This was a fantastic book about the disintegration of a marriage and each spouse later reflecting on why it happened and what they still meant to each other. While it was sad to read about, it acts as both a cautionary tale and a reminder that you're not alone in your own marital struggles.

That ending though! I was blown away and as promised by the description, I definitely cried. My only criticism is that the end of the book was very very fast. A bit more time to give a bit more closure to the reader would have been nice in my opinion.

Wow, wow, wow. How to even put into words what I felt for this book 🥹.

I really love a good read about a couple that has been together for a rather lengthy time, that faces some wavy waters, and end up finding their way back to where they started and remembering their why. This book did it for me - I loved every minute of it. There were some special things in this read that I though were so sweet - the situation with the records and the sleeves and notes - so beautifully done.
I didn’t expect what happened in the end, tugging at my heart strings more than I would have hoped for in any read. Can’t knock stars off for that though. This was such a different, heart-felt love story.

Thank you so much to Random House Publishing, and Netgalley for the chance to read and review this ARC.

Thank you to Random House publishing group and Net Galley for the early ARC of this book.
This is my first book by this author and to say I was completely enthralled by the story is an understatement. As a middle aged, married female, this book spoke to me. I think any woman can relate to the feelings that the MFC has. The feeling of inadequacy, fear, and coping with the changes in ourselves and our relationships. This book takes a close look inside marriage, love, and loss.
Danielle and Alex have so much love for each other. The story weaves back and forth through their memories to present day. From the beginning of their relationship when they were so engrossed with each other to present day when they can't stand each other. I loved how Renee weaved music as a tether to their relationship. Music can trigger so many memories and ellicit such strong emotions that only a simple melody can conjure up.
This book is about falling in and out of love. Even a well rooted relationship develops cracks from the external forces of life and being. This book is about how we change over time and how that directly impacts our relationship with others. What happens when we stop growing together? It asks the question of what choice do we have when the space between us has grown too far, and we can't find our way back.

Let me start by saying Renee is such an amazing author. She has done it again and given us all the feels with this book.
This is a very relatable book with a second chance at love and a little devastation built in.
I really didn’t want this book to end.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the arc

I truly am I huge fan of this author, however this book was middle ground for me. The beginning 75 percent was exactly what I look for in a second chance love story. I also enjoyed the duel pov so we could hear both of their inner thoughts which added alot to the story, However, once I found the couple was just getting together again and starting to build their relationship, the plot twist hits. I found after this happened I lost interest in the story because I knew what the final result would be. I also felt the ending was a bit abrupt and I felt no closure, which may be the point but I wanted definite answers after the roller coaster the last forth of the book was. Overall, I really did enjoy the story however the ending kind of ruined it for me. I am still a fan of Renee Carlino and will continue to read her books in the future.

First of all, I would like to thank Renee Carlino for writing this book for me, Dani, a.k.a. Danielle is so kind of you to write a book for your biggest fan. Just kidding, but it was fun to see my name in a book especially a book as great as this one!


Renea Carlino has the ability to break your heart, and weave it back together where yes it's together but that ache that you felt that moment of loss or grief, or that character you cried for it's woven into your heart and it's gonna stay there. It's beautiful, it poignant, it's wonderful and it's real. Alex and Dani are getting a divorce. They have spent a whole lifetime together. They have two boys, but they have simply fallen out of love. We get glances of that young love throughout the story from both point of view, which was great. The story is woven together from different time points in their relationship up to current day. They are heading towards a divorce and having to live without the other person and having to support their person while not being their person anymore.
This Used to Be US is a beautiful story about falling in love when you're young land having to figure out what that love means as you grow. It's about the world outside your perfect newlywed bubble changes, and how it can alter you as a person which ultimately would change your relationship, it's about who you wanna spend the worst years of your life with and it's beautiful. I loved it!

I received an arc of #thisusedtobeus from #netgalley - release date is July 9. Wow! This one has all the feels! It reminded me of After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid which I absolutely loved. Dani and Alex have been married 22 years, were fiercely in love, and things just kind of fell apart and they are now divorcing. They rent a nesting apartment and swap days with their two boys at their home. The storyline follows them navigating divorced life and reflecting on what went wrong and remembering what they loved about each other. The ending will leave you feeling all the things. I highly recommend you add this to your TBR and snag it in July!

