Just prior to her 35th anniversary, Julie emerges from a lawyer's office with divorce papers. She and her husband Michael are so distant, they may as well be roommates and she wants out. But just as she's arriving home, the world goes into COVID lockdown. She is devastated that not only will she need to close her flower shop, but she'll have to isolate in place with Michael. As the story unfolds, readers retrace their initial love story and the reasons it began to fall apart. While learning to cope with isolation, Michael and Julie learn more about each other, grow as people, and begin to make repairs.

After 9/11, I avoided all books with it's mention because it became so very cliche. I've sort of been doing the same with COVID books, but this one intrigued me. COVID and isolation have been so hard, in a variety of ways, but also on relationships. It was nice to see this brought to light with highlights on how hard it can be to repair the cracks and keep the magic alive. The author did a good job of showing that this doesn't happen overnight, though it did come together too quickly and too neatly in the end in my opinion. However, still a good read and prompt for personal reflection

Interesting view of the pandemic saving a marriage rather than what was seen with increased divorce rates. It did drag on as they were trapped in the house and revisited memories. There was never really a big climax and resolution but was a story that could be a real relationship that had to be worked through.

Thank you to NetGalley & Forever for this ARC. This cover made me instantly want to read it!

This was a cute read & I loved the premise of a married couple rediscovering the love they shared. I haven’t read many books with this storyline & I really enjoyed that aspect of the book.

I personally had a bit of a hard time reading about the early stages of the pandemic BUT I think the author portrayed it incredibly well.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC! I love how the couple reconnects and a book about the pandemic is weird but also kind of cool. Overall it was a good book !

This was cute and I would probably have enjoyed this 5 years from now when some of the lockdown details became more fuzzy. There wasn’t that element of wanting to turn the page and have the couple reunite. Just a very slow gradual coming together. It was a sweet book but I usually just want more on page chemistry in my romance.

I think anyone who has been married or in a relationship for a long time will appreciate this book. This story was both heartbreaking but tender and you can’t help but root for this couple.

I liked it, but feel like it was just missing something to take it from being just okay to being great. Still a cute read.

I know people are wary of reading fictional versions of the pandemic experience, but I think at its best art helps us process the difficult things we’re still going through. Think of it this way: a thirty-five year marriage in trouble meets close, forced proximity and no end in sight. That’s a recipe for murder or reconciliation. Either way, it’s a good story.

So I enjoyed this hopeful novel about a long term marriage gone cold that’s reborn under lockdown. It’s cleverly structured, contrasting scenes from the present with episodes from the past— both of the marriage in decline and some of the high points. Wilde is also smart about the stuff outside of the couple: family pressure and work, parents, etc. In all just a lovely and gentle story about life and love and forgiveness.

Just the Two of Us also made me wonder what the real story was with regard to long term relationships and the pandemic. Did divorces rise?
Here's one thing I found in Ms. Magazine "Rise in Pandemic Divorce Sounds Alarm to Address Gender Inequities at Home": https://msmagazine.com/2021/10/12/covid-pandemic-divorce-gender-inequities-home-household-labor-kids-school-women-mothers-childcare/

Julie and Michael are empty nesters who have grown apart, and Julie is just about to ask for a divorce when the Covid-19 lockdown begins. Their kids can’t come to stay, so Julie and Michael must quarantine together, alone and without a buffer. They sleep in different bedrooms and have nothing really to say to one another, so how will they manage the awkwardness of this forced proximity?

This story is told in alternating timelines. We see the present lockdown in all it’s uncomfortable glory, and we get glimpses of the past few years where we see what caused this rift. While I liked the alternating timelines for the most part, there were places where it jumped in time rather abruptly and left me a little confused about when in time we were.

I also know all too well how easy it is to leave things unsaid in a marriage, and how the longer you leave things bottled up the harder they are to address. But the big misunderstanding that caused all the distance between Michael and Julie just seemed so… meh. The big “reveal” was sort of a let down.

This was a short, quick, and quiet read that I’m sure I will forget everything about by this time next month. Thanks to Net Galley and Forever for the gifted copy.

I tried so hard to get into this story and I just found it wasn't a face enough pace book to read. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be able to get an arc of this one. I will probably pick this one back up while poolside to give it another go.

In the time of a pandemic, this book is the story we all could see actually happening. So many couples could relate to being stuck in lockdown with our significant other that before then hadn't been forced to be in close proximity for so long!

I also just love the cover of this book!

Thanks to Forever & NetGalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review

I was really excited to read this book because it's not too often you come across a book that deals with life after the meet cute and happily ever after. I loved the thought of two people rediscovering and finding the spark after life and its ordinary routines set in. But the miscommunication and the noncommunication was frustrating at times. As a reader you truly felt the unfathomable challenge of where to start when you've drifted so far apart but I wanted to shake them to just talk already!

I also wasn't ready for such a realistic depiction of the early days of the pandemic and lockdown. It was just too soon for me to think about social distancing and deserted streets and isolating at home. The author nailed the the ups, downs and uncertainty of it all but it was just too soon for me.

What a lovely story! This was so well written. I was hooked from the first page and it ticked all the boxes!

Just the Two of Us revolves around Julie and Michael Marshall. After 35 years of marriage, Julie is considering filing for divorce and leaving Michael. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hits and they are forced to remain together in lockdown. Does Julie still go through with filing for divorce? Or does the forced proximity bring them together and repair their relationship?

