I loved The Half Moon for the same reasons I loved Mary Beth Keane's Ask Again, Yes: it's immersive, tender and moving. It's character-driven in all the best ways-- I cared deeply about both Malcolm and Jess and both of their points of view were written with compassion and insight. It's beautifully written, with lines that land right in your heart. Sometimes realistic novels focusing on the complications of relationships can leave me feeling disheartened, but this one was genuine and hopeful. It would make for a great book club book! I didn't want to put the second half down and the wider themes of forgiveness, the disappointment that can come from taking stock of a middle-aged life, and the layers of marriages offer a lot to discuss. I will highly recommend this book! Thanks so much to Netgalley and Scribner for the advanced copy.

Thank you @netgalley and Scribner for this ARC of “The Half Moon.”

I typically love spousal and family dramas, but this one just didn’t do anything for me. I had high hopes after “Ask, Again, Yes,” but I found myself lost in the storyline centered around a failing bar called The Half Moon. In the end, it is a really short book, but I never got hooked.

Themes: 👰‍♀️🤵‍♂️🍷💔

My thoughts: 😏😕🤔🫡

#netgalley
#goodreads
#readmorebooks
#readmorebooksbywomen
#readersofinstagram

While I found the characters interesting, the ending floundered a bit for me. I found it enjoyable even though I questioned a few choices in the plot.

What I Liked:
-Marriage in crisis storyline
-Flawed but realistic characters
-Realistic portrayal of the strains infertility can have on a relationship
-Consideration of the road not traveled
-Malcom's and Jess's individual and collective relationships with the Half Moon Bar
-Raw and vulnerable characters
-Nonlinear timeline

What I Disliked:
-Writing style took a little to adjust to
-At times, it felt like the plot dragged
-A little overly character-driven (this is likely more of a "me" problem, as I have unintentionally been reading a lot of character-driven stories of late)

I struggled to get into this book at first, but once I did I really ended up enjoying it. It was a pretty captivating story

Captivating and emotionally charged.
Many thanks to Scribner and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I absolutely loved ask again, yes but I could not get into this book! It was reading really slow to me.

At its heart, The Half Moon is a story about a marriage at a crossroads, with two characters who are really dealing with consequences of their actions as well as victims of their circumstances. Malcom has always dreamed of owning the Half Moon bar, and now that he does everything seems to be falling apart. His wife Jess has always wanted to have children of her own, and after many years that now seems to be an impossibility. Both of the characters make very questionable choices, which many people may think are unforgivable. There is an odd cadence to this book, the flow seems more like waves crashing back and forth instead of a stead stream downriver. I never felt any build up to a crescendo; there are interesting moments and much to think about, but there is never really that moment that feels like it really all comes together. There are several side plots, that seem unrelated to the main focus of the book, but they do add to some food for thought. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

I was on the struggle bus with this one & really had a hard time getting into the story. The development dragged on & never really came to fruition. Not my favorite.

Thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for advanced copy in exchange for my honest review

I loved Ask Again, Yes so I requested The Half Moon solely for that reason. Unfortunately, I DNF'd The Half Moon at 20%. I am usually a fan of quiet, character-focused stories but after reading a few chapters I was absolutely bored and no invested at all. Maybe if the story was told through Jess's eyes I would have connected more. I was eager to learn more about their marriage but what I got was sloppy timelines that never led me anywhere (and I know I stopped at 20% but the reader shouldn't be strung along for that long without a connection).

I'm choosing not to post my thoughts on The Half Moon because I think negative reviews will hurt this author more than an established author.

This book recounts the married life of Malcolm and Jess Gerphardt, a couple who starts out with stars in their eyes about the kind of life they want to build together. After working at The Half Moon bar as bartender/manager for twenty-six years, Malcolm is finally fulfilling his dream of owning the bar when his longtime boss retires. Jess is a dedicated, hard-working attorney though her life goal is to become a mother. As a newlymarried couple, Jess suffers a miscarriage and they soon find themselves on the road of infertility treatments and mounting medical bills which take an extreme toll on their marriage.

