Stories about bitter divorced women are a challenge for me to enjoy. Liz, a journalist who edit a newspaper column had lots of appeal for me, but that's where the appeal ended. I have waited to leave feedback in the hopes of finally finishing this book, but it is clear to me now that I won't be doing that. Reasons: I disliked the main character and the lack of plot and character development. Without those components, it's hard to want to read or recommend. I appreciate the publisher giving me the opportunity to review this book in exchange of my honest review.

Liz is moving on post divorce. It’s been a decade. She’s in a good place, has a good relationship with her teen son and a column aptly titled, Her Turn.
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When she receives a letter for the column she can’t dismiss it. It’s from her ex-husbands current wife. They strike up an unusual correspondence that challenges everything you think about the so-called other woman. This is a story about Liz’s second act in life. It’s about Faith, fidelity and forgiveness. It’s taking what you learned in your First Act of life and making your Second Act that much better.
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Thank you @harperperennial and #NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review

1.5 stars ⭐🌜

Alright so honest review ahead. I was not a fan of this book. I always finish a book in hopes that it will get better, but this one just dragged on. It took me longer than usual to finish a book because I just wasn't excited to keep reading, or to read whenever I got the chance. Thankfully it was a shorter book, so there was a bonus.

Ten years ago, Liz's husband had an affair, and is now married to the woman, Nicole. Liz is editor for a column called My Turn, where writers can submit an essay to have published in the paper. When Nicole submits a story one day, Liz's decisions, although they have already not been great , get worse. She is already having an affair with her boss, seeing men she has no true interest in, and now, is responding back to Nicole's submissions.

The book goes on about these choices Liz is making and how they backfire on her, with her work, her relationships, her son.. she is trying to work on forgiveness, which I guess is the moral of this book. I think. I don't even really know what the point of it was and was bored reading it. It gave a lot of reference to poetry and plays, which just got repetitive and did not interest me.

Personally, would not recommend.

Thank you to the publisher for my free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After reading the synopsis for this book, I thought it was going to be a psychological thrilled , but I was really wrong--and I'm really glad. The reader watches Liz as her life implodes bit by bit (and how many of us have gone through something like that?) but then slowly and surely she makes the corrections she needs to do, makes the apologies she has to make and spoiler alert--gradually (in the end with the help of her son) puts it back together. Although Liz is the heroine of the book, she is not perfect and most of what happens to her is her own doing, which makes her delightfully human. Keep an eye out for her wonderful mother, who while suffering from dementia became one of my favorite characters.

Wow this was everything I needed. It felt so pure and vengeful. It felt weirdly realistic even though the more I think about it, it's not. I think Katherine Ashenburg's ability to put us in that situation was incredible.

After her painful divorce, Liz, a journalist, moved from Seattle to Washington D.C. with her son to start fresh. Ten years later, she is the editor of a daily newspaper feature called My Turn, which features original stories submitted by people on a wide variety of topics. One day, a story is submitted that Liz realizes is from her ex-husband's wife. Not her finest hour -- Liz manipulates the woman for information and gives her false hope about her future as a writer, confident that the woman doesn't know who she is and that she will never find out. This story is fun to read, but it explores some serious issues about forgiveness and families that give it added depth and interest. I look forward to recommending this, especially to readers who have enjoyed books by authors such as Emma Straub and Amy Peoppel.

I did not give this book only 1 star because I managed to finish it.

The first third of the book was ok -we learned about Liz and some of her past. Mind you, this book is written in the first person, so we never really get another person's take on her life. Unfortunately, Liz starts showing her true colors toward the end of the first third. It's not pretty.

The second third is even worse as Liz really starts showing her true colors. She is cruel, selfish, manipulative, a user, and can't seem to let things go.

By the last third, I was ready to find her and beat some sense into her. This woman did NOT deserve a HEA.

I'm sorry, but this just wasn't the book for me-if I wanted political views, I would read a book about politics. If I wanted to know just how little the over 60 crowd is thought of, I would find a book that disparages those of some maturity.

And please keep in mind, especially authors -when you make fun of those over 60...you are making fun of those who invested in Amazon, Apple, etc when those companies were just starting out---think about that for a moment.

*ARC supplied by the publisher, author, and NetGalley.

I loved it! This is a must for women’s reading groups. Ashenburg deals with several topics that left me engaged in reflecting on this personal story of a woman rebuilding her life and relationships after she has been left by her cheating husband for the other woman.

In an unexpected flash of coincidence, it is this woman who submits an essay to Liz, who believing herself to be anonymous, injects herself into the story in her role as an editor. As a divorced woman, Liz navigates the rough waters of dating and single parenting.

There are books I can’t relate to, but this one fit me like a glove. It’s a well written, enjoyable novel that will please readers. I must admit that I have no lack of personal experience in divorce, dating and dealing with the other woman. I don’t have an essay, but I have lots of letters. If anyone thinks it doesn’t ring true, they just haven’t had these experiences.

I really want to thank Netgalley for this absolutely satisfying and interesting novel.