Review: Lucy's Last Straw by Debbie Viggiano

It was the toothpaste smeared around the sink that broke my marriage. As I rubbed it away AGAIN, I was reminded of everything else I’ve put up with these twenty-five years. My husband’s obsession with his pension, his ability to charm me into every single one of his ideas, never being taken on a romantic date, let alone ravished on the patio (like the woman who lives next door)… small things, but the realisation was huge.

Just when Lucy Jones thinks her marriage is about to screech to a halt over toothpaste, her husband, Leo, announces he wants to move to tumbledown (clapped-out) Rose Cottage, and Lucy knows she’ll be the one managing the renovations.

Then along comes gorgeous builder Will, ten years younger and the only person actually listening to Lucy. His twinkly eyes and blowtorch smile are causing Lucy to break out in a hot sweat – but is it love, lust or simply dodgy hormones that are causing her heart to flutter?

Lucy loves her husband, but everyone knows that little things build up. And then they explode. Can Lucy keep it together, or will there be one last straw she might not be able to get over?

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 What I thought about Lucy's Last Straw

I'm always intrigued with author's who write romantic comedy because I find it's not really easy to do, so when I saw this book available to review I thought I'd give this "new-to-me" author a try. I was also interested in the content, as I don't see a whole lot of romance that deals with a long-time marriage situation.

Lucy's marriage has been a happy one for the most part, with the usual irritations like cleaning up his nasty toothpaste for the last number of years. When Leo starts bugging her to sell the house where they've lived and reared their children to move to a fixer-upper, she doesn't understand why, until he comes home having been downsized in his job. Moving to the ramshackle cottage just turned from an option to a necessity.

With the new cottage home comes an aggressive female neighbor who just happens to have eyes for Leo, and there's a younger contractor hired to fix up the cottage that sets Lucy's blood afire, waking up long-thought-dead hormones. I found this to really be a story about trust and temptation and love, and what happens in a long-term relationship. I really enjoyed this part of the story and found it captured many of the emotions in a seasoned marriage.

Things really heat up when Leo goes to the US for new job orientation, leaving Lucy home with the contractor and Leo with just as much temptation. The situation is perfectly setup for Lucy and Leo to look away from the irritating toothpaste around the sink (metaphorically speaking) and be tempted to try something new and exciting -- will they is the question? I don't want to spoil anything, but I'll just say the ending warmed my heart big-time.

Overall, I really liked this story. Told from Lucy's point of view, her little conversations with herself are some times funny, sometimes cute, sometimes cute and funny although not every one hits the mark. I liked it more when the characters in my head had a British accent which was a completely different reading experience for me.

I would definitely try out other titles from this author in the future.

An ARC was provided for review.

Prior to turning her attention to writing, Debbie Viggiano was, for more years than she cares to remember, a legal secretary. She lives with her Italian husband, a rescued pooch from Crete, and a very disgruntled cat. Occasionally her adult children return home bringing her much joy... apart from when they want to raid the fridge, or eat her secret stash of chocolate.