(Un)finished is the first novel I’ve read from Kim Hoover and I was not disappointed. I really enjoyed the pacing and the characters. The novel switches between past and present which seemed appropriate for this novel. I enjoyed this story and would recommend. It’s not as necessarily a lite read as there is a fair amount of relational conflict, but I was hooked after a couple chapters and found it hard to put down.

Can one truly let go of the sting of betrayal? Really forgive an unfaithful partner? Regardless of whether a relationship is new or in the case of Jen and Mary who have been married for 20 years, is everything going up in smoke after one indiscretion? What really led to it? And what do you make of an ex who wore and tore you apart marching back into your life more than 20 years later?

Jen was living a stable life, successful in her career and married to a beautiful surgeon with 2 grown up children. When Mary cheated, everything was cast into disarray and when Jen engaged her ex Lauren Peters, an established bankruptcy lawyer for her family, the reconnecting brought forth years of unresolved emotions and feelings.

After a third of the book, I was inclined to think that both Jen’s past and present should not move with her into the future. Laura was Jen’s first love and lust but no matter the passion and affections, it ended in the worst way possible. Life has a way of bringing us back one full circle. Should you let dead dogs lie? Or do you confront and set things right? This was a deeply engaging read, it was thought stirring and provoking and as troubling as it sounds, the characters all play a part of us; they were as realistic and perfectly flawed as we all tend to be.

I just reviewed (Un)finished by Kim Hoover. Thank you NetGalley and Bella Books for the ARC.

The story is told in alternating chapters with two different time frames. Jennifer Adair and Laura Peters meet in 1996 as they are finishing law school and preparing for the bar exam. They decide to travel to Europe together for a month before returning home to begin their law careers. Jennifer is more accepting of her attraction to Laura. She explores the gay community in Texas and beyond while Laura fears for her job and stays firmly closeted.

The second time frame is twenty years later in 2016. Jen returns to Dallas because her sister’s husband has dies. . His business is in a mess and on the cusp of bankruptcy. Jen asks Laura for help as she is a specialist in this type of work. Both women are married and have two children each (high school and college age). And both marriages are rocky. Jen lives openly as a lesbian with Mary her wife. Laura stayed closeted. But with Jen back Laura puts pressure on remembering the feelings they once had for each other. She regrets her choices.

A lot of how you feel about this book will depend on how you feel about cheating. No one is innocent in this. I thought the book shies away from the consequences and fallout of their decisions especially with children involved. I get that they are supposed to be each others soul mates but I was disappointed for example when the two decide to do a triathlon together instead of Jen returning home to have a honest conversation with her wife. I accept the story as it is, but I wasn’t cheering or happy for the ending. It is in interesting read for the pressures from work and family to stay closeted vs. acceptance from others.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bella Books for the ARC and I am leaving a voluntary review.

This is a good story. I felt there was a lot going on and at times it was a little confusing and to keep track of where the past and present began and ended. Laura and Jen's relationship was very complicated. They knew each other as young women starting out in a law firm and became secret girlfriends, because Laura was still in the closet. Long story short they broke up and Jen left town, and moved to California. Years later we find Jen struggling in her marriage to Mary, because of cheating. Then there's the suicide of Jen's brother-in-law that takes her back to Dallas to help her sister with all the arrangements and legal documents and back to where the painful memories of Laura still linger. All the relationships were interesting, but I didn't get the feeling that all was resolved with Jen, Mary, or Laura. I would recommend this to my friends and I look forward to what's next from this author.

Jen rushes back to her hometown to help her sister Alex who husband Dave just died who left her with whole lot of mess to clean up but help with their mother who isn’t well. While there helping her sister and mother Jen is dealing with her own problems of her wife Mary who cheated on her because she felt lonely and not seen as she ponders wether to forgive her wife and works things out. As she learns more of her brother in law problems that can cause her sister more trouble she realizes she needs help from the one person who broke her heart Laura because she best in her field. This is ok story it’s goes from the past with Jen and Laura and how they became friends and more and what lead to them breaking up and into the present where Jen has to decide to stay with her wife or be with the one she never really let go despite the heartache that happened. I don’t like cheating but I understood were Mary was coming from even though if she really felt that lonely she could’ve took few days from work and travel where Jen was or call her and tell her how she felt instead of doing what she did but I also felt that although Jen loves Mary it’s like she settle for Mary because she couldn’t be with Laura although I didn’t know why she held onto those feelings for Laura after everything that happened even in present.



I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.