I'm torn between how to feel about this one: ultimately underwhelmed or easily entertaining. While it started losing my interest in the second half, I liked the characters and wanted to see where things ended up. Unfortunately, I found the ending somewhat unsatisfying, but thought it was clever and current enough to stick with it. If you're a fan of Pineapple Street (although I liked Pineapple Street more) and Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win, you might want to give this one a try.

Ethan and Gabe have a seemingly perfect life — a great marriage and a wonderful daughter. Sure, they have increasingly diverging political views, but that does not really matter too much to their daily existence. Then, Ethan announces he wants to to run for Congress as a Republican, but he will only go through with it if Gabe, a progressive, agrees. Gabe reluctantly goes along. Soon, Gabe feels the campaign taking over their lives and his identity, as he feels increasingly known only as Ethan’s spouse with people assuming he shares Ethan’s political views.

A few towns over from where Ethan and Gabe live, suburban mom Nicole is wondering what happened to her life. Once filled with her own ambitions, she feels like her life has been subsumed by her husband and his career. She can’t stop thinking about her time post college in New York City and her relationship then with Kate, who just happens to be Ethan’s sister and a political reporter at one of the country’s top newspapers. Even though she broke Kate’s heart all those years ago, Nicole reaches out to Kate and the two reconnect.

Over the course of the campaign, Ethan, Gabe, Kate, and Nicole find their once stable lives — and relationships — on increasingly shaky ground, as secrets both old and new threaten to emerge.

This was a well written and engaging story. It captures well the dynamics in longstanding relationships and the challenges that come when a couple begins to grow apart. It is also a perfect novel for this moment in time, exploring the ways that spouses, friends, and coworkers manage political differences in their lives.

Highly recommended.

HOW TO SLEEP AT NIGHT was such a well-written, witty read! I’m always a fan of a good domestic drama, and this one definitely fit the bill. While the plot had me intrigued instantly, I also really appreciated how character-driven the story was. This cast of characters was so fleshed-out, from their motivations to their flaws, and I enjoyed following all of them, even in their more unlikable moments! The pacing was also great, keeping me hooked from start to finish. If you are looking for a timely read with a good balance of humor and drama, this is the book for you! Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC.

Really funny and an accurate portrayal of what relationships look like in today’s world. I loved the dialogue and found the characters frustrating but lovable. I especially enjoyed Gabe and Ethan and their very interesting storyline.

DNF. I am giving this 3 stars because I don't have a problem with the writing- I definitely requested this story before the election, but I just can't get through something with this premise right now. The only way to tolerate it is assuming it takes place in a universe where the stakes for political differences are not anywhere close to reality.

How to Sleep at Night by Elizabeth Harris is a family story with a background in politics and media (which is why I wanted to read it). Ethan and Gabe have a solid marriage and a happy daughter, and all is well until Ethan wants to run for office. I like how the author handled the political differences between the characters without demonizing either character. She shows how sincere both are in their views and perspectives.
Concurrently Nicole and Kate meet up again years after an involvement in their younger years. Both are on the cusp of life changes impacting them and their relationship.

I read this book during a busy time, and it was always fun to get back to the characters and their storylines. I appreciate that the author doesn't judge her characters and that they have nuance. All in all, it was a very pleasant read!

Ethan and Gabe are a happily married couple but when Ethan announces his congressional run as a Republican, progressive Ethan struggles. Meanwhile, Ethan’s sister has an old fling, Nicole, slide into her DM’s.

I’d call this a pretty quiet novel, while a lot happens it’s not unusual or extraordinary. It’s real life drama, with people and families you would find in real life; that’s what I really liked about it. I loved the Ethan and Gabe storyline. My husband and I don’t always agree on politics; I’m as progressive as they come; so I entirely felt for Gabe’s situation and experience. I wasn’t as invested in Nicole and Kate’s storyline but I still enjoyed it and appreciated how it opened Nicole’s eyes in other ways.

How to Sleep at Night comes out 1/7.

Special thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

The pacing of the book was not my favorite and I just found this book hard to get into. I will most likely re-read it in the future, but as of now, the book was not for me.

A Thought-Provoking Exploration of Love, Politics, and Perspective

This story weaves together the lives of multiple characters, primarily told through the perspective of Gabe, a high school teacher whose husband, Ethan, decides to run for Congress as a conservative. Ethan’s sister, Kate, is a driven journalist constantly searching for her next big political scandal. However, she’s explicitly banned from Ethan’s campaign once he announces his candidacy. Adding another layer, Kate’s ex-girlfriend from college, Nicole, is now a mother of two, married to Austin and live in Gabe and Ethan’s district.

The narrative alternates between Gabe, Kate, and Nicole, often switching perspectives within short chapters. While this approach adds depth, it can sometimes be disorienting, making it difficult to immediately identify whose perspective is being told.

