I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

This book is close to a 3.5 as I enjoyed most of the book, refreshingly set in the mid 1970s. I enjoyed Alex's point of view as a somewhat inexperienced young wife with 2 young daughters she loves very much. This book gently guided us into the backdrop of the time, along with the pot smoking at parties and easy sexual banter. Alex started out pretty happy in her relationship although not really satisfied in the bedroom. The ovolacto vegetarian line threw me because she proceeds to make beef, chicken for her family. Her foray into swinging was gradual and then swift. Her family and inlaws didn't really understand although they warned her mostly of husband's straying ways. So as liberated as women might have felt, she was the one mostly judged for being with another woman's husband, while her husband may have impregnated the wife of the man Alex was sleeping with, it seemed more Donny's idea than hers... she should have been more angry her husband might have knocked up Paula except she didn't, maybe because she was out of love with him. The ending is a little ambiguous to me. Also, maybe because my parents generation in the 70s but I really DO not want to imagine those days of swinging and key parties so much. The writing was pretty strong.

Split-Level is a world that seems to have that hazy filter that so many movies of the 70s had. Think about how glowy The Stepford Wives or Carrie was - that's what reading this was like. Additionally, Wifey by Jude Blume already talked about marriage and the sexual revolution - and that book blew my mind the first time I ready it ....at age 14.

Split-Leve...did not. While the story is familiar - family, 1970s, wife-swapping, etc etc etc - it just kind of was blah for me. It just kind of gave me buzzwords - shag carpeting, wallpaper, Family Circle, etc etc. Both Alex and Donny were kind of the worst - and their children were more of an afterthought.

Again - Wifey did it better.

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

The author did a brilliant job of capturing the time period in this novel. The characters and plot were also well written. This was a great piece of historical fiction!

Having been a young housewife and suburban mother in the 70's, and being keenly aware of the temptations facing young couples (mostly with commuting husbands), I should have related strongly to Berger's novel. Yes the boredom and temptations abounded and many whispers about neighbors, split-ups and re-combinations were seen amongst neighbors. Yet the entire book made me supremely uncomfortable. I kept wanting to shout out to Alex, Donny, Paula and Charlie, "Don't, don't, it's a mistake". Yet this book could be read as a titillating morality play and a stirrer-up of memories if you are the right age.

The accurate portrayal of the Marriage Encounter movement (here called Marriage Mountain) was well described with the exception of some of the actual working of the program. Yes, it was a communication workshop that was faith-sponsored, but the couples involved were told "If you have a good marriage it will make it better. If you have a bad marriage, don't go!"

I will admit that the book was hard to put down just because I wanted to see where it was going, and then being disappointed on where it went. It's not Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice, but if that was a favorite film of yours, you will love Split Level. If you were a 70's suburbanite, it will also bring you back to those bad old days.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this advance copy.

What a fun book. Definitely a top favorite this year so far. Characters and plot make this a great book, not to be missed.

Thanks to author,publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free,it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

Alex is a frustrated mom for sure. She’s a stay-at-home mom of two small girls and is basically just going through the motions. Her mom is not exactly a motherly figure and lives far away in Florida to boot. Alex was an artist but now makes some extra money on the side painting shirts for summer camps. Anyone who has been a stay-at-home mom (or dad) for any length of time has been there.
Early on in the book, her husband suggests throwing a Valentine’s Day party. And that party is everything. She has purpose for the weeks leading up to the party–make all the food, invite all the guests, etc. etc. A project! I remember feeling that way about re-doing a bedroom or decorating a nursery. Something to do besides change diapers and clock watch.
Don’t get me wrong, kids are amazing. But those years when they are little and constantly need stuff? The years are fast but the days are hella long! And it’s so easy to have a mental crisis in the middle of it all–questioning your worth and purpose.
Donny, Alex’s husband, is bored too. I’m sure we can all probably identify or relate to him too. He used to come home to hot artist wife and now, she’s probably covered in cheerios and too exhausted to be anything but a mom when gets home. It’s just the perfect storm of having small kids.
So, when a friend’s husband dies, and Alex and Donny are faced with their own mortality, they decide to spice things up with some mutual friends of the deceased.
I thought Berger did an amazing job writing real, multi-dimensional characters. I really identified with Alex. And I think the breakdown of her marriage and of their friends’ was a very realistic portrait of the dangers of that type of relationship. There are just so many fine lines that can be crossed. The book also captured the 70’s well, and gave me that groovy vibe I was so hoping for when I picked it up.
Special thanks to Netgalley and She Writes Press for an e-galley in exchange for my honest review. My review will be posted on my blog, Women in Trouble Book Blog on May 18, 2019.

