Title: AFTER I DO
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Publish Date: 07.01.14
Publisher: Atria Books, Washington Square Press
Category /Genre: Contemporary Romance
Recommended
for: 18+ due to sexual content
Grammar/editing: A – near perfect
Received from: Atria Books via NetGalley (in exchange for an honest
review)
Date completed: 06.25.14
Goodreads link: After I Do
Description from the publisher:
From
the author of Forever, Interrupted—hailed by Sarah Jio as “moving,
gorgeous, and at times heart-wrenching”—comes a breathtaking new novel about modern
marriage, the depth of family ties, and the year that one remarkable heroine
spends exploring both.
When Lauren and Ryan’s marriage reaches the breaking point, they come up with an unconventional plan. They decide to take a year off in the hopes of finding a way to fall in love again. One year apart, and only one rule: they cannot contact each other. Aside from that, anything goes.
Lauren embarks on a journey of self-discovery, quickly finding that her friends and family have their own ideas about the meaning of marriage. These influences, as well as her own healing process and the challenges of living apart from Ryan, begin to change Lauren’s ideas about monogamy and marriage. She starts to question: When you can have romance without loyalty and commitment without marriage, when love and lust are no longer tied together, what do you value? What are you willing to fight for?
This is a love story about what happens when the love fades. It’s about staying in love, seizing love, forsaking love, and committing to love with everything you’ve got. And above all, After I Do is the story of a couple caught up in an old game—and searching for a new road to happily ever after.
When Lauren and Ryan’s marriage reaches the breaking point, they come up with an unconventional plan. They decide to take a year off in the hopes of finding a way to fall in love again. One year apart, and only one rule: they cannot contact each other. Aside from that, anything goes.
Lauren embarks on a journey of self-discovery, quickly finding that her friends and family have their own ideas about the meaning of marriage. These influences, as well as her own healing process and the challenges of living apart from Ryan, begin to change Lauren’s ideas about monogamy and marriage. She starts to question: When you can have romance without loyalty and commitment without marriage, when love and lust are no longer tied together, what do you value? What are you willing to fight for?
This is a love story about what happens when the love fades. It’s about staying in love, seizing love, forsaking love, and committing to love with everything you’ve got. And above all, After I Do is the story of a couple caught up in an old game—and searching for a new road to happily ever after.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a stand-alone, contemporary
romance novel.
Most contemporary romance novels are
about the cute meet, misunderstanding, and then an HEA. In this one, there is the cute meet and an
HEA, but then forever comes sooner than expected. What do you do when your marriage becomes
boring?
Lauren and Ryan met in college,
married after, and then find themselves not just in a rut, but each irritated
by everything the other does. Rather
than immediately choosing divorce, they try a trial separation. For one year, they are not to contact each
other. The real question becomes, “then
what?”
I first want to share two of my
favorite quotes from the book:
“If you’re looking for a change of scenery, choose
beautiful scenery.”
“Just because you CAN live without someone doesn’t mean you
WANT to.”
Let me first tell you a little about
my life. I met my (ex)husband in
college. We were together for three and
a half years before we married. We have
been married for thirty years. From the
beginning, I believed he hung the moon and the stars just for me. That sounds like the beginning of a beautiful
love story, right?
This is the way it is when you find
your true love. You can’t imagine a day
without him/her, without WANTING him/her.
Then, if you aren’t careful, one day you realize that you took him/her
for granted for too long.
Like Lauren and Ryan, we quit trying. I won’t say who quit first, doesn’t belong
here, but once both quit, it was over.
Lauren and Ryan refused to say quit.
They make an unusual decision in an effort to return to the love they
had and hope to rekindle.
The week that my husband moved out,
I read three romance stories that I had already scheduled for tours. As difficult as it was, I still appreciated
the books. I will always be a romantic,
and I love to see other people find their true love, even if they are
fictional. This book was harder to read,
emotionally, for me. Choosing to
separate is not easy. It’s only two and
half months since my husband moved out.
When Ryan moved out, I lived that all over again. I understood the frustration of wanting to
call, wanting to reach out, no longer having your other half to depend upon. … I also had to laugh that the first thing
Lauren did was redecorate her bedroom – mine is now purple. Apparently, that is a “thing.”
Ms. Jenkins has produced a book that
is truly a contemporary romance. In our
new society, what works for one couple may not work for another. There are more choices than staying together
or divorcing. This is only the second
book produced by Ms. Jenkins, but it is obvious she takes pride in producing a
quality product. She is now on my list
of “won’t miss their book” authors.
Other Books from this Author:
- Forever, Interrupted
originally posted 07.03.2014 on my
previous website
WordPress.com closed that site
because I promoted authors and their books
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