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A review by mimireadsromance
Making It Last by Ruthie Knox
5.0
My review as posted to Amazon:
I've come to expect excellent storytelling and characters that I can connect with from Ruthie Knox's work. Making it Last, her latest novella in the Camelot series, surpassed anything I could have ever expected. Wow...talk about an emotional read! I finished the novella a few days ago, but have been stewing over it ever since. It was great to revisit Tony and Amber (from the original novella, How to Misbehave). Why was it so great? Simple...because they were flawed. After more than a decade together, and 3 children, they didn't have it all figured out. Things in their life were stressful & they were both going through the motions of every day life, not really connecting with each other anymore. I know, you're probably thinking, "What's so great about that?". Well, for me it's great because it was gut-wrenchingly honest. Every tear I cried for Amber and Tony was worth it! I often found myself thinking, "Yes...this is what can happen in a marriage!"
Since this is a novella, I don't want to give away more of the story line than is already given away in the book synopsis. Instead, I'll share some of my favorite lines from the book. (There were a lot...I highlighted something on almost every page!)
"Sometimes, when she was alone in the house, dog in the backyard, silence all around her, she tried to imagine the shape of her future, and all she could see was her boys growing up." Loc 406
"...because I don't know who I am anymore. I'm afraid I'm not anybody. That I'm your wife and the kids' mom and that's it." Loc 1661
"If you don't tell me, and I don't ask. What good are we to each other?" Loc 1698
"That moment when you remembered why you were in this in the first place, and you came back to it." Loc 1844
"Love was where you found the strength to deal with it." Loc 1925
I'll end this review by saying that this is one of those stories that will stick with me for the rest of my life. Thank you, Ms. Knox for writing their story. Thank you for the honest portrayal of their marriage and thank you for allowing us to see them work to make things better.
I've come to expect excellent storytelling and characters that I can connect with from Ruthie Knox's work. Making it Last, her latest novella in the Camelot series, surpassed anything I could have ever expected. Wow...talk about an emotional read! I finished the novella a few days ago, but have been stewing over it ever since. It was great to revisit Tony and Amber (from the original novella, How to Misbehave). Why was it so great? Simple...because they were flawed. After more than a decade together, and 3 children, they didn't have it all figured out. Things in their life were stressful & they were both going through the motions of every day life, not really connecting with each other anymore. I know, you're probably thinking, "What's so great about that?". Well, for me it's great because it was gut-wrenchingly honest. Every tear I cried for Amber and Tony was worth it! I often found myself thinking, "Yes...this is what can happen in a marriage!"
Since this is a novella, I don't want to give away more of the story line than is already given away in the book synopsis. Instead, I'll share some of my favorite lines from the book. (There were a lot...I highlighted something on almost every page!)
"Sometimes, when she was alone in the house, dog in the backyard, silence all around her, she tried to imagine the shape of her future, and all she could see was her boys growing up." Loc 406
"...because I don't know who I am anymore. I'm afraid I'm not anybody. That I'm your wife and the kids' mom and that's it." Loc 1661
"If you don't tell me, and I don't ask. What good are we to each other?" Loc 1698
"That moment when you remembered why you were in this in the first place, and you came back to it." Loc 1844
"Love was where you found the strength to deal with it." Loc 1925
I'll end this review by saying that this is one of those stories that will stick with me for the rest of my life. Thank you, Ms. Knox for writing their story. Thank you for the honest portrayal of their marriage and thank you for allowing us to see them work to make things better.