As someone born in the 70’s I was very intrigued by the premise of this book. It is the story of Alex, a 30 year old mother of two who moved to the suburbs and is discontent in her marriage and life in general. Her and her husband become aquatinted with another couple and their relationships get very messy and complicated. I could empathize with Alex’s feelings of discontentment but found it hard to understand why she was feeling this way. I think the author did a very good job of describing the era and making you feel like you were there. I also appreciated Alex's choice at the end. There is a lot to like about this book I just wish the characters were a little more developed.

Sande Boritz Berger is a new author to me and the description of this book was very appealing. Alex and Donny are new to suburban life and have two young daughters. Alex is a stay at home who is very crafty and used to paint but is now making pushke money by making handpainted t-shirts. Donny works for his family business that is an industrial lingerie company, it’s not his dream job of music but it’s following in his father’s footsteps as expected of him. Alex and Donny are used to being artsy and trendy people in New York life and now are in suburbia with two kids wondering “what’s next” and also trying to make more out of their bedroom lives as well. They have attended marriage seminars and talked to fellow neighbors and friends about their concerns. Alex meets a woman and her husband while visiting her parents in Florida and learns about open marriage. Open marriage becomes a topic within story and makes for interesting situations. A lot of concerns arise with these characters about communication and what they want from each other and how family dynamics. This is an excellent book that I really found as a reader shows things aren’t always what they seem. Characters in this story are so diverse even and the time period is like its own character in this story as well. It’s not a topic often done in many books and it’s so well done and beautifully written. The dynamic of family is really brought to light within this book. How it all plays out is great.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This just wasn't the right book for me. It appealed to me because I'm a child of the 70's and the concept of "spouse swapping" always makes for good drama. But I really disliked every single character in this book. I found them all self-centered and unsympathetic. Other than the children, I really didn't care what happened to any of them.

This book changed how I thought about some things. A lonely wife and mother is warmed by the attention she gets at a party from a man she's just met. At the same time her husband is a bit off and decides that they should swing with this couple. This is the rollercoaster ride and oh what an outcome!

This had a very juicy premise: swinging couples in the 70s. This is subject matter ripe for exploration, but we never go deep with anything. The MC, Alex, and her husband are incredibly unlikable. She has zero personality and I have no idea how she inspired a book to be written in first person. We never truly get to know her. She’s full of random quips and we get lots of flowery, overwritten sentences in the middle of sparse writing. Inconsistent is the word for this book.

The husband, Donny, is a total jackass. We get some flashbacks that should have been foreshadowing to how he is incredibly self centered he is and how he will never settle down with anyone... somehow Alex misses this. And what was with the scene of her losing her virginity in his PARENT’S bed??? That made no sense and it was a major red flag. Ew. His parents were bizarre. Alex talks about how close she is with his mom, but they aren’t truly close—Alex clearly has no idea how real relationships (platonic or otherwise) work. Case in point: the flooded basement and what happens to her belongings. Each MC has siblings but they are just casually mentioned and never appear in the book, another odd thing as we follow these characters for over a year (through a timeline that is very inconsistent).

Alex also does quite a bit of random flying to FL. Her children are barely featured and when they are, their actions/voices are older than their true age. But then she calls them babies. The other couple... OMG. I never understood the appeal of Paula; she was just a female version of Donny I suppose, but without any charisma. She was written as an automaton... always confused and pale. I didn’t get it. The only character I liked and was rooting for was the other husband, Charlie... except he deserved better than any of these people he ended up saddled with, including his jerk kids!

