Watching From The Wings by Christine Webber

Book Blurb
What happens when the fairy tale you thought you wanted at twenty-two feels like a prison forty years later? Watching From the Wings is a heart-warming story of devotion, friendship, joy and passion, but also one involving disappointment, duplicity and betrayal. We all have our own journey of love. Katharine’s is more complex than most. And she comes to realise that she has always chosen the wrong door whenever she had the chance to exit by a more promising one. Can she make a fresh start, or is it too late?

MyReview
Watching From The Wings is the fabulous new novel from Christine Webber. Like her previous books, she takes her personal experience from working in the theatre to write a book about second chances. Kate meets Nicholas on her first job in the theatre, she is in awe of him, and as they say love is blind. Forty years later we catch up with Kate who has spent the last forty years supporting Nicholas in his astonishing career. But with age we change, our priorities change and we can look back and see our missed opportunities . After Kate is pushed too she decides to take a stand, and start to put herself first for the first time.

Christine Webber has an amazing skill in writing wonderfully real and relatable characters that we feel we know. I loved Katherine, although I did occassionly want to shout at her, to make her see how manipulative Nicholas was being, but as they say ‘Love is Blind’. I cheered however when she eventually snapped, and realised she wanted more to life. Her sense of humour and clumsiness added a warmth and sense of fun to both Kate and the story. In most books there is the character we dislike but Christine has created two character whom I found absolutely abhorrent, Nicholas and Katie’s mother Moira. Nicholas is a self centred, selfish egoistical man, who cares nothing for Katie except as someone to take care of him. His relationship with Katie was always more to do with her famous mother than her. Moira has many of the same traits as Nicholas, but as a mother they are even more unforgivable in my opinion.

The plot line of second chances really appealed to me and I’m sure many will relate to Katie and her situation. It is isn’t just Katie by leaving Nicholas who has a second chance, but other characters aslo had second chances in different ways; like after illness in the family, and in marriage. Her character’s relationships were very natural and real, my favourite being between Katie and her father. Even in her sixties she still needs her father, he is the person she turns to when in need; it reminded me of my relationship with my father. I also enjoyed how she uses the everyday simple things the smell of clothes to bring back memories and how a familiar walk can bring us comfort, again something I’m sure we can all relate to.

Watching From The Wings is a beautiful book packed with warmth, wit, humour and fabulous characters. I have used the word relatable in my review a couple of times, and that is the strength of this book, and what makes it such a compelling and engaging read. Christine Webber is masterful in her character development, taking in her many years of being in the media and theatre and using it to really get under the skin of those characters. This is such a fascinating read that I highly recommend.