Lily is 30 years old and single. Well, sort of single. She’s been involved in a long term affair with her boss Harry. It’s not really a secret. Most of her coworkers suspect and her family knows, in fact, he’s even attended some family events. But his wife only suspects. Yes, his wife Pippa is suspicious, but as yet doesn’t have any hard proof of the affair. Just Harry’s bizarre behavior and constant absences. Not to mention when he is present, he’s not really present, always on his mobile phone.

When Lily runs into an old flame, David, they strike up a friendship again. Lily and David both wonder, what if? However, David is going through a sudden and emotional divorce, and of course Lily has Harry. Harry starts to suspect that maybe Lily is pulling away, which sends him into a tizzy. Yet, Harry doesn’t want to leave his boys. Pippa yes, but not the two children they’ve had. So now what?

The Years After You faces marital affairs from all three sides. The primary part of the book is from Lily’s point of view. There are parts from Harry’s as well. And then Pippa tells her story through her blog. It is an interesting format for viewing each character’s rationalization and situation. Lily knows that the affair is wrong, but she’s madly in love with Harry and can’t imagine life without him. Harry is also in love with Lily, but can’t see his way to breaking with his family. And poor Pippa, she’s just caught in the mess.

I found this book interesting in the way that it addressed the affair and how it affected the three parties involved. It’s very easy to see the wife’s view, as she is the aggrieved party, but you don’t always hear all three sides in one place. The way this book is presented allowed you to have compassion for all three people in the affair. The only ones passing judgement are the characters themselves. It’s an interesting approach.

The book was a rather quick read for me. I’m not sure if that’s because I was waiting for the next shoe to drop, or if it was a simple read. Either way, I finished it rather quickly and enjoyed it thoroughly. While the publication date is well past summer, it is definitely one of those beach or hammock reads that is hard to put down.


This review will be posted at BookwormishMe.com close to publication date.

Description
An affair. Wife, mistress, the man in the middle. Laugh it off only to lie awake worrying later. Is this really happening? When it implodes, what then?

The assistant didn’t mean to fall in love and become “the other woman.” The wife was just venturing her first steps into life beyond the roles of mother and partner when her suspicions about another woman took root.

When the well-respected man sinks deeper into mental illness, each person’s next move isn’t a question of blame alone, but of the ethics of love—of unapologetic decisions and confronting the aftermath.

This was a good book. I thought it defiantly stood out. Easy to connect with the three main characters.A book of betrayal, loss, and love.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy for review.

Thanks to Netgalley for a free copy of the The Years After You in exchange for an honest review.
This story surrounds Pippa, Lily, and the man they both love.
I loved the way this story really humanized the wife, the mistress, and the man in the middle. I think Emma Woolf wrote similarly to Ann Patchett in that way, truly showing the sweeping tragedy of love.
I would recommend!

A bit predictable but overall great read. Tragic love story far from the norm. Lily finds her life at a crossroad when an unexpected death and new life meet.

Pippa and Lily both love Harry - but only one of them is married to him. In THE YEARS AFTER YOU, Woolf explores how infidelity takes its toll both on the wife and mistress and on the philanderer himself. Woolf portrays the characters honestly, with all of their attendant attributes and flaws. It is this honesty that makes the characters come alive and carries the story along. The story is beautiful, frustrating and both sad and rejuvenating. I will definitely read more of Woolf's work.

Good storyline. Nice comfortable read. Characters great. Love the writing style of the author.

Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free, it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

This is a beautiful story, written in an easy, flowing, style which brings everything to life. Lily is 'the other woman' and Pippa 'the wronged wife', roles neither of them saw in their futures when they met Harry. This is the story of how those three lives merge together,  move apart, and eventually affect not only those three but also those who love them most.

Pippa's story is written as a blog of her life, a smaller part but as devastating as both Lisa and Harry's which are written in the third person.  This is not a story of jealousy,  revenge, or bunny boiling hatred, instead it shows how when betrayal, dishonesty and infidelity enters a relationship it destroys it from the inside out and everything else pales into insignificance. Gradually though people find a way to deal with things and that is the heart of this sympathetically written novel.

With hindsight, now I have finished this book, I realise there were a lot of people in it but never once did any of them feel unnecessary or false in any way. They all had a place, a meaningful importance to one of the main characters and their stories would have been incomplete without them.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a thoughtful novel where actions have consequences and the results are as realistically drawn as the characters they happen to.

So wonderful! Full of controversy and relationships you'll really care about. No right or wrong, but full of love. One that makes you think, and that you'll remember.

I’m not quite sure what this novel is saying. Is it saying that having an affair with a married man is risky? Especially if he happens to be obsessed with you? Is a wife, hiding her head in the sand, while her husband is evidently having an extra marital relationship, a good idea? Should she put up with the lies and the deception? Or is it a novel about love, loss and moving on with the life that you have been ultimately dealt? Or all of the above? Or is it just a story about some fictional characters and their lives, simply to entertain us? I was not particularly entertained, nor did I find any of the answers to the questions I have posed. Thank you Netgalley and Amberjack Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

To begin with I found it hard to like the characters. I found the mistress to be cold and she seemed to find humour in hurting the wife. The wife was clearly happy to bury her head in the sand, and while I can find that understandable in someways, it was annoying. The husband started off as the normal mid life crisis man - looking for something else because his wife has changed. The same old story. But the story does change and delves more deeper into the why's and hows. It was well written and certainly keep you involved right to the end.

Thank you NetGalley for my early review copy of this book.
I'll start off by saying that this book wasn't what I thought it would be. Some parts were kind of boring and seemed to drag on but I will say I really liked the way the author wrote and describes depression and suicide.
I definitely came away from this book with a new perspective.

This was an engrossing story that dealt with with many complicated and conflicted relationships. I think the author did a good job creating a mostly realistic story of a young woman and decisions she must make.

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed this one. A romance that deals well with betrayal, loss and love. Excellent characterizations, well written, and wonderful ending.