Book Review: All I Ever Wanted by Lucy Dillon

Caitlin and Patrick are on the verge of separation. Parents of two, talkative Nancy and whacky Joel, they are trying to come to terms with their situation while trying to do the right things for the children.

Patrick had to move to Newcastle from their home in Bristol and they need a neutral place for the kids to meet Patrick during the weekends when Patrick is meant to have them. The only solution he can think of, is his sister Eva.

Eva, recently widowed from her movie-star husband, Mickey, is still coming to terms with her bereavement. She has recently been informed of her husband’s last wishes of publishing his diaries. Suddenly Eva is thrust into her brother’s problems while dealing with the stuff her life has been throwing at her. Eva finds herself entrusted with her niece and nephew and to her surprise finds herself enjoying herself tremendously. Being with the children also brought to surface, yearnings to be a mother herself, something she had suppressed as Mickey’s wife. As she reads Mickey’s diaries, she sees a side of their marriage that she had no idea about. Grappling with the revelations, Eva now has to understand where she needs to take her life.

Meanwhile, little Nancy seems to have issues of her own. From a child who couldn’t stop talking, she has turned into a child who refuses to talk. Caitlin is worried about what could have changed her little girl so drastically. All she wants is for her daughter to be back to normal. At the same time, Caitlin is enjoying her new found freedom. Life with Patrick was so measured and controlled that she has been feeling free, like she never felt before. But can she truly enjoy it all when her little girl seems so traumatised. With everything that is going on, Caitlin, Patrick and Eva have a lot on their plate. Where does life take them?

This was a book that I absolutely loved. A book with a fairly simple story-line, but  beautifully rendered. Each character was developed beautifully, warts and all. We could see each character, Eva, Patrick and Caitlin with their flaws and their positives. I love it when books do that, paint beautifully multi-faceted characters. A story of love, and family. Relationships of all sorts, between siblings, parent and child relationships.Loved the way it ended as well. All very real and very satisfying to read. A book I will be very happy to recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the review copy of this book.

About the Author

Lucy Dillon was born in Cumbria, worked for a while in publishing in London, and now lives in Herefordshire with her boyfriend and their terrier, near the Welsh border. She has written seven novels set in the fictional Midlands town of Longhampton, which looks a bit like Hereford, although the inhabitants tend to sound rather more Northern than that.