I absolutely loved this book. It was about marriage and relationships and trust after an affair. So well written. The secondary plot lines and characters really helped the book flow. Highly recommend. Great read, couldn't put it down.

In Elizabeth LaBan’s book, we have Hannah and Joel as our married couple. In Hannah’s case, she discovers the infidelity and is faced with the decision to stay in her marriage or pursue a divorce. They have two children and have built a life together. However, the infidelity causes Hannah to question everything. She runs the gamut of emotions from betrayal to anger and back again.
Hannah has been the primary one to visit Richard at his assisted-living facility and the friction with her husband has put a strain on that relationship too. Sometimes I think authors forget that there is a ripple effect through entire families in situations like this. It was nice to see this explored and I really liked this relationship.

I wish this one would have been a bit meatier, I wasn’t super invested in the characters. I did like the way it ended.

Hannah has a great marriage - Joel is a good husband and a great father to their kids. Until one day, Hannah discovers that Joel had had an affair. This book explores what happens in a marriage rocked by infidelity. Should she forgive Joel, who begs for forgiveness and wants to save the marriage? In a confusing and frustrating time, Hannah suggests "an eye for an eye" - for her to have her own affair to even the score. Along the way, she discovers things about herself and her marriage - but will they help her through a divorce or reconciliation? This book takes you through the complexities of making such a life altering decision and the things or people that influence you along the way.
I wanted to reach into the pages and hug Hannah - I felt like she was my friend. She struggled so much with how she thought she should react and her dedication to Joel and her family as a whole. I really enjoyed the book and flew through it!
Thanks to Elizabeth LaBan, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of this great book!

Dontwo wrongs ever make a right? When Hannnahs husband has an affair he is very remorseful and will agree to anything to save the marriage. Hannah’s initial thought is to end things but she has a pretty good life, except for the whole cheating thing. They have kids, what should she do? She considers evening the score and having an affair of her own, which her husband agrees to. I am not at all sure what I think of all of that. My favorite relationship. In the book is Hannah’s relationship with her father-in-law.

Hannah is happy with her marriage and family until she finds out her husband had an affair. Hannah felt she needed time to decide what to do, and proposed having her own affair. Joel was willing to go along with the affair if it meant holding on to their marriage, but could Hannah go through with it? I always enjoy books by this author and recommend this book. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Hannah finds out that her husband has cheated on her. Her world has come crashing down. She does what everyone else does and decides that it is time to move on and find happiness elsewhere. Even though she tries, she misses her old life and gets back with her cheating partner. However, there is only way that Hannah can settle things and that is to cheat herself and get her own back.

I didn't really enjoy this book and I think it is just because of my morals that I am so against cheating and I have been cheated on myself.

It was an interesting book and storyline, but I don't think I will be rushing to read anything like this again.

I really enjoyed this book, it was relatable with a deep topic.

Thank you for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Can I just say how beautiful the cover is, I mean that mug...love it

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an eARC copy.
With a straight forward kick off making it an easy read, we see Hannah whose husband had an affair and she had NO idea, even while she finds out she just cannot get past it.

While I am completely and totally against cheating in a marriage I do know it happens. I know people it has happened to or that did it. There may be many factors that cause it but still to me it’s just wrong. That being said this book definitely gives you a lot to think about. Why did he cheat? What made him do what he did. How should Hannah handle this? She decides she should have an affair also. But in my opinion, two wrongs never makes a right. But this story would not be what it is if things had not of happened just as they did.

The characters in this book are so well developed. The story is great. This couple will get in your heart and make you root for them to make it. For their marriage to survive and for forgiveness to prevail. It is so well writing. Told in a wonderful way and all wrapped up very well. I truly enjoyed it even though I was almost certain I would not.

Thank you #NetGalley and Lake Union for this ARC. This is my own true and honest review.

I give it a big 4 stars and a high recommendation.

Hannah is shocked and angered to learn that her loving husband Joel had a brief affair while away on business. Despite marriage counseling, advice from a well-meaning friend to fight for her marriage, and Joel’s own sincere remorse and declarations of love, she doesn’t know if she can get beyond her rage and hurt. Rather than rushing a decision, she flippantly tells Joel that she might have an affair to even the stakes. When he agrees, she’s reluctantly thrown into the murky and unsatisfying dating pool. As she tries to find a willing partner, she is still visiting Joel’s famous news anchor father in the nursing home, trying to keep the news from her young children, and evaluating her relationship with Joel through the lens of their history and the love that persists. Will she be able to forgive and move on or will an affair lead to a different future?

