Review: Forever Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Forever Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Published: July 9, 2013

Publisher: Washington Square Press

Format: via audiobook

Rating: 4 /5

Synopsis

Elsie Porter is an average twentysomething and yet what happens to her is anything but ordinary. On a rainy New Year's Day, she heads out to pick up a pizza for one. She isn't expecting to see anyone else in the shop, much less the adorable and charming Ben Ross. Their chemistry is instant and electric. Ben cannot even wait twenty-four hours before asking to see her again. Within weeks, the two are head over heels in love. By May, they've eloped.

Only nine days later, Ben is out riding his bike when he is hit by a truck and killed on impact. Elsie hears the sirens outside her apartment, but by the time she gets downstairs, he has already been whisked off to the emergency room. At the hospital, she must face Susan, the mother-in-law she has never met and who doesn't even know Elsie exists.

Interweaving Elsie and Ben's charmed romance with Elsie and Susan's healing process, Forever, Interrupted will remind you that there's more than one way to find a happy ending.

My Thoughts

In Forever Interrupted we met Elsie and Ben who after a whirlwind relationship elope and soon after Elsie world crumbles when Ben dies so soon after they were married. Elsie is left a widow and now must deal with life without her soulmate. She also must deal with Ben’s mother who didn't even know that her son was married and now there is a war of sorts as to who has the power to handle things.

The story goes back in time in how they met and their courtship and we see how they fell madly in love. Its a fast paced romance one that would make people think, slow down what's the rush, but sometimes love doesn't go by time sometimes love has a mind of its own. So when Ben doesn't want to let his mother know he is getting married Elsie does kind of wonder why but since she isn't close to her parents she doesn't really think much of it. However, once she finally meets his mom Susan she starts to see it all.

While this is definitely a love story between Elsie and Ben its as much about Elsie and Susan. We see the two most important women in Ben’s life and how much they both loved and adored him. While at first, they were at opposite ends somewhere in the middle they realize they have so much in common. They are both grieving Ben of course but both were married women who lost their husbands and they bonded on that front also. Susan showed Elsie its ok to move on and while its ok to let things go, her memories will always be there. They formed a bond that only those who have been through this could understand.

This is another winner from Taylor Jenkins Reid, she gives us stories of relationships that go through the ups and downs in life and shows us while not always perfect or pretty that life does on go. Its the messed up things in life that she shines in showing us. She gave us true love and tragedy at the same time and came full circle in letting us know that things will get better even when you think there is no way for that to happen. I have loved and enjoyed all her books and will continue to love anything she writes. Taylor Jenkins Ried is simply perfection in my eyes.

Review: One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Published: June 7, 2016

Publisher: Washington Square Press

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

In her twenties, Emma Blair marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse. They build a life for themselves, far away from the expectations of their parents and the people of their hometown in Massachusetts. They travel the world together, living life to the fullest and seizing every opportunity for adventure.

On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter over the Pacific when it goes missing. Just like that, Jesse is gone forever.

Emma quits her job and moves home in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again. When Emma and Sam get engaged, it feels like Emma’s second chance at happiness.

That is until Jesse is found. He’s alive, and he’s been trying all these years to come home to her. With a husband and a fiancé, Emma has to now figure out who she is and what she wants, while trying to protect the ones she loves.

Who is her one true love? What does it mean to love truly?

Emma knows she has to listen to her heart. She’s just not sure what its saying.

My Thoughts

One True Loves is another winner from Taylor Jenkins Reid! She has quickly become one author that I auto buy anything they write. In One True Loves, we met Emma who marries her “true love” Jesse. When Jessie dies in an accident she decides to move back home to be with her family, she soon bumps into an ex-classmate and over time she falls for Sam and despite her love for Jesse soon falls for Sam and they become engaged. Fast forward when she gets a phone call that will change her life…forever. Jesse has survived and now she must decide if she wants to return to her husband or stay with Sam and the love they now have.