A lot of big things happen in this book (demotions, death, plane crashes) and it all slips by with a shrug. Nothing is fleshed out here. The first few chapters feature gratuitous product mentions to try and set the time/place. THIS IS THE 1970S! If you didn’t know, let me tell you about Family Circle, my Bulova watch, my bellbottoms, the shag carpet... I could go on. We were beaten over the head with this... but aside from that, we don’t get the sense of this being in the 1970s at all.

Thank you to NetGalley and She Writes Press for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"But I am just a housewife, I remind myself -- a housewife painting in torn underwear, worn inside out. I throw off my robe and grab the blue denim work shirt hanging on the back of the door. I've kept this ragged shirt since college -- a promise to myself I'd never give up." -Alex Pearl<br><br>Sande Bortiz Berger takes us on a journey into the Pearls' last-ditch effort to salvage their quickly staling marriage where instead we find a delightful coming of age story of Alex Pearl, a housewife fighting for a greater sense of purpose.

Split-Level presents itself as a look at a marriage in the post-Nixon era. The Pearls, married seven years with two children, take a dive into the swinging lifestyle that tantalized suburban couples of the seventies and gets more than they bargained for. And it <em>is</em> mostly about that. We meet Alex and Donny Pearl at a crucial point in their marriage- demonstrated early through Alex's speedy enrollment of the couple into a weekend workshop called "Marriage Mountain" after she finds out that Donny has been giving late night driving lessons to the cute babysitter. This seems almost too obvious of a plot line to take, but Berger does not keep us here long.

The idea of attending Marriage Mountain makes us feel like everything is okay...until we actually get to Marriage Mountain. Berger makes it apparent pretty quickly that this is the final chance to save their marriage. I honestly wish I had cared about the fate of the Pearls (as a unit) more, but Alex Pearl became my main interest pretty quickly.

Alex is entering her 30's. She is an artist, but she dismisses it as a hobby feigning that being a mother gives her all the satisfaction she needs. Similarly, her husband Donny Pearl, works in the family business making ladies undergarments- all the while wishing he had gone back to school and pursued his passion. Berger builds this tension between the Pearls slowly increasing the pressure that both Donny and Alex feel as individuals in their personal endeavors, driving a wedge between them. Donny is immature, self-conscious, and doesn't get the validation he desperately desires from Alex or his boss-father. Hence, the late night driving lessons with the babysitter. Berger draws Donny and Alex further apart with the stark difference in their motivations- Donny's desperate need for validation from others and Alex's need for validation from within.

When Donny and Alex dip their toes in the open marriage pool, they officially don't feel like the Pearls anymore. By opening up this world of curiosity in our characters that they truly have no idea how to navigate, both Alex and Donny's lives- in general- begin to change. Donny gets a demotion at work, Alex sees success in her side hustle and finds new inspiration for her art. All of a sudden, Alex can see herself as a 3-dimensional person with thoughts and feelings and desires and that reflects in the art she creates. Donny seems as if he's simply hopped from one relationship to another with Paula Bell (the female counterpart of their partner couple).

The details of the Pearls' relationship with the Bells was so auxiliary to me (and I don't want to ruin it for you!!!) that I almost don't even want to mention it other than that it was a vehicle. It gave me drama and helped drive Alex to destination self, which was all I could've asked. I will note, though, that Berger did a really important and smart thing by having the messy navigation of swinging reflected in the Pearls' and Bells' children. This was a major grounding moment for Alex seeing that this lifestyle change wasn't as simple as sending the kids away for a weekend and trying to be secretive. A similar moment is when Alex finds out later that so many more people knew about their arrangement with the Bells than she thought, and what TRUTH! The realness of this situation was so good.

Alex Pearl's story arc was dynamic, real, and invigorating to experience. It's easy to tell the sexy story of the swinging couple that gets off on the idea of swapping partners, but it is daring and brave to tell the story of the couple that tries and fails in a time where failing is not an option.

As a child of the 70's, I jumped at the chance to read Split-Level. What happens when a married couple decide to have an "open" marriage and become swingers? I have often wondered how marriages can survive without monogamy. Sande Boritz Berger gave me a though provoking glimpse into a life style completely different than my own. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this captivating novel!

