I knew this book would be heartbreaking but it was also uplifting. This book is definitely about divorce but it is about family and love. Dani and Alex have lost their way with each other in their marriage, so divorce was their option. By getting divorced, they found themselves again and maybe find their way back to each other. An important lesson is fighting for the people you love most.

Marriage is hard. And difficult. And sweet. And ever-evolving. And vibrant. Unless we pour ourselves into each other day after day, time after time, we experience a natural atrophy of kindness and consideration. I know: married 47 years.

The story narrates how perceptions of character, personality, and friendship shift with time. Can love be recaptured? As Dani and Alex consider the long investment and value of marriage and family, you'll hold your breath.

And when you finish the last page, you'll be glad you read it. Recommended for those who enjoy stories about our inner lives and relationships.

Wow, what a tearjerker. This was definitely a heavier novel, and why I am not sure I agreed at all with the ending, props to a book that can elicit that much emotion and feeling from me.

If you are looking for an "escape read", this is not it. This book isn't to escape life, but to dive right into all the messy pieces of it. The characters are so complex, it was hard to believe they weren't real. They were flawed and made mistakes, but loved each other throughout it. I loved how focused it was on the act of loving others and how that affects us as human beings. I have never liked a "second chance romance" type story until this one. This wrecked me, and I am going to take some time to recover, but thank you to Renee Carlino, NetGalley, and Random House for this beautiful ARC.

What an emotional journey😭

This story touches on the complexities of love in all its stages regarding marriage, family, and divorce. Danielle and Alex have been together for 22 years but find themselves divorcing as they fall out of love with each other. They have to co-parent two teenage sons, though, and navigate their new arrangement. It's challenging and bumpy, but it forces them to reflect on the past and rediscover themselves in the present while trying to stay apart. This is not a fluffy beach read. It's a deep story about fictional characters that feel extremely real and love. I've always been a big fan of this author and look forward to her next book!

What a world of emotions!! What happens when you grow apart? Do you stick it out or realize there’s no hope? Danielle and Alex have been together forever. But they can’t seem to get along. We are brought on a roller coaster with these two. That ending 😭

I’m a huge Renee Carlino fan and have always enjoyed all of her books, but This Used To Be Us might be my favorite from her. I absolutely loved everything about this book. This book hits pretty close to home because of all the ups & downs that we face while we are in a long term relationship. We forget to appreciate what we have until it’s gone.

This story definitely brought out every emotion possible. It was heartbreaking but so beautifully written.

This is a great love story but so sad. This book really tugs at the heartstrings. I love this author and all her books. The ending of the book is perfect and makes you think about what is really important in life. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

🥹🥲😭
Several people mentioned their feelings on this ending to me, which didn’t necessarily spoil it, but made me anticipate what I assumed would happen before I even got started.. sadly, I was correct. Wooh. 3/3 books of Carlino’s that have made me cry.
I loved both Swear on This Life, and Before We Were Strangers; gave them both 5 stars and still think about them to this day; this one wasn’t quiteeee as good, for me, but I did really enjoy it. I think it would’ve been a 5 star if we would’ve gotten more chapters of relationship development, love, & just getting to know the characters a bit more deeply (versus mostly chapters on their pending divorce, hardships, fights, etc.). I think it would’ve allowed me to emotionally connect to the MCs more, which is what I need for a book of this genre to be *perfect.*

Will post on Instagram soon!!

What an absolutely beautiful read!! After loving Before We Were Strangers by Renee earlier this year, I jumped on the eARC of This Used to Be Us. The story follows Danielle and Alex, who after 22 years of marriage and 2 kids, are getting a divorce. They begin to unwind their routines, find their independence post-divorce, and learn what they really want out of life.

So yes, it’s a depressing topic 😅 but was written so well and was an engrossing read that kept me extremely invested in what was going to happen, and if Danielle and Alex would find their way back to each other. I devoured this book - it was one of those books that I picked up any free moment I had, and easily finished within 24 hours.

