I can’t actually liken this book to any other due to the story line. It did remind me very much of the film Bicentennial Man starring the late Robin Williams. Not only was I sobbing my heart out by the end of that film, I also sobbed my heart out at the end of this book too. Not that this is an overly sad book as it isn’t. Yes it does deal with death as well as other life issues but it just moved me and touched my heart in a way I had not foreseen.

None of us can ever imagine what to expect when the time comes to lose a loved one. Especially when they are taken away so suddenly. This is what Aiden and his daughter Chloe find themselves having to deal with and my heart went out to them both. There is no doubting the love that Rachel and Aiden had for each other. Even though they both threw themselves into work, they were still like love struck teenagers years later. It certainly melted my heart seeing Aiden struggling through each day.

Chloe I just loved. She is a strong and determined young lady who was so grown up in many ways, yet very much a child in others. I just wanted to give her a big hug for what she was going through.

Without a doubt iRachel is the star of this book. I don’t want to say to much as I think it is best left for the reader to discover but in a world full of technology this gives a glimpse of what may be possible in the future. I have no clue whether it would be a good or bad thing but it’s certainly a wonderful idea.

The story itself flicks between the characters so you really get the rawness of their emotions and feelings and what they are going through. It makes it such a personal yet wonderful reading experience and one that will stay with me for a long time to come.

The After Wife is a beautiful, emotive and gentle read that I well and truly lost myself into. This is a family whose lives will capture your heart never letting it go. One of my favourite reads this year by far.

My thanks to Trapeze Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.

Cass Hunter did a phenomenal job articulating grief and how a family moves forward after an unexpected death. I didn't expect to love the characters, and the plot, as much as I did. If you're looking for a heartwarming and light read, I'd highly recommend this novel.

Amazing, I cried over and over! Such a different plot to most books I pick up. It made me wonder if I could have an iRobot, one in the form of my late dad would be lovely, to give me the advice & cuddles I’ve missed 💕

The After Wife is a beautiful, moving and heart-warming story of a husband and daughter left behind after their wife/mother is suddenly taken from them. Warning…this book will tug at your heartstrings and will most probably make you cry!

Rachel is a highly intelligent scientist with a huge passion for her career – she is also deeply in love with her husband Aidan and adores their daughter, Chloe. One evening, Rachel is cruelly taken from them with no warning, leaving Aidan and Chloe having to work out what their future holds now. Rachel and Aidan were supposed to be forever, yet he finds himself as a young widower, parenting their daughter alone. Whilst they are trying to each deal with their loss and grief, they are introduced to Rachel’s gift from beyond the grave. Up to her death, she was working on a human-like robot that could learn emotions in others and respond to them accordingly. The idea being that she could help the elderly and act as a carer. This robot is iRachel and she has very cleverly orchestrated that iRachel is to live with Aidan and Chloe to support her learning and interactions with humans.

I’ll be honest, if I’d have released from the blurb that iRachel was a robot, I would have probably been put off from reading The After Wife therefore I am so pleased that I didn’t know as I would have missed out on an amazing and clever book!

Hunter has created a fantastic cast of characters, all of which are well developed resulting in the reader bonding with each of them. Aidan is a devoted husband and father but falls to pieces when he finds himself facing a future that was so not the plan. Chloe is struggling not only with her own loss but also Aidan’s and is also unsettled by what their new normal will be. But for me the star of the book is iRachel. Through this book we go on iRachel’s journey with her – the chapter’s told from Rachel’s perspective are brilliant. The prose is completely different to those from the human’s therefore you are in no doubt as to who is speaking.