I was drawn to this book because of its setting in the 70s, the decade in which I primarily grew up. I love both the music and films from this decade. I also love reading about stay-at-home mothers, because I always wished to be one of those but couldn't. However, I'd be lying if I didn't confess to being lured in by the provocative nature of this storyline- a married couple experiencing the 7-year itch, and both deciding to scratch it.

Donny and Alexandra Pearl have lived in their own home for three years in the suburban mecca of Wheatley Heights, New Jersey. Donny is a gifted piano player, but through financial necessity works for his father's bra company. The couple has two young daughters, Lana and Becky, and mom Alex is a stay-at-home mom (as most were in the seventies). Alex has an art teaching degree, but now creates decorated tee-shirts for some extra money. Alex also paints on canvas, when she can harness the inspiration. She and Donny met when they were counselors at a summer camp. After seven years of marriage, Alex has covertly purchased a book in the hopes of spicing up their love life, "A Sensuous Life in 30 Days."

The marriage hits the first major bump in the road when Alex receives a phone call from her babysitter's mother informing Alex that she will no longer allow her daughter to babysit for the Pearls. Apparently, Donny crossed a line in appropriate behavior while driving the babysitter home late one Saturday night.

Circumstances evolve where the Pearls befriend another couple who live in Wheatley Heights... Charles and Paula Bell. In the most deliciously slow unravelling of a plotline, these couples cross the boundary into a sexual relationship with each other's spouses. This momentous event occurs about 50% into the story, and its repercussions echo throughout the remainder of the book. This wasn't a trashy erotica escapade; this was a well-written and thought-provoking journey of a marriage.

This is a compelling and highly-readable novel which will draw comparisons to Marilyn French and other early feminist novelists, as well as contemporary authors like Liane Moriarty and Jennifer Weiner.. It draws many comparisons between our mothers' generation and ours and shows that, sadly, while some things have improved for wives and mothers, many have not. Everyone in this novel is dysfunctional and yet you can't help but relate to many of them. The 70's references add a bit of nostalgia and the fast-paced writing makes this novel fun but thought-provoking.

This was a quick read for me and kept me occupied on a 4-hour train ride. The setting and plot have a lot of promise, and I love the era the book was set in, but unfortunately it felt quite unpolished. I could never get a handle on the husband--or really, any of the main characters. I think they were fully formed in the author's mind, but something just didn't translate to the page for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and She Writes Press for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I did not enjoy this book. I am a child of the 70s and thought that the nostalgia would be fun, but I couldn't get passed the fact that the characters were so unlikable. I found the main couple to be whiny and immature, with very little perspective on how to deal with problems (in a relationship, on the job, finding one's identity) without involving very young children. While I understand that "swinging" was thing for some back then, and I don't want to tells others how to live their lives, I again come back to thinking of the children. How is an affair going to make things MORE stable in the home -- even if everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) knows about it? And then, you don't even think about birth control?? Wow, self-centered behavior at its best. Pass.

Although it was hard to put this book down, it was also hard to read. It's a story about unhappiness that left me unhappy. You could argue that there's still some hope left in the characters' lives, but there was nothing uplifting about anyone's fate in this book.

This was a good, quick read with some fun 1970's nostalgia. The author touched on the popular trends of couples retreats to strengthen relationships and "swinging" parties to swap spouses.

It was interesting to see how the protagonist grew from a young newly wed and matured into an independent woman in the '70's.

Overall, it was a good book, but I couldn't help thinking that if she had a real job instead of painting t shirts when she felt like it, she might have had a better perspective on her life and perhaps would have matured a little sooner.

Also, I don't want to give anything away, but the outcome of the spouse swapping seemed pretty unbelievable to me, but it was a fun read.

Split-Level is an entertaining and bittersweet story of a marriage coming apart in suburban New Jersey in the 1970's. Alex Pearl is married to Donny. Donny resents working at his father's lingerie business, and thinks he deserves more. Alex knows Donny is untrustworthy, but this at a time when men are expected to stray, and women are expected to put up with it.
Donny starts pushing for an open marriage with no understanding of the consequences. Alex has to learn to trust her own wants and needs. When they meet Paula and Charlie Bell, it seems like manna from heaven for Donny but he cannot plan for what happens when real life gets messy, and his wife stops being in thrall to him. Four stars.