I found this latest book by B.A.Paris to be frustrating and annoying. It is a domestic drama with several dysfunctional human beings who miss every opportunity to communicate honestly about their relationships, their friends, their family, and their lives.
Livia has planned her 40th birthday party for 20 years. The build-up to it has everyone all thrilled for the big event she has meticulously arranged for herself. Yes, everyone she knows is meant to be in attendance -- except for her daughter, Marnie, who's away studying in Hong Kong. That's OK, though, because Livia doesn't really want to see her daughter and needs to tell her husband, Adam, all about it. She'll discuss the situation with him after the party is over.
Adam is quite excited about the special surprise he has planned for Livia's party and is having a tough time keeping the secret. While getting everything arranged for the evening, he hears some terrible news. Telling himself that it's better that Livia just enjoy her special day, Adam decides to keep it to himself. He decides that he will share all when the party is over.
NO SPOILERS. But, I just wanted to smash some dishes throughout most of this book. The narrative is told from the points of view of both Livia and Adam as they struggle to keep in the extremely life-changing information that each holds separately. Neither knows the thing the other knows. Have they ever heard the phrase, "Sharing is caring." Well, eventually it all comes out and is just as bad as you'd expect when people withhold stuff from their partners. I was sick of both of them by then and so irritated by the missed opportunities that I was just glad to get to the end.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-book ARC to read and review. I've read all the previous books by this author and now I don't know if I care to try another.
This is a standalone and is not part of any series.
Genre - domestic drama
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