Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
There is no doubt that book is well-written, charting Jenn's feelings as she deals with the unexpected death of her mother and her children leaving home for further education. She discovers secrets about her parents' marriage, and her own teenage diary which pile on dissatisfaction. I thought her completely self-centred, she has kept unhappiness simmering below the surface for a long time and she suddenly presents her husband with all the 'hurts' - real or imagined- he has caused, and expects him to change how she wants while she does not listen to him or compromise. By the time I had read half of the novel I was disenchanted with her behaviour and moaning about her husband, Mark, who continually fails to meet her constantly-changing expectations. I don't think this documents a marriage of two people working together, it is more a constant bemoaning of 'poor me'.

This was not a long book but it sure felt like it. I am not exaggerating when I say the main character, Jenn, spent the first half of the book endlessly whining about how unloved she felt. I really didn't need to be reminded of it on every.single.page. Despite wanting to divorce her husband, she decided they should go to therapy. And what a terrible therapist that was. When Jenn explained why she's not happy in her marriage, the therapist basically told her she's old so all the good guys are already taken. But the therapist was also supportive of Jenn cheating on her husband with a married man she had a summer fling with at 17 years old decades ago...

Jenn was so incredibly selfish. Her feelings of feeling unloved were totally valid but her actions were not. She basically lead her husband on, giving him hope that they'd stay married if he made an effort. Apparently she didn't actually want the effort because when he made it, suddenly it was, "Well, why couldn't he do that before?!" This woman frequently reminded us she knew who she was marrying, so why did she constantly question his personality/behavior?

Honestly, this felt more like a diary than a piece of fiction. Very little actually happened, scenery was never described, and the only clear image I had of anyone was Jenn, which was essentially a description of what the author herself looks like, so maybe there's a reason this felt like a diary? Either way, I found myself skimming the last 20%, wishing it was already over.

I'm far from being an empty nester but my biggest takeaway from this miserable, long-winded tale is: Don't be like Jenn.

This was a very good book. I enjoyed reading it. The characters and plot kept me interested. I would read another book by this author.

I will start out by saying that this book cover is beautiful. It was the reason that I requested to read it. But that is probably the only thing that I enjoyed about this book.

Unfortunately, when I read the book description, I didn’t realize how much this book would center around the one trope that I absolutely despise…cheating. I am close in the age range of the FMC and both of my kids are now adults, I felt that I could somewhat relate to what she was feeling. To be honest, I did here & there but never, ever would I cheat on my husband.

Jenn & Mark have been married for close to 30 years and now are empty-nesters. Jenn is about to tell Mark that the marriage was over when her mother passed away. She found out some stuff about her parents - cheating, lies and other family secrets. She is so upset by some of what she found out but it turns out that she is just like her mother.

I felt so bad for Mark. The way she jerked him around with the chance of “fixing” the marriage made me so upset. Promising him the chance if he went to couples therapy. She expected him to do all of the fixing when she had no desire to truly fix the problems. I get how she felt lost after centering all of her attention on her family but she definitely needed to find better ways to communicate her frustrations before it got as bad as it did. Or even call it quits - sometimes that even ends up better for the whole family. Especially when her children knew she was unhappy or “deserved more”.

I get supporting friends, but I would NEVER tell my bestie to cheat on her husband. And if I had a therapist (also the couples therapist) who also gave her approval, I would certainly find a new therapist! What is wrong with these people? If you know you want to cheat and that your marriage isn’t going to work, be fair to your partner and just leave. Honestly, Jenn has to be my most hated character ever - so selfish, spoiled & delusional.

It was nice to see that Mark found his HEA!

Thank you to @netgalley for the gifted copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I was not in the right headspace to read this novel. However, it was well written and relatable. A little too relatable. I was glad that Jenn got her happily ever after.

I truly thank the author and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

What a emotive book…If you are wanting romance, courage and a story about a woman standing for what’s right for her, then this is the book for you! I loved following Jenn’s journey through grief, relationships and sexual desires. Watching Jenn grow as a women was inspiring.

I could relate to this book on so many levels. A 50’s something woman who all of a sudden has an empty nest is unsure of her marriage, her life but knows there’s something more out there for her.

This journey takes her through learning secrets about her family, reconnecting with her first love and ultimately needing to make some hard life choices at this later stage in life.

I found myself nodding my head in agreement with the well described emotions and characters.

