A Forty Year Kiss reminds me of The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks in all the best ways. Raw, emotional, melancholy, and realistic. So many romance books focus on couples when they are young, and depict how those couples first meet and fall in love. A Forty Year Kiss flips the classic narrative on its head by presenting a romantic story about ex-spouses falling back into love forty years after their divorce.

It touches on a variety of real-life situations, challenges, and life lessons, while simultaneously pulling at your heartstrings and depicting a cast of characters you’re sure to love. I really appreciated these unique story.

Huge thank you to Nickolas Butler, RB Media, Sourcebooks, & NetGalley for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

A Forty Year Kiss by Nickolas Butler ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sourcebooks Landmark
Pub Date: 2-4-25

Thank you @netgalley, @bookmarked, and @wiscobutler for the opportunity to read this eARC.

This story definitely caught me by surprise - a sweet story of love, family, secrets, challenges, and redemption. From the very beginning, I found myself rooting for Charlie and Vivian as they reunited after forty years apart, facing the complexities that come with recollections of the past and a lifetime of living separate lives.

"You live long enough, you understand the value of a second chance. A new beginning. If you’d told me two, three years ago I could sit down at a bar and talk to you, be this close to you… how much money would I have paid for that chance, that time? I would have paid anything."

"He did not feel like a man over sixty-years old. He did not feel any age. All he felt was love. Promise. He tried to tamp down his emotions, but it was almost impossible."

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I didn’t like the conversation layout—for example: “Same thing? The bartender asked. Leinie’s? Yeah, he said.”—There are no quotations or anything; just a bunch of they said, he said, and she said, but I got past it pretty quickly. On top of that though, the conversions could be a little off in my opinion—like there wasn’t enough depth. It felt too rushed sometimes.

The romance is super hurried and to the point, which I didn’t favor too much, but I moved past it because they’re old and gray now; time is dwindling for them, so I understood why it was written that way.

The writing, though, was pretty darn good! It evoked such raw emotion from me that I couldn’t help but admire it. The only problem I have with the writing is that at times, there was too much filler, and some things came off as a bit odd to me, and the grammar was here and there, but overall it was truly lovely.

Despite those small issues I had, this book was beautifully written and I liked it! I don’t read—or find—many romance books by male authors, so this was such a good experience!

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙍𝘾.

A Forty Year Kiss by Nickolas Butler is a family drama/older adult second-chance romance. Vivian and Tom were married for four years. Tom was an alcholic and their marriage ended in an abrupt divorce. Now it's been 40 years and Tom is moving back to Wisconsin. He's determined to find Viv and see if he can reconnect with her. But he's unsure if Viv will give him another chance because 40 years is a long time.

I'm all for a low drama love story, but this was not it (for me). I was so surprised at how quickly Vivian just rekindled things with Tom. There was not really any development of past behavior and no conflict really, just acceptance and moving on. And the whole secret other child situation was just weird.

I think if you enjoy character driven stories of second chances then you might enjoy Viv and Tom's story. It just wasn't for me.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Many books about long marriage, and complicated decades long love stories came out this fall. Butler’s novel, with its beautiful sprayed edges and clever dialogue, stood out from this pack. Can’t wait to see what he does next!

I didn't realize this was a romance when I picked it up. I thought the older characters were well written. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop for most of the novel (because I didn't know it was a romance) so that left me hanging a bit.

I really really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately the lack of proper punctuation prevented me from being able to get into this book. I did like the premise but the writing style was too stilted and confusing. Sadly, this was a DNF for me.

This was not the book for me. I was so bored throughout the entire thing. The details were all so mundane.

I don't understand why the author didn't use quotation marks to specify conversations. It drove me bonkers!!! I truly hope in the finished, published version they are there.

I would not recommend this book.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Forty years ago, Charlie was handsome, hot-headed, selfish, and an alcoholic.
Forty years ago, Vivian was beautiful, tired, in love, and drawing the line.
Forty years ago, Charlie and Vivian were married for just four years.
Four years they never got over, even forty years later.

“A literary valentine that promises to be a love story for the ages” is a good description of this story of second chances. Now in their sixties, Charlie and Vivian meet again. Told from alternating perspectives, this novel explores the way two people grow, mature, and love. What can be forgiven? What can be rebuilt?

If you enjoy character-driven stories, second chances, and exploring the faults and forgiveness of real people, you should check this one out.

It is a slow burn. I struggled with the first half of the book, it seemed we revisited the same mistakes too many times. I also wasn’t a huge fan of the lack of dialogue punctuation; it was often confusing as to what was actually being said vs thought. That said, I’m glad I stuck with it.

Thank you to Sourcebooks, NetGalley, and author Nikolas Butler for the complimentary copy. It was my pleasure to write this candid review.

Nickolas Butler understands the Midwest and those who inhabit it. Always a comforting read for this Midwestern gal.

Thanks to NetGalley for putting this on my radar. The audiobook narration was superb.

First, thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!

