Book Review: After I Do

After I Do, by Taylor Jenkins Reid

• Relatable story and theme

• Honest characters and good character building

• Twist on usual romance tropes

• 3.5 stars

I think the only reason this didn't get more stars is that I read it after reading Evelyn Hugo and this writing didn't hold a candle to that one in some ways.

This story was a great Lifetime movie to read, with a lot of relatable topics. The idea of can you love the same person forever, be in love with the same person forever, and what does love look like when it's forever.

I felt like the build up to Lauren and Ryan's decisions to spend a year apart was so well done. The distant and the idea what there isn't one big moment that can define us. usually big moments don't define us. It's all the little ones and the everyday things that make up a person and a relationship.

The visibility into Lauren's year is interesting. The idea of wanting to know what's going on, snooping the emails and not knowing what to do with what she saw - all so relatable. Trying to figure out what she wants and what to do. The scene at her birthday felt particularly great and realistic when there's multiple generations involved.

Again, this was a great read and I finished it in nearly a day. I thought it wrapped up a little too cleanly and happily, I thought there'd be a little more tough love and struggle between Lauren and Ryan. However, the struggles they did go through and the themes lived out were very well done.

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Synopsis: 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?

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