Very touching and emotional story. I gave it 3.5 stars due to the grammar and editing.

Peter and Jackie have been married for almost 30 years. They dated in high school until tragedy and betrayal tore them apart. Now life has dealt them another crushing blow now that Peter just published his first book. They've return to their hometown for his first book signing and Jackie finally finds out what really happened all those years ago when someone from their past makes an unannounced visit.

Peter Hatch met Jacqueline Lawrence when her family moved to the Cape in their senior year of high school, he had never met anyone like her. He lost his virginity to her, Jackie led the way in their relationship; that is until it came to politics. Jackie got Peter interested in her youth Church group, but when all the kids heard a black family in S. Carolina was being treated unfairly by the local grocery store, the kids decided to collect cans of food and drive down South to deliver it. But Jackie's father had a big problem with this mission, she had to make a choice; break her father's heart or disappoint Peter. She chose to disappoint Peter, thinking that they'd fight over it the next day.

In Peter's mind, he was done with her once he met the beautiful, adventurous cousin of a kid in the group. Corinna was from another town over. She was a rebel and was smart like Peter. He never told Jackie, but he planned on separating when they went away to college. He fell in love with Corrina that night. They planned on visiting each other at college and talked about the future, that is until Corrina's poor decisions and a car accident ended everything.

Ten years later, Peter runs into Jackie in D.C. He still thinks that she's beautiful, but he hurt her terribly years ago. She's not interested in what he wants. They get to talking and he asks her to dinner, 3 months later they're married. But in the back of his mind, he knows he's made a big mistake.

After Jackie finds out the real truth of what happened that night, she goes out and does something reckless. She's also known throughout her whole marriage that she's only had half of him; he always held himself back from her. Now she knows why, he never stopped loving Corrina. Now she wonders why he even married her, if he ever loved her.

Jackie's dying of cancer, she knows it's bad. It's Peter who's in denial until her surgery, when her doctor tells him her cancer's spread. After she's gone, their daughter, Jennifer, helps him keep going.

It's terrible to live with regrets. Jackie was a better woman than most, forgiving him for things he did, things he never said to her, and letting things go.

A must read!

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but I did enjoy it. The book takes you to two different times in a relationship. We get to see the main couple in high school, when they first met, and after they've been married for years. I really enjoyed their high school days, not so much their "golden years" in the beginning. However, as the story progressed, I found myself more interested in what happened to the relationship after the climax event occurred. The ending was satisfying and this feels like a great book for a book club because there is so much to discuss!

This is my first John Hough Jr. novel, and I have to say I enjoyed ‘The Sweetest Days’ quite a bit. I liked how his narrative jumped back and forth from past to present. I am quite familiar with many of the locations he describes (Northampton, Cape Cod towns), and that only enhanced the reading for me. I might just have to pick up another John Hough Jr. book in the near future.

They were High School Sweet Hearts.. but an incident before graduation, spiraled them out of control. They eventually did marry and we find them, during mid life. Their daughter is out on her own and very successful.. Jackie and Pete are just finding a middle place to settle into. Their have been lies and secrets and hurts during the years now Jackie is faced with a health scare.. they return to their hometown on the Cape and Pete’s book reading brings them more trouble.. And now they must face everything that is happening and the things that happened in the past. The firing is excellent but this story fell flat for me. It described marriage and it’s ups and downs. But it was just a little bland for me. With the love and hurts, there should be some laughs. It was just a very serious read and I found it hard to continue. Maybe it was just the timing and when I read it, who knows.. But I would read other books by this author. I hear some great things about them..

I have mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed the messages about marriage and the choice to love. It felt very real and touching. But it was tough to hop around in time.

This was the first John Hough novel for me, but it certainly will not be the last! This book is fiction meets reality. Pete and Jackie's long-time marriage faces hurdles that many of us face, and this makes the storyline relatable and true to life. Then, with Jackie's health crisis, it hits home with many facing the same difficulties. I will definitely be recommended this book to friends!

While I think the book was very well written, the story fell flat for me. I"m not sure if it was too prediticable for me where I was able to see where everything was going or if I just wasnt really connecting with the story, even though its a story I would have normally love. I couldn't get really invested in the story.

I hate to think and say this but I really did not like this book. I wanted to love it and I wanted to feel invested in Pete and Jackie's stories, but something just did not work for me. I was intrigued by the blurb and found myself interested as I started the book, but neither the plot nor characters were developed well enough to make this a good read.


*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

What I really liked about the story is the honesty and transparency that the main couple as they reflect upon their marriage, and how they arrived at this point In life.
Often married couples head out into life and then find their selves stopping and pausing to look at each other and ask how did we end up here. Being so far disconnected from each other from when they first where they were married. The author opens up this conversation throughout the narrative of this novel. This was a super sweet story that asked readers to simply have them be in conversation with their spouse about what does it mean to walk life with one another. I really enjoy the dialogue between the main characters, as well as the transparency in the emotions that they experienced and dealt with.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinions. This is the first time I've read anything by this author and I can say it did take me a while to get into this book as it started out a little slow for me but I was determined to finish it. I'm really glad that I did as this story will make you think and break your heart at the same time. It's a good read and I would tell you to stick with it as it does get better.

