THE EVER AFTER BY SARAH PEKKANEN

Wow! This book is much more emotional than I anticipated. But it's so good that I had a hard time putting it down. If you enjoy domestic dramas about marriage, this is the book for you. 

Rating: ★★★★
​Release Date: June 5, 2018
Genre: Domestic Drama. Women's Fiction. 
Series: None. Standalone. 
Pages: 272 pages
​Format: eBook. ARC. 

In this intricate and enthralling domestic drama, perfect for fans of Big Little Lies and The Affair, the internationally bestselling author of the “gossipy page-turner” (Glamour) The Perfect Neighbors goes deep into a marriage in crisis, peeling back layers of secrets to discover where the relationship veered off course—and whether it is worth saving.

Josie and Frank Moore are happy…at least Josie thinks they are. As parents of two young girls in the Chicago suburbs, their days can be both busy and monotonous, and sometimes Josie wonders how she became a harried forty something mother rather than the driven career 

woman she once was. But Frank is a phenomenal father, he’s handsome and charismatic, and he still looks at his wife like she’s the beautiful woman he married more than a decade ago. Josie isn’t just happy—she’s lucky. Until one Saturday morning when Josie borrows her husband’s phone to make a quick call—and sees nine words that shatter her world.

Now Josie feels as if she is standing at the edge of a sharp precipice. As she looks back at pivotal moments in the relationship she believed would last forever, she is also plunging ahead, surprising everyone (especially herself) with how far she will go to uncover the extent of her husband’s devastating secret.

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Read my Book Review

Release Date: June 5, 2018
Genre: Domestic Drama. Women's Fiction. 
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars

This is the first book I have read from Sarah Pekkanen and I am thoroughly impressed. What an emotional journey this one was. I wasn't expecting to feel like this when I read it but it certainly has taken me on an intense ride. One of the things that was most noticeable about this book (besides the emotion that it evokes) is the way the author builds the characters. This can be a heard feat especially when an author tackles a hot button issue like infidelity, but she is right on the mark with these guys. Josie for instance is extremely realistic. Having been through the trauma of infidelity, she handles the situation as one would expect- she's angry, sad, hurt, and has a hard time trusting. She isn't FORCED to either want to work it out or not, but rather, she takes her time in considering her options while also dealing with the emotion of it all. In some books, the author will either make the infidelity a passive thing- the wife quickly gets over it and forgives- or takes a radical turn and forces the characters to leap ahead with divorce before considering all the options. Well, this doesn't happen here and I love the bravery, and indecisiveness, and the way the problem was tackled. It surely wasn't an easy read, and it broke my heart into a few small pieces, but I feel like it's a healing one. I very much recommend it. 

With that, the heart of the story is of course about the repercussions of infidelity within a marriage. Many will feel nervous reading a book like this because the issue is one none of us want to consider. However, as I mentioned above, the author does a fantastic job at weaving a story around it. I can almost guarantee that you WON'T want to jump through the pages and rip peoples throats out (for the most part anyway) but will consider the actions of the characters. You may feel emotional (especially if this has happened to you) but I think many can learn from it too. 

Overall, this is a fantastic novel and I really liked it. I didn't love it for the sole reason that it IS about infidelity, but I can look past it because it is told in a realistic way. If you are looking for a domestic drama/women's fiction novel that gets tough with marital issues, this is a good one for you. If you cannot read a book where infidelity does occur, then maybe skip this one. I for one am glad I read it and plan to read more by the author in the near future.