I read the Wife Between Us co-authored by Sarah Pekkanen and really enjoyed it. That was a good thriller. The Ever After, which is written solo by Pekkanen, is a domestic drama. It's well written but it's not a page-turner. I kept reading, expecting something to happen, but I must say that I was disappointed.

Love all of her books and how easy of a read they can be. Here is a story of cheating and trying to rebuild after cheating. Its a story of how they got to where they are and almost is a glimspe of why people can cheat.
quick read, and enjoyable

First I want to thank netgalley and the author for an advanced copy for my kindle. This book hit me hard! I had tears while I read this book. This book starts with Josie asking her husband frank for his phone to call in a prescription for there daughter while he grabs coffee from Starbucks, nervously he hands the phone to her and the look on his face she knows something is wrong. While he’s grabbing coffee she glances at his emails and she realizes he’s having an affair. This book will tear at your feelings. You go through the horror, hurt anger and having a family during this time with Josie. You will hate frank for hurting her and the there two daughter and at times clap for Josie for her strength and listen while she’s just wanting to kill frank. Also you will start to see no marriage is perfect and having an open line of communication is important. I loved this book it was a nice change from my usual murder mysteries or thrillers. I will recommend this book to everyone.

The Ever After didn't work for me. While the idea sounds interesting, the execution falls flat. After the reveal, which happens very early, not much else actually happens. I didn't feel the emotion that I would expect from this type of book. Pretty disappointing.

After reading The Wife Between Us I was expecting a twisted thriller like little else. I wasn't sure what to think when the story progressed and nothing twisted was happening. I'm bad about seeing an authors name I know I love and grabbing the book up right away and I don't always closely read the summary. That being said, once I settled into the book it was a great read full of emotion. Sarah was amazing at pulling you into the story and you find yourself taking sides and having opinions like you are a friend of theirs. This was not fantasied but felt like a true portrayal of what it would be like in that situation.
Josie is completely broken but doesn't freak and make split decisions that will implode her life even more she takes it one day at a time to find what is best and what she needs to make everything better for herself and her life. This was a great raw read that I couldn't put down. I finished it in one night and loved it.

I have been open about the rather rocky relationship I have with Ms. Pekkanen's novels. Most of them I find too trite for my personal enjoyment. However, when I do enjoy one of her novels, the experience tends to be rather profound. Such is the case with her latest stand-alone novel, The Ever After.

What Ms. Pekkanen captures quite well through Josie is the complexity of marriage. It is easy to declare that you would immediately leave your significant other should you ever find out that they had an affair. After all, no one wants to be made a fool, and finding out about an affair is a situation that is an embodiment of embarrassment. However, no one really knows how one would act in that situation until it happens. Josie provides just one example of a reaction, one I feel is fairly realistic - especially when children are in the picture.

Everything about Josie's reaction upon finding that one text makes you think, which is what makes The Ever After so compelling in my mind. She follows her gut regarding further detective work and learning about the scope of the affair. She does not shut off her emotions but rather allows her rage and subsequent sorrow to flow. She has honest dialogues with her husband, with her friend, and with herself. At each step of the way, you are right alongside her, wondering if she is making the correct decision and pondering whether you would act in the same fashion were you in her shoes. This forced contemplation eliminates knee-jerk, flippant reactions to her actions and makes you an active participant in her decision-making.

It also reinforces the idea that marriage is a lot more complex than for which most people give it credit. As Josie shows, marriage is not something to lightly enter or dissolve. When you have children together, that bond becomes that much more difficult to undo. Even in her most emotional and irrational states, this is something Josie realizes, and her hesitation to make any lasting decisions without all of the details and complete understanding of the reasons behind the affair emphasizes this understanding.

The Ever After differs from Ms. Pekkanen's other novels specifically because it is less like a frothy beach read and more like an exercise in role playing. Because of the close connection you have with Josie, her situation allows you to imagine and prepare for a similar situation occurring to you. Would you be as slow to make a decision regarding living arrangements? Would you want to know every detail? Do you care about the reasons for the affair? Would you want to contact the other person? All of these questions are situations Josie must face on her own, but in doing so, she provides a decent blueprint for next steps in these scenarios.

The thing Ms. Pekkanen is so careful to stress, however obliquely, is that there is no right or wrong answers when it comes to handling the knowledge of an affair by a partner. Without explicitly stating so in the text, you still know that Josie's actions and reactions are just one form they could take. This is important if only because no two people are alike and neither are any two relationships. What works for Josie may not work for you, and that is okay. By providing a safe environment in which to contemplate such scenarios, Ms. Pekkanen provides her readers with plenty of food for thought, and that is always a harbinger of an excellent novel in my opinion. This is later confirmed by Josie's own actions and the careful way she pieces back together her life. A serious novel about a serious topic, The Ever After is not just another affair novel but rather a weighty contemplation of marriage in general, the reasons why people stray, and the work required to keep any relationship a successful one.

