Chelsea Wives and their Mistresses: 'One needs variety in life' - Sarah Bramley

Previously published by Quartet, Chelsea Wives and their Mistresses is being re-released in 2014 as a revised and updated second edition, adding greater depth to the story and racier scenes. 
With hints of Jilly Cooper and Jackie Collins, this is a scintillating read packed with scandal and sex. 

Cara Brooks, a high-flying property developer, has everything she could possibly desire – apart from passion. Tired of her rocky relationship with husband David, she’s overwhelmed upon meeting Sirena, a young, beautiful woman, one evening in a Mayfair hotel bar. Cara knows she has to make life changes, but is unsure whether she can enter into a serious relationship with a woman, particularly when she knows David’s family secret – a secret she has promised to never divulge. While battling her conflicting emotions, she lies to those she cares about most. Her desire for true happiness will bring complications into her otherwise carefree life. But does she really know what she truly wants? Can she risk everything for her own pursuit of passion? 

Meanwhile, Elle Milne-Smith knows only too well that with her sultry beauty she can have anything she wants. She embraces her fulfilling family life with her second husband Makram and her two wonderful children. But she is also secretly involved with gorgeous twenty-something Lyra, who means more to her than she lets on to close friends. Makram and Lyra satisfy all her needs, but when a series of unexpected problems appear, her indulgent lifestyle is turned upside down. 

Cara and Elle appear to have it all behind the closed doors of London’s wealthiest addresses, but when is everything not quite enough? After all, one really does need variety in life... Chelsea Wives and their Mistresses is a gripping adult novel that sheds light on a part of society that generally isn’t covered in mainstream media, whilst reflecting today’s society and the more relaxed attitude to celebrities coming out. Lesbian relationships are rarely the central focus in mainstream novels – Sarah Bramley is the new face of women's fiction, heralding a new genre.


I was asked to review this via Netgalley. I loved Jackie Collins books, but for some strange reason this wasn't grabbing me. I found some of the characters rather boring and not really heading anywhere for my hopeful reading.