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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
If you can get over the somewhat insufferable millennial humor that tries and fails to be witty, there’s a cute story underneath with some real af moments. The Florida hate was so crazy though especially if the author is from fl as it seems.. grouping the entire beautiful and diverse state of fl in w/a MINORITY of WASPs is intolerable in my opinion, but I digress.
i know that the plot notes are kind of a cliche, but this reminded me of the first janelle brown book, this is where we live, except gayer.
It was ok. I didn't really like the main character. I liked and related to the complex feelings of motherhood and identity. But the romance felt a little forced.
fast-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
I wanted to DNF this so bad but I made it through
2 stars. This was an absolute dud for me unfortunately. The synopsis sounds so good. The writing didn’t draw me in at all. It left me feeling distant and I found that I wasn’t invested in the story or the characters. Speaking of characters, everyone here sucked. I hated all of the characters. Merit was annoying as hell, her husband was a tool, and Jane was weird and gave me creep vibes. I didn’t care what happened to any of them. I just wanted this book to be over. The only positive I can say is that the twist ending was pretty good and made me wish the rest of the novel would’ve hit just as hard. What a huge disappointment.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Fans of Carol will love this sapphic age-gap romance for their summer book stacks. In addition, readers praised Marin Ireland's audiobook performance, so I encourage you to try the novel in that format if you dive into this backlist debut.
Sometimes the sign of a great book is the conflicted feelings that it leaves you with, and that was certainly the case with these morally gray themes around a surprising midlife affair and the subsequent consequences it causes.
Merit is navigating a midlife crisis as she struggles to find her identity beyond being someone's wife and her daily challenges as a new mother. After a decade of marriage, her life has felt predictably dull and somewhat relatable for this reader.
Rather than settle into being a stay-at-home mom, she decides to head back to the workforce, where she can find a sense of purpose again, a decision that her husband is initially thrilled about.
However, through this job, she also finds herself longing for something more than her role as a wife and mother, and that is encouraged by her enigmatic colleague and boss, a Danish architect named Jane.
As Merit forms a close friendship with the brilliant and captivating woman, twenty years her senior, she admires her child-free life and even her marriage, which is on the brink of divorce. Jane's home and lifestyle become the ultimate escape from the daily responsibilities of Merit's realities as their work time blurs into social time with nonstop drinking and conversations that remind Merit of being young, carefree, and creative.
What starts as simple escapes throughout their work day evolve into surprising and complicated feelings as Merit realizes that her attraction to Jane goes beyond this escapist world they have created. The stakes are high, including her small children and the mediocre marriage, and that relationship might work if they try again. But are these worth fighting for?
Building a believable and beautiful slow-build connection between these women worked. This flawed yet compelling tale promises frank conversations about what it means to be in a midlife crisis now, and thought-provoking connections on motherhood make it an excellent choice for a book club chat.
My only criticism is that it all comes to a rather abrupt ending that, stylistically, was smart but deserved a few more pages of resolution for this reader.
Found in Sarah's Bookshelves Summer Reading Guide, I’m so glad I finally read this backlist debut that’s been sitting on my Kindle since their Belletrist Book Club announcement.
Content warning: pregnancy loss
4 out of 5 Stars
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated