The Half of It by Juliette Fay is a cross between Nicholas Sparks and Hallmark. It will make you feel emotional. Sad, funny, hopefully, this read is beautifully written. What a thrill ride! I cannot wait to read what Juliette Fay write next!

I am such a sucker for a friends to lovers romance!

I didnt love the huge time gap of the story though. However, I thought the build up to the romance was excellent and really made it that much more exciting when they finally got together,

I think my only gripe, was the basis of COVID, that time in our lives sucked and I honestly try to avoid any books about it especially since I lost my mom to it.

So unfortunately that really hindered my appreciation for the story. But I think the author did a really good job in describing what was going on.

Starting the year out strong with this one.

4.5 stars, I really felt the pain in this one, very moving story. While hiking with her grandchild, Helen Spencer runs into long lost love Cal Crosby, which ignites a remembrance of all things loved and lost over their 40 years of separation.

High school friendship turns into love, and then is quickly dismissed amidst adolescent immaturity. Both sent painfully in opposite future paths, they build full lives that don’t cross till many years later. What has life become? Is there opportunity for forgiveness, friendship, or anything more?

I loved how in depth their family lives were built out. I really felt like I got to know not only the two main characters, but all the surrounding ones as well. The story felt messy but therefor believable and I really felt the emotion. Good book.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Well, this book wasn't it for me. I really tried because I love reading about messy characters. But there wasn't too much that I can relate too. I found myself having trouble in connecting with the characters. It's more for older audience than myself. They have more experience to understand the characters than I do.

Regret, forgiveness, redemption, and second chances incorporated with wit and humor! Skillfully written - weaving past and present together - spreads a light on how our past effects our present - and our future - quite a introspective realization! Our actions have long lived consequences - a reminder that sometimes you have to look way back in your past to see explanations of your current struggles. Juliette Fay is excellent at character development - her characters are real, they jump off the pages. They live lives like the rest of us - emotionally messy, imperfect - but they work at making the best out of their lives! It's very refreshing to me that she gives a realistic representation of people over 50. Showing that they are vibrant with a lot of life to live. I love the wit and humor in this novel - many laugh out loud occasions!
An entertaining read! I am looking forward to the next Juliette Fay novel!

Forty years ago when Helen and Cal were in high school, one romantic night led to decades of repercussions and turmoil. What happened that fateful night, and what happens when Helen and Cal happen to run into each other decades later and talk about what happened? If they each share the other "half of it," will they finally be able to put the past behind them?

I enjoy stories about rekindled love, and this was no exception. I enjoyed the arc of the story as well as the added humor for levity. The story was touching, and I teared up near the end.

Location: Massachusetts

I received an advance copy of this book. All opinions are mine.

This cute contemporary closed-door romance is on the verge of a rom-com. The story follows Helen becoming friends with Cal Crosby in high school and then an incident occurs, and they have a falling out. Helen lives her life and in her late fifties Cal comes back into her life and the chaos begins.

How many of us wonder about a relationship from our youth and if it would have worked out? I’m sure most people have, but never have the opportunity to find out.
Helen and Cal do.
I really didn’t like any of the characters and I thought Cal was extremely selfish even after he admitted it.
I also didn’t like the ending because it was sad and my thought was good grief, hasn’t the woman been through enough.
Sometimes it’s better to leave well enough alone.

4.5 stars
If you’re in the mood for a charming, sweet, but also bittersweet novel about life, family, and romance, then this is probably a good pick for you. I would be curious to know if people younger than me found that the book resonates with them the way it did to me. I am approaching 50, and as the book opens Helen, the protagonist is 58 and somewhat newly widowed and living near her daughter in Massachusetts. On a hike she unexpectedly runs into her childhood love who you could also argue was her one great love- Cal Crosby. For the first part of the book it seems like it’s going to be a lighthearted, meet cute, long-lost romance novel, but it is so much more than that. Helen really suffered from the choices Cal made when she was younger. It’s about lost time, lost causes, lost love- and do we ever get a second chance at love? At something new in our lives? At long lost friendships? I read this book several novels ago, and I am still thinking about it. I can still see many of the scenes in my head. I hope a movie studio or a streaming channel buys the rights to this one and does a bang up job with it. I really loved it. 4. 5 stars

This book was an interesting character study--not a lot of action, but it was all about how the characters played off of one another. The plot was simple--boy and girl meet in high school, become friends, have a falling out, get back together for one night, split up again, and then meet 40 years later. How the characters interrelate and weave around each other is what makes the book a good read. What ruined the book for me is that the author wrote one chapter too many. Everyone knows that end of life can bring great sadness, I just wasn't prepared for the ending of this book (yes, I know that death follows life, but I just didn't need to be reminded of it in the book).

