Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the eARC. This was a fun, finding yourself novel. I feel like Maggie was getting a second chance at finding what makes her happy, and the storytelling reflected that!

Engaging and entertaining. A recommended purchase for collections where lighter women's fic is popular

I kept waiting for this story to start, to have something happen, some catalyst to make Maggie wake up and realize what's going on in her life...but it kept on in the same day0by-day, blow by blow account of her life with nothing happening along the way, and then it's a trainwreck just waiting to happen. Which I can get as a sort of plot device, but the ending killed it for me as it seemed it was 'time' to wrap this up and there, it's wrapped up, except there's no closure and again, nothing happening to the plot, the story, the characters
Disappointing, in the end (both literally and figuratively)

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. Interesting read. It was not really my cup of tea but it might be for someone else.

I am sure many moms get the feeling of restlessness and lack of support throughout their lives. Though I am not a stay-at-home mom I can certainly relate to having a husband who doesn’t pay any attention to your feelings and a teenager in the house who would rather stab himself with a fork then spend time with me.

The main character in the book is dealing with a lot. A husband who doesn’t pay her any attention.l, a daughter who is about to leave the nest, an overbearing mother, and a father who has dementia. Maggie can’t deal and looks for solace else where which happens to be a younger man.

I can sympathize with all that Maggie is dealing with. I think Maggie became hard for me to handle after a awhile because she was so selfish. Yes she is dealing with so much but who doesn’t? Her own husband was dealing with life changes and all Maggie could say is ok but what about me? She went from a character I could say “me too” while reading about to “OMG do you ever stop moping about?”. I think this is an ok read with a realistic ending.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

Keen Eye..
Maggie is at a crossroads in her life but is there something exciting just around the corner? Ready and waiting? Written with a keen eye for observation and with empathy this is a relatable and poignant tale laced with humour and populated with some nicely crafted characters.

Maggie Dolin needs to change her life. Her husband is secretive, silent, unresponsive. Her daughter lives to ruin her day. A young man, a writer is intrigued be her. The thrill of his attention is giving way to thoughts long buried. Her friend and colleague is moving fast in the literary world, a life she left to raise her daughter. And her father is living in an assisted living facility away from their rituals and conversations. If something doesn’t change she may explode. Happy reading

I wanted to enjoy After Happily Ever After. I liked the premise of the story: a middle aged woman looking for meaning in life now that her child is getting ready to leave home. Sadly, the characters are all too stereotypical and lack depth. I read it through, but I wouldn't read it again. With that said, I look forward to more stories by Leslie Rasmussen. Maybe the next one will hit the spot!

With thanks to She Writes Press and Netgalley for the digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this book! What a great debut. Maggie was so relatable and there were so many moments I was laughing out loud. Always a sign of an enjoyable book. Will definitely be following this author for more books to come.

Thank you to NetGalley and SheWrites Press for an advanced copy of this book!

This was so different when the main character at 45 went in search of herself and what she wanted to do in life after getting bogged down with responsibilities. The different characters and their varied stories added to her woes. I was cheering her to succeed in her discovery of herself. The ending felt to be abrupt, but I didn't mind that since the rest of the story made up for it. A good debut.

A light-hearted romp with 45-year-old Maggie who has teenage daughter and other family problems. Nicely written but didn't really engage me.

A really fun book. The characters are well drawn and easy to root for. Lots of moments I felt were pulled from my own life experiences.

After Happily Ever After by Leslie A. Rasmussen is the story of Maggie Dolan who is struggling in her life. Maggie is a forth-five year old stay at home mom, who gave up her executive job to raise the kids. Maggie's youngest is seventeen-year-old, and her husband is distant. Unfortunately Maggie is overwhelmed with life and makes some poor decisions. I wanted to love this book, it was rated high by other readers, but I just couldn't connect with Maggie. The novel is well written, just not for me.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Leslie Rasmussen covers a lot of topics in her debut novel, After Happily Ever After. Maggie is a mid-forties, stay-at-home mom, whose only child will be leaving for college in a few months. Already anticipating the loss of the upcoming empty nest, Maggie ponders re-entering the workforce. Her psychologist husband, Jim, is preoccupied, stressed, and lately, no longer wants to be intimate. Maggie’s father, who was her rock, has recently been put into a nursing home and is losing his memory at an alarming rate, leaving her already grieving the loss of him, as well as having to deal with her mother and brother, with whom she has had historically tenuous relationships. Maggie feels like her life is collapsing around her except for her friendship with Ellen and new found friend, Michael. As things get worse in her personal life, Michael becomes the bright spot in Maggie’s life, listening to her, being supportive, and making her feel special. And yet, going down that road, unsurprisingly, makes all of her problems so much worse.

