At the heart of The Half Moon is the question 'what keeps a marriage together?' and what happens when a couple seems to lose sight of the answer. The feeling of small town life is woven throughout the novel as the characters fall apart in the midst of a blizzard and then find their way back to each other. The novel sheds light on the plight of small business owners and the struggles of a couple trying to conceive.

Malcom finally gets to own the bar where he has worked most of his life. His wife, Jess , is a successful lawyer. After years of trying, they have come to realize that parenthood may not be possible for them. Jess takes some time off to think about things, while Malcom tries to figure out how to hold on to his beloved bar.

A in depth look at a marriage with all of its joys and heartaches.

The only word I can think about this book is "dense." Dense with emotion and dense with plot. This novel is about one couple and what has branched off from their relationship. They deal with loss and heartache and financial issues and dreams for the future. Keane has written a love story that has roots planted firmly in reality and how life isn't always sunshine and rainbows.

I have a strong feeling that literary fiction isn’t for me. 🤷‍♀️

I will say that I’m an outlier on this one and I fully encourage you to check out other reviews for this book!

✅ Very character-driven and the characters are very important pieces to this story.
✅Good writing. Although the story is boring, the writing is good!

❌ Jumped around so much that I had a hard time telling which character I was reading about very frequently.
❌ Could not get into the story(ies) at all. There were so many. Instead of focusing on one, you have to focus on many but none were in-depth enough to hold my interest or I just didn’t find it interesting.
❌ This book just seemed way too unnecessarily long. It took me ages to read it and I even read books in-between to refrain from DNFing.

I seem to be unique in my opinions of this one as many of my GR friends enjoyed it.
A big thank you to NetGalley for a complimentary early-release copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
2.5 stars rounding up.

I was provided a free copy of this book from @netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
I struggled with this one. I think part of it was the raw honesty of the story. And while some stories that are raw and honest should be told, this one included a lot of drama and issues that were somewhat self-induced. If you make big business decisions without the advice of a lawyer, and especially your wife who is a lawyer, you may get in a bad financial situation! And things spiral from there.
There were some tough things they dealt with that were out of their control (TW: infertility) but they also made their situation worse.
It was an interesting look into one couple's life. And some crazy stuff happens in this one week of their lives. It has stuck with me and I find myself thinking about it, so that's why I gave it three stars.
If you're a fan of family drama and a bit of uncertainty/mystery you may enjoy this one. I am behind on my reviews, so it is already published!
#NetGalley #TheHalfMoon

Well, Keane has gone and done it again. She has a way of writing stories that are real, raw, and exquisitely moving.

The Half Moon follows Malcolm and Jess as they navigate their individual dreams as well as their crumbling marriage. Keane deftly examines the pressure cooker effect of debt, infertility, and career aspirations on marriage and personal identity.

Character-driven all the way, the strength of the story is in how Keane makes it impossible to not feel deeply for these flawed and very real characters as we mourn their losses and celebrate their small victories.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for The Half Moon

Thank you to @netgalley and @scribnerbooks for the ARC. I’ve only read 3 physical books in May and I am glad that this was one of them.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐟 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧
𝐁𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐊𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐞
𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫: 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝟓.𝟐.𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑


Thank you @librofm for the gifted audiobook.
Thank you @Scribnerbooks for a gifted ebook.


📖 From the bestselling author of Ask Again, Yes, a masterful novel about a couple in a small town who must navigate the complexities of marriage, family, and longing.

🧔🏻🌜👩🏻‍🦰

This is a realistic look at marriage. It may not move fast enough or be flashy enough for some, but Keane’s writing is authentic and nuanced so that the story takes hold of you.

If you are a character-driven reader or a fan of domestic dramas, you will be engrossed in Malcolm and Jess’s world. Financial troubles, the stress of infertility, mid-life crises, and infidelity all bend this marriage to a breaking point. You feel the tension and the emotions, but even in the quiet moments, there’s still much to think about.

I highly recommend the audiobook, which is well done.

I think this one was just not for me. Domestic issues aren't typically my favorite, but I had a great time with Keane's previous book so I thought I'd give this one a try. I felt the pacing was a bit off, mostly in the beginning, and I just didn't care for the subject matter as not a lot else was going on. I think the best part of this book was Keane's ability to fully flesh out her characters and make them fully realized.

This held my interest and I found myself invested in what happened to the main characters. Loved the family / generational twists and the overall vibe of the book.

Keane's new book centers the story of a couple struggling with fertility and have finally separated from the stress it put on them and the relationship. I really enjoyed how Keane depicted a range of emotions they feel toward each other. Ultimately, the fertility challenges may have been a key factor in the separation, but it seemed like there were a long history and a list of issues they had with each other. I think this is probably a realistic representation of marriage - they get so lost in their regret, disappointment, and anger that they lose sight of why they love each other.

However, despite being set over the course of only one week, the story dragged. I had a hard time getting through it and it felt like a slog. I loved Ask Again, Yes, but I think this Keane work maybe wasn't for me.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Rounded up to 3 because I think the writing merits at least that much.

