This book was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and my goodness, did it live up to my expectations.

Renee Carlino is one of my most favorite storytellers. And while she generally has written incredibly emotional romances, This Used to be Us shines brighter than all her others... and that's saying something because Swear on This Life has been a top read of mine since the day it released!

This Used to be Us brings us Dani and Alex. After 22 years together, they are filing for divorce. They have a "nest" apartment they share when they are splitting their time with their children. From there, we are taken on an incredibly relatable journey through falling in love, marriage, career successes and failures, parenthood, and even forgiveness and second chances.

I don't want to give anything away as I think everyone needs to experience this story from beginning to end. And while the journey through this story was my favorite part, I still appreciated the ending. The dual perspectives added such an essential layer to the story and the interworkings of Dani and Alex's relationship.

Renee Carlino just leaves her mark with another beautifully compelling story that will hit you in all of the feels, and with those characters sitting in their 40s, I was completely pulled in by just how incredibly relatable this story was. This story really sat with me long after I finished reading. I highly recommend.

⭐️ 4.5

Wow. I thought the first 75% of this book was pretty solid. But the last 25%? It absolutely ruined me. What a beautiful book that encapsulates the duality of relationships — both the messiness and the beauty.

This book will stick with me for a long time and I cannot recommend it enough. Just be prepared and have your tissues ready!

I am not sure how I want to rate this book, I have so many thoughts! First off, I really appreciated characters in their 40s, I read so many with the main characters in their 20s. This is a second chance romance, so you know what you are going into when you start it. Dani and Alex are getting divorced, they have a messy, heartbreaking history and two sons they are trying to do right by, so I understand and found interesting their arrangement with the shared home and nesting apartment. There were times I didn’t really care for either character, but they came back around for me. Bits of the book dragged in the mundane, but I did feel like I got to know everyone really well and see the complicated depth there. I LOVED the bits of writing in the albums we got to see, and the overall flow of the book.

But then we got to near the end and it took a turn. And I am not sure how I feel about that turn!?!? I didn’t love it. I wish it was different. I can appreciate that it didn’t go where I thought the book was heading. But again, it wasn’t my favorite either. I am curious to hear what you think if you have read it!

Bottom Line: Read it.

This one comes out July 9, 2024

**I received a copy of This Used to Be Us from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

This Used to Be Us is my 4th Renée Carlino book. I’ve loved every book of hers that I’ve read and this book was honestly no exception. However, at times because of the subject matter, it was really hard for me to read. It was raw and real and honest and heart wrenching. I loved it!

A huge thank you to Random House, Renée Carlino, and NetGalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange of my honest review.

I’ve been a huge fan of Renee Carlino for many years and have read just about every novel she’s written. I was so beyond excited when I found out she was almost finished a new book and even more ecstatic when I was approved to read an ARC!

When I read Renee’s novels, the characters come to life so much that I feel as though I’m watching a film. She has this beautiful way of writing that makes me see everyone and everything so clearly that I forget I’m reading a book.

This Used to Be Us was no exception. To be honest, when I read the premise of the book I wasn’t too sure about it initially. However, I knew that with Renee writing it, there’s no way I could possibly dislike it. After finishing it today, that couldn’t be more of an understatement.

Being a child of divorce myself, I wasn’t sure how experiencing Alex & Dani’s impending divorce would affect me. I remember much of my parents divorce, but seeing it through the lens of a 5 year old is very different than experiencing it as an adult. This book was such a real, heartbreaking, and sometimes even infuriating testament of what navigating a divorce must feel like. I found myself really invested in this relationship from the beginning and was blow away by the evolution of all the characters that takes place.

This Used to Be Us will make you feel such a span of emotions. It’s heartfelt, poignant, sometimes frustrating, sometimes raw and absolutely stunning. I loved it so much that I jumped on here to write my review with the tears still fresh on my face. Thank you, Renee, for another brilliantly beautiful novel! And so many thanks to NetGalley and Dial Press for allowing me the honor of reading the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Many thanks to @thedialpress @randomhouse and @netgalley for my #gifted (free) copy. Pub date 7/9/24.