Read this book if you want your heart to absolutely shatter . I feel like Renee Carlino’s writing makes you feel so many emotions because she’s able to capture reality. When you read her books it feels so real because things like this truly happen in life .

You know when you read a fluffy romance and at the end they usually get married and have kids in the epilogue …. welll this book is what happens after you’ve been married for 22 years and now your on the verge of getting a divorce . When you were truly in love then life throws you a lot of obstacles and you not knowing how to navigate them . This book shows you how important communication is .

One of my favourite things about this book was the records . I overall did enjoy this book but it will make you cry .

I loved it until the last 5%. That ending. 😭 I was a big fan of Before we Were Strangers so I know the author likes to throw a twist in there but it felt unnecessary to me.

I've been a big fan of Renee Carlino ever since I first read Before We Were Strangers, since then I've turned to her backlist while awaiting something new.
This Used To Be Us was worth the wait! It gave me everything I've come to love when reading a novel from Carlino; maturely written characters, heartfelt & tender moments, and of course, the amazing music references. I was refreshed to find her latest work to be about a couple with twenty years of marriage under their belt, and with that, the struggles of a long term relationship. It's not often that I get to read about characters in this stage of life, navigating parenthood, while also getting a glimpse at the earlier workings of the marriage, before things fell apart. It definitely painted a full picture.
This was written with sensitivity towards both of the main characters. With the split POV I was able to grasp their personal struggles, as well as the struggles relating more to their marriage, and what went wrong. Alexander and Dani were written with plenty of imperfections, which I found both relatable and a bit frustrating at times. I feel like the saying, "we hurt the ones closest to us," was a big theme throughout this book. This Used To Be Us showcased how we can easily lose sight of what's important, until it's too late.
Towards the end, things did go in an unexpected direction. And while I appreciate the unpredictable twist, I did find it rushed and wish more had been dedicated to this subplot.

I am a huge fan of Renee Carlino, so I was excited to get the change to read This Used to Be Us.

Danielle and Alex, who have been together for twenty two years, are getting a divorce. Instead of having the kids move between two homes, they decide to share an apartment while swapping days with their sons. In this new space, they reflect on their past, rediscovering themselves and even dating again. Despite their attempts to move on, they find themselves drawn back to each other.

This story is based around divorce and family and a couple that is finding their way back to each other. I felt like it did focus a little too long on the troubles they were having and not enough on their time back together.

I look forward to reading more from this author.

I posted this in good reads but I’d rate this 3.8 stars. I loved the story and always really enjoy Renee’s writing but I wish it didn’t focus so much on the divorce and the animosity around them and more of their love and finding each other again. Thank you so much for an ARC for this

Wow! This made me ugly cry. Alex and Dani hit a rough patch in their marriage and end up divorcing. They are great at co-parenting their two boys and the time apart helps them each find themselves as individuals. It also helps them see they still have love for each other. It was such a well written book and I did not see the ending coming. Thank you so much for the ARC netgalley!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Dial Press for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I recently read Carlino’s Before We Were Strangers and it immediately became a classic, 5-star love story for me (on the same level as my all-time fav, The Notebook). As a new fan of Carlino, I was very excited to see she was about to release a new book.

This Used to Be Us is a poignant, heart-breaking, heart-put-back-together-ing tale. It is not for the faint of heart and it's not your classic throwaway love story. I would recommend this book to fans of Carlino's other novels. I can't wait to read more of her books.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book. Renee Carlino has been a favorite author ever since I read Swear On This Life, and I just about died of excitement when I saw she’d written a new book! I could read Renee’s writing all day and this one is no different. It has that After I Do vibe, which is such a refreshing read as a married woman in her 40s. Dani was such a lovable character and her journey in this book was beautiful. I’m not sure it will be for everyone given the plot and especially the ending, but it was so special to read a realistic romance that reminds you to see past the everyday stresses and remember the love that brought you together.

