I had high expectations for this book because I love this genre but I have to say The Story of Us just didn’t live up to. At first I almost finished reading it which is something I never do but I really wanted to know how the book wrapped up. The whole context of this book is superbly done with the historical part of it but i feel this story was your typical romance that you already know how it is going to end. Not a bad book just not one I will remember. Thank you netgalley for letting me give an honest review of this book.

I have mixed feelings about this book. Somehow, as soon as I started reading it, I had a pretty good idea of how it was going to end. I'm not saying I predicted what would happen along the way, but the tone of the book just gave me hints as to how it would eventually end. That does not however mean I dislike it. I liked the characters, and the relationships between them were well written, and seemed to change and evolve in a realistic and interesting way. As everyone copes with loss in different ways, the reactions that people have to different events seems genuine, and I think Kortchik did a good job showing what happens when people are put in life threatening situations, and are forced to choose between family members and other loved ones. The plot line was very straightforward and easy to follow, which made the book read easily, and I was never bored by any of the scenes.
What I found myself disliking was in part the predictability, and the descriptions. I always knew what the temperature seemed to be, but I had a hard time placing any of this. I wouldn't know how to describe most settings in this book, except for a few that were important to Natasha, the main character. I also had a problem with the motivations of the unofficial villain of the book. It wasn't that she couldn't have motivations, it was there, but it was presented in such a way, that I didn't believe that she knew the secret that would actually make her mad, and therefore, I didn't see her as a misunderstood person, just someone who was trying to ruin the life of someone else.
I liked the ending, and while it could feel sort of Deus Ex Machina like, I think with the time jump from the last chapter to the epilogue, there was a enough of a gap that it felt like significant things would have happened in that time, and where we see everyone two years later is better because of that time. Overall it was an enjoyable read, and the flaws can be overlooked for an easy romance that you can read in a day.