I enjoyed this book and want to see what other books by this author I might enjoy.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. I really liked the premise of the book but it fell flat for me. The story was repetitive and dragged on and on. I couldn't connect at all with the main character and that made it difficult to finish.

This story is about a marriage that might be falling apart due to neglect and no interest. The kids are grown and gone and Jenn is debating with herself to stay safe and secure or venture out on her own. When cleaning she comes across a box of her old diaries that remind her she was once in love with Tripp. She decides to find him. This story took a long time to get moving and by that time I really didn't care what she decided. The concept of the story is an intriguing one. I just didn't connect with Jenn.

Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to receive this book for an honest review.

I have to be honest so I have to say this book was just Ok.

If Jenn was so unhappy, ok move on. Don't go back and relive your past and dwell. Then was the time to gain your independence and build a new life.

I'm sorry but I just thought it missed the mark.

This was a good book. It kept me entertained. Did I want to put it down a time or two? Maybe. I was confused by the main character's thought process a few times but I liked the way the book evolved. Would I read it again? No. Would I recommend it? I feel like this maybe just wasn't the book for me at this time. I won't be posting this review to Goodreads or any other platform because this is just my opinion at this time and maybe if I read this book at another time I could relate more.

This book is about a love story which has a happy ending only at the old age of Jenn and Tripp. The concept is good, sad but hopeful. The immaturity on the part of Jenn, led them to separate and live separate lives. It is odd that if they loved each other so much, how could they forget this love for so long and remember about it only much later in life. Life's circumstances could be a reason. Many raw emotions and sexual experiences have been described, which at some instances were not necessary. Emotions have been repeated at many a places, which could have been avoided. This book compels us to contemplate on our own lives.

Whilst being a mum and a wife, Jenn has lost what SHE is. Jenn has been so busy raising their children, helping them to carve out their niches, find their purpose, find their reasons for being, creating a map for them to circumnavigate their lives - that she has lost herself in the process. With the children now leaving the home she has built and taken care of, she's starting to question her whole existence and trying to find Jenn, not the mum, not the wife, not the house keeper.

Throughout the time of the children growing up she let her happiness play second fiddle to the overall harmony of her family. And as she points out, she would do it all over again as she loves her family including her husband Mark who's always loved her just enough. But she's now starting to realise that perhaps just enough isn't enough anymore. Also, staying in the marriage is safe, but it is no longer enough; Safe was good enough before, when her life was full.

For so long, her happiness has been defined by her family’s contentment. With them gone, what is she now? Throughout the book we are presented with Jenn's thoughts and also snippets from her diaries B.C. (before children).

Some loves last forever, others last long enough. Sometimes it’s knowing when to let go, move forward, limit resentment that makes the opportunity to live a happier rest of your life key.

Thought provoking, eye-opening and heartfelt.

The struggle is real.

I had such a tough time with this story. Not necessarily the subject matter because I usually love books that have this particular subject matter. I found myself looking in a mirror at Jenn's inner thoughts to some extent and I found both her (and myself at times) dislikable. I, too, usually have no real filter and in a past relationship it was a problem. When I found the person who could love me exactly as I was and wasn't afraid to tell me is when I found myself again. In this way, I understood Jenn's journey. It felt like right from the get go, Mark would never be able to satisfy all her needs and he summed it up well. He was so deep in the hole, he couldn't get out. While I understand what Jenn was going through, she just rubbed me the wrong way (again, it might have been that mirror). In any case, there was a satisfying HEA and I DID appreciate that. 3.5 stars

Long Enough To Love You is a book about Jenn. Fifty something woman, married and mother of two, to now young adults Max and Maya who at some point in her life was given freedom by her husband Mark, to give up her career, become a stay at home mom and followed her kids around through all the sports and play dates, school performance and every bit of parent volunteer events. Jenn was at the heart of a successful PTA operation and fundraisers for the first two decades of both her children’s lives! For any normal person, Jenn’s life was perfect and she has everything she can possible need.

This is the part of the review where I would say, I can totally relate to Jenn because I have a 19 year old son and a soon to be a senior graduate and that my swim mom and band mom years are almost coming to an end but NO. This is where I will say, I have skipped a lot of lines to almost a page or two even more of Jenn’s constant whining. Redundant, repetitive narration of how unhappy she was and complaining constantly of how Mark seem to ignore her and her needs, or Mark was not complimentary of her often. I mean, it does get old because it gets too much. In reality, let me put the Mark guy in a silent auction with everything he did for Jenn and he will be snagged in seconds worth millions because there was stability. Jenn on the other hand was hitting a serious midlife crisis. She was selfish, never content, a little narcissistic, whiney,- like all the time and extra horny . Always brining up how good the sex was with her previous relationship- how sick was that when you have been married for twenty plus years! Obsession with her first love who was named Tripp after the father of her children gave her a comfortable life! She was HORNY and not towards the guy she married. She have fallen off the wagon and I do not see a good reason for it. If Jenn can’t have a serious honest to God open communication with Mark- she definitely has a problem.

