Today I am featuring Sharley Scott's romcom, The Two Lives of Maddie Meadows.
Maddie Meadows adores her family and loves her work. But she
has good reason to keep them separate.
For single mum Maddie, home is a flat on a run-down estate.
And family consists of an excitable toddler, a lonely Dad and a younger brother
mired in a love triangle.
Meanwhile, professional Madeleine balances a tricky day job,
made worse by a jealous colleague. No one at work knows about her other life,
and she needs to keep it this way: one of the bosses has made his feelings very
clear about single parents and the people on her estate.
Thank goodness for her fun-loving and loyal friends -
although Maddie wishes they’d believe her when she insists she has no time for
love. Or so she tells herself as she fights to quell her hidden feelings for
her gorgeous colleague, Oliver, who comes from the posh part of town.
When her friends line up their ideal man for her – Sean,
more beanstalk than Bean – Maddie wishes she’d told them the truth. It’s hard
enough juggling two lives. But, with all the added complications, how long will
be it be before Maddie’s carefully created world comes crashing down?
My Thoughts
This novel takes an amusing look at life for Maddie Meadows, who lives the life of a single Mum in a rundown part of town by night and is the much more middle class Madeline, working for the council by day. Along the way, you get to meet some colourfully drawn characters from all walks of life and to appreciate how making presumptions can lead to the wrong conclusions.
Self -interest and snobbish seems to run rife through some but there are others who are much more sympathetic to people's problems and who volunteer for the greater good. You get to see Maddie's caring side through her family life and through her attitude to her father and brother, Will, who has Downs Syndrome. There hasn't been much room in her life for romance, as Maddie has tried to establish a better life for herself and her small son. Her father has suffered from depression as he recovers from Cancer and tries to find a job. Family ties are strong, as is the support Maddie gets from her circle of friends. This is a warm, inclusive story which shows all sides of human nature and which is easy to relate to.
In short: Cultures collide
About the Author
Sharley Scott is the author of the 'Devon Seaside
Guesthouse' novels - Bedlam & Breakfast and B&Bers Behaving Madly.
Her latest book 'The Two Lives of Maddie Meadows' is being
published in early July 2020. The second in the series 'The Gift of a Rose'
will be available in the autumn.
Sharley is a guesthouse owner in South Devon. She is
thankful to have been blessed with lots of amazing and kind-hearted guests, who
are nothing like some of the characters featured in the Devon Seaside
Guesthouse series.
The Two Lives of Maddie Meadows is a fictional account, but
Sharley has never forgotten how interesting life can be with a toddler. Some of
the mischief Josh gets up to will be familiar to all parents. Sharley has
carried out the threats she made to her son decades ago and now embarrasses him
by telling tales to his girlfriend, although he gets her back by recounting
stories about his mum.
You can read my review of Bedlam and Breakfast here.
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