The enthralling The Truth About Ben and June by Alex Kiester opens with the disappearance of the titular June, leaving behind her husband, Ben, and their four-month-old baby, Mikey--and absolutely no clues as to where she might have gone, or why she left. Ben is as frantic as he is confused, unable to understand his wife's actions or his ability to be so blindsided by them. "They might not be thriving at this particular point in their marriage," he thinks, "but they were okay." Desperate to find his wife and persuade her to come home, Ben tries to retrace June's steps over the last weeks, only to find in those actions a woman he barely recognizes as the woman he loves.

As The Truth About Ben and June moves back and forth in time, alternating from Ben's perspective to June's and back again, it shifts, kaleidoscope-like, from a whodunit with a missing-person vibe to something much deeper and, in some ways, darker. Kiester's first novel explores through the lens of this one marriage what it really means to know another person, and the lies we tell to both ourselves and the ones we love. A seemingly perfect marriage is subject to the "precariousness of it all," as it collapses beneath the impossible weight of the postpartum period and all that it requires of both a mother and those around her. Gripping from start to finish, The Truth About Ben and June is a tribute to the idea that love--like family, like life--is a choice, something we must opt into day by day, albeit on our own terms. --Kerry McHugh, freelance writer

From the moment Ben and June meet they feel a connection but as the years go by death, marriage and birth all get in the way and their connection lessens. Ben is busy providing for his family and is oblivious that his wife may not want the same things as him. One morning he is awoken by his baby son but June is nowhere to be seen and everything starts to unravel.

As soon as Ben wakes up and his wife is not lying next to him or seeing to their crying son I wanted to know the truth about Ben and June. So many questions were going through my mind and I knew it had to be something serious for a mother to leave her child. As a reader we are in the dark about this couple's marriage but it is not long before you realise Ben is just as clueless about his wife and the state of their marriage. We join him as he discovers more and more from the fragments June has left behind namely in the form of a secret journal. I know it is clichéd but this book honestly made me feel a range of emotions especially towards our missing protagonist from confusion to sympathy and everything in between. Alex Kiester has written a whole host of fascinating characters that are all integral to this raw portrayal of a marriage. The story she has created is no fairy tale romance instead it is a realistic narrative which needs to be told.

I’m in a season of early motherhood and not surprisingly find myself drawn to these kinds stories.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗧𝗛 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗕𝗘𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗝𝗨𝗡𝗘 is a raw look at those tender days of early parenthood and how a marriage can shift with the arrival of a new baby. When Ben wakes to the cries of his infant son, he realizes that his wife June had disappeared. Not only is he faced with finding his wife, but he must also take a deeper look at their marriage and why she left.

I resonated deeply with June’s feelings of unmet expectations and sheer emotional and physical exhaustion as a new mom. Alex Kiester did a fantastic job of capturing the vulnerabilities of early motherhood and exploring grief in various forms.

This reminded me of one of my favorite reads of last year, WHEN I RAN AWAY any Ilona Bannister. I did a combination of print and audio and enjoyed both formats! This is a solid debut that lends itself to fantastic book club conversations.

A big thank you to NetGalley, Thoughts From A Page Patreon community and Parkrow books for an electronic ARC and @harperaudio for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This is a complicated story that covers a lot of important issues. Ben and June have recently welcomed their first child and June slowly slips into a deep postpartum depression. Overworked and overdrinking Ben is oblivious to what June is going through. The book delves into their many issues as June goes missing and Ben finally realizes what has been happening with his wife and infant son. This is an ambitious and raw story that explores postpartum depression as well as other difficult unresolved issues in both Ben and June’s relationship as well as their relationships with others. I appreciated that we were given both Ben and June’s perspectives thanks to alternating chapters.
Overall this is a great debut novel and I look forward to more from this author.

Thanks to my friends at @htpbooks @parkrowbooks and @harperaudio I was lucky enough to have both an early e-galley and an early audio. Narrated by one of my favs, Brittany Pressley @britpressley (with Pete Gordon) what is already a stellar read gets that little extra something.

The Truth About Ben and June takes a serious look at the realities of postpartum depression and anxiety and also includes some ripped-from-today’s-headlines subject matter. If you’re looking for a fast-paced thriller, this isn’t it, but, if you’re looking for a great book with some pretty relatable content, add this one to your TBR.

Link to 6/28/2022 Instagram post:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CfW-eYQJimf/

Let me start by saying that I really love the recent number of books which address the different facets of motherhood. It is super important to understand these different experiences and for mothers who are struggling, to see that they are not alone. This debut novel explores this central theme in a mother of a newborn (June) and her husband (Ben) when June suddenly vanishes and Ben is tasked with figuring out why she is gone and how to bring her home.

I found Ben and June to be an interesting read about motherhood but for some reason it missed the mark for me. Perhaps it's because I went into this book with different expectations and thought this would be more of a mystery/thriller which is was not (you know what happens to June partway through the book). I did really enjoy the parallels of what was going in June's life and Greek mythology (I am a sucker for anything with Greek mythos) and I enjoyed the format of alternating chapters between Ben, June, and the letters to June's mother, as they helped to make both Ben and June sympathetic characters.

Even so, I had a hard time relating to June and her reasonings and at some points felt the book was far reaching in its justification of the plot. For a book that centered on their relationship/marriage I also wish they had done a better job in delving into their shared history, instead it seemed very focused on June's history and June's relationship with her career and her mother. Without going into spoilers, I found both of their situations- and the situations of June's friends/mom group- to be extreme. But maybe this was the point... Additionally, while I found it to be an easy read and enjoyable, when I put it down I wasn't particularly motivated to pick it back up. Though this book wasn't for me, I can see how this might be a relatable and intriguing book for other readers.

It is important to mention the many trigger warnings here: cancer, death of a parent, postpartum anxiety, postpartum psychosis, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempt.

Thank you to Netgalley, Harlequin Books and Harper Collins Canada for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.. For me, this was 3.5 star read lowered to a 3. The Truth About Ben and June is out today (June 28).

Wanted to love this one more than I did. I couldn't connect with the characters which made it hard to want to continue to pick up.

This was an extreme heavy-hitter. It addresses a lot of serious topics from motherhood, postpartum depression, and suicide. The altering timelines confused me a bit but this was just such a well written book. It felt like being taken on the journey of Ben and June and I love how the author pulled this off. A must read!

Thank you so much @harpercollinsca for the complimentary advance reading copy of The Truth About Ben and June so I could read and review it ahead of publication. TTABAB comes out tomorrow - happy almost pub day!

Ben and June meet one New Years Eve in the hospital. The reconnect a short while later and their relationship quickly develops. Seven years later, Ben wakes up one morning and discovers June has disappeared, leaving him and their infant Mikey alone in the house. Where is June, and why is she gone?

I was a little confused about this one at the beginning. Its told in three 'timelines'. Present day with Ben trying to figure out where she went, flashbacks to the history of their relationship, and a series or journal entries that June has written. Once I had the flow of these sections down, it was smooth sailing.

It's not clear for a lot of the story where this is going. I had ALOT of very very way off theories and I needed to know where the story was going to go. After about half the book the story really starts clipping along and its tough to stop reading.

I really love the difficult topics that the author dealt with in such an interesting way. (maybe spoilery ahead) Mom guilt, feeling like you can't do enough, fear of loosing yourself and more are all things that new mothers deal with. I hope that women who may be feeling PPA/PPD will read this book and identify these things in themselves and reach out to their support people to help them through difficult times.

A tender story about a young couple who must face their demons. June walks out on her baby and husband while Ben is left to flounder and search for her.
The story gives the background story of both in alternative chapters.
I found it hard to relate to any of the characters and although June is suffering, I couldn’t get past the fact that she willing abandoned her child.

A thought-provoking read bouncing between characters and timelines. The author smoothly moves between the varying perspectives giving us insight into Ben and June’s past as well as their present. In addition to being a unique discussion of postpartum anxiety, this is a good consideration of how people and relationships can evolve, how internal and external expectations can shape our lives, and the importance of honest communication.

The Truth About Ben and June deals with some heavy themes — motherhood, death of a parent, postpartum struggles and suicide, so do be warned. Alex Kiester writes about motherhood and postpartum in ways that are considered ‘taboo’ and often go unspoken & unwritten, but I appreciated reading a real & raw account of a couples’ journey in the first months of having a child. The story starts with Ben waking up to find June has left him & their baby. He realizes he doesn’t really know his wife or where she would go so the quest to find June by enlisting help from friends & finding her journal where she writes to her dead mother helps him piece together where his wife has escaped to. This book definitely leaves room for conversation!

Not a thriller but a thoughtful look at marriage and, more importantly, post partum depression. Ben and June have been drifting but Ben thinks that the birth of their son Mikey has fixed things. And then, one morning when Mikey is five months old, June is gone. He's baffled especially after he talks with her friends but then he finds a pack of letters she's written to her deceased mother. He isn't a bad guy at all but he's not been paying attention. Ben, June, and the letters alternate to tell the story of their lives. June, a dancer, had been chosen to play Medea just before she became pregnant and while she gave up the role, the play and the character mean more to her than she expected as she sees echos of Medea in her own life. Ben's hunt for June is parallel with June's search for herself. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A good read.

Kiester is an American author whose first book was the thriller "In Her Skin". This is her second book and while it has a bit of a thriller component, it really more a story of about marriage, the struggles of being a new mother and the sacrifices involved. Ben is a very successful lawyer who works from early morning until late at night. June is a new mother who reluctantly gave up her dream role as a ballet dancer when she found out she was pregnant. Her mother died of cancer a few years ago and she misses her terribly so decides to use her journal to write to her. One morning Ben wakes up to hear his son crying and his wife missing. Told from both their points of view we follow June's struggles and Ben's investigation. This is a good recommendation for fans of "Truths I Never Told You".

When Ben wakes up to find June missing in the morning, he realizes he doesn’t know much about what’s been going on since their son was born a few months ago. He works so many hours at a demanding job while June is left to care for Mikey and she is feeling like a failure and possibly a bit resentful for having to leave her career as a dancer after finding out she was pregnant.

The tension surrounding all of the characters was so palpable. I had to give myself some breaks while reading because I could feel myself getting tense. At the same time I had to find out where June went and why she left so suddenly.

Told from multiple POVs using flashbacks and journal entries, The Truth About Ben and June is a story about marriage, motherhood, and the struggles many women face.

Thank you to Thoughts From a Page and Park Row Publishers for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Ben and June have a seemingly normal life, but perhaps there are some parts that they choose to hide from others. One morning when Ben wakes he finds his wife, June, gone with no explanation. This book is told in dual timelines as we see Ben carefully navigating what he must do while also told in flashback to June's past. The story unfolds and we learn more about June. A truly captivating novel that examines truths we all eventually face. Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

The book started off with a bang for me and I was instantaneously hooked to the storyline of where in the world did June go. With the dual perspectives and timelines from Ben and June’s letter you really get a sense of each character and who they are. You quickly learn that like every marriage and relationship there is more than meets the eye and Ben and June are no different. I was hooked on the book for more than half but when it took a turn to all the parts with post partum depression I just wanted her to come back and the mystery was no longer intriguing. That’s not to say that the author doesn’t deliver a great story because she does. She tackles tough subjects that are often left out in literature and for that I commend her.

This was an interesting book..it had a little bit of everything thrown in- some suspense, some romance and even a mystery. Entertaining and well written!

The Truth About Ben and June by Alex Kiester. A novel about marriage that reads like a thriller.

Ben wakes up one morning and discovers that June is missing and the story takes off from there with multiple points of view and timelines. I loved the descriptions of how tough new parenthood can be, for both the mom and dad, and the expectations that society puts on both parents. This is ultimately a story about honesty, truth and love. Those are the things that can drive us away from each other when we don't share, but they can also bring us back together when we do.

A HUGE thank you to NetGalley and Park Row for the ARC of The Truth About Ben and June.

Told from Ben and June’s points of view, this book goes back and forth detailing the hardships of marriage and parenthood. You quickly realize the way both characters interpret situations in their daily life are different and don’t always align, creating marital issues.

Ben wakes up to find his son Mikey alone and his wife, June, missing. He slowly uncovers her reason for leaving once he finds her journal. Trigger warning- this book does touch on postpartum anxiety and attempted suicide.