The story opens with a childless couple who have recently separated. For years they have struggled with infertility and fertility treatments, substantial financial strains, poor communication, and differing views about what their relationship and the direction of their lives should take. Add infidelity into the mix, and it's beyond a hot mess. All together, it makes for a heavy read, and it took me about six weeks to make it to the final page. I really needed moments of reprieve throughout the story--perhaps through some lighter or sillier memories or a quirky side character.

The narrative meanders as it unfolds--at times as flashbacks within flashbacks or as reflections within reflections--and includes the perspectives of both Malcolm and Jess. That could have gotten confusing and messy as it encompasses the duration of their relationship, but it worked for me.

The "present" portion of the story takes place over a week or so, but the entire story encompasses more than a decade. Within that larger time frame, I didn't perceive much character development or growth. I found some plot points implausible and the ending unsatisfactory.

Keane's <i>Ask Again, Yes</i>, was one of my favorite reads of 2021, so I expected to find her latest work equally compelling. Keane is a great writer, and I look forward to future publications. This one just wasn't a good match for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for the ARC ebook.

I need to get my feelings in order but WOW. This book packed me right in the gut. Complex characters coupled with a compelling story about love, marriage and redemption. I loved how the author wove multiple perspectives and elements flawlessly through the narrative. It wasn’t necessarily an easy book to read. But gosh, I fell hard for the writing and had such a satisfying reading experience.

A slow burn of a book that takes place over the course of one week. The story gives an inside look into a marriage on the rocks. The writing is good, but the story fell flat for me because I didn't like the characters much, but I can see others loving this book.

Thank you netgalley for this ARC.

Very interesting slice of life following Jess and Malcolm through an event-filled week. Some of the topics tackled in this novel are very topical ~ infertility struggles and business downturns among them.

I liked the characters, although they're in crisis and the marriage is also. I think had this book looked at a happier part of their lives, the characters would be the sort of people I'd have liked to be friends with, as it was they were just okay.

The storm was almost a character in and of itself and its effects on people definitely made sense.

This was a good read, but I'm not sure it would be something I'd give to a friend to read.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for the ARC at my request. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane.

Malcolm is the owner of The Half Moon, a beloved Irish pub with many regulars. On the night of a terrible storm, Malcolm insists on staying open, praying that people will still show up. But while he is shaking hands and clapping backs, he carries a deep pain. His wife, Jessica has left him, and now there is a rumor that she is back in town. Has she come back to reunite with Malcolm, or just to torment him?

I enjoyed this book, but I get kind of squeamish with some of the elements of the book, especially infidelity. It also jumped around a bit too much, I felt like I was following a moving target in terms of keeping track of the plot. But overall it was an enjoyable read. I would love to hang at a spot like the Half Moon.

A good read, though I personally am not a huge fan of infidelity stories and found the characters hard to relate to for that reason. Still - worth a read!

The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane revolves around the dissolution of long-time couple Malcolm and Jess. Malcolm owns a neighborhood bar and Jess is a lawyer. They've struggled for years with infertility and are now enduring a separation. Malcolm's bar is struggling to stay afloat. All of the tension and stress is leading to a climactic conclusion that left me satisfied. I was worried about these characters as I read and I was content with how the author wrapped up the story. Read and enjoy!

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 3/5⭐️⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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𝗪𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝: This book completely captured me at the jump. I texted a friend who had already read it saying “I feel like this book is going to f*&% me up, in a good way” because I was immediately invested in the marital crisis, the dual timeline that flashed back, and the idea that the entire story took place within a one-week setting. The premise checked every box for me.

I thought the author did a really great job of showing the mundane aspect of relationships, and the stressors that everyday life can have on them. The characters were very vulnerable, which is something that I connected to instantly.

Bonus points for the silhouettes of Malcomn and Jess in the half-moons on the cover—largely because it took me so long to even notice them.
⁣⁣⁣
𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞: Once I got to the halfway point in this one, I struggled because it felt like my interest really waned. I may have just gotten my expectations up too high out of the gate, and I’m not sure where I hoped the book would have ended up, but I did lose interest as it continued on. Overall I didn’t dislike it, but I didn’t continue to feel invested in the characters or the flip-flopping decisions that they continued to make. This was a character-driven book (so the lack of plot is irrelevant), and the indecisiveness and lack of character growth ultimately left me feeling unsatisfied.

I loved Keane’s “Ask Again, Yes” so I was so happy to get a chance to read “The Half Moon.” Unfortunately, this one didn’t move the needle for me. I found the plot to be a bit boring and difficult to feel much connection with. It seemed like little was going on in the forefront with the main characters, but a lot of backstory was going on. I just didn’t find it to be an exciting story. 3 star rating.

I really enjoyed the Half Moon. I love that the story evolved naturally, without shocking twists and big reveals. I have recommended this book to customers twice and one already came back with a rave review.