New Release Book Review: Flying the Nest by Rachael Johns

I wasn’t sure going into this newest novel by Rachael Johns whether I would be able to connect with the story never having been married or had kids, I wondered if I would really ‘get’ the whole nest parenting idea. But, I’m really happy to say that I loved this novel and connected with Ashling and her circumstances easily.

Inthe beginning, I found Ashling a little hard to like, but she definitely grew as a person as the story went on. She found out who she was and discovered what she wanted out of life.

I disliked her husband Adrian from the first page and I kept worrying that they would end up getting back together, she really was much better of without him. Ashling is completely thrown when Adrian tells her he wants to try nest parenting, it wouldn’t be my idea of how to share custody and it was interesting to see how they navigated the situation and the issues they had to deal with.

I loved that this is set just up the road from me, albeit a fictional town of Ragged Point, and completely understood how healing it was for Ashling to stay in the coastal village, as I moved to what was a coastal village 22 years ago in order to heal myself and have never wanted to leave either. I really appreciated how she decided to tackle the renovation of the cottage she was staying in and didn’t give in to her need to continually worry about how her children were getting on when it was her husband’s week to have them. In this way, she was able to make new friends and rediscover who she was away from being a mother and a wife.

Jedda, the owner of the Café in Ragged Point, was a delightful character and their meeting provided just the kind of friendship that both Ashling and Jedda were missing.

I loved Dan, Ashling’s neighbour, what a great guy, and such a contrast to her soon to be ex-husband, I wish I could meet a real-life Dan. Dan’s friendship and then relationship with Ashling, was another piece that helped in Ashling’s journey.

This was a really wonderful read and I was totally absorbed from start to finish.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Australia for a digital copy of this novel in return for an honest review.