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A review by marilynw
Before and Again by Barbara Delinsky
4.0
Mackenzie Cooper and her husband led a luxurious, charmed life until she took her eyes off the road, which resulted in a vehicle accident that killed both her 5 year old daughter Lily, and the speeding driver of the other vehicle. She lost her marriage, family, and friends and endured non stop media coverage and was sentenced to 5 years probation. Mack then remade herself in the small town of Devon, where she went by the name of Maggie and nobody knew her past.
Flash forward 5 years and Maggie is happy with her 2 cats, dog, little cabin, and her job as a makeup artist at a fancy Inn. Then her ex-husband makes his entrance at the same time Maggie is thrown back in the spotlight due to a hacking incident by a friend's son and serious problems of that friend. All the while, Maggie is still dealing with the guilt of the accident, the grief of losing her daughter, marriage and relationship with family, and wondering if she can ever get past her past. With her ex-husband's arrival as the new manager of the inn and Maggie is thrown into a headspin of worry, shock, and dismay, Her carefully arranged new life is falling apart. Her ex husband wants to be with Maggie again while Maggie can't even imagine such a thing, due to her ever present feelings of guilt. I enjoyed every chapter of this book despite having no question in my mind about how it was going to end.
There was never really any tension in the book, other than that imposed by Maggie's refusal to forgive herself for the accident. That refusal led Maggie to think she could never do something that would really make her happy thus she was unwillingness to consider getting back with her husband, even though it was obvious they were made for each other and should never have divorced. The problems of her friend and friend's son, really took a back seat to Maggie's relationship with her ex, other than to be a way to add media exposure to her new life and put her probation into jeopardy for consorting with a suspected felon.
Much of the drama was due to Maggie's over thinking and self flagellation which could be tedious at times, Still, I enjoyed the book, and the characters of her ex husband and mother. This book is all about forgiveness and learning to forgive oneself. Very much worth a mostly stress free (for the reader) read.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.
Flash forward 5 years and Maggie is happy with her 2 cats, dog, little cabin, and her job as a makeup artist at a fancy Inn. Then her ex-husband makes his entrance at the same time Maggie is thrown back in the spotlight due to a hacking incident by a friend's son and serious problems of that friend. All the while, Maggie is still dealing with the guilt of the accident, the grief of losing her daughter, marriage and relationship with family, and wondering if she can ever get past her past. With her ex-husband's arrival as the new manager of the inn and Maggie is thrown into a headspin of worry, shock, and dismay, Her carefully arranged new life is falling apart. Her ex husband wants to be with Maggie again while Maggie can't even imagine such a thing, due to her ever present feelings of guilt. I enjoyed every chapter of this book despite having no question in my mind about how it was going to end.
There was never really any tension in the book, other than that imposed by Maggie's refusal to forgive herself for the accident. That refusal led Maggie to think she could never do something that would really make her happy thus she was unwillingness to consider getting back with her husband, even though it was obvious they were made for each other and should never have divorced. The problems of her friend and friend's son, really took a back seat to Maggie's relationship with her ex, other than to be a way to add media exposure to her new life and put her probation into jeopardy for consorting with a suspected felon.
Much of the drama was due to Maggie's over thinking and self flagellation which could be tedious at times, Still, I enjoyed the book, and the characters of her ex husband and mother. This book is all about forgiveness and learning to forgive oneself. Very much worth a mostly stress free (for the reader) read.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.