Reviews with content warning for Abortion - An American Marriage

Good, and not what I was expecting from reading the blurb. I thought there would be more about the nitty gritty of Roy getting out of jail and finding out his Wife is seeing someone else. It's more about social politics and how the character's relationship evolves over time. I think it was well written, and I thought the use of letters to portray their relationship during the time Roy was in jail was cleverly done. An emotionally conflicting read; the character's are complicated and not entirely likeable but you feel for all of them. I liked this! The character's are very well written with their own perspective chapters that Jones used well to justify their thoughts and actions without excusing them. And there was some really interesting character development that was very powerful. Well written, and would recommend to anyone looking for a thought-provoking read about privilege, race and relationships. Not an easy read but a realistic and gripping one.

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bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Heartbreaking novel of a marriage. It was a very slow story that I couldn’t get into when reading a physical copy so I switched to audio. I enjoyed the switching POVs and the storytelling via letters in the first half.

I didn’t like Celestial or Roy, they both have good points but also both make awful decisions. By the end I hated them both

especially after Roy kept begging Celestial for sex after getting out, making excuses to not use protection. THEN HE WANTS CREDIT FOR NOT RAPING HER?! They’re both awful people.

. I understand it’s difficult circumstances and it may be more realistic but it made the book less enjoyable for me personally when I don’t like either person. Plus neither of them had much development it seemed.

The book started out well but the second half was boring and with some of the actions of Roy and Celestial, I kind of wished I DNFd. It was an okay book with a good premise but didn’t enjoy the execution as much as I expected to.

TW/CW: rape, abortion, cancer (brief mention), death of parent, grief, incarceration, sexual content, infidelity, dubious consent/coercion, racism, violence, misogyny

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matildaesandell's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A beautiful book about wrongful incarceration and the challenges of marriage. This book was a wonderful read, and feels all the more important when you learn that the author actually studied for this book by attending uni courses. The character development is so strong, and you don’t know whether you love or hate any of them

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