The Woman Who Ran Away From Everything | By Fiona Gibson

 

 

 

 

Book Review | NetGalley E-Arc | Womens Fiction

The Woman Who Ran Away From Everything
Kate is sick of being taken for granted by her husband Vince. It’s bad enough that she allowed herself to be dragged away from the London life she loved, but now she’s constantly compelled to keep up with the (very smug) Joneses in this small home counties town. She hates it here. What happened to the fun-loving woman she used to be? At almost 50 Kate feels lost, overlooked and like nothing is ever going to change. That is, until she comes home to an unexpected party – one that she has to cater. And that’s it. The final straw. Breaking point. Scrambling out the bathroom window, Kate leaves. She has no plan, but a chance encounter at Euston station sees her following her own heart for once – to beautiful Scotland where a crumbling mansion and a handsome bookseller could be just what she’s needs . . .   As Kate discovers, sometimes you have to feel utterly lost to find out who you truly are.       (Goodreads)

 

 

 

 

 

 

My thoughts

 

 

 

 

 

 

Narrative and Plot

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The story of The Woman Who Ran Away from Everything reminded me of The Undomesticated Goddess barring a few fundamental differences. This is more about the self-discovering journey of a woman who finally learns to take up her space.

The narrative alters between first person and third person. While Kate’s chapters are told from a first person perspective, Vince’s are from a third person. I cannot tell if that is a reason we feel a disconnect with Vince’s character or it is just because he is supposed to be an unlikeable character.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Characters and Conflicts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The beginning of the book felt like the perfect setting for a suburban thriller where murder ensues in this posh uptight community. Thankfully, Kate runs away before anything like that could happen.

I’ve always enjoyed reading about a second innings in people’s life. Kate seemed like she was on a journey of a lifetime. However, in an attempt to be realistic, Kate is shown to have a back and forth when it comes to her decision to leave. While that might be realistic, it dragged the plot a bit. It meandered towards where you keep wondering if something big would happen.

The book could have been shorter if the final conflict wasn’t extended too much.
Also, towards the end, the way Kate treated Fergus and the way it resolved felt unrealistic. It seemed like one of those cases where the ideal male lead would never question the intentions of the female lead no matter how reckless she behaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall, this was an easy read. The first half was definitely better than the latter half. However, if you are looking for an entertaining light-hearted journey of a protagonist’s self-discovery in the countryside, give this one a try. For me, it was a onetime read.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

 

 

 

 

 


Disclosure: I received an e-ARC of the book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

 

 

 

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