“This Is Not How It Ends” by Rochelle Weinstein

Spoiler: tear jerker near the end...have lots of tissues available.

What an incredible novel. Rochelle Weinstein writes these amazing characters that the reader immediately falls I. Love with and can relate to, even if they are totally different than they are, and are sucked into their lives both past and present.

The past let’s you fall in love with Phillip and Charley as they fall in love with each other. You come to understand their relationship and how things have evolved from the beginning to the present. You start to feel when there is a bit of a rift between Phillip and Charley and that there is something wrong but you aren’t quite sure.

You also meet Ben and his son Jimmy and come to see how much they have meant to Phillip for so long and why Charley has become a prominent person in their lives.

And then you get to the part where...it doesn’t have to end this way. And yet in many ways it does and doesn’t... ohhhh just read the novel and fall in love with all the characters and laugh with them and cry with them and just be with them. You will be oh so glad that you did. I promise (just don’t forget the tissues near the end). 😊

Rating: 4.8
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

** I was provided an advanced copy of this novel. All reviews, ratings, words and opinions are strictly my own.

This is not how it ends, on first go it feels fickle, selfish in its love; but going in deeper it feels more, much more as it turns into something incredible and beautiful to have experienced.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of This is Not How it Ends.

Wow Wow!! This was my first book by Rochelle Weinstein and it WILL NOT be my last! The character development was wonderful, I could feel every emotion that the characters were going through. I bawled for hours while reading this book, a book hasn't made me do that in a long time!

Weinstein writes with great wisdom. This is a wonderful heartbreaking, heart-healing story. One second or a chance encounter can change your life.
Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was great!! I always love finding new authors and this one did not fail me. A great story with easy to follow characters and an easy to follow along story. I will continue to follow this author and can't wait to find new stories by her. Will not let you down. Enjoy!!

So many damn tears. Sad tears, happy tears, heart-broken and heart-overflowing tears. This is Not How it Ends is a tremendously moving story of love, loss, sacrifice, honor, family, friendship, healing, acceptance, first and second chances, doing the right thing for the wrong reasons and the wrong thing for the right reasons. There is so much packed into these pages. I feel so much right now. I mostly feel wrung out, yet hopeful and happy. For those with triggers, there is illness and loss inside. If you can weather through that, I promise you will come through with tears in your eyes but hope in your heart, just like I did.

Somebody, hand me a Kleenex. I just finished USA TODAY bestselling author Rochelle Weinstein’s latest gem, THIS IS NOT HOW IT ENDS, and it had all the “feels”. Moving, descriptive, emotional, compelling—Weinstein’s novel will captivate those who believe that finding true love is both painful and precious. Holding on or letting go … is the ultimate question that faces all of us in various aspects of our lives. Set in the stunning Florida Keys, Weinstein delivers a heartbreakingly beautiful tale of a young woman, Charlotte, a teacher, who has experienced love and loss repeatedly in her young life, and when “true” love finally finds her unexpectedly, the guarded young woman has to decide … Do I let it in, or let it go? Philip, a dashing wealthy British businessman, is the other half of a “meet-cute” scenario that turns into a powerful love affair pulling both of them in – until Charlotte realizes that Philip is hiding secrets from her. Enter Ben, his best friend, a Single Dad, who lives with his own pain, offering Charlotte everything she really needs – first friendship, “being there”, and then … well, so much more. Torn between two men and doing the right thing, Weinstein takes us on an impassioned journey that pulls in the reader with the same fierceness as the hurricane passing through the stunning Islamorada village. The prolific author, who never shies away from the bigger issues in all of her books – here, too, tackles the crippling effect of life-threatening allergies, the devastation of cancer, and parental abandonment. This gorgeous story has all the page-turning ingredients – it’s romantic, realistic, painful, sad, joyful, forgiving, and most importantly, it underscores that happy endings are out there – just not what you’d expect.

Charlotte and Philip meet on an aeroplane and have an instant connection. Soon they are living together in Florida Keys with plans to marry but just as they should be getting closer, Charlotte finds Phillip slipping away. Philip works away a lot and she finds herself wanting more than he can give her. When she meets Ben she tries to ignore the pull but he is there for her in ways that she never knew she desired. Soon she finds herself torn between the love she thought she wanted and the one she knows she needs. As a hurricane passes through, stunning revelations challenge Charlottes loyalties and upend her life. She is forced to re-examine the choices she’s made and still has to make. She also finds out that the best laid plans can change in a heartbeat.