There is nothing I enjoy reading more than a good love story, especially about a married couple. With a title like The Sweetest Days and a glowing endorsement by Elin Hilderbrand, how could I resist? I didn’t, but feel like I should have. The title of this novel was very misleading. Yes, there were some sweet moments toward the end of the story, but certainly not enough to lift the depressing mood of the rest of the book. The poor decisions that Peter and Jackie made throughout their relationship did not show loving choices that would foster a strong, happy marriage. I rounded up from a rating of 2.5 to a 3 because the writing itself was not bad. I kept reading, waiting for a shift in the lives of this unhappy cast of characters but, unfortunately, there was no overtly happy ending. Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This tear-jerker novel tells the story of two high school sweethearts during a volatile time in our history. Peter and Jackie meet and fall in love in a small town. But a tragic accident occurs and their lives are torn apart. Peter must grapple with guilt and Jackie struggles to understand what happened and what part she may have played in the tragedy.

Later, Peter and Jackie meet again and decide to marry. It just seems like that’s what they should do. They have a daughter. And just as they are heading into their twilight years, Jackie is given very bad news about her health. As Peter and Jackie try to understand what this means to their marriage and their lives, it also brings up never answered questions from their previous life together.

Peter, a former political speech writer has just written a novel and he and Jackie have returned to their hometown for a book signing. Jackie’s father, who is in the throws of dementia, still lives there. As Jackie begins the difficult task of telling her family about her illness, Peter can’t help think about what they endured to get to where they are now and if their marriage should ever have occurred. Unbeknownst to him, Jackie too has her reservations about their life.

But during the book signing there is a disruption. Peter and Jackie must begin to analyze their lives together and separately, including all the inadequacies they feel, especially on Jackie’s part. In order to do this they must revisit those painful memories from their youth which molded them to become the adults they are now.

Although difficult, they must begin the process of being totally honest with each other and forgive and let go of the anger, disappointment and what-ifs from their past relationship. They must put the past truly behind them in order to become strong for what may lay ahead.

And although their future is unknown, by putting all their questions about the past to rest they begin to rekindle or perhaps reshape the love and find that perhaps these are their sweetest days.

This beautifully written love story flows effortlessly as if you are watching a captivating movie unfold in your mind, even though you may know how it ends, you can appreciate the sweetness of the days it took you to get there.

Thank you #NetGalley #GalleryBooks #TheSweetestDays #JohnHoughJr for the advanced copy.

Rarely do highschool sweethearts work out as planned, but in the pages of this beautiful book they appear to have overcome to be together. As years have passed and ones health is in question they return to their for their debut book signing they face a past that makes them reanalyze and dig deep into their emotions to decide if their maths are no longer intertwined.

I learned and experienced a lot through this book. This book is about choices in our life. Our main characters' marriage is not a perfect marriage, there are holes here and there. I know this kind of things also happen in our real life and it's just complicated.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for the ARC

A Lasting, but Not Perfect Marriage

Peter and Jackie were high school sweethearts. Everyone thought they were destined to marry, but Peter was having second thoughts. He planned to end it until he was involved in an incident that changed the course of his life and their relationship. Although they later marry and have been married for more than thirty years, Peter has kept his secret until he finally tells Jackie.

As the story opens Peter and Jackie are in their seventies. He has just published his first novel which is a reason to celebrate, but Jackie has just had a cancer diagnosis and the prognosis isn’t good.

This is a story of choices and living with the results. Peter and Jackie didn’t have the perfect marriage, but they stayed together and now they’re facing an ending. The story moves back a forth between their past and the present decisions they have to make.

Peter is the primary narrator, and I have to admit I didn’t like him. I thought he was too self-centered. I had trouble warming up to Jackie also. She seemed depressed and remote, but perhaps that was intentional as a result of her diagnosis. The book starts slowly, but it picks up in the middle as we get to know the characters better and the crisis points become obvious.

I thought the author did a good job delving into the lives to two people who made a choice to be together and stuck it out even if they might not have been the right people for each other.

I received this book from Gallery Books for this review.

Even though I thoroughly disliked the wife, there was something about this book that drew me in. The author did a terrific job at peeling away layers of a marriage that might have been better for both parties if terminated. And her did a good job of keeping me interested.

Try as I did, I could not connect with the characters. I felt that the subject matter of cancer could have been handled better, the focus became too much on past wrongs.

I'm sure there are those who will have a different relationship with this book than I did, its just not for me.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

Excellent heartbreaking and uplifting story of a couple who marry after reconnecting years after dating while in high school. This book explores the ups and downs in the couples marriage, including an event that broke them up in high school and shaped their futures. Funny, sad, and moving, this book is beautifully written and definitely not one to be missed. I will definitely be checking out more books by this author.

This took me a bit to become invested and the characters were tough to like. I liked the overall story and the writing style but only wished it moved quicker.

Pete Hatch and his wife, Jackie are faced with a terminal illness. They must learn to fight for love through honesty in their marriage. This book details the hardships of a marriage and the knowledge of events that happen that your partner finds out years down the road.

I found the beginning of the book interesting. However, as the book progressed, I found it to be slow in developing the plot. Although the book has a good theme of "love forgives the past", the book did not hold my attention very easily.