The premise of Split-Level was intriguing but unfortunately, this book just fell flat for me. I had a harder time connecting with the characters and the storyline. I did enjoy the look back at the 70s and Boritz Berger did a wonderful job setting the scene in such an effective and detailed manner. Thank you to NetGalley and She Writes Press for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

I was giving a free advanced copy of this book by Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. Barely a 3 star read. I found this book to be tedious and really quite dull considering the material that was covered. You would think a book focused on the swingin' 70s would have had a pulse but this one barely breathed. I did not feel a connection to Alex or any of the characters really and it was mostly like watching a train wreck. You don't want to look away but you have to just to see how it turns out. There was a lot of continuity problems that I hope were flushed out before final publishing. I was pretty disappointed in this read.

I don't think I've ever read a book like Split Level before. Having just gotten married, and very anti-cheating, the premise of the book was hard for me to get on board with. However, I will say that just because I view an open marriage as cheating, doesn't mean everyone else does. The writing was good, but it was an unlikeable plot, filled with unlikeable characters, and for me, it was unfortunately a miss.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love the 70s and the premise caught my eye- a couple is finding their way through an open marriage. I would have liked a little more current events mixed in- there were some Easter eggs that I appreciated and probably some others that went over my head. I liked Alex's character and felt for her- but in the end I didnt love this one. Not enough happened- it may just have been too literary for my tastes.

2.5 stars.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was intrigued by the premise of this book - 70's housewife explores an open marriage. There was also talk of Nixon in the description but this book is not really political at all. Unfortunately, it's also not nearly as exciting as the description made it seem. I felt for Alex and her place in life, but I just felt like nothing exciting really happened. Somehow, maybe because of Alex's internal dialogue, even the exciting parts came off as kind of blah. I would recommend skipping this one.

Well I gave this a try..but it fell flat. Didn't much care for any one in the book and cared even less for the topic. Living in the 70s was enough. Don't want to relive it!

This book centers on the life-altering discovery that Alexandra has lost herself in the staid, 70's suburban life that she's been living. How she approaches that discovery is gripping.

The premise of this book was very intriguing...it asks the question, can a marriage survive partner swapping?

Alex Pearl is almost 30 years old and is feeling like there's something missing from her 7-year marriage to Donny. An acquaintance recommends Marriage Mountain, a weekend retreat for couples to reflect on their marriages. It is there that Donny becomes obsessed with the idea of partner swapping and two couples living together happily ever after. Will this really save Alex and Donny's marriage?

"The solidity, once relied upon, has quickly eroded into a pile of pebbles. Donny and I are down to the last fragile layers, our marriage, chipped away like shale."

I enjoyed this story and rooted for Alex the whole way through. "I don't know a damn thing about the future, except, I am ready to move on.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy; all opinions are my own.

Split-Level by Sande Boritz Berger is my first encounter with this author. I was drawn to this book because I grew up in the 70’s and this book intrigued me. I enjoyed this book but did not fall in love with the characters, it was well written the storyline was very interesting, the characters though immature were realistic. This was a fun, quick and easy read.

I was drawn right into this novel Alex a housewife raising her kids in the suburbs in the seventies a normal marriage till eyes start to wabder Parties get wilder couple start swinging.The author brings us back to this place and time to the couples whose marriages completely changed.So well written so engrossing any woman will feel for the women struggling to adjust to this new world.#netgalley #shewritespress.

This book is a marriage tale from the 70s with suburbia and open marriage and guilt and consequences.

All of it is from one of the women's points of view as she juggles motherhood and a "hobby" (ie: creative job that brings in extra cash) while worrying about her relationship. It was strange how instead of the open marriage feeling empowering, it felt like something happening TO her, orchestrated by the men. It felt pretty anti-feminist in the context of the book, and I definitely didn't like that.

It had traces of the pieces I liked from Light Years by James Salter, but I far prefer the writing in that novel.

Growing up in the 60’s and 70’s I thought I would really enjoy the nostalgia of the times. I guess I was busy growing up, not focusing on the “open marriages” that may have existed. I have to admit that none of the characters were likable, especially Donny, and I couldn’t relate to their life style at all. The only ones I could relate to were the children, feels no much pity for them, along with concern for their future ability to have a fulfilling relationship. Thank you to Sande Boritz Berger, She Writes Press, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read this arc.

Set in the 1970s a wife named Alex find out what it means to be in an open marriage. Can a marriage stand this transgression from both Alex and her husband Donny?

Growing up in the 70’s, I was drawn to the setting of this book. I enjoyed the nostalgic elements, but that’s about it. I couldn’t relate to (or even like) the characters. I had to force myself to finish the book.

I Enjoyed the unique storyline and characters involved. I will definitely reread this again in the future.

I snagged a copy of Sande Boritz Berger’s Split-Level from NetGalley on a whim. Since I’m a sucker for marriage dramas and stories set in the 70s and 80s, this one seemed like a shoo-in. Unfortunately, I didn’t connect with any of the characters. The main character, Alex, leads us on a meandering and angsty quest from domestic contentment to divorce. Despite her being caught up in her own head a lot of the time, I didn’t feel like I got to know her well enough to root for her. And then there were the children. I suspect a lot of parents may take issue with this book. Both Alex and her husband come off as immature and not innately likable. This becomes a problem when they allow their seemingly-workable marriage to self-destruct to the detriment of their young kids. Overall, Split-Level perpetuates a naive, immature, and idealistic concept of love and marriage that I found grating even without consideration of the children’s well-being. Lacking a victory in the end or a main character to root for, Split-Level was kind of a downer for me.

I received a copy of this book and was very excited to read it since seeing it on Amazon Kindle. However, I had to stop reading it after 51% because the content wasn't something I wanted to continue reading. I don't want to give any spoilers so I'll leave it at that.

I thought this one might be a little out of my comfort zone, but it was set in New Jersey and I'm a sucker for novels featuring my home state. This was a train-wreck of a story about a train-wreck of a marriage (many marriages, really) as a group of young couples discovers the dark side of the early-70s open marriage movement.

I received an advanced digital version of this novel from Net Galley. I was interested to read a novel set in a time period I haven’t read too much about and the premise was intriguing.

I was slightly disappointed in the way the story unfolded. It took over half of the novel for anything to really happen. There were parts where I kept going back to the last chapter thinking I’d missed something because it jumped forward or ended chapters or situations abruptly.

It felt a little bit unfinished and like something was missing but overall, it was enjoyable enough to read.

I wanted to like this book as much as the blurb made it seem I would, but I didn't. It was the right era, the right circumstances to produce the kind of grown up drama I can appreciate. I was ready but Split-Level was slow. Achingly slow. Painfully slow. It took me a lot longer to read because I just couldn't get into it and stay into it.
The writing itself was solid and everything but there was both too much and not enough happening on each page.