AFTER I DO - TAYLOR JENKINS REID

This book had me hooked. I am sucker for a character I can relate to, and I can see myself sharing a cup of coffee with Lauren, wanting to help her through her dark time.

Lauren and Ryan have been married for 5 years. They started their marriage in wedded bliss; college sweethearts, true lovers, romance and passion we all long for. But, the monotony of marriage sets it. Arguing, bickering, their relationship starts to fall apart.. Is this love? Is this a rut? Where do we go from here?

Until one morning, Lauren looks at Ryan and tells him she is not in love with him anymore. Ryan tells Lauren he has been feeling the same way.

“This is the saddest moment of my life.”

Lauren and Ryan sit at the kitchen table, once blissfully in love, and now deciding who will move out, who will take their beloved pup, what they will do next. They agree to take one year off of their marriage, one year apart, in hopes of reuniting and finding out how, or if, they can fall in love again.

However, there is one rule: they cannot contact each other for the entire year.

Can you imagine how hard that would be? The person you fell in love with, you swapped vows with.. the one you wake up with each morning and go to bed with each night. To leave them for a year, to live alone, no contact, cold turkey.

Lauren embarks on a year of self-discovery. She is heartbroken and devastated, but relieved and hopeful. She has to learn herself all over again. Dating, living alone.. being single. I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to just be able to call Lauren on the phone, or take her out for a beer. I could picture myself having chats with her about how sad she was, I so badly wanted to reach out to her and give her advice about her and Ryan.

And that is what I loved most about this book.

Not only did I feel like I knew Lauren, I felt like this book was so raw and so real. Nobody tells you how difficult it is to be in a long-term relationship. Married or not, commitment is hard work. Day in and day out with the same partner is truly a struggle, and you can decide to work on it or to walk away. It is a choice that you make every single day. This book shines such a real light on just how hard commitment can be, and how much hard work it takes to commit your life to your partner. Sometimes, loving one another is not enough. You have to work, you have to choose. And although unconventional, Lauren and Ryan choose to work on their relationship separately.

I love how Lauren works on her own self-discovery. Commitment does not always mean working on things together, it can mean bettering yourself so that you are better for each other.

Suddenly Lauren and Ryan must make decisions about monogamy, marriage, romance, and loyalty. Can you have love without marriage? Can you have loyalty and commitment without romance? And what does that mean? When do you throw in the towel, and when do you fight? These are real questions we answer in monogamous relationships every day, and Taylor Jenkins Reid truly sheds a real light on the hard work relationships require. And the heartbreaking decisions you are faced with when things don’t go as planned.

This novel is such a far cry from your average cookie-cutter love story. After I Do is a love story about what you face when love begins to fizzle.  About staying in love, holding onto love, selflessly loving one another, and committing to the good and the bad. In the end, After I Do is a story about two normal people facing real hard decisions, and searching for what a happy ending really means for them.

You will love every page of this novel. I cannot wait for you guys to read it! As always, reach out to me and tell me what you think!

XO