The Magnificent Mrs Mayhew by Milly Johnson @millyjohnson

Book Description:

Behind every successful man is a woman.
Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.

Sophie Mayhew looks like she has the perfect life. Wife of rising political star John F Mayhew, a man who is one step away from the top job in the government, her glamour matches his looks, power, breeding and money. But John has made some stupid mistakes along the way, some of which are threatening to emerge. Still, all this can still be swept under the carpet as long as Sophie ‘the trophy’ plays her part in front of the cameras.

But the words that come out of Sophie’s mouth one morning on the doorstep of their country house are not the words the spin doctors put in there. Bursting out of the restrictive mould she has been in since birth, Sophie flees to a place that was special to her as a child, a small village on the coast where she intends to be alone.

But once there, she finds she becomes part of a community that warms her soul and makes her feel as if she is breathing properly for the first time. Sophie knows she won’t be left in peace for long. Now she must decide: where does her real future lie? 

My Thoughts:

I wasn’t too sure of what to make of Sophie when we first meet her. Life as a politician’s wife seems to have her going through the motions. It’s evident that she has lost the person she wants to be. I didn’t envy her being in the limelight and the more we see of John, her husband, I felt such empathy for this woman having to deal with his indiscretions so publicly as well as the way he uses everything and everyone.

The story really comes together when Sophie returns to the small village where she has a lot of happy memories. The people that she meets there made my heart melt and my head went into overdrive in the rundown building she finds herself staying in whilst there. Seeing Sophie grow in this setting as a person was such a delight to read. She really comes into her own and couldn’t be anymore different to the shell of a person we first meet.

I loved getting to know Sophie and the other characters in the story. Some like Edward and Elise took me by surprise, more so Elise and I thought there characters were wonderful. There are some humorous moments as well as plenty of heartfelt ones that had me glued to the pages throughout.

The Magnificent Mrs Mayhew was a lovely, heart-warming read that had me fully engaged. There is a reason why Milly Johnson has the title of Queen of feel-good fiction as her novels leave you uplifted and feeling on a high. Another great read by the author!