I love Taylor Jenkins Reid’s books because she always tends to see both sides of the story. She gives us these dual views to where we don’t automatically root for one side over the other. I truly felt for Emma and I could see where she felt she should return to Jesse, the one person she has always loved and whom she shared all these amazing adventures with. However on the flip side, I rooted for Sam who was patient and always loved her from afar. They shared so many things in common and he never pressured her to “get over” Jesse and who was in my mind way more understanding when Jesse returned. He gave her the space to figure out what she truly wanted even if that meant he lost in this war for her heart.

I do believe there can more than one love in your life. I believe as we grown in life our views, attitudes and taste change and what we wanted in our younger selves will drastically change in our later years. Emma isn’t the same person she was when she married Jesse, yes he made her enjoy life and take part in all that it has to offer. But Sam is that stable person whom she needed at this point in her life. She now wants family and stability more than anything. My heart broke for Emma and the choice she ultimately had to make. One True Loves is a heart-breaking read that will make you wonder what would you do if you had chose. We should be so lucky to experience one true love in our lives much less two.

Review: Somewhere Out There by Amy Hatvany

Somewhere Out There by Amy Hatvany

Published: March 1, 2016

Publisher: Washington Square Press

Format: via Edelweiss

Rating: 5/5

Add to Goodreads * Amazon

Synopsis

Natalie Clark knew never to ask her sensitive adoptive mother questions about her past. She doesn’t even know her birth mother’s name—only that the young woman signed parental rights over to the state when Natalie was a baby. Now Natalie’s own daughter must complete a family tree project for school, and Natalie is determined to unearth the truth about her roots.

Brooke Walker doesn’t have a family. At least, that’s what she tells herself after being separated from her mother and her little sister at age four. Having grown up in a state facility and countless foster homes, Brooke survives the only way she knows how, by relying on herself. So when she discovers she’s pregnant, Brooke faces a heart-wrenching decision: give up her baby or raise the child completely on her own. Scared and confused, she feels lost until a surprise encounter gives her hope for the future.

How do our early experiences—the subtle and the traumatic—define us as adults? How do we build relationships when we’ve been deprived of real connection? Critically acclaimed author Amy Hatvany considers controversial and complicated questions about childhood through the lens of her finely crafted characters in this astute novel about mending wounds by diving into the truth of what first tore us apart.

My Thoughts

Somewhere out There will take you on an emotional ride from the first line. We meet Jennifer who has two young daughters and after struggling to try to survive she is caught stealing food and is sent to jail, and under pressure she is told to give up her rights. Torn, she hopes and prays that this will give them the best chance of having a life she wouldn’t able to give them otherwise.

Fast forward decades later we meet Natalie who was months old when she was given up and has lived a good life, she is married with kids and though she has always known she was adopted now she feels the urge to finally seek out her birth mother even though her parents don’t want her to and her biggest surprise is when she finds out she has a sister something she never knew.

Brooke, the oldest wasn’t so lucky, she was left in the system and has had a hard life and only depended on herself. She was old enough to remember her mom so her memories and hopes of a reunion aren’t as rosy of that of her sister. So when Brooke is contacted by someone claiming to be her sister she doesn’t know what to do but decides to meet. I loved seeing this relationship grow, Natalie getting the sister she has always wanted and seeing Brooke slowly but surely opening her heart and trusting people.

We also get to see Jennifer’s story and what brought her to do what she did and what has happened since. We see how she has learned to build her life back up after her life was a mess so early in life. Not to give everything away but the most touching and emotional part of the story was when they all meet. Wow! The emotions I felt when from high to low and back again. You don’t know what to think but you feel for all parties involved. Everyone’s emotions are valid and there is no one really to blame. There are reasons for what has happened and you can only build from the present.

This is truly the first GREAT book I've read this year. It will touch your soul and make you ache for the women in it. I really and honestly recommend this read with every fiber of my being; you cannot go on and not read this amazing book!

