Until Next Weekend by Rachel Marks

 About the Book

Title: Until Next weekend

Author: Rachel Marks

Publisher: Penguin Random House (2021)

Summary (taken from the back cover): NOAH AND KATE WERE MEANT TO BE TOGETHER FOREVER.

Married with two gorgeous sons, it looked like they'd got their happy ever after.

But marriage isn't easy. And one day, Kate left, taking their two boys with her.

These days, Noah is a weekend dad - and it breaks his heart. He misses the chaotic mealtimes, the bedtime stories, the early mornings and the late homework.

Suddenly, he decides enough is enough - he has to win his family back. Starting with Kate.

The only problem?

IN SIX WEEKS' TIME, KATE IS GETTING MARRIED TO SOMEONE ELSE . . .

What I Think

I absolutely loved Rachel Marks' debut novel, Saturdays at Noon (Penguin, 2020), and with that comes an additional pressure on "the second novel", in this case Until Next Weekend, published 29th April 2021 by Penguin. I was very excited to receive a proof copy from the publishers and be allocated a stop on the blog tour, but I was also worried that it wouldn't be as good. Let me assure you: no one needs to be worried. 

Noah thought he was going to get his happily ever after with Kate when they married young and had two lovely boys, but things didn't pan as planned and now Noah lives alone in a messy flat, only seeing his boys every other weekend. He dislikes his job as a Reception teacher and regularly drowns his sorrows in the local pub.  

Marks' warm and witty writing style is like sitting down with your best friend for a cup of tea and a big piece of cake. But don't be fooled. As with all good friends, sometimes bad news needs to be imparted over strong cups of tea (with an extra sugar for the shock). Clues to the deeper issues underlying the break-up of Noah and Kate's marriage are carefully woven in to the story unfolding in the present. By the time the full extent of what has happened is revealed, we feel like we're grieving for friends, not characters.  

I thoroughly enjoyed Until Next Weekend and it's every bit as heartwarming, heart wrenching and hopeful as her debut. 

About the Author 

Rachel Marks studied English at Exeter University before becoming a primary school teacher. Despite always loving to write, it wasn't until she gained a place on the 2016 Curtis Brown Creative online novel writing course that she started to believe it could be anything more than a much-loved hobby. Her inspiration for her first book, Saturdays at Noon, came from the challenges she faced with her eldest son, testing and fascinating in equal measure, and the research she did to try to understand him better. Until Next Weekend is her second novel. 

You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram