Once I started reading THE OTHER HALF by Sarah Rayner I just couldn't stop. I read it in two sittings and that's only because my kids wanted something for dinner. Can you imagine? Seriously though, THE OTHER HALF is a heart wrenching tale of a married couple and what happens when infidelity comes into the relationship. Jamie and Maggie Slater have been married for seven years. Jamie is a handsome magazine publisher. Maggie is a beautiful talented writer, and stay at home mom. They have a six-year old little boy and a lovely house in the quaint little village of Shere. Lately their happy marriage has been a little strained. Maggie wants another child and Jamie is not on board with this at all.

Chloe is young beautiful and single. She works as a feature writer in London for the magazine Babe, but feels that there is a gap in the market and has an idea for a hip and trendy new magazine that would appeal to women just like her. When she pitches the concept to her potential new boss, Jamie, she feels an instant attraction and thinks the feelings may be mutual. After a lunch meeting between the two that turns into a dinner meeting...and then drinks, the pair soon find themselves mixing business with pleasure on a weekly basis. Cheating on a spouse is never a good thing and the betrayal left behind along with some big trust issues that never go away is a relationship killer. It isn't pretty and it never ends well. Jamie and Maggie are going through all of that and while Jamie knows he is hurting his wife Maggie, he still can't stay away.

THE OTHER HALF will probably make you laugh; will make you cry; may even make you want to throw the book. Most importantly however, it will definitely make you think. The story of Jamie and Maggie's relationship and how it deteriorates is so much more than blaming the "other woman/mistress" typical scenario. This love story has depth and meaning-- told from the man, mistress, and wife (mother)'s point of view, as well as a few of the secondary characters, makes you sympathetic to each of them at times.

I was completely prepared not to like THE OTHER HALF, I mean it is all about having an affair which I've always been very against. But the story is so real and you can't help but feel badly for everyone involved. Some how the characters in this book found a way to make me love them. I've never read Sarah Rayner before but I am now going to go back and read her earlier novels. I truly loved how some of the characters evolved and grew stronger and right from the beginning I was emotionally invested in their story.