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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
medium-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
cannot be bothered
update: i finished it out of sheer will. it was annoying as fuck
update: i finished it out of sheer will. it was annoying as fuck
So I finished it and I'm not sure if I loved it or not, but sometimes when I was reading it I felt like I *did*.
This book spoke to me as a forty-ish woman who at one point in my life secretly thought it would just be NICE if I could drop my newborn baby off at the fire department's Safe Harbor infant drop for like 8 hours so I could just get some goddamn sleep.
This gave me the same feeling as that book Leave Me where the mom of 4 year old twins has a surprise heart attack and a midlife crisis and runs off, except Merit only...mentally runs off. But is it really mentally running off? Or is it more about permission to be your ~*authentic self*~ no matter how entrenched you feel in your life choices?
Points off in theory because the narrative ends before anyone has to actually go through the mental work to make a Hard and Life Changing Choice and then picks up 5 years later with a "this is how it all worked out" epilogue.
A love story I didn't know I wanted, but that made my heart grow anyway.
Sometimes, after getting to/having to make SO MANY life choices in your teens and twenties, being 30-40, especially with kid(s) leaves you feeling completely constricted. And there's a pull between this life/motherhood and the kind of person you used to be/thought you were/wanted to be. There's a lot (A LOT) of adult contemporary women's fiction that explores motherhood through this lens, but I found this one to be especially poignant because in the end it was totally unapologetic.
I loved the magic of the friendship that became more in this one, especially because it wasn't always "ugh my body is terrible" but it was tempered by "ugh I feel like my body is terrible but clearly I shouldn't feel that way because I'm also in love with a woman 19 years my senior and her body is fantastic."
I mean sometimes I though Merit was being absolutely terrible. Sometimes I was jealous of her. And sometimes I felt so lucky to have the kind of life where I still break down crying happy tears when I hear the song that played at my wedding's first dance.
IDK, IDK, IDK.
This book spoke to me as a forty-ish woman who at one point in my life secretly thought it would just be NICE if I could drop my newborn baby off at the fire department's Safe Harbor infant drop for like 8 hours so I could just get some goddamn sleep.
This gave me the same feeling as that book Leave Me where the mom of 4 year old twins has a surprise heart attack and a midlife crisis and runs off, except Merit only...mentally runs off. But is it really mentally running off? Or is it more about permission to be your ~*authentic self*~ no matter how entrenched you feel in your life choices?
Points off in theory because the narrative ends before anyone has to actually go through the mental work to make a Hard and Life Changing Choice and then picks up 5 years later with a "this is how it all worked out" epilogue.
A love story I didn't know I wanted, but that made my heart grow anyway.
Spoiler
Listen, I am not planning to run off from my husband to have an affair with my glamorous and amazing female boss, but the point of the story is this -Sometimes, after getting to/having to make SO MANY life choices in your teens and twenties, being 30-40, especially with kid(s) leaves you feeling completely constricted. And there's a pull between this life/motherhood and the kind of person you used to be/thought you were/wanted to be. There's a lot (A LOT) of adult contemporary women's fiction that explores motherhood through this lens, but I found this one to be especially poignant because in the end it was totally unapologetic.
I loved the magic of the friendship that became more in this one, especially because it wasn't always "ugh my body is terrible" but it was tempered by "ugh I feel like my body is terrible but clearly I shouldn't feel that way because I'm also in love with a woman 19 years my senior and her body is fantastic."
I mean sometimes I though Merit was being absolutely terrible. Sometimes I was jealous of her. And sometimes I felt so lucky to have the kind of life where I still break down crying happy tears when I hear the song that played at my wedding's first dance.
IDK, IDK, IDK.
I think this book is so well written and raw, open, and honest. I was drawn in immediately and hardly wanted to put it down or focus on anything else. The ending and the way it was written was absolutely chefs kiss.
The only things I didn’t particularly like about it was how her relationship with Jane became almost purely physical and it lost that deeper connection in my eyes. It seemed like Merit was in an experimental phase and being reckless. I also didn’t like how much time she spent away from her kids and how much she relied on a babysitter so she could live her best fantasy.
That’s just my personal gripe. All in all, loved reading this and I’m so happy that I did!
The only things I didn’t particularly like about it was how her relationship with Jane became almost purely physical and it lost that deeper connection in my eyes. It seemed like Merit was in an experimental phase and being reckless. I also didn’t like how much time she spent away from her kids and how much she relied on a babysitter so she could live her best fantasy.
That’s just my personal gripe. All in all, loved reading this and I’m so happy that I did!
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A stunning example of love in all its raw intensity; with all of the grit, grief, joy, passion, pain and triumph. A fine example of staying true to yourself, despite the consequences, challenges and changes that an authentic decision like that commands. I LOVED Merit & Jane's relationship from start to finish. I saw a lot of myself in Merit at certain points of the novel. Gone from 20 something party girl, to 30 something married and mothering, then hitting 40 and asking all the mid-life questions. Very relatable and thought provoking.
This novel is highly underrated and deserves way more hype than I've seen it get on the usual platforms. It deserves to shine.
This novel is highly underrated and deserves way more hype than I've seen it get on the usual platforms. It deserves to shine.
3.5⭐️
I have mixed feelings about this book. At first I couldn’t put it down; I devoured the first half. Then I got annoyed with the main character. And then, I cried at the end.
This is about Merit. She’s been married for 12 years and has two young kids. She heads back to work as an architect, where she meets Jane. Jane is 20 years her senior, and the two form a very close friendship.
Soon Merit and Jane start a romance. Jane fulfills parts of Merit that her husband doesn’t, and she feels very stuck in between her two roles. And of course, she has to eventually decide.
This is a f/f half closed half open door romance. Merit annoyed me at times because she was doing things that made her feel bad… but still doing them. There’s not a ton of practicality in this book, but I did find a lot of it compulsively readable.
TW: Pretty graphic miscarriage
I have mixed feelings about this book. At first I couldn’t put it down; I devoured the first half. Then I got annoyed with the main character. And then, I cried at the end.
This is about Merit. She’s been married for 12 years and has two young kids. She heads back to work as an architect, where she meets Jane. Jane is 20 years her senior, and the two form a very close friendship.
Soon Merit and Jane start a romance. Jane fulfills parts of Merit that her husband doesn’t, and she feels very stuck in between her two roles. And of course, she has to eventually decide.
This is a f/f half closed half open door romance. Merit annoyed me at times because she was doing things that made her feel bad… but still doing them. There’s not a ton of practicality in this book, but I did find a lot of it compulsively readable.
TW: Pretty graphic miscarriage