The story was a slow burn and told from the perspectives of both Malcolm and Jess in both the current time as well as through memories of their past. For much of the book, I found myself lost as the recount of memories would sometimes veer off into other memories and the timeline of events became blurry. There was so much sadness and unhappiness in their story that I struggled through it.

Thank you NetGalley and Scribner for the opportunity to receive this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
Publication date: May 2, 2023

This was a veryyyy slow burn with little payout in the end.
The main characters in this were hard to relate to because they didn’t communicate well and made silly choices over and over again. By the end, I wasn’t invested in either character or their relationship.
The plot was an even bigger issue for me. It was so slow with no real high or low points. Everything just blended together. The structure of the writing was also problematic with lots of introspection and timeline shifts mid paragraph. It made it even more difficult to stay engaged.
Overall, this is should have been a slow, character driven story but the story execution was a miss.

I loved this so much. For me, it’s right up there with Ask Again, Yes. The layering is unmatched! It’s a smart study in how to braid stories together, interiority, and structure.

Oh boy…..a very disappointing read. I don’t really know what the author was trying to do here. I wouldn’t say that I enjoyed anything about it. Perhaps I wasn’t the target audience, in that I typically don’t enjoy reading about a marriage in shambles.

I LOVED Ask Again, Yes and I don’t think this one is even comparable in its depth, story, and writing. There were too many random asides going on such as the snow storm, the missing person (beyond weird????), and the infertility storyline just felt very off to me. I’d love to read a review from someone who has gone through infertility- perhaps it would cause these marital issues. Maybe I’m naive but I can’t imagine behaving this way, even with infertility stress.

Thank you to net galley and Mary Beth Keane for the arc of this book in return for an honest review. I would say that this novel was a slow burn for me. The characters were realistic in telling the story of a troubled marriage. The couple appear to be on different tracks in life, Malcolm a bar owner and Jess an attorney. The business and marriage both struggle as the history of the relationships are revealed. The author takes great pain in describing both characters in order to show their growth towards and away from each other. This is the kind of story in which the characters stay with you long after the end of the novel.

What a real and raw story! Many of us know people that have been in similar situations which I think makes us more invested in how it ends. Small town feels with marriage problems. Family is the main theme here and it does not disappoint. I would recommend.

Excellent writing, interesting story & great multi layered characters, this book has it all! I highly recommend it to readers who enjoyed the author's other book as well as fans of other literary fiction.

Malcolm has always dreamed of own The Half Moon, and just his luck, Hugh is willing to sell. Malcom has so many ideas, but didn’t realize that customer may not like that change. Meanwhile, his wife Jess is desperate to have a baby. After failed round of IVF after failed round, she is coming to terms with the fact that she may never be a mother.

2.5 stars. Ooof. I was so excited for this book, so I am so disappointed to say this one just didn’t live up to expectations for me. I felt like this one just moved really slow and I just kept waiting for it to pick up. The characters made really stupid decisions that infuriated me, but other than that, I just didnt feel connected to them or really care what happened. That is like the exact opposite of how I felt about the characters in Ask Again, Yes, so I’m so bummed. I am definitely the minority in my thoughts on this one!

A story of marriage. And breaking up. And loving someone else because your own life isn't going well. But really knowing no one is perfect and love looks different at different stages.

The story was good. I appreciated the plot line. I could relate to some of it. I'd recommend for someone in the mood for a good story. Nothing earth shattering, nothing too bad...just a good story.

Trigger warning: miscarriage and unable to have children

This story is going to relate to so many people in many different ways. Maybe you see yourself in the two main characters love story, maybe the two main characters are your best friends, or possibly a family member. It’s a book about life’s goals achieving some of your dreams but also failing to achieve other dreams. The two main characters are Jess and Malcom. They meet where they are younger. Jess is an aspiring lawyer with many dreams and hopes for the future including making partner and having a family. Malcolm is a bartender dreaming of owning his own bar one day. Heartbreak but yet heartwarming story of hope, love, loss, courage, perspective and perception. A little time apart can give you a different perspective on life. They are both at fault for various reasons on why they are not happy in their marriage. It’s heartbreaking and such a story the can appeal to so many. Many thanks to Scribner and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.