This book is exceptionally well-written, and at times, I found myself wanting to shake it out of frustration—not because of the writing itself, but because the characters’ dialogue and actions feel so painfully real. The political themes mirror our current climate, making it a challenging read, especially during an election year. Gabe’s fears about the rights at stake, juxtaposed with Ethan’s campaign, hit especially hard in this context.

Despite my frustrations with the characters and their choices, I realized this is what great writing does—it keeps you engaged, emotionally invested, and hoping for a brighter future for the characters you grow to care about. Although I didn’t love the ending (no spoilers!), I appreciated how it surprised me. Just when I thought I had the story figured out, it shifted in an unexpected direction.

In the end, How to Sleep at Night is a thought-provoking, emotionally charged novel that stays with you long after you’ve finished reading.

Thank you William Morrow, NetGalley, and Elizabeth Harris for this eARC!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this book.

This was a really well written book and I wish the universe it is set in was the one we are actually living in. Given the state of things in the US right now, this was a very interesting read that focuses on politics and relationships with different viewpoints.

At first, this reminded me of Pineapple Street. A family and the people that affect them. But then...this turned into something else that felt like it was trying to be controversial. Mixed political marriages. (There's a gay Republican. A GAY REPUBLICAN) Nicole was annoying as hell.

Maybe I shouldn't have read this so close to the recent election, but it just didn't hit for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

Okay, well this is one time where my rule of not reading book summaries before reading the book came back to haunt me. One of the main plot points in this book is a gay, formerly democrat - turned republican character running for Congress. Had I read the summary, I probably wouldn’t have started this book the day after Election Day. 🙃 That being said, I was able to immerse myself into the book and disappear from reality for awhile. I liked that this book followed several different families, with a couple different characters interconnecting. All of the characters were well-developed into people I could actually see knowing (except maybe the married gay republican who wasn’t willing to fight for gay marriage because wtf). All of the characters had things I really loved and really hated about them which just made them that much more real. This book was about messy, real American families.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest rating and review.

I loved this book! A refreshing and unique cast of characters, humor and creativity in tackling serious topics. Loved the relationship between Gabe and Ethan and Kate and Nicole. A well done character driven novel. Thank you for the ARC! Will be recommending.

DNF. This book is excruciating to get through and I gave up at 85 pages. There is no reasonable explanation for Ethan being a Republican and his far left husband Gabe being even remotely okay with that and Ethan’s intent to run for office as a Republican. Nicole is undeniably a massive jerk and it’s not in any way entertaining. Kate seems cool but they only can focus on her interest in Nicole. And beyond that, the story just is not moving along and I had to just let it go.

The novel captures the tension of a marriage tested by political ambitions and diverging ideals, with Ethan and Gabe’s relationship at its core. The blend of humor and emotional weight keeps it engaging, as family and old flames collide in unexpected ways. Harris nails the complexities of love, ambition, and the compromises that come with both.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️😭
Ethan Keller is running for Congress in a conservative district in New Jersey. He is a new conservative, a gay man in a devoted marriage with a young daughter. He believes that the way to change his party is from the inside, and wants to represent New Jersey in Congress. His husband, Gabe, is a history teacher at an elite Manhattan school. Gabe absolutely hates Ethan‘s politics, even though he loves his husband. They make some mistakes.

Ethan‘s sister, Kate, is a reporter for one of the top newspapers in the country, (this is supposed to be the New York Times) she has never quite gotten over her college relationship with Nicole. But, she appears on cable news programs often and her career is soaring. She makes some mistakes

Nicole is the mother of an eight-year-old and a five-year-old, married to Austin, who loves to golf. Nichole is a good mom and housewife, but she cannot shake the idea that she was meant for something else in this world, beyond her relationship to her husband and children. One day, she sees her former flame Kate on a cable news program. She makes some mistakes.

I honestly had a hard time rating this. It’s very well written, and I know that it will stay with me for a long time. One great thing I can say about this book is that Donald Trump doesn’t appear to exist in this universe. But the same kind of political environment definitely exists in their world as exists in our today. I do feel like it is a realistic portrayal of what it is like to be in a marriage where your politics are different, your ideas behind relationships are different. Even what it is like to be queer in America. This really just isn’t my type of story, because, I’m pretty big on happy endings, hopeful stories, and my favorite books can best be described as heartwarming. This is not that. It would be PollyAnnaIsh to attack this subject matter in that way, so I don’t think it could have been any less depressing. It’s interesting that this book will come out a few weeks before the inauguration. Four years after the attempted coup at the capitol. Interesting timing, William Morrow. Elizabeth Harris is an author to watch.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the arc. Book to be published January 7, 2025.

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I sped through this delightful book in two days. The parts with Ethan and Gabe were my favorites - I just really enjoyed both of them as characters and thought that the behind the scenes looks at running a political campaign were great. The other sections, with Kate and Nicole, were also well written and funny, if slightly less compelling to me.