As it Seems

Another 5 star book! I am so happy that I stumbled upon this author! The plot was amazing, the characters were awesome! I like how she even incorporated some people from her first book into this one. I read it in one sitting -- I had to find out how it would end. I will anxiously be awaiting her 3rd book!

This book caused me physical pain. Beautifully written, we follow the journey of Libby, a surburban housewife whose life is turned upside down. A story about family, love, frienndship, and relationships that makes you question your view of everything.

Wow. This is a fantastic read

This books delves into the relationships of friends and families in their local community and examines how the infidelity of two of them rocks the life of everyone and causes irrevocable changes when they are discovered. Libby is determined to save her marriage for the sake of her children but agonises over her decision when it means shutting out people she loves. Ginger plays a central role in supporting, but not judging her friends. A thoroughly enjoyable novel with excellent, believable characterisation and engaging storyline

4.5 Lib♥Tru stars

Who looks inside, awakens..

I honestly am quite in love with this book. To me, there are two types: one where I fall in love with the book because of the writing, and the other, where I fall in love with the book because it opens my eyes to more than I ever thought possible.

As it seems easily falls in the second category for me.

This was a first Jane Conway book for me, and reading this- the language, the honesty, and the life she weaves into her words makes me eager to get my hands on more. That aside, let me get started with the review.

This book starts with two families- the Whitakers and the Fitzgeralds. Libby is a 40 year old mother of two, who is married to Ted, the man she loves, and who loves her back. Her best friend is her neighbor Truman, the father of two girls, who is married to a high end lawyer Caroline. Both he and Libby take care of both their children while their respective spouses work.

They bond over parenting experience, and get closer to each other over the years. The first strain between the Fitzgeralds arises when Ted forces Libby to go ahead with her third pregnancy when she clearly doesn't want to. She develops a deep resentment against her husband, and goes deep into depression. During that period, she and Truman get more closer than ever.

"..again the lens has become a filter between herself and the world, distracting her from reality."

On the other hand, Truman and Caroline are facing their own problems in their loveless marriage. They fall out and pretend to be married because of their children. That is when he realizes that he's in love with Libby.

That Christmas, a lot of secrets are revealed, and Libby is in a cross section in her life. She feels so lost after she looses the illusion of a perfect family, that she is forced to grow stronger. Not for herself, but her babies, and the man she loves.

"Againt, she longs for her camera, wanting to capture his pain, raw and intense, in stark contrast to the pastel rug with the alphabet border.."

I loved Libby, and her strength. I might not have always liked her decisions, but the thing is, it wasn't because the author wanted to create some drama. Nothing in the book felt overtly dramatic. Every single plot point was carefully and thoughtfully placed. Truman's love and dedication to Libby was truly heartbreaking and at the same time, swoon worthy. This book gave me a completely different outlook into the way adults behave, and their reasons.

The only description I have gotten for the book is painfully real. It was reality written in the most beautiful way possible. I have to give my hats off for the author for writing something so haunting.

I was given a free copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

"With each movement, she feels herself slipping further away from the life she chose, letting go of rhyme and reason in favor of the absolute bliss she is experiencing in his arms.."

It's not easy being a full time mother with a husband who is constantly gone. This is the theme of this incredible book. The characters are true to who they are and what they represent. The detail if the settings makes you feel you are there. The emotions brought forth are real and you feel their pain, love, desire, and sacrifice. I would recommend this book. I enjoyed it. 5 Stars

I remember reading an advice column in which the adviser - Ann Landers, probably - said that people treat you the way you let them treat you, and if you accept certain disrespects or poor behavior, then you have taught those who inflict that upon you that you will accept it.

As I read this book, I kept thinking about that, wishing there was some way I could shout this advice to Libby.

She and Ted have been married over a dozen years, and Libby considers their marriage to be good. Passionate, even. They have frequent and climatic sex, as frequent as they can, anyway, considering Ted's travel schedule. Parents to two children, Libby heads toward forty feeling happy and content.

The first dent in the armor of her marriage is enough to fill Libby with rage and impotence. She and Ted cannot agree on something that will alter their family tremendously. Ted wants it, while Libby vehemently disagrees. As concerning and potentially damaging as this is, it seems like a non-issue compared to the next, deeper, more painful and frightening dent.