Also, as a proud (new) owner of a record player, I loved how records and music weaved throughout the story and how music took Danielle and Alex back to moments in time of their relationship.

This is a great read for fans of After I Do and Before I Let Go, and I’ll be shocked if this book and Before We Were Strangers aren’t in my 2024 top ten at the end of the year.

This Used To Be Us shows the raw ups and downs in a marriage. It shows the fairytale doesn’t last forever. The honeymoon phase is just that… a phase. The entire book as well as the characters were relatable. I just wasn’t prepared for my heart to break.

This was my first Renee Carlino book and I’m so ready to read more by this author! I’m not sure I’ll ever stop recommending this book!

I made the horrible mistake of reading this book at work. About three chapters in I knew I was going to cry. I fell in love with both of our main characters, and their love story. Watching it come together while simultaneously watching it fall apart was heartbreaking. And I won’t spoil the end, but I did ugly cry at work. A lot. This sort of reminded me of a Taylor Jenkins Reid book, but that’s an absolutely good thing, since I love her too.

This author has always managed to tweak my heartstrings with her writing. This book definitely was no different. This story follows Danielle and Alex as they struggle through a crisis in their marriage. Such a crisis that they believe the only way to resolve their issues and find some semblance of happiness again is to divorce. It was so heartbreaking because you see how happy they were in the beginning of their relationship and you just wonder what can go so terribly wrong that a couple can't find their way back. As the story unfolds, you gradually find out what things occurred and how they each handled or didn't handle things. They often didn't turn to one another when they needed to and eventually let a chasm develop between them.

I found some things in the book to be quite poetic - - the book begins with Dani hearing Alex's morning routine and resenting him for it. The book ends with her appreciating his morning routine and the sounds he makes and no longer resenting him. I just thought using this same scene and showing how different Dani's emotions are between the beginning and the end was really touching.

This is a beautiful love story about two people who struggle through the realities and ugliness of life and try to find their way back to one another. It's a story of life and all of its ups and downs. You'll definitely need some tissues for this one.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

Dani and Alex are middle-aged parents of two teenagers who have become "stuck in a rut" in their relationship. It has progressed into spite and resentment, so much so that they are in the process of trying to finalize a divorce. There have been many life factors that have built up to this point, and no amount of therapy has been able to resolve the issues.

They agree to a living arrangement where their boys will continue to live at home and they will each split the week with one of them staying at the house while the other stays at a nesting apartment they cohabit and then switch off the rest of the week.

With time apart, newfound freedom of single life, and complications of dating, they both find themselves reminiscent of the past and begin to realize what it was about each other they were attracted to in the first place.

This story had me choked up so many times. The tears were streaming down my face. Dani and Alex will take you on an emotional rollercoaster. Their passion is very well written. Whether it's frustration and anger or loving so hard, the author captures these moments with her writing and makes you feel all the emotions. The character development was outstanding, realistic, and made me love both Dani and Alex from start to finish. If you're looking for a good tear jerker, this book is for you.

I am so happy that the world gets a new Renee Carlino book! I read Before We Were Strangers (a rare 5 ⭐ read back in the day for me) and Swear on This Life (3 ⭐) by Renee Carlino years ago. I have been waiting for a new, buzzworthy one from her for ages! This Used To Be Us is her latest and much like her previous stories, it is super emotional and follows a couple through many years of their relationship together. 

I've seen some reviews that were upset about the ending. I thought it was fantastic. What I did not think was great was the first 15% of the book. I almost DNFed because it put me in such a bad mood. The two MCs basically sling venom at each other and are horrible to each other. It made the good moments later on kind of hard to believe. 🤷🏼‍♀️ But I am glad I pushed through because it was a really raw, realistic look at divorce and co-parenting.

Thank you to #netgalley and for the early copy. It made me cry!