The After Wife is a wonderful story of loss and finding hope again after bereavement. It is also very clever in that the parts about iRachel and her development come across as very authentic. I recommend this to anyone who likes just likes a good story! Don’t be put off by the robot element if this isn’t usually your thing as this book is such a great read with a brilliant moral to the story! If AI is your thing, then you will LOVE this :)

"The After Wife" by Cass Hunter was a fabulous and moving read that really tugged at my heartstrings. What an emotional but highly intelligent and well written story! I didn't know what to expect from the blurb, as it sounded quite fantastical but once I started reading it, I was astounded by how much I was addicted to it and couldn't put it down.
Blurb - When Rachel and Aidan fell in love, they thought it was forever. She was a brilliant, high-flying scientist. He was her loving and supportive husband. Now she's gone, and Aidan must carry on and raise their daughter alone.But Rachel has left behind her life's work, a gift of love to see them through the dark days after her death. A gift called iRachel.
This was such an unusual storyline incorporating a human like artificial intelligence robot to replace a dead wife of which she herself helped to design and build for her family, knowing she was going to die young. The whole story was very emotional and really did break my heart at times. When Aidan was introduced to iRachel (Rachel's robot) I could truly feel his pain and understand his frustration. I loved iRachel immensely and felt like she really became a member of the family - caring, empathic and friendly, really not something you would expect from a machine. I actually liked all the characters, as a reader it always a pleasure to be able to feel all the emotions first hand and since each character had a different reaction to Rachel's death and iRachel including Luke, Rachel's scientist partner it made compelling reading discovering each of their thoughts.
The ending did have me brimming with tears, there was never going to be a perfect conclusion to this scenario and although I may have wanted a slightly different ending myself, the final chapter was just perfect to fit the story in a realistic and unique way.
If you want to read something different and I mean COMPLETELY different then this is the book for you, it was like something I've never read before EVER and will stay with me a very long time. I can easily see this being made into a movie, I believe one like it has already been made similar with Robin Williams which too had me teary eyed.
I'd very happily recommend this beautiful book and talented author - so much research and heart felt passion has gone into writing it.
An exceptional read that I'm so pleased to have encountered!

5 stars

I read a book and I liked it...enought to give it 5 stars!

Kada se nakon čitanja knjige osjećate raspjevano i poletno, to je dobar znak, zar ne? Dodajmo tome i blagi uzdah razočaranja kada sam nakon čitanja poželjela potražiiti dojmove drugih blogera i shvatila da se o ovoj knjizi ne piše ništa, a kamoli hvalospjevi. A trebali su...

Svaki put kad si zabranim kupnju i osudim samu sebe na vlastite police, otkrijem neki novi biser. Ovu knjigu kupila sam prije sto godina u Tisak Media i zabila je na zadnju policu. Zatim sam je umalo poklonila prijateljici, pa sam je donijela u morsku knjižnicu jer. kao, nema šteta ako se smoči na plaži pored svih lijepih izdanja...kakva nepravda!

Druga žena je jedna topla, obiteljska priča o djevojčici koja izgubi majku znanstvenicu i ocu koji nije spreman preuzeti kormilo nad svojom reduciranom obitelji jer se dugi niz godina navikavao na udobnost uloge najvećeg navijača svoje snažne i sposobne žene. No, ubrzo doznaju da ih voljena majka i supruga nije ostavila same - ona je izradila robota na svoju sliku, robota koji silno želi učiti o najsloženijem od svih algoritama: ljudskim emocijama. Iako nije čovjek, nešto u njoj djeluje iscjeljujuće i u tim ključnim trenucima donosi im stabilnost i smirenost koja im je prijeko potrebna da pronađu novi smisao. No, čak i robotima su dani ograničeni, pa iRachel mora brzo učiti ako želi shvatiti što znači voljeti...

Cass Hunter napisala je dirljivu odu sponama koje nas povezuju, nadilazeći vrijeme i svjetove. Osim što me neodoljivo podsjetila na P. S. Volim te, ''Robbie'' (kratka priča iz Ja, robot) te film Mojih 200 godina s legendarnim Robinom Williamsom, uspjela je na lagan i jednostavan način uklopiti brojne arhetipske motive u književnosti. Dočarala nam je proces tugovanja u svim njegovim fazama, delikatnost prijateljstva, hrabro iznijela dilemu oko toga što nas čini ljudima, gdje su granice strojeva i prava na izbor. A tu je i vječno pitanje želimo li znati istinu ili se osloboditi patnje (crvena i plava pilula).

Ova knjiga neće vas koštati puno vremena ni novaca, a dobit ćete toliko zauzvrat. For real!