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lilliemanvel 's review for:

Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo
5.0
Loveable characters: Yes

I dunno. Wouldn’t be a 5 star for everyone but I loved it. Sealed by the ending’s emotional gut punch, my love for the characters grew steadily throughout. I may not have adored this 10 years ago but today I do and I’m sad to be finished. 

There’s a slow roll getting into the story, that changes about a third in. Not joking about the ending - it struck the perfect pace, tone, style and sustained the lightest possible ugly face cry I’ve had since reading that Marcellus/octopus/remarkably bright creatures book. (I felt like the crying I did with that book was well earned but unfairly got - even though I loved the story that ending was TOO neat)

Anyway. This isn’t just a book for people who identify as mother but I think I identified muchly with that aspect. The main characters relationship with her own mother (and mother figure) I couldn’t relate to but I appreciated a great deal. The marriage relationship was also a treat to read. 

This was such a solid read (listen!) for me. I’m gonna miss it.