This was definitely a heart-wrenching romance novel that left me in tears. The story felt so real and raw, and I could feel every emotion the main characters and their children felt. Definitely grab the tissues and a glass of wine for this book, as I'm sure many of you will be able to relate to this story, whether it's from the children's side or the parents.

Dani and Alex were the perfect couple until they weren't. They had the perfect marriage, house, careers, and kids. After 22 years of marriage, they decide it's time to divorce. I loved how the story was told through both Dani and Alex, and we were able to get both their POVs. I will definitely be reading more of Renee's books in the future.

This Used To Be Us is the perfect contemporary romance that really balances lighthearted topics as well as serious ones. This book made me emotional and i absolutely love that in all of Renee Carlino’s books. I preordered the physical copy because i am in love with this story. Please please pick this book up on release day!

Thank you NetGalley and Renee Carlino for the eARC of This Used to Be Us. This book brought me to tears and I haven't stopped thinking about these characters since I finished the last chapter. I love the emphasis on music and how these characters found their way back to one another. I am actually happy that the ending wasn't drawn out but I do wish more time was dedicated to their early years.
This will definitely be a book that I purchase when it is released.
4.5 stars

Renee Carlino is a masterful storyteller. Her books are so good because she writes about and conveys life situations with emotion, truth, and grace. In "This Used to be Us," we meet Dani and Alex, who used to be so in love - I would have enjoyed seeing more flashbacks- but I understand the novel was about where they were now and how they were surviving with the new normal. While I will not spoil the story for you - know this will make you cry - I will tell you what it brought up for me. Life is short- love the people who make your life worth living, take care of your relationships with your lover - work at it every day if it is worth it to you to do so, and always remember to nurture yourself - pour into yourself. Do what you love and remember you. Love your partner - even the things that annoy you, as in Dani's case, Alex grinding coffee beans so early in the morning. The book was a great reminder of the above, but most of all, life is fleeting, and every second should be loved and appreciated. Thanks for the Reminder, Renee!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I recently started Renee Carlino's work and have fell in love, so when this one came to me I had to read it!

This one will definitely ruminate with you if you are in any kind of relationship. It highlights the challenges of a marriage and divorce with a child thrown in. It was a very realistic portrayal.

I cried of course as all of Carlino's book tend to make you do. Readers will love this one as much as her others. I never saw that ending coming! Definitely recommend.

This Used to Be Us by Renee Carlino is the story of Alex and Dani, 2 individuals navigating the demise of their marriage and working through their divorce after 22 years together.

This story is raw and realistic in depicting a divorce when children are involved and at times you can feel the pain, which is palatable in Ms. Carlino’s writing.

How can individuals who loved each other so much in the beginning of their marriage end up with such animosity towards each other? Can they be civil, if not for themselves, but for their boys?

Towards the end of the story, it becomes very emotional and Alex and Dani learn to get back to a kind, caring place. Please know you will need a box of tissues as the plot leads us to an unexpected place.

This was a 4.5 star review for me and I look forward to Ms. Carlino’s next release.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for the ARC.

4.5⭐️ renee carlino, you have done it again

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC! <3

This book was absolutely heart wrenching. I normally don't like second chance romances but Renee Carlino does it so unbelievably well.
The book is a heartbreaking look at marriage and divorce. Renee Carlino tells the story of Dani and Alex, a couple whose love is fading after twenty-two years together. She writes it so well that you'll feel like you're right there with the MCs, experiencing their relationship falling apart.
The book shows how their marriage falls apart, from small annoyances to big disappointments.
The thing about the book that i thought was really special was the music aspect of it. I loved the little notes on the vinyl records. (I love the music references in Renee carlino books in general omg)