Waiting On [154]: One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Waiting on Wednesday [Wow] is a weekly event hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Expected Publication: June 7, 2016

Publisher: Washington Square Press

Synopsis

From the author of Maybe in Another Life—named a People Magazine pick and a "Best Book of the Summer" by Glamour and USA TODAY—comes a breathtaking new love story about a woman unexpectedly forced to choose between the husband she has long thought dead and the fiancé who has finally brought her back to life.

In her twenties, Emma Blair marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse. They build a life for themselves, far away from the expectations of their parents and the people of their hometown in Massachusetts. They travel the world together, living life to the fullest and seizing every opportunity for adventure.

On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter over the Pacific when it goes missing. Just like that, Jesse is gone forever.

Emma quits her job and moves home in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again. When Emma and Sam get engaged, it feels like Emma’s second chance at happiness.

That is, until Jesse is found. He’s alive, and he’s been trying all these years to come home to her. With a husband and a fiancé, Emma has to now figure out who she is and what she wants, while trying to protect the ones she loves.

Who is her one true love? What does it mean to love truly?

Emma knows she has to listen to her heart. She’s just not sure what its saying.

Why I Can’t Wait

Besides the fact that I’ve read every single one of her books, this one sounds soooo good! Can you even imagine something like this happening, I mean it’s unthinkable and I can’t even begin to think of how someone would deal with this. What can I say sounds like another winner from Taylor Jenkins Reid. 

Review: The Two of Us by Andy Jones

The Two of Us by Andy Jones

Published: February 9, 2016

Publisher: Washington Square Press

Format: via publisher

Rating: 4/5

Add to Goodreads * Buy: Amazon

Synopsis

Anyone can fall in love. But not everyone can stay there.

Fisher and Ivy have been an item for all of nineteen days. Both of them have been in relationships before, and, this time, around, they know something is different—they are meant to be together. The fact that they know little else about each other is a minor detail.

But over the next year, a time in which their lives are irrevocably altered, Fisher and Ivy discover that falling in love is one thing—and staying there is an entirely different story.

The Two of Us is a charming, honest, laugh-out-loud novel about life, love, and the importance of taking neither one for granted.

My Thoughts

I loved this unconventional love story of Fisher and Ivy who after only nineteen days together are thrown into a lifetime of emotions and circumstances that would put a strain on any relationship. We met them as they spent their early days in a love-induced a coma that would be shattered as soon as they ventured out and their love is revealed to others in the outside world. The cracks were soon exposed on their first road trip to meet Fisher’s family when they realized they didn’t even know the basics about each other. While they didn’t take the time to know each other they do know that they fit, they belong together no bones about it.

We see their relationship through the highs and lows and the one thing that brings them their greatest joy will also be the one thing that could break them. In The Two of Us, we learn that love is indeed worth it all, that no matter what life hands you there will be rewards in the end. Also, that love doesn’t have a time table or rules that there is no right way to fall in love. Sometimes we fall fast and deep and with someone, we never thought possible, that despite differences it’s those differences that make us fit together like the greatest puzzle in life.

I laughed and cried and rooted for these two as if I knew them personally. Fisher and Ivy taught me to be open to the impossible and to always to open to love even in the most impossible of possibilities. I highly recommend this read for anyone who has been a fool when it comes to love but especially to those who are guarded when it comes to giving their hearts. You can’t love if you aren’t fully open to all that it brings that means the good and the bad. Trust me the good will always out weight the bad. Life always has a greater plan than anything we could ever imagine, so always be open you never know when or where your soulmate might be.

WoW [140]

Waiting on Wednesday [Wow] is a weekly event hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

Somewhere Out There by Amy Hatvany

Expected Publication: March 8, 2016

Publisher: Washington Square Press

Synopsis

What happens when two sisters who were torn apart when their young mother abandoned them—and grew up in tragically different circumstances—reunite thirty-five years later to find her? For readers who love Jodi Picoult, acclaimed author Amy Hatvany fearlessly explores complex family issues in her gripping, provocative new novel.

