Cover Image: It's Better This Way

It's Better This Way

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

It is better this way. Sometimes that is hard to remember when you are in the middle of one of life's trials. This book was a great reminder that life isn't always perfect at every turn, but it is going the way it is supposed to. Thank you for this, Debbie! We need books where everything isn't always working out all the time.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review. This book focuses on Julia and her life after a divorce from her golfer husband Eddie. She meets Heath who lives in her building and they develop feelings for each other. While Julie and Heath are falling in love and spending more time together, they deal with their respective children and former spouses and the reaction of them being together. You cannot go wrong with a Debbie Macomber book - she knows how to weave characters that the readers care about and stories that resonate family and forgiveness. Great book!

Was this review helpful?

It’s Better This Way by Debbie Macomber is an easy read with some serious topics related to divorce and blended families with a touch of humor too. She also deals with mature romance which is nice to read about on occasion. Her books are always a good read and this one is no different. Perfect summer book. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

After her divorce Julia is ready to move on with her life. When she meets a wonderful man she thinks she may be able to start fresh, but the past may endanger her future. A warm story of moving on, blended families and new beginnings.

Was this review helpful?

This is a story of hope after divorce. A story of family being ripped apart and then glued back together even better than before. Full of hope, love, struggle, and a great happy ending! Lovely characters left me rooting for the beautiful ending that was definitely delivered.

Was this review helpful?

I used to read Debbie Macomber years ago before preferring to read psychological thrillers, so I was a little skeptical. I ended up really enjoying this book and remembered why I liked her before! I liked the characters and though it was predictable as typical of this genre, it held my interest. All in all a refreshing read!

Was this review helpful?

Excellent read. - Not really surprising since it's by Debbe Macomber. This was about two families torn apart by divorce and slowly, very slowly, learning to deal with it. It was very interesting to see all the interactions with the adults and grown kids. Most of them acted like little kids most of the time. The characters were so real and relateable. I really enjoyed the story
I got this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed this feel good book from beginning to end. I kind of guessed a twist from later in the story, but that in no way retracted from my enjoyment. The charachters were likable and relatable and the story engrossing. Debbie Macomber has a way of writing that keeps you coming back for more.
Thank you Debbie Macomber, Random House Publishing Group Ballantine and NetGalley for allowing me an advance copy for my honest feedback.

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed this book. Debbie Macomber, has a way with making her books heartwarming and touching. This was an easy read for me and I enjoyed every minute of it. At first I didn't like Heath's sons because of how rude they were, but then I saw where they were coming from. Divorce is hard on families, especially children. Everyone should read this book. I am grateful that Netgalley and the publishers let me read this in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoy Debbie Macomber, so I was very happy to get a pre - release of this book.

This book is very typical Debbie Macomber and has all the charms you have come to love from her books. I found it to be pretty predictable though but a real fun time reading.

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed this book, from beginning to end the pages flew for me, just sad when the last page was turned.
You get to see both sides of a divorce, even with the children’s point of view, and no one is exempt.
The author did a great job with bringing out each of those affected point of view, and with a lot of twist and turns, and some unbelievable happenings, just the right place at the right time. Sometimes life is stranger than fiction.
Be ready for a few chuckles and some tears, and becoming totally engrossed in this story!
I received this book through Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, and was not required to give a positive review.

Was this review helpful?

I enjoyed this book. I liked that there were a few twists in it. I have been a fan of Debbie Macomber's for years.

Was this review helpful?

This book is the type that Debbie Macomber writes best - complex family stories that go right to the heart of the matter and find a way to work through it all. The characters were well developed and the conflicts were true to life. I did feel that the ending was a bit rushed. Once the resolution to the issues was started, everything seemed to fall right into place, so I think it might have been a bit better if that part had started earlier in the book and taken a little longer to play out. Overall, it's a very nice and heartwarming story, even though the characters have to go through some rough patches to get there. Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for the advance digital copy.

Was this review helpful?