However, i do wish that we got to see more of Dani and Alex when they were younger and actually in love. We only got to read two flashback chapters and that was a little disappointing, because i would have loved to see how the characters developed over the years. It was a great book nonetheless and i'm definitely buying the physical copy once it comes out.
Again, thank you to NetGalley, Random House, and of course, Renee Carlino for this incredible book 💗

This Used to be Us was my first Renee Carlino book and I can happily say that I understand the hype. This book crushed me in the best way. This Used to be Us is a heavy book that touches on a lot of difficult topics and the nuances that go along with them. I felt so many different emotions while reading this book. The love and disdain that Dani and Alex had for each other was so honest and their journey through such a challenging time in their lives was so raw. As a child of divorce, I found this book to be both heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. I love the way the book was written with dual POVs and I also enjoyed the chapter titles. While I was reading, I wasn’t sure where the book was headed and I can confidently say that I did not expect the ending at all. Without spoiling anything, the end of this book had me ugly crying on my couch. I felt like the ending came from out of nowhere and happened fairly quickly, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless (if one can even really “enjoy” that). Overall, I really enjoyed this and can’t wait to read more of her books!

Thank you so much to Random House, The Dial Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was intense, realistic and heartbreaking. For me - kind of hard to get through because I wasn’t ready for all these feelings. It gave me flashbacks to how I felt when I watched Irreconcilable Differences as a kid. That said, I’d highly recommend to anyone in the right mindset and those that love a heartbreaker.

Messy and realistic and a real roller coaster. It’s very hard for me to express my feelings for this book without spoilers, so I’ll just say that I loved it and it was beautifully written, but don’t expect this to end the way you think, or hope, or even what the book leads you to believe will happen. Go in with an open mind.

I loved the musical references and the storytelling through “journaling” on the liners of old 33 records. It created nostalgia that pulled me in and made the characters three dimensional. There are some heartbreaking scenes, which might be difficult for someone who has experienced infertility, pregnancy loss, and/or the loss of a child. I would advise reading the content warnings. And having a box of tissues nearby.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Press for the electronic ARC in exchange for my honest review.

With her latest book, “This Used To Be Us,” author Renee Carlino takes the reader on an emotional journey quite like no other—a journey paved with love, loss, regrets, and second chances. It’s the story of Dani and Alex, whose love story went awry when life dared to intervene, breaking their bubble of happiness and sending this couple down separate and lonely paths. Theirs is truly a heart-wrenching story that had me reaching for the tissues more than once.

This is a wonderful look at a marriage from start to finish to start again. Loved the characters. I read this quite quick as it kept my interest. Thank you for the chance to read this!

I love this authors books so much when I seen she had a new release I couldn’t wait. So I went to NetGalley and prayed it would be there. I was so thankful it was and the day it showed up on my kindle I jumped right in. This book made me think so much. Being a wife and a mom I could relate to so much of what was written. This book hit differently. I’m a romance girl and though I didn’t get that feeling reading this. I felt like I was reading someone’s life story and it made me feel more great full from my family. Because we all struggle and life is hard. It had opened my eyes to life and love. I may have ahead a few tears at the end too Because life is precious and we never know how much time we have.

I was so excited to get this, as I loved Before We Were Strangers. I haven’t disliked a book as much I disliked this one in a long time.

First, I felt like we spent so much time understanding Alex and Dani’s disdain for each other. I mean I am pretty sure their relationship was still a disaster until 80% in. And the ending!!!! So sad and rushed. So many terrible things happened at the end. I’ve never considered DNFing a book at 96% but I did consider that with this one. So disappointing.

I have loved all of Renée Carlino's books, and though it has been a while since her last book, This Used to be Us, proved that she still has the amazing ability to write a compelling story! This was a devastating yet beautiful story about two individuals who become divorced but find their ways back to each other. I absolutely loved the dual perspective of Dani and Alex which gave such depth to their characters and made this such a poignant and realistic story. Highly recommend! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️