It is this second one that alerts Libby to the truths about her marriage, things she has overlooked and ignored. She was happy. Ted was happy. They were raising kind, considerate children, and they lived in a well-to-do neighborhood. They were comfortable and secure. But this fissure, something Libby stumbles upon accidentally, could break them. Whether it does or not depends on Libby's response.

Libby is a likable character. For all of her wealth and privilege, she is far from being a snob. In fact, she resists moving to the tony neighborhood Ted chose because she fears becoming a Stepford wife. She has good friends, and it's clear that she is a good mother. She's good. But Libby is also not nearly as strong as you want her to be. She is not, as the title suggests, as it seems. You expect her to be somewhat steely: Ted travels a lot, which puts the burden of taking care of their children while juggling her job solely upon her. She is the disciplinarian, and she accepts no breaches of protocol. Yet when faced with these two dents - the second one in particular - Libby concedes to Ted. You will lose patience with her. You will be furious and frustrated with her. I sure was.

As for Ted, well. Ted actually is exactly as he seems. Selfish, narcissistic, and far weaker than his wife.

One thing Libby discovers is the importance of friends. She has two upon whom she relies quite heavily, but even then, there may be some things that are not as they seem. Libby also learns that love itself is not as it seems. You think you know what love is, and you think you know what your marriage is, until you realize you don't.

I liked this book. I like the way Jayne Conway tells her story, alternating between Libby's and another character's perspectives. I didn't like how she wrote Libby, only because I didn't want Libby to be so weak. But then it turned out that Libby is not as she seems, and Conway's characterization of her made sense.

Love is complicated and marriage is even more. Jayne Conway explores the problems of two upper-class couples in her novel in a realistic way.

For both Truman, a stay-home-dad o and Libby, a part-time worker and full-time mother, their marriages are not what they envisioned when they got married. Their partners have taken different paths and Truman and Libby find it difficult to accept the fact that their love dream is not what it seemed and certainly not what they wanted.

I think that this novel is about disillusionment, being disenchanted , a charming prince (or princess) becoming a toad.
The book reminded me of this quote by Leon Tolstoy:“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

However, this novel is also about picking yourself up and dealing with it, making choices and moving forward. Finding a strength within yourself you probably thought you lacked.You may even be rewarded with true love in the end.

I would recommend this book to readers who like romance and second chances.

As It Seems, written by Jayne Conway, was a well-written and enjoyable read about a marriage devastated by infidelity and the aftershocks it causes. While I was sometimes frustrated with Libby, the lead female character, I also found myself wondering what I would do in her position. The truth is (and as the book states, in so many words) you never know what you would really do, until you are in the actual situation yourself.

Divorce is a difficult thing to contemplate and even more so when there are children involved. It is an agonizing choice with no right answer. I felt that pain as I read the novel.

I enjoyed reading this book and would read another book by this author.

Brava, Ms. Conway, on a superb novel. Tremendous writing! Wonderful characters and story telling. Highly recommend.

This is my first experience with Jayne Conway’s work, however, this novel had me emotional --- there was a few times I was so angry at a character that I had to put the book down and walk away until I could come back and read clearly. The story was very one where it relates not only to myself, but to others in my life. It was like a fly-on-the-wall wrote down all the things that have happened in our lives… but somehow understood our internal thinking as well.

This book is such a great story. To me, it was so realistic that it could have been someone’s biography. The writing kept me engaged and kept me turning pages to see what would happen next. The main characters are Libby, who is married to Ted and Truman, who is married to Caroline. This is a story of marriages in crisis, the friendships that revolve around those marriages and how secrets can destroy lives. Even the title truly comes into play with this story because it makes you ask is there anything that is as it seems. I can't wait to read more from this author.

Received this through Netgalley. What a find! I stayed up late reading it and reached for it first thing when I woke up. Relationships are not always what they seem and we would be very surprised at things behind closed doors. Infidelity, friendships, to trust or not to trust, choices, change, acceptance, do you follow your heart or your responsibilities? Lots of raw emotion in this great read. This was a first Jayne Conway read for me. Will definitely be looking for more.