This was such a unique read, I love hearing the same story from different perspectives a la Hemmingway. This book was extra special because the characters also told the story of their relationship from different points in time. As a psychologist, I really enjoyed this thought-provoking novel; a great reminder that the only two people who can truly understand a relationship are those in it and sometimes not even them.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately it’s not the book for me. DNF @ 21%.

Thank you to Net Galley and Lake Union Publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was a tough one for me, at several points throughout I thought about not finishing the book. I could not get into the story or feel invested in the characters. I felt the structure of the story made it hard for me to connect, bouncing all over timelines did not do this story any favors. I did not care for the characters which made it hard to become invested in the outcome of the book. I did finish the book, but really didn't care much for it at all.

Novels that highlight complex relationships draw me in, and this book does not disappoint. Told from a dual perspective, the novel features Ben Livingston and Tatum Connelly, a screenwriter and an actress, respectively, who each have bold, distinct voices. The book opens in November, 2016, with Ben contemplating the demise of his marriage to Tatum. Before the reader can fully immerse herself in Ben’s story, the narration switches to Tatum’s perspective, but begins in October, 1999, when the couple first met. Over the course of the novel, Ben’s story line moves backward while Tatum’s progresses chronologically. It took some time to reconcile the flip-flopping of time and the slight repetitiveness of some events recounted by both characters, but Scotch’s depiction of a busy, complicated marriage—one that includes two blossoming and somewhat competitive careers and a child—rings true to life. The author also spends time on the guilt wrapped up in parenting as well as other issues such as substance abuse and sibling relationships. The breadth of the book might intimidate other writers, but in Scotch’s hands, the ambitious premise seems to work. I found myself rooting for both Ben and Tatum and their relationship, and the ending, while somewhat mired in sappiness, fully satisfied this reader.

Am a big fan of Allison Winn Scotch’s books and this one was no different.

I liked the changing perspectives and ability to see things from both main characters points of view. It’s not an easy read at times - with one point of view working forward and the other backwards but the end result was worth it.

Loved loved loved this book. Five stars! Thank you for the chance to read the arc. Definitely excited to read more from this author!

I really enjoyed this one. A love story written in an interesting way is right up my alley. Loved the characters and find myself thinking of them sometimes! The mark of a good book!

I usually love Winn Scotch's books. This one, well the time line got to be confusing! I still enjoyed the premise, but going back and forth between past and present threw me off.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Another pretty cover with a promising premise and an author I have enjoyed reading before. Not being a regular romance reader I was really looking forward to this one. Unfortunately found it disappointing and started losing interest in the characters and story after the first few chapters. Glad to have finally finished it and it's off my shelf.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing a digital copy in return for an honest, unbiased review.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

This was a bit too heavy a read for me. It started with a promising pace, but when it started delving into the struggles of marriage, it became into something more than just fiction. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a great read overall, just a bit too much reality in it for me.

I struggled with this book with all the angst and tried to get into the story few times but somehow it couldn’t keep my attention. This one wasn’t for me. I would still like to thank Netgallery and the publishers for providing me with an advance copy of this book.

What a thoughtful look into the married life and how things can change over the years. As one may be the rainmaker in the beginning, things can change with roles reversed. It was interesting to read the different views of the marriage throughout the book, as well as the alternating time frames. As a reader, you don't want to see a marriage unravel but you are able to appreciate what the couple may be going through. A heart-provoking read for your next long weekend.

3.5
I'm simultaneously disappointed but satisfied by this story. Scotch's writing of real life and real life relationships is refreshing. Between Me and You is written in dual perspectives of Ben Ben Livingston, a privileged writer from New York, and Tatum Connelly, an actor from Ohio. Their story/timelines flip flops and showcases their crumbling relationship making it slightly confusing to follow. I'm not sure I'm the only one who felt a little lost. Additionally, I felt like this book could have addressed darker, realer parts of the characters, and if it had I would have been better able to connect to it.

The tale of two characters, the way that their words, their thoughts, their feelings, their dreams - the way that all of this played out on the page (virtual or otherwise, it doesn't matter), was all just perfectly done.

I felt as though I knew Ben and Tatum. I could have been Ben and Tatum. Well, one or the other, obviously, not both. But still.

The realistic aspects of their relationship just held so much weight for me. There was no flowery fanfare here when they told the story of their love. The stories that made up the years of their time together. Their marriage. All of it.

I had no idea where this book was going to go.

I knew there were these two strong-willed characters, with a lot to share, who were no longer together. But I didn't have a clue as to why.

Did someone cheat?

Did someone just up and leave?

Did they lose a child?

Did one of them die?

These are the things that go through your mind as you start off reading Between Me and You.

And there was no true consistency throughout the timeline of their lives. Which, in all honesty, may have been confusing for some, but was something I kind of loved.

