After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Published July 1, 2014

The lowdown from Goodreads

From the author of Forever, Interrupted 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.

I took a detour from my fall Thrillers to read another Taylor Jenkins Reid novel, After I Do. Earlier this year, I read Maybe in Another Life & I really enjoyed it. A sliding doors type novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.

After I Do tackles a marriage in trouble. Now, I honestly thought how can a 334 page novel dealing with one person’s crappy marriage keep my attention? But, it totally did. What I loved about this book was the dynamic between Lauren & her family.  Taylor’s characters are honest, flawed & relatable with all too familiar issues. Every time I think she will take the easy way out & write a predictable conclusion, she surprises me & I LOVE THAT. I also loved the dynamic between Lauren & her family. An unruly mother, a close sister relationship & a brother embarking on adulthood. This was the real story to me. Funny part: I laughed out loud reading some of the e-mails Lauren & Ryan sent to each other during their year off marriage. Some of their frustrations with their spouse were too good. Anyone looking for a quick, no stress, enjoyable read would enjoy After I Do.

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