Well this was a find - a true hidden gem. It's a quiet story of a marriage - the theme I love best - with a fresh voice and twist. Angelina and Will have been married for 23 years and are finally empty nesters. Angelina can't wait to have the house to herself and figure out what she wants next in her life but her quiet time doesn't last long - 9 days later Will has left his job and retired and he is always there with the same predictable questions and no time for her to think and be. I loved how Angelina both "loved Will to pieces" and also needed space - she realized she had adapted her life to his preferences and forgot what made her feel alive. The book becomes a journey of self-discovery for Angelina - and even for Will.

This was a timely read for me as I am in the transition to an empty nest, with kids growing up and leaving for college, but it was not as relatable as I hoped and expected. I found the characters a bit flat and unlikeable, which is problematic for a book that is so intensely portrayed through the characters' thoughts and feelings. I did think the book was well-written, and enjoyed the author's narrative voice. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book. It’s very well-written. However, this is not one of those books that had me on the edge of my seat, constantly wondering what would happen next. If I’m being honest, I didn’t want to know what might happen next because I was afraid I might not like it. It’s not exactly a happy story, although it does have happy moments. And much like in real life, there’s no clear ending. I felt like it could have gone on longer. I wanted the author to tell me the resolution, not leave me pondering the many ways things could have happened after the story ended. That’s just a personal preference. The fact is, this is a thought-provoking story and I understood and empathized with Angelina and Will equally. I don’t want to give a synopsis of the story, especially for a story with an unclear conclusion, and I don’t want to give my interpretation of it because I don’t want to color someone else’s experience.

There were fascinating observations throughout the story. Those I will share because I think they’re note-worthy.
When Will hears an old hit song, he muses, “Song lyrics stayed with you so long. Longer than the people you’d listened to the songs with.”
As Angelina reflects on her life and how it has revolved around everyone else—her husband, her children—following the rules, and doing what was expected of her, she realizes something about her relationship with her husband: “He was a mirror she looked into every day, and each time she looked there was less of her there. She was so much more than Will knew. But she couldn’t see that person anymore—the image was too faint. What she needed was a new mirror.”

Although Angelina wants to change, she realizes that Will wants things to remain the same and that’s their main conflict. She was looking forward to an empty nest because she would finally have time to herself. Then, Will decided to retire so he could spend more time at home with her. She wanted to expand while he wanted to contract, and by retiring and being home all the time, Will made it impossible for Angelina to explore who she really was deep inside. “She grabbed her jacket off the coat rack.” Will had put these by the back door for the two of them and their three daughters. “Five hooks, as if he could freeze time. As if by nailing exactly five hooks by the back door he could keep them all nailed to his house.”

The entire story has a very dreamlike quality to it. I almost wondered if I had imagined it. Or maybe the characters were imagining it and sharing it with me. Much of the time, both characters were stuck in their heads, unable to communicate their needs and desires to the other. At one point, they talk and Will wonders why he didn’t tell her he wanted to spend more time with her at home, without the kids, while she wonders why she didn’t tell him she had looked forward to their departure as a time to spend time in solitude. They both love one another and reflect on that throughout the story, so even when one does something that bothers the other, they never attribute bad intentions to it. Sometimes love isn’t enough, though. In the end, the reader is left wondering whether it is. I suppose, if you’re like me, you choose to believe it is and provide your own HEA. For others, perhaps freedom and independence are more important. A nebulous ending like this has the ability to fit anyone’s perspective and provide the happy ending they desire.

Love Like This was a book that had me reflecting as I've been an empty nester for some time now. The storyline is very relatable even if you've not gotten to that stage or even if you don't have kids. The writing was smart and kept me interested from start to finish.

Links to come.

AHHH I love this look into the mind of an empty nester woman. My favorite chapter was when she ate the candy bars right in her husbands face!! Ha. This felt so relatable in a weird way because I am not an empty nester. But I could still feel what she was feeling. I loved the symbolism. I really really loved this book.

After dropping their youngest child off at college, stay-at-home mom, Angelina, cannot wait to have an empty house. Her disappointment is palpable, however, when her husband walks in the door after losing the job he has held for decades.
At first, I was able to understand her frustration; a little time to herself is not too much to hope for, is it? But the level of her dissatisfaction - the ongoing pouting and unpleasantness - got ridiculous. Surely, there are worse things than a husband who wants to spend time with you?
Near the end of the story, when her behavior becomes even more drastic, she lost me completely. I hope the author doesn’t expect this to be a character that we’re supposed to like.
Thanks to #netgalley and #vineleavespress for this #arc of #lovelikethis in exchange for an honest review.

