The Love of My Life: A GMA Book Club Pick: A Novel

I enjoy good wine. The first sip lays on my tongue and I decide whether I will savor it or just enjoy the glass. If this book had been a bottle of wine I’d have savored every sip, letting in lay on my tongue for a bit before swallowing. The characters were well drawn, and the plotting excellent with unexpected twists and turns which kept me reading until the wee hours of the morning. It speaks of secrets kept and the high cost the characters paid for them. And most of all, it speaks of the immutability of love.

Interesting and different storyline. I wouldn't refer to it as thriller though. I think it might fall more in the drama category. Good cast of characters. A couple of twist and turns. I can see this as book club worthy. Tiny bit slow in the beginning. Hang in there. Curiosity will prevail. Good read. I would recommend it to a friend.

WOW. What a book. This book was full of twists and turns and the guesses you never expected. This thriller is set in England, as Leo thinks he has the perfect love story with Emma and their daughter Ruby. Emma or should we say Emily has an entirely different story that she has never shared with Leo about her life. It is not until Leo, whose job is to write stock obituaries, starts to write one about Emma that he BEGINS to find a piece of the story. This story will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last page.

I loved the first half of this book about an interesting, quirky couple living in London. The suspense was definitely built, I couldn't wait to find out what the secret was. The alternating points of view gives the story depth. But by the second half, I didn't like Emma/Emily. Her cluttered, dirty house that she never cleaned even with a child living there, and her lying to Leo was mean. I just didn't find her charming or interesting. I also felt there were too many characters thrown into the plot. Jill and Sheila, who suddenly are more important. Sheila, in particular, comes out of nowhere as an important character. There's a lot of traveling, both around London and back and forth to Northumberland, which gets tedious. I'm sure the crab story serves a purpose but I found it distracting and extraneous. Maybe it's because I don't have children, but the lengthy descriptions and discussions of birth and babies went on way too long. Cancer, depression, adoption, betrayal, lies-It's almost too much of a mix. And the rush to the climax is hurried. When I did find out the mystery, I thought it was anticlimactic. Leo is too good to be true. By the end, I was let down and disappointed.

Lots of twists and turns you don't see coming, a very solid read. It was not the page turned I expected, more of a slow burn like. I do think the kidnapping subplot could have been scrapped and it wouldn't have changed the essence or emotional upheaval of the book.

I am a constant reader. I read at least 2-3 hours a day and average between 120-160 books a year. I love all genres. Obviously I read a *lot* of books. There are many books and authors I really enjoy but there are a handful of authors whose characters, plot lines, and details are so seamless and true to life it satisfies me entirely. This is one of those books for me. I will admit I struggled getting into the book at first as the characters and foundation were being built. But then it turned a corner and I couldn’t stop reading. The author put in small details that made the book a more realistic, well developed story. Small spoiler alert) Such as when Leo mentions early in the books that Ruby had been getting up after she had been out to bed every night. Then later in the story she got out of bed at a bad time at the cabin. A lot of writers would just put her hopping out of bed with no background. But for me all the small details like this made the story fuller and more real to me. The characters had flaws, made major mistakes in life, and suffered with guilt. Just like real people. And the writer also managed to surprise me a couple of times which is pretty hard to do. This is an author I will definitely watch for and read again without hesitation. Everyone is different, but I thought this was an excellent book.

I have been absolutely riveted all afternoon, eagerly turning pages to find out what secrets Emma was hiding, and why—and wondering what would come next for her and Leo. This is a story of true love between a man and a woman, and a story about the love a mother has for her child. It is a gripping mystery, as Emma’s true story is revealed, slowly, heartbreakingly, and shockingly. It is a story of a grief so deep that it is a miracle for anyone to survive and thrive and forgive and heal. The characters were so real, so perfectly imperfect, that there were no heroes or villains, just people. The emotions in this book were raw, gritty, and genuine; in a book built on lies, there is also brutal honesty.

The book was an easy read and quite engaging. I was a bit disappointed with the ending. I was captured in the story, wondering what happens next.... Then it was over. The ending was bit anticlimactic and unfinished. Like there should be more, bit it's missing.

Dieses Buch war seit langem mal wieder das erste, das ich in jeder freien Minute verschlungen habe! Ich liebe ihren Schreibstil und die Story geht mir wieder einmal sehr zu Herzen.

The book is of poor material. Both the cover and the pages👎🏽

I liked the way the story was told; even when it jumps to the past, it does so in an original way. I liked the characters, and I love complex, intelligent, imperfect women in stories.

* I have added content warnings for this story at the end of my review, but some are inevitably spoilers so please proceed with caution * Emma and Leo have a seemingly perfect marriage, even though they've been through fertility issues leading to IVF and the birth of their daughter, then a cancer diagnosis for Emma. Leo, a writer of obituaries, has been insistent on preparing one 'just in case' to file away and hopefully not be used until long into the future. But Emma, a marine ecologist, has a secret past. One that begins to merge into her present as her lies are revealed. I really loved this book. The storytelling was compelling and the POVs all worked extremely well to build the suspense. I was hooked almost immediately and really enjoyed hypothesizing the outcomes of several twists and turns. I did ultimately guess the main ones but they were no less impactful. I found both Leo and Emma incredibly likable and authentic, which only made their POVs more emotional. I cried a LOT in the second and third parts. The supporting characters were also well-rounded. There's so much else I would love to say about this story, but almost all of it would spoil the book. I received an eARC plus an advanced copy of the audiobook. I found the narration of both Emma (Imogen Church) and Leo (Theo Solomon) extremely compelling. In particular, those events at university were voiced in an incredibly visceral way, and if you get the opportunity I would highly recommend the audiobook. *Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to leave an honest review* Overall rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Heat Rating: n/a Emotional Rating: 🥰😬💔😭😭💔💓 cw: detailed descriptions of mental illness, post-partum depression, bereavement, alcoholism, suicidal ideation, and infertility

Excellent storyline and kept you guessing just the kind of book I like. Should put it on your list it's a good read.