Julie owns a flower shop with her sister, Clare, and works outside of the home, while Michael’s job allows him to work from home. Julie’s flower shop is forced to shut down and Julie is now forced to be home with Michael 24/7. This is a situation she was not expecting to face, since she was planning on giving Michael divorce papers ASAP.

Since their three children are grown and have moved out, Julie and Michael are now empty nesters and are forced to figure themselves out as a couple and not as parents.

Overall, I liked this book. The couple was older, so it was hard for me to relate to certain parts of the story. It also jumps back and forth from present day to the past. This wasn’t as confusing when the chapters were labeled (ex: December 2017), but sometimes it happened in the middle of present day, so it threw me off.

I did enjoy that this book explored a story line with the COVID-19 pandemic. Since it’s such a current and relevant issue that affects most people, it does help to give some connection to the story.

The whole book is basically a giant miscommunication, which was also very frustrating. I know communication can be an issue in a lot of relationships, but I felt this was a little overdone and drawn out.

Just the Two of Us is available as of April 12, 2022.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever Publishing (Grand Central Publishing) for the opportunity to review this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't realize this was a re-publishing of a book I had read a while back! Jo Wilde is a fabulous author, and I loved reading this love story. It was so layered and wonderful!

Julie and Michael have been married for over 30 years, their kids have grown up and life has been busy. Julie has a successful flower shop that she's been running with her sister. Michael has had a few promotions and has been travelling alot for work. Julie's mom passed away a few ago and since that time things have felt different with her husband MIchael. She's felt a distance from him and begins to feel that forever isn't something meant to be for her and husband. Julie has actually gone and met with a lawyer and is toying with the idea of getting divorced since they aren't spending much time together. This book takes place at the start of the pandemic Julie and Michael are forced to stay together during the lockdown at home.

This is the second book that I have read that takes place during the pandemic. I liked the way it was handled as it wasn't too dark or difficult to read. I enjoyed reading about a middle-aged couple who have been together a long time. The book covers a few different timelines in their relationship which I really enjoyed. I enjoyed seeing the different life events being covered in their relationship over the years.

I would recommend this if you are looking for a light read that will leave you feeling good and doesn't require too much focus or time. This is a cozy romance book that would be a wonderful beach read or a book to take with you on a trip. It's a 4 star book for me.

I really loved how well developed the main characters were, and their relationship was unique, especially in uncertain times. I can relate to their issues because the same thing almost happened to me and my significant other. Being isolated in the house can either make or break a relationship.

A story about a couple finding their way back into each other's arms makes your heart leap for joy at the HEA! I honestly enjoyed this.

Thanks to @readforeverpub for this arc.

You can read my full review here
https://ceethewriter.wixsite.com/celiarecommends/post/just-the-two-of-us-jo-wilde

Julia and Michael have been married for almost 35 years and are on the brink of divorce when the world shut down.
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So many fears are realized with the pandemic, one of them being locked down in a house with someone you want to divorce.
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I really enjoyed how as a reader we get to live through the entirety of their relationship from the very beginning to the almost demise. It’s interesting reading books about the pandemic and how it affects relationships, but it’s a very real part of our history and like it or not it changed every single relationship for better or worse. I rooted for these two.
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This book is out today! Thank you @readforeverpub for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
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A big thanks to Forever for a copy of Just the Two of Us by Jo Wilde!

Julie & Michael's marriage has fizzled after 34 years of marriage and the day Julie finally goes to the solicitor to get divorce papers the covid lockdown in the UK is announced. So now they are stuck together. Will this extra time together bring them back together.

The pandemic & lockdown are the major points of the book since its takes place in the spring of 2020. It was an interesting look at a relationship especially in the context of covid and lockdown. I liked how it went back to different points in their relationship but reading that weirdly didn't make me root for wanting them to her back together.

This is a marriage in distress book revolving around a couple post-kids (who have all graduated college and begun their own lives). When the COVID-19 pandemic hits and they’re forced to shelter in place, they’re panicked over being forced to spend so much solitary time together without their kids and work as the normal buffer to their relationship.

I enjoyed the premise of this book, but I found the dual timelines frustrating at times. One minute we’re in present day, and the next we are traveling back in time (progressively further back each time) and while it explains their relationship problems, it just wasn’t my favorite method of doing so.

I also felt like some of the conflict was too manufactured and relied heavily on the miscommunication plot trope, which admittedly isn’t one of my favorites. I also felt like the resolution was pretty fast and easy for them to get to once they just started talking, which didn’t entirely feel realistic after so many years of stewing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve read a couple of books set during Covid, specifically during the early days of lockdown and this one has by far been the most lighthearted one. Just wanted to give a heads up on that since I know many of y’all aren’t ok reading books set then but despite the time period it really wasn’t all that focused on the virus.

This follows Julie and Michael, a married couple who have been together almost 35 years, and while those years have mostly been happy they’re struggling now. I loved reading about a couple who are a little older and that have been together a really long time and the chapters switch between present day and different important moments in their relationship from over the years. One chapter may be from April 2020 and then the next is December 2010. This tactic really kept me engaged since I wasn’t ever sure what the next chapter would be about. This was a truly deep examination of one couples entire marriage, the ups and downs, the happy and the sad and it felt pretty genuine and authentic. Overall I found this to be a unique romance and I was definitely invested in their marriage and was totally rooting for them to make it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to the tagged partners for my copy.