The beginning of the book took me a bit of time to get into, however once I got into the story, I didn’t want to stop reading. And then, abruptly, it was over. Michael, Jim and Maggie, in my opinion, behaved out of character in the end scenes. It all wrapped up too quickly in the last 2 chapters, leaving me feeling unsatisfied with the ending. Thank you to NetGalley and She Writes Press for gifting me this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and SheWrites Press for this ARC. After Happily Ever After centers around Maggie Dolan, a 45-year-old mom who finds herself in a midlife crisis where her everyday world is not what she wants it to be. After leaving her job in publishing to pursue marriage and kids, she finds herself questioning whether or not she chose wisely. I'll be honest, I struggled with this book, mainly because I struggle to read and enjoy books where I feel the main characters bring their problems on themselves. Maggie was difficult for me to root for because she had a very passive approach to life and she seemed determined to be the victim of all that life threw her way. Her husband Jim also created many of the problems he so desperately didn't want to live with. I will provide a disclaimer that I have not experienced all of Maggie's life phases personally, so there could be an inability for me to relate well to her character. The more of this book that I read the more I desperately craved conflict so that the characters could finally work on the problems they found themselves in, but unfortunately it seemed I was in for more commentary than action. I wanted some redemption so badly! I appreciated Rasmussen's ability to speak to certain life struggles and illustrate the internal complexities one navigates during tumultuous times. Overall, however, I struggled to feel that Maggie's character warranted a book about her life.

DNF at 37 percent. I hope I'll finish it some other day (seems very unlikely though). I couldn't connect to the characters at all, and their attitudes were just... so whiny and unlikable.
I really wanted to like this one. 🤕😭

Sadly i had to stop reading at 40%. I was not connecting with the story . While it did have relatable characters and story, the way it was executed just didnt keep my interest.

As a woman the same age as the main character and with a daughter the same age as hers I was cheered to find a book featuring someone of my generation rather than the 25 - 33 year old this genre usually features. 40 year olds have interesting and challenging lives, as we see here with the main character, Maggie.
The issues of loss, ageing and a loved one’s life-limiting illness were sensitively handled and I found tears in my eyes a number of times in response to the writer’s touching description of witnessing a parent’s decline.
It is; however, a book within which very little happens, beyond the main character almost having sex with someone not her husband, someone we can sense is not how he presents himself to Maggie. But even this is, dare I say it, a little boring and slow. I realise the book’s title is ‘After Happily Ever After’ but it is incredibly depressing rather than the ‘main character begins to find herself’ type of book it had the potential to be. Sadly the book didn’t grab my attention and didn’t live up to what I envisaged it to be from the blurb. I also found the abrupt ending (where finally the ‘finding herself’ happens in the last sentence) very anti-climactical too.
It had the potential to be so much more, and started off so well, it just lost my attention and didn’t go anywhere. I applaud the writer for featuring an ‘older’ main character, but we 40-somethings can still have a bit of positivity even after the happily ever after loses its shine.

Synopsis:


Maggie’s life is a struggle right now. She is dealing with her teenage daughter who will be going to college soon. The thought of her leaving and Maggie’s whole world changing with nothing for her to do anymore is weighing heavy on her right now. She is contemplating going back to work but is that even possible since she has been out of the workforce for so long. Is she now irrelevant.



Her husband is distant lately and she is wondering why doesn’t seem to be interested in her anymore. What is going on with him? What happened to the man she married? 



Then, her father’s medical situation has caused him to need an assisted living facility and there’s the strain on her relationship with her mother.



There is so much going on in her life. Can she find happiness through it all?

Review:

Most of us who are married for any length of time can probably relate to the struggles Maggie is going through with her husband.
If you have children, you can understand the struggles of teenager or you will. Then, even with our painful at times teens we still miss them once they are grown, heading out on there own. We worry about them and ourselves. Being a stay at home parent is a struggle and when you contemplate going back to work it is not always the easiest thing, whether you have been away for 5 years or 18.

As we grow older we also learn the struggles of caring for our parents who are getting older and developing medical issues or dying.

This book does discuss extramarital relationships and what can cause someone to consider this an option even if it’s not something you have ever thought of before. I felt a real connection to Maggie and have been through many of the things she goes through in this book.

I would recommend this to people who are married, have teenage children, been out of the workforce for a while, are having or considering an affair, those with aging parents, and anyone in their middle ages.

The story of After Happily Ever After revolves around Maggie who is 45 year-old. She gave up on her job as an editor so that she could raise her daughter. Now that her daughter has turned 17 and is preparing to go to a college, Maggie wonders how her life would be and who she will become once her daughter will leave.

On the whole I enjoyed the story line and as far as the characters are concerned, I could totally relate to Maggie. It’s hard to believe that it’s a debut novel because I could not put it down. This book was a complete rollercoaster ride full of emotions.

This is my absolute favourite kind of book, where the characters are so realistic that you feel they have always been a part of your life as if you know them, as if they're out there in the world somewhere going about their everyday lives. I could completely relate to each and every character.