Dani and Alex are middle-aged parents of two teenagers who have become "stuck in a rut" in their relationship. It has progressed into spite and resentment, so much so that they are in the process of trying to finalize a divorce. There have been many life factors that have built up to this point, and no amount of therapy has been able to resolve the issues.

They agree to a living arrangement where their boys will continue to live at home and they will each split the week with one of them staying at the house while the other stays at a nesting apartment they cohabit and then switch off the rest of the week.

With time apart, newfound freedom of single life, and complications of dating, they both find themselves reminiscent of the past and begin to realize what it was about each other they were attracted to in the first place.

This story had me choked up so many times. The tears were streaming down my face. Dani and Alex will take you on an emotional rollercoaster. Their passion is very well written. Whether it's frustration and anger or loving so hard, the author captures these moments with her writing and makes you feel all the emotions. The character development was outstanding, realistic, and made me love both Dani and Alex from start to finish. If you're looking for a good tear jerker, this book is for you.

This is a wonderful book about two people who have been married for 22 years and their marriage is unraveling. I loved that the story is about people in their 40's because it made it that much more relatable to me. The couple decides to share an apartment, taking turns there so the children don't have to switch houses in the divorce. The characters are beautifully written and wonderfully flawed. They both do some soul searching and find themselves looking to their past, thinking about what went wrong. Keep the tissues handy through this book. Renee Carlino knows how to write a story that evokes such emotion. Highly recommend this book.

The last two Carlino books I read I couldn’t put down. One of them I read in just one evening, I was addicted. She quickly became an author I want to read everything by. So when I saw this one coming, I think I actually squealed, I was so excited. As I get older, I am finding that I really like stories of older couples or divorcing couples or relationship in trouble couples. They feel real and tend to add more emotion, which I like. For a few reasons, this book just didn’t work for me. The pacing was off to me and it kind of just felt all over the place. I loved the reflection each couple goes through, I really liked the dual POV, her writing was great, and I liked the longer time span. I could have used another 100 pages to focus on the last 30%. Really make me bond to those characters more, something I struggled with earlier on in the story. And without spoilers, the ending just did not work for me with the pacing. I want to say more but don’t want to spoil anything but if you’ve read it then you know!

Before We Were Strangers ★★★★★
Swear on This Life ★★★★★

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the early access!

This Used to Be Us is a raw, realistic, relatable, and honest story of love, marriage, and divorce. The characters are in their 40s, and this is for a more mature audience. Dani and Alex make a lot of mistakes and are incredibly flawed. I was completely invested in their journey. This story is an emotional rollercoaster. You will laugh, but trust me, you will need tissues. Seriously, you will. While I don’t always enjoy the ‘marriage in crisis’ trope, I love second-chance romance stories, and I felt the author did this trope justice. I loved the inclusion of music and the vinyl record notes. This is not a typical romance story, and it’s best to go into this book without any expectations. This Used to Be Us is a well-written, heartbreaking story that will definitely stick with me for a while. I am new to Renee Carlino and look forward to reading more of her books.

One of the most gut wrenching, heartbreaking and emotional books I’ve had the privilege to read. Seriously Top 5. This is one I will forever cherish and will definitely read again!!

Renee’s writing is chef’s kiss 😘 🔥 I found myself laughing and crying throughout the entire book and I just devoured it. I didn’t want it to end.

This storyline was such a great reminder for married couples, couples, singles, human beings (!!!) that one single person cannot and should not be everything to you. Remember who you are and whose you are, no matter how in love and obsessed you are with your partner. Make time and prioritize yourself along with your relationships. And learn how to communicate effectively and in a healthy way with your partner. It was heartbreaking to read how, after they were divorced, they finally told each other how they felt and what they struggled with during some of the toughest seasons they went through during their marriage. Being able to be vulnerable and honest in your marriage/relationships in those seasons is SO IMPORTANT.

I can’t express enough how much I loved this book. It was beautiful. 💛