Julia is a devoted wife and mother. When her husband of 30 years, Eddie, leaves her for his new love interest, Laura, she is devastated. However, over the next six years, she focuses on building a new, positive life for herself. She semi-retires, spends lots of time with her daughters, sister, and niece, and buys a great new condo that she absolutely loves. After a few duds, she’s no longer interested in dating….until she meets Heath. *swoon*

I liked the story. It was a heartwarming, wholesome little tale. Julia is an absolute sweetheart. I love the way Macomber redeems her characters, the way she focuses on the good side of everyone, her unwavering positivity throughout the novel. So cute.

Unfortunately, the writing style didn’t work for me. It felt awkward with forced dialogue. In my head, it sounded like a really bad Hallmark movie - adorable story, horrible actors.

Despite this, I do recommend it for a quick, warm feel-good story. Just don’t expect too much.

This one comes out on July 13, 2021.

Thanks to Ballantine Books and Netgalley for this ARC in return for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Divorce with a twist! Julia tried everything to make her marriage work even after Eddie admitted his infidelity. Laura, the other woman made Julia's life miserable as she plotted to get her man. Things get out of control as Laura with her two sons and Eddie and his two daughters meet. Will the conflict ever end? Add Heath, Julia's new boyfriend and the drama never ceases. Recommended!

Was this review helpful?

Looking for a book to get you out of a reading slump.... This is the book!
So thank you first and foremost NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine and Author for this awesome ebook copy!

The characters here are so well developed that I feel like I know them. Julia divorces her husband and is in the worst part of her life. We follow her journey as she navigates life being a single lady!
I think, overall, this book is pretty realistic to what some are experiencing in life today. Which made me enjoy this book even more!
The story was simply amazing will draw in completely. This well written, romance novel will have flipping the pages fast!

Thank you so much for giving me the chance to read and review this ebook!

Was this review helpful?

I love Debbie Macomber. I was so excited to be approved for this book. Absolutely loved it!! Thanks to publisher and NetGalley for this book!!

Was this review helpful?

I like Debbie Macomber's books because the characters are relatable, they're not over rich, perfectly fit and beautiful people that most people cannot connect with. In It’s Better This Way, Macomber introduces us to Julia, a divorced mother of two daughters and Heath, a divorced father of two sons. They meet in their condo's gym and though they both are intent on only being friends, they eventually realize they're made for each other.

I will say there were a few times throughout the book that I thought both sets of their children should have been taken down a few notches by their parents earlier in the book.

I enjoyed the story as it focused on a more mature couple - it's nice to know that you can find love and happiness later in life. I also like how Macomber weaved a character and locale from a previous book into It's Better This Way as it felt like seeing a long-lost friend.

If your'e looking for a great weekend or beach read, this is it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House-Ballantine for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

Was this review helpful?

I love seeing a seasoned couple in romance, after all love is not only for people under 3o.? Julia was dealt a devastating blow when her husband of over thirty years ask her for a divorce. Julia begged her husband a request to go to marriage counseling and hold off from a divorce for six months. The six months did not pass before her husband Eddie confess to her he was seeing someone else and needed that divorce. The book forwards six years later and Julia has sold her home and is now living in a condo and is adjusting to single life. She meets Heath and at first they both agreed to be friends only since they both were cheated on by their exes. As they get to know each other they realize they have fallen for each other. What happens next is truly some coincidence that only can happen once in a lifetime.Julia and Heath finds out something they have in common pertaining to their family and realizes its going to take moving heaving and earth for their adult children to accept each of them in the other's life. Review is on goodreads and amazon.

Was this review helpful?

It’s better this way is the latest summer read from Debbie Macomber. Julia Jones’s husband is leaving her for another woman, and she starts the book doing everything to hold her marriage together, though it doesn’t work. The impact of this effort has driven a wedge between Julia’s daughters and their father. Julia’s mantra of “it’s better this way” has guided her through the break-up of her 31 year marriage and helped her move on. She meets a new man 6 years later, and they hit it off. In Debbie Macomber fashion, there are loads of family complications, despite the love between Julia and her new love interest.

This was a solid story about trying to make a complicated blended family work. I was a little frustrated when Heath’s sons could not see the history repeating itself, but other than that, it was a very enjoyable read. Another solid family story from Debbie Macomber.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?