Rachael Johns

I hadn’t sought out The Other Bridget by Rachael Johns when it was first published because I assumed it would be too ‘romancy’ for me. I’m not a fan of romance novels though I certainly churned through Sweet Dreams books at high school, my grandmothers’ Mills & Boons in my late teens / early twenties. And… I LOVED Bridget Jones’s Diary (the book) when I first read it over 24 years ago. I remember it vividly as I was living overseas and borrowed it from a colleague, reading it cover to cover late at night, cackling all of the way through.

I went to hear (and see) Rachael speak when she visited my hometown recently with a friend (who told me how much they adored The Other Bridget). I hadn’t known too much about it but hearing Rachael talk about THIS Bridget Jones – a librarian – and her references to a love of reading and books of all genres I decided to get a copy. And yes, I did so despite its length as I tend to whinge about any book that’s over 400 pages and this is almost 500 pages-long. But surprisingly it didn’t drag at all. I practically inhaled it in two evening (bathtime) sittings – both extended as I didn’t want to put it down.