The star rating is for the e-arc via Netgalley in exchange of my honest review and for Jenn being a great mother and daughter but I am questioning her solidarity as a wife now. It take two to tango. If this would have been a dual narration where Mark’s voice is also the other part of the story, it might take a very interesting turn. I wish Jenn’s personality in general and her inner troubles was not the inspiration where the author draws the story from personally from, because.. well.. umm, never mind.. I don’t want to be judgmental. Jenn was just annoying and that takes a lot of setbacks for my while reading this book that could have been something so relatable and also timely at this point in my life. But NO. Maybe in another chapter. It makes me sad that Jenn feels the way she feels but I also feel like characters were just not developed well. It would have added depth if readers have idea of the husband’s perspective. Empty Nesting is a good stage in married life, this books is not giving it the rightful shine.

In LONG ENOUGH TO LOVE YOU, Jenn is very unhappy in her marriage and exhausted. I don’t know how she’s able to accomplish all she does every day. Her and her husband have become empty nesters. Now Jenn needs to find out if she can be happy staying with her husband, without distractions of taking care of her children. She wonders, does she even love her husband? Do they make each other happy? On the day she decides to have this conversation with Mark, her dad shows up at her home. Her mother has passed away. The conversation she was going to have, is brushed aside. Jenn needs to take over making arrangements with her mother’s death.

So Jenn is still going through the motions with her marriage in LONG ENOUGH TO LOVE YOU and she isn’t doing well. In fact, while reading, I found her rather annoying. She’s never happy and its all about her. My heart went out to Mark. Even though he doesn’t really listen to Jenn and many times, she feels like he doesn’t see her, I still felt bad for him. I have been in a similar situation as Mark and it’s crazy how fast your world implodes when someone tells you they are leaving and you had no idea it was coming.

I found myself wrapped up in Mark and Jenn’s lives and really wanted to see them get over their pasts and learn to be happy again. Although, things really get crazy when Jenn reconnects with her first love Tripp. Can we ever be happy going back and reliving our pasts? Wouldn’t it be better to just make a fresh start at some point? I’ve never read Kirsten Purcell, but I’m glad I took a chance and read LONG ENOUGH TO LOVE YOU. Kirsten knows how to engage the reader right from the very first page and gets you right into the characters lives. She makes them seem like they are your old friends and you can’t help but cheer or cringe for them as they go through life’s difficulties.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from TLC and Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of Long Enough to Love You by Kirsten Pursell from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I couldn't wait to read this as I am also an empty nester with a child going to college so I thought the description hit close to home. However I'm glad I live my life and I never want to be unhappy with my spouse, etc. This was a good read and I loved the ending but was sad when I think of how many people are unhappy when their kids all go off on their own.

I found that Jenn, in her mid-50s, a new empty nester, became entranced with the freedom that she finds opening up before her. Her re-examining of an unsatisfactory marriage, the death of her mother, and finding her old diaries, have also prompted her to want to spread her wings.

Her attempts to recapture her youthful past might be considered risque in at least one event. That she has a happy landing in her search for happiness is the reader's hope and it seems she will.

Women in a similar position as Jenn's will find her story inspiring and cheer her on towards the happy ending and a second chance at love.

This book made me sad, but also made me value the relationship I have with my husband. The main character is woefully lost to motherhood and being a wife and has long forgotten what it is to be Jenn. I liked her self-discovery within the book but I did feel supporting characters including the husband were poorly written and one-dimensional. Its completely one person narrative so we have no other perspectives. This is turn makes it hard to get a rounded picture of the relationship but maybe that wasn’t the author’s intention. Wouldn’t be a book I’d recommend.

I thought this book was OK but not excellent. I liked the concept of it but I just felt like it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I’d have preferred to see Jenn going out and finding freedom on her own terms but not going back and reliving the past (or at least not as a safety net). It got better in the middle but I didn’t especially enjoy the story and found it all a bit bleak rather than the uplifting tale of independence I would have hoped for, each to their own though, I can see some people loving this.