Both Hannah and Joel are complex, caring individuals which makes it hard to take sides. Given the depths of Joel’s guilt and heartache, it’s difficult to do anything but root for them to reconcile, but Hannah’s sense of betrayal and hurt are a strong counterbalance. Ultimately, this heartfelt story deftly handles the evolution of a marriage and the wide range of emotions felt by the couple. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Lake Union Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Beside Herself is a story about relationships and infidelity. Married for 15 years, Joel and Hannah have two kids Lincoln and a younger Ridley. Hannah’s birthday is around the corner and she finds Joel busy with the phone. She was expecting a surprise for her birthday party instead stumbled upon a truth. Joel is cheating on her. Even after weeks of deliberation, she could not decide what she should do? That’s when she decides she would like to have an affair of her own. With Joel feeling guilty agrees to this plan. It’s been 15 years she’s out of the dating scene, she doesn’t even know how to get back in the game. Filled with contemplation, she is standing at the crossroad to choose the right path.

I chose this book to move out of my comfort zone. The book dealt with a sensitive topic and gave readers food for thought. The central theme of the book is infidelity with subtexts of old age and forgiveness. She gave an insight that sometimes there are bigger issues than it meets the eye. Sometimes cheating results from something bigger going in the relationship.

The focus of the book is on Hannah and author narrates from Hannah’s perspective. She’s shown as a caring mother and his cheating has her taken her by shock. Joel's shown suffering from guilt and would do anything to make the marriage work. There were parts showing Joel’s and Hannah past, how they met and got married. With this I had issues, the characters weren’t coherent. As a reader, I did not know how was the marriage before cheating. Not one line about it. All we realise Hannah assumed she was in a happy marriage but nothing that proves it.

My expectation fell flat. It should have delved deeper into their relationship, reflecting upon on themselves. This would involve their life from start to where they have reached. Richard Bent, Joel’s father was the only person who some perspective to the issue. That too, towards the end. People get angry when someone close to home cheats us. Hence, Hannah wishing to cheat to her husband to get her revenge made sense. In fact, the book concentrated the major portions on Hannah finding a date.

The book had huge potential but it was all lost. I realized this book is not for me. It might interest other people but I will skip this genre for now.

My rating is 2.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to love this book, but after being approved, I found the subject matter was a little too close to home so I will re-read at a later date.. Thank you for the opportunity to read this novel.

This was a very light hearted read. Hannah is in a dilemma when she finds out her husband has cheated on her. Where do they go from here? It's a mystery as to what she will do. You always think the typical answer is to split up so it's a good wee read to see how it actually pans out. With a few turns here & there the story turns out good. Romantic and light hearted. Would recommend to anyone

Beside Herself is a story of a family that has a lapse in judgement threaten its very core. Its also a story of finding forgiveness and the struggle to come out better than ever. I liked this book and its inspiring message.

Endearing book about a likeable couple and the aftermath of a lapse in judgement when the husband has an affair....lovely characters and a sweet storyline

I really enjoyed this novel and couldn't put it down. It was relatable, funny, heartwarming and really insightful

** spoiler alert ** 4.5 stars.

If you know me you know that I believe in the sanctity of marriage. At first I was not even sure why I requested an ARC of a book that talked about a spouse having an affair in response to their partner's affair. There were times early on in this book that I wanted to stop reading. I couldn't condone an affair but I stuck with it and I am so glad.

This book comes around and ends so beautifully. I was not familiar at all with LaBan or any of her writing. I will watch for future releases of hers.

Beside herself is a book about relationships, deceit and forgiveness. 3.5 🌟 rounded up.
Hannah and Joel have been married quite a few years, they seem to have the perfect marriage, nice house, kids etc but Hannah’s world comes tumbling down when on a train and Joel is asleep she goes through his phone and finds text messages between him and someone else, he wakes and comes clean. The book follows the hardship of trying to keep a marriage together after the bombshell has been dropped and wondering if the marriage should be saved. We follow their journey through different councillors and Hannah’s suggestion that she should have an affair to even it out and all the time trying to keep the children from finding out that their marriage is in trouble.
I felt this book could have gone deeper into the scenario and their feelings as at times it felt very light and almost laughable but having said that it did seem fairly believable and I enjoyed getting to know Hannah.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

This book tells the tale of a family that could have been destroyed by a silly mistake. How many marriages survive the devastation mistakes cause? Very relatable characters.

Beside Herself
By Elizabeth LaBan

Thank you to Net Galley, Elizabeth LaBan and Lake Union Publishing for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

This is my third attempt at writing this review. There seems to be some technical issues on goodreads.com with this book. Hannah discovers that her husband Joel had an affair. This is at the very beginning of this novel. No matter how many times Joel apologized and he did throughout this entire book, Hannah feels the only way to restore balance back to the marriage is to even the score and have her own affair. I am all for strong female protagonists in my much loved books but in Hannah's case this just goes on for way too long with her failed attempts to restore justice by having her own affair. This book was too long as in Hannah trying to get even and could use some more editing. Hannah's antics go on and on. This felt lackluster in narrative after a while. This book should be shorter and was a chore to read.

The saving grace for this novel was how much Richard, who is Joel's father and in a nursing home was loved and cared for by all. I loved how much kindness and dignity these elderly patients were treated. One care giver in particular raises the book to higher standing by his treatment of both the elderly and Hannah and Joel. This book is not all dark and the care shown to Richard and the rest of the patients is what made this book shine for me.