Love Like This
By Cynthia Newberry Martin

Angelina and Will have been married for a long time. They have raised three daughters – and have just sent their "baby" off to college. Then the "empty nester"/middle-aged crisis sets in.

Just at the moment that Angelina finally feels she will have the house – and time - all to herself, Will announces he has lost his job. He wants to retire to spend more time with her. She wants to be free – and he wants to be joined at the hip!

For anyone who has experienced this stage of life, the book rings very true to life. How this couple – both individually and as a couple – decide what they want going forward, makes for a though-provoking read.

Hmm.. I liked the book, but was a bit disappointed with how it ended. I was hoping there would have been some happy moment that brought Angelina and Will back together. I liked how the author dove in to describe how both characters were feeling lost and alone though.

This is an intimate psychological portrait of two people in a marriage at a tipping point. Please note I say "two people" and not "a couple", and that is intentional. Angelina and Will have just sent their last child off to school, and now have to reckon with the next phase in their life. Turns out they've been on autopilot, fulfilling the needs of the family, doing what is expected of them, and now are suddenly confronted with getting to choose what they want, and questioning if it's still each other.

The prose is beautiful and vividly paints a picture of the settings. Each of the mobile homes, Angelina and Will's home, the porch, the closets, how billboards are built, the clothing worn by other people at Angelina's gym -- I can call these into mind even now. It's some of the best scene establishment I've read. There's some fantastic symbolism underpinning the whole thing too. Agoraphobia, the close relationship between feeling safe and feeling trapped when it comes to containment, the peril of birds and the "empty nesters", Will's boxes, etc. Great use of motifs.

Despite its technical proficiency the book still didn't do it for me, and I think I've narrowed it down to two reasons why.

Reason number one: wayyyy too many maggots

Reason number two: I can appreciate a book that's almost claustrophobically inside of the characters' heads, but I expect it to make me understand those characters. Maybe it's an intentional choice meant to indicate that these characters don't understand themselves either, but it was just totally opaque. Angelina's passion for nudity, her deep connection with Lucy, her love for and irritation with Will -- these are all presented as facts to be accepted. In the classic writer's craft adage of showing rather than telling, this does a lot of telling about the characters but not enough showing to convince me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Vine Leaves Press for gifting me a digital ARC of this new novel by Cynthia Newberry Martin - 4.5 stars!

Angelina is looking forward to an empty nest for the first time in decades. She stopped working as a nurse to raise her three girls while her husband, Will, worked outside the home. Now she wants to spend time figuring out her new life and looks forward to her empty house. But nine days after they dropped their youngest off at college, Will announces that he quit his job and is looking forward to spending time at home with Angelina.

I can relate to this couple and their feelings of figuring out their lives after so long being mostly associated with being someone else's parent. The author's writing style pulled me in and made me feel the longing and struggles this couple felt, even while they were still in love. The ending is left open just like our own endings are still to be told. Great book!

This was an intriguing look at marriage after many years of parenting. Angelina and Wiil are finally empty nesters, with their last daughter off to college. Angelina is thrilled to have some freedom she has missed for twenty-two years. Will wants to spend more time with Angelina and leaves his job. The following story shows their reactions to a new life with some POV chapters.

Most people who have been married can identify with the peaks and valleys of many years spent raising children and building a life together. Angelina reveals feelings and thoughts she has pushed down for a long time. She takes up nursing again and finds interesting people to engage with, giving her more perspective on where she has been and where she might want to be.

Both characters are somewhat unlikeable, but CNM lays out the entire story in a most creative and revelatory way. I enjoyed reading and relating to a look at a long marriage.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

Finally reaching empty nest status, Angelina and Will have differing ideas on what it means. To Angelina, it is freedom away from all the pressures of motherhood and a time, at long last, to breathe. To Will, it is a time to spend time with Angelina to be together without kids. He quits his job and learns of their different needs. Such an interesting and involving story of finding true north amid a time of confusion.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

"Love Like This" is a book I won't forget. Quietly compelling, it paints a portrait of live at middle age, the choices, struggles, and deepest longings of men and women. I just finished and am reading it again from the beginning in case I missed one nuanced line. Gorgeous prose and meditative storytelling, I am eager to share this novel with all my friends. Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC. #lovelikethis #NetGalley