Books like The Next Best Thing by Sarah Long

The irresistible new novel from the author of And What Do You Do? At thirty-five, Jane realizes something rather disturbing: she thought she had her life perfectly balanced: working from home as a freelance translator allows her to keep her financial independence, spend time with her daughter and escape office politics. But somehow, instead of combining a rewarding career with a satisfying mother-daughter relationship, she's become an all-purpose dogsbody, rushing from crisis to crisis and combining missing deadlines with repairing the dishwasher. Rupert is also leading the life he planned: a job in the city, glamorous girlfriend, plenty of money. But he's beginning to have doubts about the dull-but-sensible route he's chosen – and to realize it's just possible he wants more out of life. So when he and Jane meet, each escaping their day-to-day life with a stolen afternoon in the peace of the cinema, they both start to wonder whether it's really enough to settle for the next best thing ...

First publish date: 2005