BOOK REVIEW: Joyride, by Olivia Reynolds.

TITLE: Joyride
AUTHOR: Olivia Reynolds
PUBLISHED BY: Hobart Books

Sophie is trapped in a loveless marriage with a man she despises; he is an alcoholic, cruel and verbally abusive and she has to work hard to keep on the right side of him otherwise it leads to physical punishment. The only redeeming feature in her life is her job which she loves, teaching crafts to elderly ladies at the local college; she is very fond of the ladies as they are of her.

She dreams of escape, of sailing off into the sunset with a handsome man to a new life, any life than the one she has. She’s desperate to find a way out but none spring to mind, she is trapped in her miserable life but then hope comes in the form of a letter from a solicitor; an unexpected inheritance from a long-forgotten uncle.

Hope is on the horizon and Sophie can’t believe her luck when her life changes for the better, and there is even more good fortune to come.

This easy-to-read novel is a charming story of good overcoming bad. It has a touch of Mills And Boone about it, the publishers who swept women off their feet with daily doses of uplifting romantic fiction that guaranteed an instant escape from day-to-day routines. It is a story easy to emerge into and easy to pick up from where it was left off.

Reviewer - Anne Pritchard