Gareth, are to travel together.

Rob is painted in the story as something of a heartthrob right from the moment Josie lays eyes on him when they stay at his house overnight. Josie recalls pleasant memories of Rob from her youth when she used to hang out with him and Nell. She recalls one time when she thought that something might happen between them but it never did. When Josie meets Rob again it is clear that there is still a spark between them but neither acts on that spark. For Josie it is too soon after Pete. She wants to give her marriage another try if she can and for that reason she can’t allow herself to be tempted by another man. Rob is honourable and gives Josie the space that she needs to sort her head out. He never once rushes her or pushes her, which I think is nice. It would have been wrong for Josie to jump from Pete to Rob. It would have made her no better than Pete if she had done that. I was pleased that Rob did end up with Josie; it was a fitting end to the story.

Overall Over You wasn’t exactly a pleasant story to read, let me rephrase that, the story was a delight to read because it had such a likeable main character and was packed full of emotion and drama plus a bit of romance thrown in for good measure. The reason I say it wasn’t a nice story to read was because of its core subject matter. The ending of a marriage and the resulting fall out is never a happy occasion and Lucy Diamond portrays this dreadful event with much maturity and compassion. This is a heart warming story that will resonate with many readers on many different levels and for many different reasons. There are many emotional ups and downs in the story, which keep the reader guessing what the final outcome will be.