When I saw this book at a used book store this summer I was very excited to scoop it up. We were at the beach, and it seemed like a perfect light read to enjoy while soaking in some rays.
Well, I never did read it while we were at the beach. In fact, I didn't read it until a few weeks ago. And light though it was, it just wasn't something I loved. The premise of the story seemed enjoyable (and believable) enough: newlywed woman has a chance encounter with an ex that she hasn't seen in years and old feelings get stirred up. Totally plausible. And, truthfully, I was curious to see how the author handled the situation because I think it is one a lot of couples run into.
I guess I'm not sure how I had expected the situation to be handled (especially in a literary novel), but I was not a huge fan of how things panned out. In fact, I got so annoyed with the way the characters were acting at times that I couldn't even get caught up in the "suspense" of the plot. I disliked the primary female character because she was stupidly (and intentionally) flirting with the line of an affair. I disliked the character she was border-line having an affair with, because he was pretty much encouraging the behavior even though he knew she was married. And, although I thought the character of her husband and her whole husband's family was enjoyable overall, I thought her husband was a little too, well, perfect, especially in the way he handled things at the end.
When it was all said and done, though, the book did have one redeeming message: every relationship and every marriage is unique, and in order to be successful over the long term it is important to have open communication and be willing to compromise when issues arise. Even if it means not following the path of the status quo. So I guess if you haven't figured that out yet, then maybe this is the book for you. Otherwise, you could probably pass on it.
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