After I Do

 

Author: Tara Jenkins Reid

Narrator: Julia Whelan 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Year: 2022

🎧 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 🎧

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio and Libro.fm for the complementary audiobook. 

The bloom is off the rose for Lauren and Ryan’s marriage. Their relationship has been rocky for awhile and now they’re at a breaking point. They come up with a brilliant plan to save their marriage- separate for a year with absolutely no communication. Wut?! So Ryan moves out of their house and Lauren must learn to be single. 

I thought this was more a story of growth rather than a typical love story. Lauren spends the year rediscovering herself and figuring out who she wants to be. She realizes that she sort of lost her sense of self somewhere inside her relationship with Ryan. The growth theme continues with Rachel, Lauren’s sister. She steps out of her comfort zone to chase a dream. Meanwhile, Lauren’s mom is building a budding relationship with a man. After being single for so long, she must make a decision to go all in on this new relationship or risk losing it. Lauren’s brother Charlie goes from being a carefree party time dude to embracing the huge responsibilities of fatherhood. Lots of growth for Lauren and her whole family. We only get small glimpses of Ryan’s life during the year long separation. I couldn’t tell if he really experienced any significant growth. 

My little quibble- the ending. Maybe I’m too cynical, but it just seemed too much for me. It didn’t ruin the book for me. It just made my eyes roll all the back in my head. 🙄 Of course Julia Whelan’s narration made up for my cynicism. Her performance was excellent. All in all, a very enjoyable story. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

QOTD: Happy Friday! What are you doing this weekend? 

I’m going to attempt to fix my dishwasher. It apparently has a leak somewhere and I can’t find a repairman to come out to look at it.

It’s only four years old and I don’t want to have to buy a new one if it’s an easy fix. Wish me luck! 

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