After reading the author’s notes, I actually think I understand and like the book better. However, I kept wondering why I was reading it. It was a nice love story. It was an interesting concept. I just felt a little bit unsatisfied (and that may be a “me” thing as I tend to read a different style of books). I do feel like the ending came on very abruptly and I wanted more from it. It’s a nice story, just didn’t settle in for me personally.

Deeply emotional, personal, and raw - this was a superb book making it a 5 star read for me!

Charlie and Vivian were very young when they got married and subsequently divorced four years later.

While Vivian went on to have a daughter (whom she lives with along with her two young granddaughters) Charlie had two more wives but no children.

When Charlie returns to the place they lived when they were married, forty years has passed. Determined to be better, Charlie reaches out to Vivian with hopes of treating her the way he should have all those years ago.

Does time heal all wounds? Or should the past remain in the past?

At times, this was an emotional and personally tough read as Charlie acknowledged, faced, and recognized the consequences his alcoholism had on those around him. Forgiveness is possible for some and his journey, as well as Vivian’s, was very relatable for me having once been married to an alcoholic. I felt his disease and struggles were accurately portrayed.

Thank you NetGalley, Nickolas Butler, and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

Charlie and Vivian married young, parted ways after only four years of marriage, and have not crossed paths since. Forty years later, Charlie returns to Wisconsin and seeks out Vivian to make amends. A lot of time has passed and many major life changes have occurred for each of them since they last saw each other. Will they be able to pick up the pieces of their broken past and reconnect? I really loved this book! It is not often to read of a rekindled romance between two characters when so much time has passed and I greatly appreciated that it was two older characters, working on themselves and talking through their differences in an effort to find love with each other again. Their rekindling initially seems too good to be true, and as secrets each of them holds continue to be revealed, it shows that it takes a lot of effort to make a relationship work no matter what age you are. It did drag a tiny bit in the first half, but it definitely picked up after that with many more twists and revelations than I was expecting! Charlie and Vivian are each imperfect, flawed humans and you watch them recognize their weaknesses and grow as individuals throughout the book. I grew to love each of them and was rooting for them to make it work so they could be happy together. I also liked the family dynamics and financial dynamics that came into play as they attempted to reconnect. These felt like very realistic problems you might find in a relationship like this. Overall, I enjoyed this second chance romance and would recommend it to others! Thank you to NetGalley, Nickolas Butler, and Sourcebooks Landmark for the gifted ARC in an exchange for an honest review.

This a beautiful novel about true love. I loved the Wisconsin setting. Gorgeously written. Highly recommend!

3.5🌟 A sweet, tender and mature second chance love story set in Wisconsin by a Wisconsin author. 📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for an advanced e-copy of A Forty Year Kiss by Nickolas Butler.

This second chance love story follows the lives of Charlie and Vivian who divorced just over forty ago after just four years of marriage. At the time, their young love could not overcome Vivian’s expectations and Charlie’s struggles with immaturity and alcohol. When Charlie returns to Wisconsin forty years later, he can no longer deny that his love for Vivian never died and he reaches out to her in hopes of rekindling their past romance with promises of a very different future. Can these two star-crossed souls find their way back to one another after a span of other heartbreaks, unfulfilled promises, secrets, and mistakes? Is there a time limit on first love?

This is a sweet love story that tackles hard issues of alcoholism, poverty, and unwanted pregnancy. I related to Charles and Vivian because I am not far from their ages and have lived a full life just like them. I felt their struggles are realistically portrayed by Butler, but he also leaves the reader with a sense of hope never being lost. Read this if you believe in second chances and the wonder of true love. despite the odds.

This book was a a sometimes sad and sometimes joyous life reflection. Two people, Vivian and Charlie were once married, briefly, in their younger years. They are now both in their sixth decade of life. Both are lonely and wondering if their is another chance to have a future together now that they are mature and life experiences has changed them both. So much has happened in forty years.
I could totally relate to Charlie and Vivian. They had much to work out before committing to a new relationship but at the same time there is that realization that the clock is ticking and a chance at true love again should not be delayed. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I liked how the author explored each person’s perspective as the story unfolded.

I won't be posting a review for this book elsewhere as I didn't exactly enjoy it. The writing is beautiful and has a wonderful flow to it! I just could not connect to the characters or the story itself. It felt dry for me but that could partially be due to me being a Fantasy reader primarily. I enjoy other genres here and there and this premise sounded really interesting, but I think it was a case of right book, wrong time for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy of A Forty Year Kiss by Nickolas Butler. It’s out now, so you can - and should! - get a copy.

This beautifully written and nuanced novel centers around Vivian and Charlie, two sixty-somethings who reconnect after divorcing 40 years earlier. Charlie is remorseful and Vivian is wary, but the spark might still be there. As the old Good Housekeeping column used to ask, “can this marriage be saved?” Or more accurately, start over?

The character development is absolutely top notch and the writing and sense of setting are gorgeous. I’ll be thinking about Vivian and Charlie for a long time. . Five stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of A Forty Year Kiss by Nickolas Butler!