Natalie Clark knew never to ask her sensitive adoptive mother questions about her past. She doesn’t even know her birth mother’s name—only that the young woman signed parental rights over to the state when Natalie was a baby. Now Natalie’s own daughter must complete a family tree project for school, and Natalie is determined to unearth the truth about her roots.

Brooke Walker doesn’t have a family. At least, that’s what she tells herself after being separated from her mother and her little sister at age four. Having grown up in a state facility and countless foster homes, Brooke survives the only way she knows how, by relying on herself. So when she discovers she’s pregnant, Brooke faces a heart-wrenching decision: give up her baby or raise the child completely on her own. Scared and confused, she feels lost until a surprise encounter gives her hope for the future.

How do our early experiences—the subtle and the traumatic—define us as adults? How do we build relationships when we’ve been deprived of real connection? Critically acclaimed author Amy Hatvany considers controversial and complicated questions about childhood through the lens of her finely crafted characters in this astute novel about mending wounds by diving into the truth of what first tore us apart.

Why I Can’t Wait

First off I love Amy Hatvany books! Secondly this one sounds amazing, love books that focus on family especially sisters and this one has a storyline that I can’t wait to devour.

Mini Review: Things You Won't Say by Sarah Pekkanen

Things You Won’t Say by Sarah Pekkanen

Published: May 26, 2015

Publisher: Washington Square Press

Format: via NetGalley

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

How far would you go to save your family?

Every morning, as her husband Mike straps on his SIG Sauer and pulls on his heavy Magnum boots, Jamie Anderson tenses up. Then comes the call she has always dreaded: There's been a shooting at police headquarters. Mike isn't hurt, but his long-time partner is grievously injured. As weeks pass and her husband's insomnia and disconnectedness mount, Jamie realizes he is an invisible casualty of the attack. Then the phone rings again. Another shooting but this time Mike has pulled the trigger.

But the shooting does more than just alter Jamie's world. It's about to change everything for two other women. Christie Simmons, Mike's flamboyant ex, sees the tragedy as an opportunity for a second chance with Mike. And Jamie's younger sister, Lou, must face her own losses to help the big sister who raised her. As the press descends and public cries of police brutality swell, Jamie tries desperately to hold together her family, no matter what it takes.

My Thoughts

This is my first time reading Sarah Pekkanen and I ask myself why did I wait so long? While this plot line could be ripped from the headlines I loved how this was a strong story with rich and interesting characters that made the plot that much better. This story had me from the very beginning and didn’t let go until the very end. You definitely feel for Jamie. She has to endure the weight of the world on her shoulders with what has happened with the actions of her husband. Not only is she trying to grasp what he did but she now has to deal with his ex and her sister. Is it too much and how will Jamie deal with all this while trying to salvage what’s left of her family.

What I loved more than anything is that we get to see all sides of the story. Just when you think you lean one way you see the other side and your opinion can change. It’s the story of family and what you would do to protect and save them. This is one read that will definitely make you think and even see things in ways you might not have seen them before.  

Blog Tour/Review: Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Published: July 7, 2015

Publisher: Washington Square Press

Format: Edelweiss

Challenges: 2015 NetGalley/Edelweiss

Rating: 5/5

Buy:

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Books-a-Million / IndieBound / Apple / Blio / Google

Synopsis

From the acclaimed author of Forever, Interrupted and After I Do comes a breathtaking new novel about a young woman whose fate hinges on the choice she makes after bumping into an old flame; in alternating chapters, we see two possible scenarios unfold—with stunningly different results.

At the age of twenty-nine, Hannah Martin still has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She has lived in six different cities and held countless meaningless jobs since graduating college. On the heels of leaving yet another city, Hannah moves back to her hometown of Los Angeles and takes up residence in her best friend Gabby’s guestroom. Shortly after getting back to town, Hannah goes out to a bar one night with Gabby and meets up with her high school boyfriend, Ethan.

