Someone else's shoes: Second chances from mix-ups and messes

At the time of writing this post, Jojo Moyes was a new author for me. Moyes is a former journalist with The Independent who became a full time novelist in 2001. I thought she was a romance writer, so I had not read any of her books before. I picked up Someone else's shoes at my local library and decided the premise was enough for me to give it a go. That, and my consistent need to find a new author whose catalogue I can make my way through 😉.

Check out my review of The giver of stars and three other of Moyes's historical fiction novels.

Someone else's shoes | Published February 2023 | Read February 2024

Someone else's shoes is the story of two women from very different circumstances who both find themselves in unfamiliar territory, desperately needing to make changes to their lives.

New Yorker Nisha Cantor lives a glamours trophy wife existence with her uber rich husband. While Nisha accompanies her husband on a business trip to London, he inexplicably cuts her off and announces he wants a divorce. Nisha is suddenly isolated and without any means of financial or social support.

Sam Kemp is battling to keep her personal and professional life afloat. Her husband is suffering a bout of depression after his father passed away. She has an acerbic teenage daughter to deal with in addition to a husband who sleeps all day as he is unable to work and barely acknowledges her existence. Her awful, passive-aggressive parents expect her to wait on them, and she has a sexist arse of a boss.

Sam accidently picks up Nisha's gym bag after a workout session and finds a pair of six-inch red Louboutin shoes inside. Sam must wear the designer shoes to a client meeting after losing her own in the gym bag that Nisha has mistakenly picked up. Sam feels empowered and confident as a result of being in someone else's shoes. The shoes give Sam an epiphany and she realises that she needs to change her life.

What happens next is a thrilling ride through Nisha's quest to reclaim her lost bag and her life while Sam also fights for survival and a better future for herself and her family. The two women eventually find each other and work together to take control of their lives, forging an unlikely bond in the process.

I absolutely loved this book! Someone else's shoes has all the British charm, wit, and authenticity that resonated with me and made me dive deep into the story. Nisha and Sam were beautifully written characters with complexity and genuineness that shine through even in the sometimes slapstick scenes in the book. I connected with their 40-something struggles and it was so nice to see a pair of kick-butt older female characters who were realistic, funny, and complex.

The story is a departure from the usual dark thrillers I read, but I loved the female empowerment and friendship elements and the eventual comeuppance of two of the hideous male characters. I loved Moyes's astute observations on class, power, aging women, life's challenges, character flaws, and journeys of self-discovery. She also handled loss of identity and sense of self, poverty, depression, and sexism sensitively and with depth.

Both women had an awesome supporter - Andrea, Sam's long-time best friend and cancer survivor, and Jasmine, the woman Nisha meets after she is tossed out of her posh hotel who selflessly helps her get back on her feet. Both women champion the sisterhood despite their own struggles and I loved their feisty, quirky courage. Bonus points for well-written black characters, Jasmine and Joel. (The latter was Sam's supportive colleague whom she is tempted to have a fling with as a salve for her loss of agency through her husband's depression.)

The book is a bit madcap in places but I forgive Moyes all that for the stellar and inspirational storytelling, for the portrayal of female empowerment, friendship, identity crises and reinvention, and second chances.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