I have enjoyed other books by this author, and assumed I would like this as well...but, no. The premise of this book (as well as the first chapter) were intriguing. A cheating husband, and a wife’s attempt to get to the bottom of his affair. Sadly, midway through the book I was beginning to understand why the husband cheated as I found this main character to be tiresome. The plot moves along slowly, and while I believe the authors intent was to bring us deep into the psychology of a woman scorned, it was simply not entertaining. Wish I could have enjoyed this book more, and I will continue to read other books from this author but this just wasn’t for me.

Josie finds out her husband is cheating on her after using his phone one day when she thought they had a happy marriage. In the book the reader is taken through different points in time of her and Frank’s relationship over the years. Josie experiences a variety of emotions as she is struggling to deal with her husband’s infidelity and trying to decide what she wants the next step to be. I really enjoyed this book and was able to relate to some of the emotions that Josie was experiencing. There were multiple parts that left me thinking about things long after I was done reading it. I look forward to reading more of this author. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Infidelity is often an unforgivable transgression in any marriage. Whether it's the husband or the wife who break their vows to seek excitement, comfort or even love elsewhere, infidelity is a breach of trust from which many relationships never recover.
In Sarah Pekkanen's The Ever After, Josie and Frank Moore have what they consider a perfect marriage. But one day, Josie sees a text on her husband's phone that she isn't supposed to see, launching their relationship on a downward spiral of doubts, mistrust and questions that make Josie wonder if her entire marriage has been based on lies.
The Ever After is a very real portrayal of a marriage tainted by infidelity and Pekkanen does a wonderful job in creating complex and relatable characters.

Loved this book, even when I was not reading it I kept thinking about it and couldn’t wait to pick it up again and I finished it in a day. Would definitely recommend to others and can’t wait to read other titles from this author.

Highly recommend!!

Another good book is The Ever After by Sarah Pekkanen. I really enjoy this author’s writing and every book she writes is an awesome domestic drama. The reader can so easily put herself in the shoes of the main character.

Here’s what you need to know about this one:

Josie and Frank Moore are happy… at least Josie thinks they are. As parents of two young girls in the Chicago suburbs, their days can be both busy and monotonous, and sometimes Josie wonders how she became a harried fortysomething mother rather than the driven career woman she once was. But Frank is a phenomenal father, he’s handsome and charismatic, and he still looks at his wife like she’s the beautiful woman he married more than a decade ago. Josie isn’t just happy—she’s lucky.

Until one Saturday morning when Josie borrows her husband’s phone to make a quick call—and sees nine words that shatter her world.

Now Josie feels as if she is standing at the edge of a sharp precipice. As she looks back at pivotal moments in the relationship she believed would last forever, she is also plunging ahead, surprising everyone (especially herself) with how far she will go to uncover the extent of her husband’s devastating secret.

A simple request. Something husbands and wives ask for all the time. "Can I borrow your phone?" This changes everything.

From the moment I started The Ever After I was sucked into the story of Josie and Frank. I couldn't help but put myself into Josie's shoes. She thought she had a perfect marriage. Okay, maybe not perfect - but it was good enough. She asked for Frank's phone because she forgot hers, and saw an email that changed everything; Frank was having an affair.

I found myself becoming connected to Josie, and to Frank as well. It's not often that a writer can make you feel sympathy for the person who committed the atrocious act of the affair. Pekkanen did just that. Not only did this book constantly make me think and feel raw with emotion, but I also started to analyze my own marriage. It's a fiction novel that is almost like a therapy session. Sarah Pekkanen is one of my favorite authors for a reason; this book is only confirmation.

There are two big things I want to say in my review. One I love Sarah Pekkanen and after this book I will still continue to read everything she has written. The second thing is I knew before going in and continue to believe that I just don't like cheating story books. It is a subgenre or something that I just will keep avoiding in my reading life.

I know most will ask and I understand, if you don't read cheating books then why the heck did you even pick this one up, well because it was Sarah Pekkanen. I have read 90% of her books and have loved them all. I knew I wouldn't love the subject, but I wanted to see what she would do with it. I thought she may be able to find a way to do the story in a way that I would possibly like. She gives her characters such depth and humanity and the stories are layered and interesting that I thought I would give it a try.

I am sad to report that not only did I not like the subject matter, but I didn't love what she did with it. I thought the characters were very plain and uninteresting and I didn't even care to see how they would end up after the implosion of their marriage. I thought it was awkward and rushed and I just couldn't.