When I first started this book I had a feeling I knew where the plot was headed. And while I was mostly right, I was pleasantly surprised by how well done it was.

At first, reading their love story and then how it fell apart I was hoping they would divorce and find new partners. But partway through I started rooting for them to get back together. There were things both of them said and did that were pretty brutal, but that's real life, right?

I really enjoyed this book and I feel like I'll be thinking about it for a long time.

“Some things never change. Who would want them to?”

This book had me hooked from page one!!
Everything pulls you in. The characters, Dani and Alex, are both so relatable and felt 100% real. The setting was done so well! The premise behind this was great!

The way Renee weaved past events with the present… just flawless. Truly chefs kiss. Everything about this book surprised me.

I truly didn’t expect it to be so many amazing things. These perfectly placed moments with a great balance of humor. The humor really sent me for a spin because even just reading the synopsis you wouldn’t think this one would be so funny. But it is. Also Dani. Just wow. Well done Renee! Absolutely loved her!!!! Renee truly writes amazing characters.

I can’t tell you the last time I cried throughout a book! So many things hit you hard in the chest. Had to keep stopping to gather myself.

”It sounds like the music you would hear in heaven. This is the moment that represents exactly what love is to me. You look up and smile again.”

I spent 90% of this book thinking “Wow! I’m really about to finish my first 5 star read of the year!!” only to LEGITIMATELY turn the page, hit 91% and things changed immediately.

At one point while reading I marked an update something like “I know how this is going to end and I don’t even care!”, and I meant it. I thought I knew where everything was headed (which would usually piss me off), but I didn’t care. I wanted it!!

The last 9% of this book though... Just why?! Why?! How can something truly go from being absolute perfection… to whatever this ending was. It felt like a completely different book.

Really just wanted something else. Even if it wasn’t the ending I had thought it would be, almost anything else would have been better.

We were so close to 5 stars with this one, sadly I just can’t look past that ending.

THIS USED TO BE US is the perfect example of what I could want in a romance. There was so much angst, tension, history, love, and emotional depth between Dani and Alex in this marriage-in-crisis story that I had to read it in two sittings. After 22 years together and married yet never felt so distant from one another, Dani and Alex have decide there is no way back to each other and must navigate their newly divorced life while raising their two sons.

The author's writing is incredibly believable, real and layered that it has a way of pulling so much emotion out of me when reading her work. I greatly admired and appreciated the dual point of view and getting in the mind of both characters. And how in the end, divorce is what saves their marriage. Grateful to have witnessed Dani and Alex's beautiful, heartbreaking/heartfelt love and their story.

Much gratitude to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

As soon as I read the synopsis of “This Used to Be Us”, I knew I had to read it. I ended up reading it in one day - I just could not put it down.

While this is wildly personal, I related more to this book than anything I have ever read. Dani’s thoughts, fears, and reactions to her marriage and divorce are ones I have felt personally. Excerpts that I could have sworn were plucked straight out of my own memories.

Renee Carlino is masterful in creating the most heartbreakingly beautiful stories with the most relatable characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Music prompts memories and the emotions surrounding that certain period of time. That is why at first her father and then Dani carried on the tradition of writing on the record covers of how that one moment, that one lyric encapsulated all of the emotional connection surrounding it. It told the story of Dani and Alex's lives. A story at the beginning that they had forgotten. Dani was Times New Roman. Bold and fearless, she charged ahead with life and was passionate about her family and what she wanted. She was undeterred on her path. Therefore, she perceived Alex's calmness as weakness and he simply lacked emotional empathy. He constantly stonewalled her. It led to the demise of their relationship and eventual divorce. They no longer heard nor saw each other. The brightness faded. However, in going out there alone, they were the loneliest they ever felt even when they were totally separate physically and emotionally as a couple. It is only with her diagnosis and understanding of the finality of time, that they realized that the most important thing is to love and love fiercely. Fight for the family you have created. It is worth more than any Emmy. It is the story that is written on the album that demonstrates the underlying love. Dani deserved the dramatic ending of being part of fireworks as her fire never diminished. They ended up being lovelove6.