Just after midnight, Gabby asks Hannah if she’s ready to go. A moment later, Ethan offers to give her a ride later if she wants to stay. Hannah hesitates. What happens if she leaves with Gabby? What happens if she leaves with Ethan?

In concurrent storylines, Hannah lives out the effects of each decision. Quickly, these parallel universes develop into radically different stories with large-scale consequences for Hannah, as well as the people around her. As the two alternate realities run their course, Maybe in Another Life raises questions about fate and true love: Is anything meant to be? How much in our life is determined by chance? And perhaps, most compellingly: Is there such a thing as a soul mate? Hannah believes there is. And, in both worlds, she believes she’s found him.

My Thoughts

Maybe in Another Life is another winner by Taylor Jenkins Reid! This novel is unlike any book I have ever read before. We all at some point in our lives have played that “what if” game in our mind. “What if” I choose that instead of this well now in this book we see what could’ve happened.

We met Hannah who has come back home to LA after years of bouncing all around. Her parents left to England to follow her younger sister’s ballet dreams and she was left in the care of her best friend’s family. She decides to come back after living in New York a few years and instantly reunites with her ex Ethan. On her first night back old friends met and catch up and at the end of the night one decision can change Hannah’s life forever. In alternating chapters we see two versions of Hannah’s life as it plays out. In one we see the life she could’ve had if she chose to go home with Ethan. In the other we see what happens if she chose to wait and goes home with her friend Gabby.

We see that one choice can drastically change one's life and not only ours but everyone else’s. In both worlds Hannah goes through life changing decisions some good and some bad but in the end both only made her a stronger person. This book was wonderfully written and I was truly torn in which life I thought was better for Hannah. Both had their ups and downs but the constant was always love, support and family. Taylor Jenkins Reid is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors and this one read just makes me love her more. If you want a great read look no further than this one I promise you won’t regret it.

    About Taylor

Taylor Jenkins Reid is an author, essayist, and TV writer from Acton, Massachusetts. Her debut novel, Forever, Interrupted, has been optioned with Dakota Johnson attached to star. Her second book, After I Do, was called a "must read" by Kirkus. Her most recent novel, Maybe In Another Life has been featured in People, Cosmo, Bustle, Good Housekeeping, PopSugar, USA Today and more. In addition to her novels, Taylor's essays have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, The Huffington Post, xoJane, and a number of other blogs. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Alex, and their dog, Rabbit.

Connect with Taylor

http://www.taylorjenkinsreid.com/ / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Cover Reveal: Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Expected Publication: July 7, 2015

Publisher: Washington Square Press

Synopsis

At the age of twenty-nine, Hannah Martin still has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She has lived in six different cities and held countless meaningless jobs since graduating college, but on the heels of a disastrous breakup, she has finally returned to her hometown of Los Angeles. To celebrate her first night back, her best friend, Gabby, takes Hannah out to a bar—where she meets up with her high school boyfriend, Ethan.

It’s just past midnight when Gabby asks Hannah if she’s ready to go. Ethan quickly offers to give her a ride later if she wants to stay.

Hannah hesitates.

What happens if she leaves with Gabby?

What happens if she leaves with Ethan?

In concurrent storylines, Hannah lives out the effects of each decision. Quickly, these parallel universes develop into surprisingly different stories with far-reaching consequences for Hannah and the people around her, raising questions like: Is anything meant to be? How much in our life is determined by chance? And perhaps most compellingly: Is there such a thing as a soul mate?

Hannah believes there is. And, in both worlds, she believes she’s found him.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Taylor Jenkins Reid is an author and essayist from Acton, Massachusetts. She is the author of Forever, Interrupted and After I Do. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Alex, and her dog, Rabbit.

