Madison is a woman who’s pretty happy with her lot. While there are some flies in the ointment; the loss of her beloved mother a few years before the story starts, and a job she plods along at that she could happily walk away from at any second, she knows she’s one of the lucky ones. Not only does she have a great group of long-term friends with whom she shares everything, and meets up with regularly, she has two beautiful children and a widowed father who adores and supports her in all she does. Not only that, but her sexy husband Rich has accidentally become a heart-throb on a popular DIY show and is now being touted for greater things – including his own show. This is not only exciting for them as a family, but having worked as a designer in TV production before she took time out to have their babies, this could also herald a return to the career she has put on hold to bring up their family.  

However, out of the blue, Rich starts acting weird and announces that he needs to time to sort his head out – and with that he’s left, gone to stay with his cousin Marvin, leaving Madison juggling her job, the kids, her ageing father, and he pretty much goes dark. Madison is equally devastated and furious, and after a chance meeting with Savine, a powerhouse of a woman who was left in a similar situation with her own husband, she decides to take matters into her own hands and find out exactly what is going on. Is Rich having an affair? A mid-life crisis? A break-down? She also meets a new colleague, Nathan, who takes a great interest in her designing talents and makes her remember why she used to love working in the field so much – Nathan encourages her to branch out and see if there may be a Madison-shaped gap in the design industry. Throughout the rest of the book we watch Madison crumble, become almost obsessed with the situation (understandably) and slowly realise her own worth and what she really wants, and needs from life. The only criticism that I would have is that Madison is just a bit too nice and so doesn’t stand up to people, especially Rich – but I also think that allows us to see how she grows in confidence and self-awareness as the book progresses. 

I’m a big fan of Alison Hammond, and although I know this was co-written with Lisa Bent, I feel that this book echos Alison’s values – family, loyalty, love, respect and having the courage to stand in your own power. Although this novel was promoted as a Christmas read, I read it in April and it didn’t affect the story at all except that the events taking place led up to Christmas, which as we all know adds a huge amount of pressure to resolving any conflict before the ‘big day’.  I thoroughly recommend this – it’s a quick, easy read that I raced through in one day during the recent sunny spell and enjoyed every minute of it! 

4/5 

Published November 7, 2024 by Transworld Digital

About the Author: Alison Hammond

Alison Hammond is a British TV presenter known for This Morning, The Great British Bake-Off, Big Brother and I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here. Born to Jamaican parents in 1975 she was raised in Birmingham.

Her first novel ‘Bombshell’ is being touted as ‘the funniest and most heart-warming romcom for 2025 from the much-loved TV presenter Alison Hammond, perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella and Ruth Jones’

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an early copy of this book – this is my honest review.