I loved this story! Jess and Malcolm have been together since they were very young. But life hasn’t gone exactly has they planned and it’s taking a toll on their relationship. Most readers will be able to empathize and relate to some of not all of this story. Tag along with Jess and Mal through their ups, downs, and new beginnings.

Another masterpiece by Mary Beth Keane. At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to read about a bartender and his bar and his marital issues, but this book ended up hitting all the marks for me. The author intersperses the couple's history in present-time musings which was beautifully done. The whole book covers the span of just one week where there was a snowstorm that closed everything down, leaving so much room for introspection for both Malcolm and Jess. I loved them both with all their insecurities and problems and their love for each other. I highly recommend this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for the opportunity to read such a beautiful book in advance.

So good. Mary Beth Keene always delivers when it comes to messy and complicated relationships and flawed characters.

The Half Moon tells the story of Malcolm and Jess. Malcolm's dream is to own a bar. After years of working at the Half Moon the owner is retiring and offers to bar to Malcolm with slightly shady selling terms.

Jess's dream is to have a baby. For years she has seen fertility doctors and undergone procedures without any luck. Both scenarios have depleted the couple's finances. The book follows the deterioration of their marriage as their dreams falter as does their relationship.

Keane is a great storyteller and you become invested in Malcolm and Jess's journey.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

I really enjoyed Mary Beth Keane’s Ask Again, Yes but this one was very disappointing. It started off pretty boring and hard to get into and the story just really didn’t go anywhere. This was almost a DNF for me, but I pushed myself to finish it. The story centers around the Half Moon bar owner Malcolm Gephardt and his lawyer wife Jess who both grew up in Gillam, a fictional NY suburb. Malcolm and Jess struggle with infertility and the tremendous strain it puts on their marriage. Another source of conflict between them is the Half Moon’s serious financial difficulties. Most of the book is about decisions made by Malcolm and Jess and the consequences for them and their friends and families. I’m hoping Mary Beth Keane’s next book will be more like Ask Again, Yes because I can’t recommend this one. Thanks to #netgalley and #scribner for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed Ask Again, Yes and found The Half Moon to have some similarities to it. They both focus on the little things in life, how marriages go through peaks and valleys. Will I remember each plot line and character in a few months, probably not. But I did enjoy the journey Mary Beth Keane crafted. When I started this book, the jumping back in time in the paragraphs was a little confusing, maybe because it was an e-book, it didn't feel clear. Overall, it was a earnest, slow burn.

I loved this book. A story about a marriage, hopes, dreams, but so much more. Written with brilliant prose. Look forward to more from this wonderful author.

I was really looking forward to this book because I loved Ask Again, Yes. Here are my thoughts (buckle up this is a long one):

1. You know how sometimes a book is about something but it’s REALLY about something else. This book started as a book about a man and his bar. I’m pretty sure it potentially still ended about a man and his bar. I found the parts about his marriage and their journey with infertility way more engaging and captivating than anything about this man’s bar.
2. This book is actually about marriage, infertility, friendship, and what it means to be a family. But again, also about the bar.
3. I think there may have been 1 too many plot points… or characters.
4. This book did something really interesting with perspective. It would change perspective and time period seamlessly and without warning. While at first this was hard to follow, I think I actually really liked this. It had a stream of consciousness vibe to it.

Anyhoo…. From about 25%-75% I couldn’t put it down. But the first 25% I was like I don’t care about you and your bar SIR and in the last 75% it became a mystery/crime novel?

I thought a lot about the writing of this book while I was reading it, which for me took me out of the story.

I loved Ask Again, Yes and I loved The Half Moon. I’ve found yet another new must-read author. This book was so much about shattered dreams and aging and not having all your shit together in your 40s like you always thought you would when you were younger. It was about infertility and new beginnings and leaving things behind. It was so very perfect for where I am in my life right now and just resonated so deeply with me in so many ways. Another reader might not connect to it the way I did, but for me, it was a solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I especially loved the writing and they way you come to understand the characters and the way they think. I loved the simplicity of the story; marriage, hopes and dreams. They are so basic and yet so deep.

