Book Review ||The Bride Stripped Bare by Nikki Gemmell

"To know right is well, but to do right is better"

The author of the entries who is a nameless 30-year-old housewife, disappeared, leaving behind what is around 138 “lessons” written in the second person for her fellow good wives. The young woman, newly married. Discovering her husband is not all he seems. That he has secrets. That she has needs, wants, desires. That she will need to take things into her own hands if she is ever to be satisfied in her new role as wife.

At a glance, the gimmick is quite jarring, however as the protagonist’s personality emerges and bloomed, I felt seduced by this. The idea that in the beginning, marriage equals safety to women, meanwhile sex is humdrum. Personally, I quite disliked the personality and characteristic of Cole, her husband. Due to him being remote and fastidious and would rather spend his time watching tv than spend time with his wife.

Furthermore, this is quite a slow book, which could be a negative for some. It takes a long time to reach its climax, although I believe gives you time to understand the nature of our protagonist and her way of thought. Each time I turned the page I was wondering where things were going, it almost felt like I was lost in a maze, trying to find my way. The sex in this book is very different to what you would be reading in the Fifty Shades series. It is not too erotic, and you can tell decisions were made when creating these scenes. It is created in a way to not turn you on, but to inform you of how things are like. My favorite aspect of the novel was the title headings. There were moments where I could relate to the lesson titles within my own life. At the time I started reading it I was personally going through some tough complicated things, so these lessons helped me think more.

However, as I past the midway point of the novel and then reaching the end, it left me feeling confused and at the same time unsatisfied. I hoped more for the protagonist, wishing she selected the man who was best for her, where she was happiest, but I guess it wasn’t meant to be. Overall, I loved the style of the novel, the 2ndperson format defiantly added to the vivid atmosphere that was created