I don’t usually read this type of book, but when I read the blurb I thought I’d give it a go. I found it to be a really good read. The storyline was lovely and had me reaching for tissues at times too. I loved all the characters and I felt all of their emotions along with them and will miss them for a while to come. This has been my first read by this Author and I can’t wait to read more!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an ARC of this wonderful book in exchange for my honest review.

The cover of this novel is beautiful and I love the font choice and the way the words are positioned. It has a touch of elegance about it. I love that this story was set in the Florida Keys. The characters were great and this book will have you shed a tear or two at how heartbreaking love can be. This was a win for sure.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for this ARC. I’m not really a fan of this genre, as I’m more of a thriller kind of girl, but it was well written and a good story if you like this kind of story.

I did enjoy this love story, it was well written and I felt compelled to keep reading and find out how it would unfold. I did however, find it a bit long in places, it went backwards and forwards in time in a manner which I don't think particularly helped the plot. In essence my reservations are more to do with the way this was edited than the story itself.

Is there a such thing as a casual encounter, or is the destiny to meet this person exactly on that moment in life? This could be a question for Charlotte Myers when she meets this mysterious man and his sun.
Charlotte had already met another man on a causal encounter, Philip and it turned out to be the love of her life. But life had more to show her, between love and suffering she has to decide on her life.
Through out the reading I have loved and hated Philip for what I thought he was doing to her, I have loved and hated Charlotte for not being able to decide on her life. Nut not all decisions are easy to make.
This was my 1st time reading this author but I’m sure I will be looking for more from her as I enjoyed it.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

I rate “This is Not How It Ends” with three stars. I enjoyed the novel while I was reading it, and I was quite satisfied with the ending.

Charlotte is an extremely likeable character with an unfathomable conundrum. It all begins with a chance meeting on an airplane. They basically have nothing in common, yet she can’t help but be drawn to Philip. Her life is forever changed when she meets this lovely older gentleman, in the most wonderful and some of the most painful ways. Their chance encounter starts the domino effect and it is difficult to surmise where Charlotte’s love story will end.

I was behind Charlotte 100% and did I want to shake her sometimes and say, “What are you thinking?” Yes! Did I want her friends to intervene? Yes! I think that is a good indicator that I became engrossed in the novel and invested in this character.

I received an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

This is Not How it Ends is an emotional story of Charlotte, her partner Philip and his best friend Ben. I found this book to be a slow starter, however after a few chapters I was gripped. The story skips from the past, of how Charlotte and Philip first met, to the current time telling the story of their relationship, Charlotte's loss in her life and how this relates to her current situation. Without giving too much away the story is very emotional and had me in tears at the end. I was rooting for Charlotte and her happiness at the end of the book and was sad to finsih this story. Thank you to the author and netgalley for this book I really enjoyed it.

This is a cute little book. It was a little slow paced for me. I felt parts were predictable, while others were not. It does seem to have the Nicholas Sparks formula: true love, doesn't last, someone dies. Parts of this book will make you sad, while others will make you happy. I really enjoyed the parts about the allergy treatment etc, as well as the Island theme.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book! Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC. Can’t wait to read the next chapter in these characters’ lives.

Wow, this is a book I won't forget easily! At first I didn't like the structure with two timelines but the second half of the book was very gripping and emotional. This is the first time I read this author but not the last.

Charlotte is engaged to Philip, who travels a lot for his work, and lately this is a source to discontent for her. At the same time Philips best friend, Ben, moves to their neighborhood with his son. I don't want to write anything more, only: Read it!

The publisher kindly provided me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

An emotionally complex book with many emotions going throughout the story. Two entirely different chance meetings with very different outcomes. This story had me laughing in some situations and crying in others, it is a book well worth reading.

Oh my gosh I absolutely loved this book and could relate to every single moment of it. Written in such a true to life fashion, this story will absolutely break your heart but so worth every moment!

Emotionally powerful, this story is about love, loss, and deceit. Very well written by Rochelle Weinstein, three lives are closely knit together. The undeniable love that Charlotte brings to this read is heartfelt. The crises that Charlotte, Philip, and Ben suffer through will have any reader unable to put this book down.

If there was a 6 star rating, this book would be more than worthy of it.

Many Thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for a superb read