Review: Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes

 MEET SAM

She's not got much, but she's grateful for what she has: a job she's just about clinging on to and a family who depend on her for everything. She knows she's one bad day away from losing it all - and just hopes today isn't it . . .

MEET NISHA

She's got everything she always dreamed of - and more: a phenomenally rich husband; an international lifestyle; and . . . she's just been locked out of all of it after her husband initiates divorce proceedings . . .

Sam and Nisha should never have crossed paths. But after a bag mix-up at the gym, their lives become intertwined - even as they spiral out of control.

Each blames the other as they feel increasingly invisible, forgotten, lost - and desperately alone.

But they're not.

No woman is an island. Look around. Family. Friends. Strangers.

Even the woman you believe just ruined your life might turn out to be your best friend.

Because together you can do anything - like take back what is yours . . .

Review: Ah I loved a new Jojo Moyes novel and this one was no exception. I listened to this latest story on audio and right from the word go I was hooked into the story of these women and their lives. What would really happen if you had to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes? What would happen if you had to go to a very important work meeting in someone else’s shoes/ What would happen if you had to try and have a very important relationship conversation in someone else’s shoes? This book explores all of these questions. 

As the book progressed and Sam and Nisha seem to be getting closer to swapping their shoes back and getting on with their lives I worried about what would happen in the rest of the book. But I need not have worried because it is when these two women finally cross paths again that the real story starts and the action begins. I loved these women separately but I love them even more together. There were some really funny moments with these two characters but also some serious issues dealt with along with the issue of feeling lonely even when you’re surrounded by people. 

Sam and Nisha are great characters to spend the book with and I think Jojo Moyes made a great choice making their lives too different. We instantly warm to Sam because she is relatable. She doesn’t necessarily like her job but she’s doing her best. Her boss is awful, she doesn’t have any support at home and she is always just a little bit chaotic-very easy to relate to. Nisha has it all on the other hand, a rich husband, fancy shoes and houses on multiple continents but when all that begins to implode, that’s when I really started to like her-when the fire and passion inside of her started to show. 

I think one of the things I personally connected with most was Sam’s home life. She has a teenage daughter who brings all the classic teenage angst with her whilst still being a beautiful human and a husband with depression. No two days are the same and she feels like she’s can’t do anything right, With lack of support at home she feels she is drowning and she basically being gaslighted by her boss 24/7 to make her think she bad at her job because he sees her position in life as a woman and a mother as a weakness that he can pick on. I loved the way that Jojo Moyes explores this and unpicks ways in which Sam can deal with that. 

We also get to meet some amazing friends to both women along the way, they are fully formed characters and are all dealing with their own issues that many readers will be able to relate to as well. I loved the way this story was built up and the way the characters all bring something to it. The audiobook was fantastically narrated and I would recommend this to anyone whether you are a Jojo Moyes fan or not-definitely one of my favourite books of the year!

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