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.

It was hard for me to get into it in the beginning, especially with the bar and the atmosophere but once I got to know the characters, I was in. This is definitely a very character driven novel, but the characters are well developed and the relationship is closely examined.

It took me awhile to get into this book, where as the last quarter of the book flew for me, and was full of surprises!
There is a main story of a man who wants to achieve his childhood dream of owning a bar, and then there is a story of a missing man, a man who wanted to disappear, and he has. This is the story of a couple who want to have a child!
We follow the twists and turns in their relationship, and the consequences of not being honest! Then we add in a crippling snowstorm, and you wonder if he will keep the bar, if the marriage will survive!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Scribner, and was not required to give a positive review.

I enjoyed this book even more than Keane’s previous Ask Again, Yes.

As a 45-year-old, Malcolm is living his dream owning his own bar. His wife Jess is a lawyer and has tried for years to carry a pregnancy to term…her dream is for a family.

This story takes place over the course of a week during a snowstorm and features some hefty topics like infertility, marital and family secrets, self-examination of motives and how relationships can drift over time. Both heartwarming AND heartbreaking, its issues of forgiveness and compromise are its center as well as coming to terms with dreams that may not be realized.

Well-written and enjoyable.

My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and Scribner for providing the free early arc for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

A heartbreakingly raw look at a marriage in crisis. As most people know, married or not, life can be relentless. Loss, dreams not coming to fruition, life turning out different than expected, the mundane of each day droning on, can lead to a growing chasm in relationships. Mary Beth Keane does what she does best, sharing the hard stories, the true stories that show how hard it is to fight for what we love. She doesn’t shy away from exploring the hardest moments and seasons in our lives and marriages. This was a difficult read, but one that left the reader with a modicum of hope.

Half Moon takes place over the course of one week. A blizzard hits the town of Gilliam trapping everyone in place. Malcolm Gephardt, the new owner of the Half Moon bar, was the bartender for years until the owner finally retired. His plans to make the bar a huge success don't work out the way he plans and he finds himself struggling to keep the business afloat. His wife Jess is a successful lawyer who has been trying for years to have a baby. She is trying to come to terms with the idea that motherhood may not be in the stars for her. When Malcolm learns a shocking secret about his wife and a local man goes missing friends and family and life in a small town become essential to their survival. Keane has written an excellent novel exploring the ups and downs of midlife. Many thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read an ARC.

The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane

Mary Beth Keane has done it for me again. The Half Moon drew me in with its flawed but mostly likeable characters. Malcolm Gephardt is handsome and outgoing, always greeting friends and strangers alike and thriving on his interactions with people. Working at the Half Moon bar, he's dreamed his entire adult life of owning it someday. His dad had been a bar owner before he died and this is what Malcolm wants to do, what he was made for, and where he excels.

Well, maybe he doesn't excel at all of the aspects of owning a bar. He bought the Half Moon from a man who he thought of as a second father and now he has his doubts about how much he really meant to that guy. Things haven't turned out the way they were supposed to turn out. There was some misleading going on and now Malcolm is scrambling to fix things that can't be fixed.

This would be so much less of a problem if Malcolm's wife, Jess, hadn't had dreams of her own, dreams that Malcolm once shared but then let go because how long can you dream for something that is never going to happen? Jess's dreams are the reason Malcolm can't give the bar the money it demands, and over time, Malcolm and Jess are less partners than adversaries. At first I mostly took one side, but as the book continued, I knew two people played a part in this marriage heading off tracks. Life is messy and sometimes there are no good answers other than to actually let go and give up.

Keane has a way of writing that brings life to the characters while they think or they don't think about what led them to where they are, what caused life to be so different than what they thought it would be. Although the story takes place over a week, it takes us back to the beginning of Malcolm's awareness of bar life and the beginning of his relationship with Jess. And now Malcolm seems to be where he wanted to be, but not like this, not as a loser who is on the verge of losing everything. His dreams seem to be dashed into an avalanche of grief and snow and there seems to be no way of turning things around.

I was so caught up in the story and very satisfied with the ending. In just two books, Mary Beth Keane is a favorite author of mine. I look forward to what she writes next.

Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for this ARC.

I am loving books about couples in midlife lately and this is a good one. Keane is a great writer and the characters feel real enough to touch. It seemed pretty realistic to read about their dreams and losses, but the best part is how it ends. I read somewhere that Keane explores the "consolations of. midlife," and that, as well as the themes of forgiveness and love, are what make this book so special. Recommended for anyone who loves books about relationships. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Half Moon follows Malcolm and Jess’s relationship through the highs and lows but mostly focuses on a very realistic portrayal of a hard patch in their marriage. It takes a deep dive into how they got there and if their marriage can be repaired.

I loved this book so much! The characters were so detailed and realistic that I could relate in some way or another to everyone in this story. The character development was phenomenal so if you like character driven stories this one would be a good one to pick up!

This book was authentic, reflective, and had so many layers to it. I can’t recommend it enough, I think it will be one of my favorite books of the year! I grew very attached to the characters and was sad when the book ended.

Thank you netgalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 out of 5. This was a hard book to speak about and that's why I think my 3.5 grade is in the lukewarm territory, in a love and hate direction. There are plenty of things that are great about this book. There is a strong exploration of the give and takes of a marriage, the compromises people make and how dreams are lost and new ones are made. It is so well described, it just became a tad bit boring at some point for me. Is this because I am not married and couldn't really relate? I think it might be that, but at some point I also was annoyed at the lack of understanding of the issues by the characters, i wanted to smack them (however the ending proved me right). I think it is a thoughtful important book, and definitely would recommend for those that are married, huge reminder to keep communication always opened. There were just so many examples that when assumptions are made and things aren't properly dialoged, a lot of hurt can come from that.

I also found it funny how i completely related throughout the book to Malcom and never to Jess. I could never understand her actions, and yet when i started this I thought it would have been completely the other way around.

A bit of a downer, honestly. This had potential, but I think the random side plots and how easily everything wrapped up in the end left me feeling pretty unsatisfied.

Following up on her success with Ask Again, Yes, Mary Beth Keane provides us with The Half Moon. The Half Moon is the bar that Malcolm owns. After 24 years of bartending there, he had finally been given the opportunity to buy it. But things aren’t going well. The bar isn’t profitable. Malcolm and his lawyer wife, Jess, have separated. They’ve spent years and over a hundred thousand dollars on trying to have a baby. But it was never in the cards and Jess is trying to decide what’s next.
The story takes place over a single week, during two major snowstorms, with flashbacks to what has brought them to this point. Told in the third person omniscient style, the story alternates between the two spouses. There’s an interesting side story which didn’t really add anything to the main plot but still worked in its own weird way.
These are two people with vastly different goals and desires. Keane totally gets the range of emotions that both feel toward the other - rage and anger, but also disappointment and regret, that feeling of just not knowing what the right decision is. I liked that I could totally feel for both of them, despite the wrong decisions each has made. As is so often the case, tunnel vision and selfishness get in the way of understanding and forgiveness. It’s a realistic look at not just marriage, but life in general; of knowing when to compromise or when to just walk away from something. The ending totally worked for me.
My thanks to Netgalley and Scribner for an advance copy of this book.

I think this is a book I would need to revisit because I think when I read it, it wasn’t the right time for me to read it and fully enjoy this book. At times I found it slow and hard to connect with the characters, and after Ask Again, Yes was a favorite of mine, I wanted to truly love this book. I think if you enjoy a slow burn, this is for you, and I will revisit at a later date to see if my feelings on the book change.

Pursue your dreams until you have to accept that some will not come true. This book is an engaging and heart felt look at relationships and small town living with its hopes and pressures. It’s well written, with interesting and likable characters. Will definitely read other books by this author.