I say all this and want to repeat, I will read every other Sarah Pekkanen book - and probably love them! I would just warn any fans that this one will be at the bottom of my list of her books.

Although not my favorite SP book, I still enjoyed it. I wished that there was an additional twist to the cheating husband plotline that has been done countless times before. Although easy to connect with the characters, it ended up being a quick read for me that lacked the depth I would have liked.

Atria Books and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of The Ever After. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

The Ever After is a story about infidelity and the destruction of a marriage as a result. Josie Moore thought she was the center of her husband Frank's world, along with their two children. When she finds evidence to the contrary on his phone, will Josie be able to find it in her heart to forgive?

All of the elements of a good story were there, but this book never really came together for me. Josie's story should have prompted a reaction, but I just did not feel the emotions behind Josie or Frank's words. Honestly, I was glad that The Ever After was under three hundred pages, or I might not have been inclined to finish. Having read previous works by this author, I was disappointed by the lack of realism and the superficial depth to the characters. For these reasons, I would not recommend The Ever After to other readers.

Josie Moore, a typical stay at home mom, living in the Chicago suburbs thinks her life is idyllic. She knows marriage to Frank is not always perfect but its hers and they are blessed with two gorgeous little girls. One Saturday when she is frazzled and Frank runs into Starbucks to get them coffee, Josie notices a message on his phone and her life is turned upside down. Clueless and naive, Josie’s world is shattered as she realizes there is a part of Frank’s life that she knows nothing about. All the plans she ever had for her marriage and their family are destroyed and Josie cannot see the future clearly anymore. Any insecure self doubt she had harbored as a young girl and every argument they have ever had takes center stage. Author Sarah Pekkanen has once again written a thoughtful, easy to read novel about the unpredictable twists and turns life may throw our way. This one felt only too real and maybe I have the - it’s not you, it’s me syndrome - and perhaps a book club would have field day tearing this one apart, but I found it sadly depressing. I know this happens, probably every day, I just don’t feel like being entertained by it. Absolutely a well written book with excellent characters, it just has to be something you are in the mood for.

This was my first Sarah Pekkanen novel and I loved the pace of the writing. Thought provoking on how one is affected by an affair, Josie is angry, sad, and intiriqued by what her husband has done to their lifes. Will make for good book club discussions.

How well do you really know your spouse or significant other? Josie Moore thought she was in a happy marriage. What marriage doesn't suffer a setback or two? Two young children and a life in Chicago is all that she could dream of. A perfect life, until she borrows her husband's phone to make a quick call and sees a devasting text. She is absolutely thrown for a loop, her husband is having an affair.

What happens is a personal discovery for Josie, she goes through all the emotions involved with the discovery that her husband isn't who she thought he was. She gets angry, wants to withdraw from life but then decides she wants to find out all she can about the other woman and how long this affair has been going on and what she may have done to cause Frank to stray.

I could relate to this story as I went through the same thing, the anger, the hate for my spouse and the determination that I was going to persevere through the most devasting thing that can happen in a marriage. This story is told in different time frames, from the early days of Josie and Frank's marriage to the present.

This is the first book I have read by Sarah Pekkanen and I did enjoy it although I felt the ending was a bit short, kind of rushed but all in all a very engrossing story of a marriage in jeopardy.

This is the first Sarah Pekkanen book I’ve read and I loved the pace of her writing. I didn’t love the book, but found it hard to put down. The characters were well-developed (especially the mains, the ancillary characters were fairly routine and expected) and the story very believable.

I appreciated the approach to providing depth to the story with flashbacks, but found them distracting (had to go back and try to place them in context).

Overall, this book tackled a compelling topic in a predictable way. I rounded up from 3 1/2 stars because of solid writing.

Thank you to the author and Simon & Schuster for a complimentary copy in return for an honest review.

(Posted on Goodreads)

Josie finds out that her husband, Frank, is having an affair. This story could go so many ways, but Sarah Pekkanen tees it up for a reconciliation right from the start. They didn’t actually sleep together. It was only a couple of times. He’s so sorry. He is a five-star human, going to church and volunteering at a homeless shelter. He’ll be her punching bag forever as long as she takes him back. By the end of the book, Josie starts to look like the “bad guy” because she used to go to bed early to avoid hanging out or having sex with Frank! The other example of an “affair” is equally weird, with Josie’s best friend admitting that another guy kissed her once. Huh? That’s not an affair people! There are some funny moments about motherhood tucked in between (Josie notes that she can easily fill up a half hour chit chatting about nothing with an acquaintance so as to avoid talking about her separation) and you’ll feel happy for them all at the predictable conclusion.