MAYBE IN ANOTHER LIFE by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Atria Books/Washington Square Press Paperback | 352 pages | ISBN:  9781476776880 | July 7, 2015 | $16.00

eBook: Atria Books/Washington Square Press | 352 pages | ISBN: 9781476776897

July 7, 2015 | $11.99

FIND TAYLOR ONLINE:

Website / Facebook /  Twitter /  Instagram

PRE ORDER:

Amazon /  Barnes & Noble /  Books-a-Million /  IndieBound

Apple /  Blio /  Google

WoW [109]

Waiting on Wednesday [WoW] is a weekly event hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

The Status of All Things by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke

Expected Publication: June 2, 2015

Publisher: Washington Square Press

 Synopsis

What would you do if you could literally rewrite your fate—on Facebook? This heartwarming and hilarious new novel from the authors of Your Perfect Life follows a woman who discovers she can change her life through online status updates.

Kate is a thirty-five-year-old woman who is obsessed with social media. So when her fiancé, Max, breaks things off at their rehearsal dinner—to be with Kate’s close friend and coworker, no less—she goes straight to Facebook to share it with the world. But something’s changed. Suddenly, Kate’s real life starts to mirror whatever she writes in her Facebook status. With all the power at her fingertips, and heartbroken and confused over why Max left her, Kate goes back in time to rewrite their history.

Kate's two best friends, Jules and Liam, are the only ones who know the truth. In order to convince them she’s really time traveled, Kate offers to use her Facebook status to help improve their lives. But her attempts to help them don’t go exactly as planned, and every effort to get Max back seems to only backfire, causing Kate to wonder if it’s really possible to change her fate.

 Why I Can’t Wait

I think this definitely speaks to the times we are in. I see people who try to paint this perfect life online to impress others? Why??? I mean be who you are flaws and all! I find this novel interesting and really want to see how things pan out. I really can’t wait to read this!

Feel free to link me to yours.

Review: Mating for Life by Marissa Stapley

Mating for Life by Marissa Stapley

Published: July 1, 2014

Format: copy via Booksparks

Publisher: Washington Square Press

Rating 4/5

Buy the book: Amazon kindle/ paperback

Synopsis

With pitch-perfect honesty and heartwarming humor, this captivating debut explores marriage, motherhood, identity, and what it takes to love someone—family members, friends, or spouses—for life.

Former folk singer Helen Sear was a feminist wild child who proudly disdained monogamy, raising three daughters—each by a different father—largely on her own. Now in her sixties, Helen has fallen in love with a traditional man who desperately wants to marry her. And while she fears losing him, she’s equally afraid of abandoning everything she’s ever stood for if she goes through with it.

Meanwhile, Helen’s youngest daughter, Liane, is in the heady early days of a relationship with her soul mate. But he has an ex-wife and two kids, and her new role as a “step-something” doesn’t come with an instruction manual. Ilsa, an artist, has put her bohemian past behind her and is fervently hoping her second marriage will stick. Yet her world feels like it is slowly shrinking, and her painting is suffering as a result—and she realizes she may need to break free again, even if it means disrupting the lives of her two young children. And then there’s Fiona, the eldest sister, who has worked tirelessly to make her world pristine, yet who still doesn’t feel at peace. When she discovers her husband has been harboring a huge secret, Fiona loses her tenuous grip on happiness and is forced to face some truths about herself that she’d rather keep buried.

Interweaving the alternating perspectives of Helen, her daughters, and the women surrounding them, “each new chapter brings a wise and tender look at single life, dating rituals, and marital unease” (New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Close). In this “absolute feat of storytelling” (bestselling author Grace O'Connell), Marissa Stapley celebrates the many roles modern women play, and shows that even though happy endings aren’t one-size-fits-all, some loves really can last for life.

My Thoughts

Mating for Life is told through the voices of Helen and her three daughters. The theme throughout this novel is love. How to get it, keep it or let it go for something that might be truer out there. I love that we get to see how each female sees love. Some are afraid and some are always searching for something more.

