By: Cynthia Solis
The second installment of “Trophy Wife” written by Bethany Lopez, surpasses all expectations and more.
The story follows Summer, who was married to a man that was 20 years her senior. Her ex-husband had a wife that Summer did not know about at the beginning of their relationship. Once he confessed his infidelity to Summer he promised to leave his first wife. He kept his promise and later married Summer.
His friends jokingly referred to Summer as a “trophy wife” throughout their marriage, Summer was indeed in love with her husband and thought that he was also, so it didn’t bother her.
Unfortunately, her husband cheated on Summer with another woman who resembled his first wife. After Summer and her husband divorced, she decided to join a counseling group for recently divorced women, where she met Margo and Whitney. This is where they formed the Jilted Wives Club.
Some of the common themes found in the novel include love, friendship, and family.
Summers’ love story begins at a restaurant where she meets with Margo and Whitney. Summer shows them the dating profile of a man named Noah, an educated, good-looking man. She is getting their opinion on him, when she swipe right, she accidentally swiped left and lost all hope in seeing him again.
Like any good love story, Summer and Margo go to a bar, and across the room, Summer spots Noah. She immediately recognizes him, and luckily for her, Margo goes up to him to give him Summer’s number. Noah doesn’t call because he thinks that Summer is out of his league. However, Summer runs into him at the grocery store, where he musters up the courage to ask her out.
They go to a country dance hall on a perfect date. This scene alone will have the reader wishing for a date exactly like it.
Are you able to describe the details of the scene?
As their love story progresses, you can see the two truly fall in love and learn how to trust one another. Noah aims to do anything to make Summer happy.
This book (and series in general) highlights the importance of healthy friendships. The friendship the three women forged is beautifully written. The reader can see how supportive, loving, and caring they are with one another whenever they are together.
Lopez doesn’t shy away from showing how imperfect Summer’s family is. It shows how abusive her mom is, showing that not everyone comes from perfect, loving families like Noah’s. Although dark, it is refreshing to read because it takes away the unattainable aspect often found in romance novels.
The novel also touched on the value of confidence and knowing a person’s self-worth. This can be seen when Summer is too shy to show off her clothing designs, but against everything she stood for, she shows her friends and mother-figure and can reap the benefits of being confident in her work, all thanks to Noah. This ties into Summer and Noah’s relationship since the steps to have a healthy relationship are supporting one another’s endeavors.
Bethany Lopez is truly a great writer, producing novels that are refreshing and interesting to read.