Such a heartfelt story. Really liked the plot and the characters. The narrative was engaging and kept me hooked. An interesting read for sure if you love stories about love, family, and relationships.

📚Book Review📚
The Half Moon
Publish Date: May 2, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When a husband and wife lose their way, the heartbreak that ensues runs so deep. I really loved this story. It was filled with broken promises, unfulfilled dreams, and all of the struggles that occur when spouses ultimately want different things.

But this story is also filled with hope, true love, and growth. It’s about owning and learning from mistakes. It’s knowing when to hang on and when to let go.

I loved the writing style and characters. Definitely recommend.

Thank you @netgalley @scribnerbooks and @marybethkeane for this gifted copy and this is my honest review.

Loved! Someone warned me this was not as good as Ask Again Yes and they were definitely wrong. I really enjoyed how intricate this was and how well I got to know, and feel for, the characters.

The Half Moon is a bar owned by Malcom and his wife Jess, though Jess doesn't know how he bought it. We follow their story throughout a blizzard where their small town shuts down. They are recently separated and living apart and learn how they got to where they are. Huge trigger warning for fertility issues.

I don't know how I feel about this book. Overall it was an enjoyable (but heartbreaking) story, but I'm not exactly sure the point of the story. There was a random crime subplot which I could have done without.

I really didn't enjoy this book; the characters felt very flat and distant, and though I usually enjoy this genre, I thought The Half Moon was poorly executed. As soon as Jess was described as "not like other girls," the book was over for me.

Thank you NetGalley for this advance copy of the Half Moon. Malcolm and Jess have both financial and fertility issues, causing strife in their marriage. Compounded by a multi day snowstorm and power outage. This story jumped around time periods a bunch. Hard to follow the story progression at times. I felt sad and frustrated for the characters.

Ask again Yes was one of my favorite books the year it came out and so I was so excited to read Half Moon. This story is Jess and Malcolm’s, a couple in crisis. Both grew up in the same small town so while they seem mis-matched since Jess is an educated lawyer and Malcolm is a bartender-turned bar owner, they are tied to each other in many ways. The first quarter of the book was difficult for me to get through because it was all in Malcolm’s voice and just very depressing; Jess has left, the bar is failing, a snowstorm is coming – I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy the rest of the book. But finally Jess’ voice and perspective joins and the book came to life.

I didn’t love this as much as Ask Again Yes but it kept me reading and I enjoyed the story and the characters and their evolution (even if they weren’t people I necessarily would choose to have dinner with) and I wanted them to find their way regardless of what that meant to each of them. I always enjoy Mary Beth Keane’s writing and I look forward to her next novel as anxiously as I did this one.

Thank you Scribner and NetGalley for the chance to review.

Genuinely thought this was going to be something else. This book was a little too unlikable as a whole for me, I found it hard to get through. And it seems like I am not the only one struggling with this. It was very depressing but yet I wasn’t sad and didn’t “feel” for the characters. Mid read.

This was an engaging read with relatable if not entirely likable characters. The subject matter as a little bleak but well written. My only issue with the writing was that the narration switched frequently from Malcolm to Jess without warning and it was disorienting to go from being in one person’s head to another’s mid-scene. There were also several times when we were dropped into a flashback without warning and that took a while to sort out every time, and other times when a character’s thought about how something would play out seemed like how things were actually playing out, but then at the end of a long paragraph or two it became clear that nothing had played out at all. It was a fairly confusing read! But I didn’t dislike it nevertheless.

I thought that I would relate to this book. I am familiar with that neighborhood.
But the book was slow moving, overloaded with details.
It seemed like the whole first chapter was devoted to thinking about the weather forecast. Will there be a snowstorm? What time will it begin? Is it windy? How does the sky look? Will the customers go home? What time should the bar close?
I was not interested in the characters.
I was not interested in finishing the book.