As I was reading it I was definitely seeing how their mother Helen’s relationships might have shaped her daughters view of love. While Helen is so carefree in so many aspects of her life when it comes to love she is so cut off emotionally. She is free as far as sexually but love and commitment is where she fails. I can see why her daughter’s views of love are all over the place. Can one blame them? One can’t blame them for craving the stability of love and family or it can go the other way for instance being totally uncommitted. This is a story that is beautifully written and grabs you with the tales of how each daughter deals with lives. A great study on relationships especially about love or the fear of it, it makes one wonder if the whole nature vs nurture debate is true. Can ones views on the subject come just naturally or are our views subjected to wavier on what we see?

  About the author

Marissa Stapley is a National Magazine Award nominated writer and former magazine editor whose work has appeared in the Globe and Mail, National Post, Elle Canada, and many others. Mating for Life (Atria Books; Simon & Schuster Canada) is her first novel. When Marissa is not writing, she’s reading. (In fact, she never goes anywhere without a book. Except maybe swimming.) Some of her favourite authors are Meg Wolitzer, Julia Glass, Alice Munro, John Irving, Lauren Groff, Margaret Atwood and James Salter. She lives in Toronto with her husband and two children, where she teaches writing, and is working on another novel.

Connect with the author

FB / Twitter / Website / Goodreads

Review: After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid

After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Published: July 1, 2014

Publisher: Washington Square Press

Format: copy via Booksparks

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

When Lauren and Ryan’s marriage reaches the breaking point, they come up with an unconventional plan. They decide to take a year off in the hopes of finding a way to fall in love again. One year apart, and only one rule: they cannot contact each other. Aside from that, anything goes.

Lauren embarks on a journey of self-discovery, quickly finding that her friends and family have their own ideas about the meaning of marriage. These influences, as well as her own healing process and the challenges of living apart from Ryan, begin to change Lauren’s ideas about monogamy and marriage. She starts to question: When you can have romance without loyalty and commitment without marriage, when love and lust are no longer tied together, what do you value? What are you willing to fight for?

This is a love story about what happens when the love fades. It’s about staying in love, seizing love, forsaking love, and committing to love with everything you’ve got. And above all, After I Do is the story of a couple caught up in an old game—and searching for a new road to happily ever after.

My Thoughts

**ATTENTION I FOUND A NEW AUTHOR TO OBSESS OVER**

Seriously I love this book and author so much I ordered her previous novel just pages into this novel. Honestly when I read the concept that Lauren and Ryan were going to take a year off of their marriage to figure things out I wasn’t so sure how this would pan out. Okay so I had my theories on how I thought things would work out and trust me it wasn’t positive. The fact that so many things could’ve happened such as falling in love with someone else, I couldn’t see this ending in a good way.

In the very beginning Lauren cant handle things and she logs into Ryan's emails while there she sees Ryan has written drafts of emails and she checks them out. There are emails to Lauren in them he tells her things he felt he could never tell her. While at first she gets mad but eventually she starts to see things from his eyes. She began to realize how they both took things for granted. She realized how he saw her and most importantly how she saw him. She starts writing her own emails at first they are very mean but slowly but surely they turn emotional. She soon stops seeing how he is doing and starts to focus on her own well being.

I loved the journey that Lauren takes. She takes this time to focus on herself and in the process she becomes closer to her family as well. Although this book is about a marriage, bottom line it all boils down to communication, work and effort. Everyone seems to love the ideal of love but love and attraction is the easy thing. Marriage takes work and effort if you don’t put the work in it can all fall to the wayside in a blink of an eye. However at the same time you have to want to put the effort in. If you don’t than there are bigger issues. But sometimes things are definitely worth fighting for. This book shows us that marriage isn’t perfect that sometimes you have to step back and if your love is strong enough nothing can break that bond. This is hands down one of fave reads of the year. It’s funny, witty, emotional and makes you see life and love in all it’s grit and glory. Taylor Jenkins Reid takes you on a ride on that you soon won't forget.