I did have to take pause now and then, but this style of storytelling just drew me in more with each chapter, which is another reason I loved this book as much as I did.

Ben and Tatum's relationship is one that has gone through many ups and many downs. And as we join them we find ourselves watching and listening to each character as they reflect back to even the days before they met. It's a tale of love and laughter. Heartache and pain. Friendship and anger. And growth and loss.

And it's a must-read.

It is definitely an interesting way to present a story - one side of it in order, one side of it backwards, so you read a chapter about them now, then one of them in the beginning, etc. You have to get used to it or it just seems jumpy, but by the end, I liked it a lot. It made my brain think about things in a different way, and made the story more original, for sure. It's a he-said, she-said story about a Hollywood power couple and what went wrong (and right) between them. Even when I was frustrated with the chronology at the beginning, I still definitely wanted to know what happened in the end.

Overall, a good story, a different format, and an unique perspective on a relationship.

I tried this book twice and couldn't get into it. The characters were lacking and the storyline was eh

Favorite Quotes:

I want you to be anything you dream of. But mostly I want you to be happy. Those things aren’t always the same, you know.

I can’t measure my love for Ben against Mom’s love for Dad because it’s not like you can quantify these things. It’s not like I can pour them into a cup and see which one measures more.

It’s raining in Los Angeles, and no one knows what to do about it. People are scattering around, hovering in Whole Foods, tweeting with panicked abandon: It’s raining! It might be the apocalypse!

He tells me he’ll be on his best behavior, but I’d cleaned up enough of Leo’s messes over the years… to know that while Leo might promise the moon, he’ll often never even glance up at the sky.

“He needs to grow up, Ben.” I could picture my dad shaking his head like he couldn’t imagine how Leo had gotten this far in life without being drafted into clown school.

My Review:

I struggled, valiantly I must add, oh, how I struggled, as this book was a full-on angst-fest and that is so not my jam. But I also couldn’t stop reading. Hmm, Allison Winn Scotch seems to have a handle on this writing thing… The storylines wove in and out of various timelines, and not in chronological order, with emotions and motivations capriciously seesawing from cautious jubilation to bleak and heart-squeezing despair, with clever licks of humor and amusing observations periodically tossed in. Ms. Scotch’s deftly paced, observantly insightful, and emotive writing pulled me in quickly and held my attention, despite my exasperation with the prickly and temperamental characters.

The characters weren’t inherently bad people but they were fatally flawed and vastly insecure as well as alluring, complicated, moody, selfish, stubborn, and damn it, they fascinated me to no end. They weren’t always likable or admirable, in fact, there were times I despised them and wanted to throw my Kindle down in disgust of their self-centered, pettish, and pedantic behaviors. And the more successful they became, the more out of sync, self-involved, dour, and loathsome they appeared. Both had made critical errors in judgment in dealing with each other, so much so that I wasn’t sure a reunification was the best thing for either one. The actress’s penchant for playacting had gone so far afield she had become inauthentic, even with herself. Yet despite their odious and repellent behaviors, I couldn’t stop reading… I was more than satisfied with the conclusion and proud of myself for my dogged perseverance yet I had the irrational impulse to hurriedly close my Kindle before they could start in on each other and ruin it again. Silly me.

I’m truly sorry but I just could not get into this book. I didn’t finish it. It wasn’t catching my attention.

Ben and Tatum have a history that goes back a long time. They met one night at the bar where Tatum was working, but it was awhile before they became more than friends. Since then a lot has happened. They met back when they were both trying to figure things out. They met before they got married and moved to Los Angeles. They met before they were famous. Before Ben became a famous writer and Tatum became a famous actress. Before they had a son. Before one of them won an Oscar. Ben and Tatum have been through a lot together. Over the years they had to deal with the loss of parents, the loss of a sibling, the loss of trust in their marriage. The ebbs and flows of marriage are what defines a marriage, but when both Tatum and Ben have secrets that could destroy their marriage, is there a hope that their marriage can survive?

Between Me and You is the story of Ben and Tatum and their marriage. Ben and Tatum share the narrating duties, but the timeline jumps around pretty significantly and you may get a little lost if you stop reading in the middle of a chapter. Even though things jump around you get the entirety of their story and everything in between. I really liked both Ben and Tatum. The everyday stressors of a marriage can take its toll on a marriage, but when both spouses live in the fishbowl of Hollywood it magnifies those issues. I *hated* the thing that really caused a rift in their marriage, mostly because I didn't want to dislike either of them. One of the things that really humanized both of them was their devotion to their dog, Monster. It was something that I could relate to in a very real manner. In the end, things worked out just the way they were supposed to and it was a good ending.

Bottom Line - Marriage is tough and it is Between Me and You is an honest and intimate look at a one couple's marriage.

Details:
Between Me and You by Allison Winn Scotch
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Pages: 364
Publisher: Amazon Publishing
Publication Date: 1/9/2018
Buy it Here!