The Show is the second book in the Swell Valley series by bestselling author Tilly Bagshawe.
Nestled at the heart of the village, Wraggbottom farm means everything to Laura and Gabe Baxter. But the love they have for each other and the tradition they want to uphold don’t pay the bills or feed their kids. Luckily, Laura has an idea that will share the secret of her happy country life with the rest of the nation by producing a reality show that will save the farm. But the village is divided, led by Bill, the vicar, they lead a protest against the show. Even Gabe is torn between his new found fame and his old, happy life with Laura. With so much at stake including her marriage will it be Lauras biggest mistake?
Although The Show is part of a series it can also be read as a stand alone book but there are certain references that you may not pick up on.
This book brings back the characters of its predecessor. Tatiani, Brett, Logan and Jason do not play a vital role in this story but you do get to catch up with these characters and see where they are at.
A whole new set of people are introduced to us. We meet Laura and Gabe Baxter in the previous book but this book is their story with everyone else playing supporting roles. We are introduced to Sir Eddie, who is a disgraced politician, just released from prison. He hears about Lauras idea and thinks it is a perfect hobby for him to get involved in whilst he fights to get back into politics. We also meet his wife Annabel who is a stuck up snob and thinks everyone should be placed in neat little boxes and stay there.
Just like The inheritance this book is told in the third person with lots of different points of view. Tilly Bagshawe didn’t iron out the problems I found within her previous book. There were two many sides to the coin and too many characters to wrap your head around. Once again there is a character list and map at the front of the book but I don’t want to read a book where I have to keep flipping to the front every time I don’t know a character or need to remind myself of a character.
I admire Laura’s strength of trying to keep her family together but whilst trying to do this she neglects her husband. She was once a lovable character but turns into a stiff, stressed out mother who stretches herself too thin.
Gabe Baxter was the lovable family man with a roaming eye, who never acted on his impulses until Maci comes along. His wife Laura may have neglected him on her quest to making a better life for her family, but Gabe gets caught up in his new found fame and neglects his family.
Maci is simple a vile woman who uses her childhood as an excuse to take what she wants when she wants. Not only is she the reason for the animosity in Gabe and Lauras relationship she becomes one of the villains of the piece by breaking them up (granted it’s not all her fault) Throughout the book she uses people for her own means, sometimes not even realising it and instantly forms an opinion about someone and that becomes all she can see. She definitely is not a likeable characters and once again she is another of Bagshawes characters that don’t have any redeeming qualities.
Fast Eddie and Annabelle are a couple that I can’t help but think, why are you together? She is a stuck up snob who seems to think that everyone else is beneath her including her own son. She will do anything to get her disgraced husband back into politics. She acts all mightier than thou but when her past is revealed sensationally by David Carlyle (Eddies nemesis) she does something incredibly stupid. It is here that a new side is shown to Annabelle and Eddie however, it is brief. We are soon treated to the old Annabelle again. I found Eddie to be one of the most likeable characters in the book even with his mighty flaws.
The Show is a book for those that like to read about rich people getting what they want and living the lavish lifestyle. Although mistakes are made they are quickly washed away as if they never happened in the first place. It is a book full of unapproachable, dislikeable characters. Had there been one character that I understood of connected with I may have held a different opinion on the novel.
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