Book review: The three day rule by Josie Lloyd & Emlyn Rees

The Three Day Rule - Josie Lloyd & Emlyn Rees

Synopsis:
Every year the Thorne family travel to small and isolated Brayner Island, just off the coast of Cornwall, to celebrate the Christmas holidays.
However the bonds that once tied the family together have unravelled over time, and long-held rivalries, jealousies and arguments lay under the surface of what looks like a happy family unit.
Elliot is having a secret affair with one of his colleagues, Kellie, and his wife Isabelle is oblivious to his betrayal. His teenage daughter Taylor is rebelling after being sent to boarding school, and her acts of rebellion impact on her over-protected cousin Simon, and local boy Michael, who lusts after her.
Simon’s mother, and Elliot’s sister, Stephanie, is dealing with a grief that she can’t let go of, and blames her husband David for their loss.
Despite their problems, they all congregate on the island to celebrate Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day- only three days that they have to endure together before their lives can return to normal.
But when a violent storm crops up, bringing with it snow and furious winds, the Thornes find themselves cut off from society, and those three days seem to drag on forever as they find themselves struggling to cope in their close confines.

What I gained from reading this book:
This novel brings up the topic of affairs and how they can affect different people, whether they are part of the relationship or not.
Kellie plays a major part in this story, being the mistress of Elliot, and the reader often sees the story from her perspective. As much as she loves Elliot, she doesn’t want to be known as the ‘other woman’, and begs Elliot to end his marriage so that they can be together and start a family. But Elliot is hesitant and keeps breaking his promises to Kellie that the relationship with his wife will soon be over. She longs to be accepted by his extended family and create a friendship with his daughter Taylor, and her yearning to be a part of the family is what makes her accept Elliot’s proposition- that she stay in a hotel on the mainland so they can be near one another over the Christmas break. However, her meeting with Ben, whose father owns a water taxi service, makes her begin to re-evaluate her relationship with Elliot, especially after she finds out how his ex-wife’s affair ruined their marriage.
Through these situations, readers are able to grasp a different perspective on affairs, and see how sometimes love, while special, can be the cause of many problems.

Positives:
The characters in this novel are interesting and very true to life. Who doesn’t have at least one family member who they can’t tolerate? The authors’ are also very good when it comes to portraying the events in the novel, writing from the view of a cheating husband, a grieving mother, a lustful teen and a couple of people in search of love, while still keeping the reader involved in the story.

Negatives:
For some people, the events in this story might strike a little close to home, with grieving, jealousies, betrayal and lust being a major part of the novel. But these characteristics are also what make the novel so enjoyable to read.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Genre: Family/ Relationships

Recommended for: People with families like the Thornes- you can’t live with them and you can’t live without them.


Australians can buy the book by clicking the picture below: