Sorry for a negative review and thank you for the advance copy. I didn't like the characters, the mother and daughter were acting the same way and the father came across as quite sexist! The narration was a bit monotonous so I just couldn't finish it.

Thank you so much to the publisher for accepting me to read and review this book.

Overall I thought this book was meh...
Although this covered some good subjects and I loved the writing style which made me very engrossed in the story the book as a whole felt like one big badly done miss-communication trope. This book relied heavily on the growth of the main character from the start of the book to the end, the husband, female lead and daughter all very much annoyed me throughout this book and felt like they were purposely being ignorant and selfish which is not a realistic trait of someone of that age. Besides from this some side characters were interesting and flashed out. Throughout the book, it felt like there was an underlining game between the main female and male of who can score more points and be more ignorant or hunt the other one which I didn't particularly like. But I did like the ending and watching the main female grow into herself and the realistic way people can react and deal with trauma.

So many stories get us to the happily ever after point but this one is great, it goes way past that to when the happy couple has been married awhile, life’s pressures are beating down on them and get to thinking a bit about the glass being greener on the other side. I enjoyed these good flaws characters and the narration was nice to listen to as I was driving.

This book covered everything. Lying, cheating, sick parents, death. I really enjoyed it. The main character made me not like her at the end. These are real life problems. The writing was good and it was very interesting. Thank you #NetGalley

After Happily Ever After features a middle-aged women who is a selfish, spoiled mother, wife, daughter, sister who upends her life because she is NOT happy. I did not like Maggie as she just did what she wanted and didn't seem to care about consequences until it was to late.

The abrupt non-ending, ending was just so off-putting after ALL the pain points that played out in the story. This book was a complete miss for me. Thank you Blackstone Publishing for the complimentary copy to read and review.

Someone I’m friends with in Bookstagram raved about this so when it became read now I snatched it up.

I think the content is fun and, as a mother, I appreciate the struggle to connect with a teenage daughter.

Unfortunately, this book just didn’t work for my reading style. It felt more juvenile than the YA’s I’ve read recently and I just couldn’t connect with any of the characters enough to enjoy it.

I won’t be posting to Instagram or goodreads.

AFTER HAPPILY EVER AFTER by LESLIE A RASMUSSEN.

Maggie is in her mid forties and everything seems to be falling apart. Her marriage feels empty - her husband Jim is distant and struggling with his own demons. Maggie’s once close relationship with her daughter Gia now feels like a memory. Gia doesn’t confide in her mother like she used to and will soon be off to college.
To add to her woes Maggie’s beloved father isn’t in the best of health and it breaks her heart to see his deterioration.

When a younger man catches her eye at the gym, Maggie is tempted by his charms, but is he all she believes him to be?

This is a cleverly written, insightful and poignant story. It touches on some heartbreaking subjects but also has some real laugh out loud moments in the story too.

I enjoyed this book, it flowed well and I cared about the characters. However I did feel somewhat let down by the ending. It was very abrupt. After such a well written tale, the characters and the readers deserved more. An epilogue would have been perfect.

This is the author’s debut novel, and I will definitely look forward to her future work.

Overall this was a very enjoyable read, and is well deserving of four stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Out now on audio and ebook.
Paperback will be released on 20/5/22

With thanks to #Netgalley and #BlackstonePublishing, for an audio arc of #AfterHappyEverAfter by #LeslieARasmussen.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started listening, but based on the synopsis I expected it to be entertaining and touching, but that wasn't really the case. I found the narration a bit too monotone for my liking and more like reading out loud at school, then the type of narration I have gotten used to with other audiobooks.

The story itself is okay, but not spectacular. Not a lot happens. just a housewife and mother that gets bored when she is no longer needed as much by neither daughter nor husband. Despite being close to her age I could not really relate with the main character or how she feels and what that leads her to do, so for me it wasn't a great story

I have the feeling that housewives of a similar age could perhaps relate and enjoy this story more.

I think it would have been better is the chapters told by the point of view of Jim and Maggie's father would have been done by a man instead. Now it was hard to listen to the exact same voice being used for everyone.

3.25 ⭐ for this debut novel

This book dives into marriage, mother/daughter relationships and daughter/father relationships.

My only daughter and I are only a couple of years off in age to Maggie and Gia. 'Fine' is an answer I hear all too often, so I can totally relate to some aspects of this book.

Maggie and Jim have been married for nearly 20 years. Their 17 year old daughter, Gia, is heading off to college soon. They're all growing apart. Maggie doesn't feel like Jim listens to her or has time for her anymore. They don't appreciate her. They take advantage of her and expect her to do everything. She has a troubled relationship with her own mother and brother, and her father is deteriorating in a nursing home. Jim is getting annoyed with his job as a therapist and knows he's slowly pulling away and avoiding Maggie. So when she meets Michael at the gym, she starts to feel better about herself with this younger man showing interest in her.


Mostly told in Maggie's perspective, we get a couple of parts told by Jim and Maggie's father, I think his name is Isaac. It was heartbreaking to hear Isaac tell his side about coping with his forgetfulness.
The narration was good for Maggie's voice, but not so much for the male characters. I really wish we had a male narrator for Jim, Isaac and Michael. There were some long pauses that made me think I lost my audio connection, but if I looked at my phone it was just because they were switching to different parts within the chapters ~ would have been nice if the narrator said that maybe.

Overall, I wasn't overly wowed, but it was a solid debut. Every character was pretty much annoying at one point or another, except for Isaac. I'm not too sure about the ending, perhaps an epilogue would have been nice to wrap everything up nicely. I would give this author a go again.

*Thanks to Netgalley, Blackstone Publishing and the author for the advanced audiobook. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*

I haven’t read a lot of books about women older than, say 35, because honestly I haven’t sought out too many like that. I think I should start, given how wonderful some of those books are.

This book is very, very good. Specifically, I liked how the protagonist’s life keeps coming undone, because that’s literally what I feel like my life is like at least half the time. There are so many things pulling you in opposite directions, and you feel like you’re spinning. That’s why I liked this book. The protagonist, in the end, doesn’t give up, because she has no choice but to stay together, otherwise, who is to know what would happen.

Especially as I get ready to change a few large things in my life and relocate across the world in the name of career, this book resonated with me. The characters are funny and relatable, and there are certainly some very funny LOL-worthy moments.

I did wish that the POV-changing was more clear in the audiobook, because in the beginning I got confused a bit.

But honestly, what a debut!

An emotional, thought-provoking book about a woman who seeks more for her life. Relatable, entertaining, and definitely gave the feels... more detailed review to come!

I found the narrator very monotone and I really couldn’t get into the book as I would have liked to.

From when I was able to concentrate it was an entertaining story that I enjoyed.

3.5

Maggie is a stay-at-home mom whose daughter is getting ready to leave for college. Feeling disconnected from her husband and stressed out from dealing with her parents, Maggie is ready for some excitement in her life.

Maggie was relatable in so many ways. Aside from the gray hairs and wrinkles (that I may know a thing or two about), I think most women can relate to the feeling of giving too much of yourself at one time or another. Being busy mommy-ing, helping aging parents or being a good partner can sometimes land you at the bottom of your own priority list. Instead of turning toward her husband for attention, Maggie looked outside of her marriage. Maggie just wanted more out of life and she deserved it, too.

I was mildly annoyed at the lack of communication between Maggie and her husband but something tells me that the dynamic of their marriage is representative of too many couples.

Not a big deal at all but I didn't feel that the cover of this book particularly matched the story. Overall this was a well-written book and it made for a very quick read. There was nothing earth-shattering about this story but it felt like real life.

After Happily Ever After is available today! Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for this advanced listener copy!

“After Happily Ever After” follows the story of Maggie, a 45-year old stay-at-home mom after a great professional career, with a complicated family. Her father is in elderly care, suffering from dementia, while her mother and brother (with whom she has difficult relationships) are constantly bickering about trivialities. In her own household things are not looking any better. Her husband Jim is distancing himself from her, and her teenage daughter is behaving just like any other teen. So, when Maggie meets Michael at the gym, it’s no wonder that her own attention drifts away from her own family problems.

The characters were all well represented and it helped the fact that the narrator adapted their voice to match the changing point of view. The story has an even pace, which makes it easy to follow each character and empathize with what they are going through.

All in all, it’s been a great audiobook to listen to, although I personally wished that the ending would have been less abrupt and would have included an epilogue to Maggie and Jim’s story.

Special thanks to NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing, and the editorial team for giving me the opportunity to review the ARC in audiobook format and to you, my reader, for taking the time to read this honest personal book review.

If you are interested in other of my book reviews, make sure to follow me on GoodReads!

#LifeLongLearning #AfterHappilyEverAfter #NetGalley

Being a mid-forty year old woman I enjoyed this book. I think that we get lost in our day to day ritual and wrapped up in taking care of others that we loose sight of ourselves. We put by the wayside our marriage because we are busy paying attention to our children.

Maggie is 45 and everything in her life is starting to crumble a bit. She hasn't worked in years because she decided to be a stay at home mom. However, her teenage daughter, Gia, no longer needs her like she used to. Her husband is distant and the spark has gone away, her father is in assisted living and is forgetting things, her mom doesn't give her positive attention, but instead criticizes her on the small things and her brother - well, there's no relationship there.

Maggie is soul searching and takes a few twists and turns while trying to rediscover herself. However, have some of the twist and turns upset her life to the point of not being able to put it back together.

Thank you NetGalley

I think this book will resonate with so many female readers. Too often stay at home moms and mothers in general are peripheral characters in contemporary fiction. Or, a novel is all about what happens TO them and not how they create their own paths.

Maggie, a stay at home mom, is entering a new part of her life. Her only daughter, Gia, is 17 and starting to consider leaving the home. The past 17+ years of Maggie's life have revolved around Gia and taking care of her home, but what happens after Gia is no longer under her roof? With a disinterested husband, lackluster career opportunities, a father in a nursing home, a meddling mother, and a major life shift underway, it's almost no surprise that Maggie starts to seek satisfaction elsewhere. And when that elsewhere turns out to be a hot, young gentleman at her gym, Maggie must decide what this next chapter in her life will look like.

This novel took a very pragmatic look at life after marriage and once the kids are more independent. The relationships Maggie had with her family felt incredibly authentic and relatable, as did her struggles with her changing role and identity. I particularly enjoyed the relationship Maggie had with her father and felt that Rasmussen did a great job detailing his failing health and describing the impact it had on his family. Admittedly, I really disliked Maggie's daughter, Gia. She came across as spoiled, ungrateful and extremely bratty - but maybe I'm just misremembering my own charming self at 17!

Though I'm at a very different time in my life than Maggie as I am working and have a young child, much of her story still resonated with me. It was easy to feel empathy for her as she struggled to come to terms with deciding her next steps in life. Her feelings of resentment and of being unappreciated were also well written and relatable.

I listened to the audio of this novel and overall felt the narrator did a good job. There were instances where her inflection at the end of a sentence or part of the novel felt a little awkward and like there should have been another thought. I also generally prefer when a book has different narrators for chapters told from different perspectives. Because this just used one narrator and she didn't change her voice much for the Dad or Jim parts, I would have to remind myself that it wasn't Maggie narrating. During Maggie's parts, I did feel like the narrator did an excellent job differentiating the voices and wished that had been carried through to the non-Maggie chapters. Finally, I didn't particularly like the narrator's voice for Michael so I was a little put off by him from the beginning, which maybe wasn't such a bad thing!

Overall, I enjoyed this story. It felt realistic and I could see a group of women in their 40s and 50s relating to much of it over a glass of wine at a bookclub. I'll be excited to read more from this author in the future.

This work is largely told from Maggie’s point of view. There are a few chapters told from her husband’s and her dad’s points of view interspersed throughout the book. While I disliked this at first, it added a great deal of insight into Maggie’s story and struggles. It turned the story from being one-sided and biased into a well-rounded view of what was actually occurring. I believe that having the multiple points of view strengthened the work. Maggie Dolin, 45, gave up her job as an editor with a publishing house to raise her daughter who now 17, will go off to college. The only think Maggie knows and has been doing is taking care of everyone, from picking up and cleaning her daughter’s room everyday to finding misplaced things for her husband who has been neglecting her too taking care of her ailing father. She is feeling out of sorts when she meets a younger man by chance and she starts acting differently and she is eventually forced to make some hard decisions about what she wants from her life in order to be happy and satisfied. A new literary fiction debut that takes a deep look at how our choices in life shape each person individually, and how that impacts our relationships. This has a complex perspective about the weight of unspoken hurts, miscommunication, and the mistakes we make when we lose our way.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for my advanced copy.

Maggie Dolan is forty-five years old, she is married and has spent the last seventeen years being a stay-at-home mum to her daughter Gia, after giving up a promising career in publishing. With Gia due to leave for college soon, Maggie is already dreading the thought of an empty nest. Her husband seems disconnected and disinterested, Maggie herself is restless and unsatisfied with the way her life is turning out and it seems Gia can’t wait to get away from the family life that Maggie has spent such a long time trying to create! As hidden secrets come to light, Maggie finds herself at a crossroads and decides it’s finally time to put herself first and figure out what she wants to do with the rest of her life; but middle age means not only having to deal with children and husbands – but also the worry of ageing parents with poor health and possibly siblings that you don’t necessarily get along with.

When the person she is closest to in the world – her father, has a heartbreaking diagnosis that knocks Maggie sideways. She finds herself overwhelmed by everything going on and finds herself being pulled in a direction that is new and exciting, igniting feelings from within that have laid dormant for years – but the new path she feels drawn to could destroy everything she has spent her life building. Torn between the life she’s always known and something new that she never expected, Maggie finds herself wavering between what she knows she should ‘probably’ do and what she wants to do…

I don’t usually find myself reading much general womens’ fiction, but I am going to start looking out for it a lot more. I LOVED this story – probably because it hit so close to home for me! I found myself laughing so much at the author’s witty writing but also crying too ⤴️ (See above statement) Maggie’s character was so relatable! We meet someone – maybe get married – have a kid or two – and then what comes next after you’ve put your own life on hold for so long and the raising is mostly done? At this point, your husband is more brother than a lover and your hobbies include doing the housework, exciting trips to the supermarket and falling asleep ten minutes into an audiobook and losing your place!!! I might be projecting here a little 🤭

I loved the way the book ended too, I couldn’t have thought of a better ending for Maggie – it could even have been a possible cliffhanger, leaving it open for a book two? Hint hint… I couldn’t stop listening to this book and it made work and doing chores a lot more enjoyable for a day! Tiffany Phillips did an excellent job of narrating too.

My thanks to the author, Blackstone Publishing and Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Members Audiobooks for my advance copy to review via NetGalley.


❦ Four emotional rollercoaster stars ❦

The writing style was so pedestrian -- I just could not take this seriously.

____________________________

A quick listen and makes you truly appreciate life. Life is too short and I think this is what the MC realized once the next chapter of her life was about to unfold.