Helen is in the park when she sees a little boy who has run away from his grandpa. She rescues him, and immediately recognizes the adult as her teenage friend Cal.
Helen is newly widowed and moved cities to be near her daughter and help with her son-in-law’s business and doesn’t know anyone. This story comes close on the heels of pandemic lockdown and the change in job status and life circumstances for many, and Helen doesn’t have friends in her new town. I loved how this story was told not only telling a genuinely beautiful family story, but went back and forth in time to Cal and Helen’s high school friendship and the rekindling forty years later. It’s a story of love, loss, friendships, family dynamics, second chances and healing. I adored this.
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High school seniors Helen and Cal spend a romantic night together that ends in heartbreak. Forty years later, they run into each other. Cal wants to talk about what happened. Will Helen finally open up and face her past?

THE HALF OF IT was an emotional read that had me near tears by the end. Heartfelt, funny, poignant – there was something touching about going on each character’s journey down memory lane and then seeing how they reconciled the past with their current lives. I really enjoyed the dual timeline and felt it was executed well. The writing had a nice flow that made for easy reading and the plot moved along at a good pace. This is a book that makes you stop and think about where you are in life, where you’ve been, and where you’re going.

I really enjoyed THE HALF OF IT and would definitely recommend to fans of romantic fiction, especially second chance stories. This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I’m interested in checking out her other works.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the DRC.

When Helen moves to a new town to be near her daughter and granddaughter after losing her husband and mother, Helen does not expect to run into Cal Crosby, her high school love. Their relationship in high school was unique but ended badly. While trying to find her way, working with her son in law and watching Lana, her granddaughter, Helen ends up running into Cal, who is married with his own family. The chapters alternate between the past of how their relationship began and ended, and their current situation. Well done and well written, I recommend this novel. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Oh how I enjoyed this one!! I loved the writing in it and the dialogue between the characters. I found I was unable to put this down!

Told in a mix of flashbacks, the current period and a short bit into the future, we get the story of Helen and Cal's second chance romance. In what seems a series of missed connections and misunderstandings, Helen and Cal miss the chance of a true romance in their teenage years while in high school. An incident that occurred shortly before they graduated completely changed the course of both of their lives. They never spoke to each other again until 40 years later when they bumped into each other hiking with their respective grandkids. This leads Cal to look for Helen to clarify things, but Helen isn't ready to speak. Helen instead seeks to rekindle her friendship with her childhood best friend, who does accept the olive branch and tries to help Helen. Because of Francie's push, she speaks to Cal, and he realizes he doesn't know Helen's side of the story. While he got caught up in the incident's implications, he forgot that there would also be consequences for her. In this, they rekindle the friendship they once had, and it turns into more. It was a touching and moving story about love, second chances and unexpected circumstances.

Helen has a chance encounter with Cal 40 years after their strong friendship fizzled out in high school. It is soon revealed that each of them has carried a lot of baggage through their adult life from the way their relationship ended somewhat abruptly. Can they make amends with themselves and with each other?

Contemporary romance is a hit and miss genre for me, and unfortunately, this one was a big miss. I enjoyed about the first 75-80% of the book as we got to know the characters, their families, and their histories, but nearing the end, the novel took a very weird (albeit somewhat predictable) teenage angsty vibe that just didn't make sense.

I did also appreciate how much Fay infused music into the novel. I love it when authors do this, as it enhances the reading experience and brings the setting to life.

Thank you to Book Club Girl, Netgalley, and William Morrow for the early ebook edition!

I am still tearing up over this one! Absolutely wonderful! A book I could not put down, and a story that pulls at your heart and makes you wonder "what if?". Highly recommend!!

*Thank you @getredpr and @williammorrowbooks for the #gifted egalley.*

The Half of It was an unexpected and emotional journey for me. I was so invested mentally and emotionally that I had a hard time putting it down.

One of the things I loved is that this book isn’t told from a “typical” point of view - it is told from the perspective of 58 year old Helen. Alternating between earlier in her life and present day, you quickly see things what transpired through a teenager’s eyes, and then the hurt and frustration that has been carried for many years.

Overall, it’s a beautiful book exploring the things we carry with us, and the possibility of growth and forgiveness. Is it possible to move on and not be burdened any longer?

And bonus points, the way it ended made me cry. That’s a rarity and really speaks to how amazing this book is start to finish.

Helen Spencer and Cal Crosby bonded over their love of running as awkward teenagers. When Cal got the nerve to ask Helen to homecoming, she didn't know that turning him down would also end their friendship. As they grew apart, one fateful run would bind them together forever. Four decades later, Helen now a widow and Cal unhappily married, can the once best friends rekindle what they had?

I enjoyed reading this new release by Juliette Fay; this is my first book by the author and won't be my last. What I thought Juliette did the best was writing mature, yet flawed characters that came off as realistic and not whiny. Romance and love, at any age can be messy and this second-chance romance is no exception. I liked the dynamic with the kids of both Helen and Cal and I felt the ending fit where they were in the story.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Half of It by Juliette Fay is a romance that goes all the way in bringing readers a beautiful story that is easy to become part of.