TW: infidelity

When their son goes away for college, Emma finds that she just can’t spend another day in her marriage as it is. She proposes time apart, a full year. Her husband, Rob, doesn’t seem to feel one way or another about it, so he goes along with the separation.

With minimal backstory to establish how they arrived at this point in their lives and marriage, the year begins. They each try spending their time doing what they want and learning more about themselves.

The challenge for me is that we essentially hit the ground running, doing our best to follow these characters without really knowing who they are, and how they became that way. It's easy to make assumptions based on how the characters behave, I just felt like we lacked insight into their foundations.

Thank you to Further Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I found the premise of this story okay. It had good potential. What I struggled with the most with this book was the lack of flow. It felt slightly choppy.

I enjoyed Rob’s character development. Thought the entirety of the novel, he grew, matured and developed a fully realised sense of self within his marriage. Emma, however, really frustrated me. She made very selfish and immature decisions that I couldn’t agree with.

I enjoyed the side characters, however there were a lot of side plots to try and keep up with.

The Marriage Gap Year is the story of Emma and Rob and how after 26 years of marriage, Emma proposes they take a gap year to assess what they each really want out of life and marriage. The story follows both characters but the story tilts far more to Emma's side of the story. I appreciated that Emma's experiences were not altogether idealized, ie. there are financial ramifications of her choices. The story dragged on a bit at points but I was eager to see how they resolved the situation.

All in all a 3.5 stars rounding up to 4 for me. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of The Marriage Gap Year in exchange for an honest review. This book is available now.

The Marriage Gap Year by Yannick Thoaval. This was a solid 3.5 stars for me.

The story follows a couple taking a one-year break after two and a half decades of marriage. The wife initiates the separation, feeling stifled, and each chapter alternates between the husband’s and wife’s perspectives as they navigate their journey throughout the year.

I loved the premise and how the story concluded. The increasing involvement of their son added depth to the narrative, and the settings—like the wife’s office, the husband’s worksite, and the music festival—were beautifully described. I also really enjoyed the house illustrations sprinkled throughout the book.

However, I felt the pacing could have been stronger. Most of the book (about 90%) is spent on internal conflict that felt stagnant at times. Additionally, I would have liked more insight into the characters' thought processes leading to their final decision.

That said, I’ll definitely be checking out more of Yannick Thoaval’s work. The writing style was excellent, and I look forward to seeing what else the author has to offer.

Firstly, thank you to Netgalley and Yannick Thoraval for an advance ebook.

Emma and Rob (mostly Emma) decide they are not happy in their marriage and decide to take a gap year away from each other with no contact to see if they can save their marriage.

I loved the opening scene to this book, a couple having an argument in Ikea? Very relatable and funny. Men just DON’T get it.

Now, I really enjoyed the opening scene and it gave me high hopes for the rest of the book, it had so much potential but just fell a bit flat for me. I really had to push myself to finish this book but it just didn’t call to me. There were some really great bits but some dull moments too. I enjoyed Emma’s side of the story, but Rob’s story didn’t pique my interest as much.

I would however, be interested in reading more from this author.

During a cringey visit to IKEA, the store where relationships go to die, Emma finally blurts out to Rob that she is no longer happy in their 26-year marriage. It’s been decades of stagnation, boredom, frustration. Emma is desperate to get more than whatever this is out of life. She wants more meaningful work, connections, thrills, joy – and more passionate sex. It’s been ages. Rob knows their marriage isn’t perfect, but it’s good enough…isn’t it? He’s loyal, solid, a good provider. He’s been there for her. What more does she want, anyway?

As a last-ditch effort to salvage their sanity and maybe, just maybe, come back together happier, Emma suggests taking a Marriage Gap Year. Time apart, no calls, no texts. This feisty communications manager wants the comms switched off between them for the next 12 months. As Rob and Emma embark on their Gap Year, the sparkling Instagram-perfect expectations Emma envisioned don’t quite match the reality. But the more time they spend apart, the more Rob and Emma both begin to remember who they were before the kids, the jobs, and their endless responsibilities.

This book was brilliant. It reminded me of an early Taylor Jenkins Reid book called "After I Do," only better. Characters, plot, writing, humor, descriptions, relationships. They all come together seamlessly here and create a stunning experience. Well done!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

What a beautiful quotable book this was.

“Couples did things. They found workarounds, ways to enjoy the best of each other and avoid the inconveniences. They got bigger beds, or separate beds; they slept in separate rooms, or in separate houses. It was their marriage, after all, and they were free to make the rules.”

So. The marriage gap year explores the life of Rob and Emma and how their growing conflict in their marriage of 26 years prompts them to take a gap year from each other. Both explore their personal lives with fresh perspectives after Parting ways.

I didn't like the fact that Emma was having a physical relationship with Erik, a guy a lot younger to her. It was quite absurd and obnoxious as she was already in marriage with Rob and had just taken a break as a breather. Later I learnt in the book as to why she did that. But in my opinion it's still not justified.


Also I just don't know whether the ending was a cliffhanger because it was not clear whether they decided to part ways, however they did decide to live separately.

Coming to what I like about the book is that it highlights the complexities of marriage, how society perceives it. Both Rob and Emma were very determined towards their career choices despite their adult son who moved to study overseas. Also the book has a lot of wise quotable text thereby making it unputdownable.

I thoroughly liked it although it took me a little while to finish. I highly recommend this book to someone feeling low or has marriage troubles to go through this book. Hope you might have some help

"The Marriage Gap Year" by Yannick Thoraval has an intriguing premise: after 26 years of marriage, Emma decides she wants a year off, completely without contact. The question hanging over the novel is, what will become of their marriage?

Unfortunately, for me, the book was a letdown. The story alternates between Emma and Rob as they embark on separate journeys of self-discovery. Rob begins building a house, while Emma makes career changes and meets new people. Neither character is particularly likable, and being stuck in their heads feels tedious.

At around the 25% mark, Emma begins an affair with Erik, which is when I nearly gave up on the book. At that point, a conversation could have taken place, and the marriage might have ended. Yet, the story drags on for the entire year before they finally have the discussion.

The writing style is frustratingly choppy, lacking any real flow. Throughout the novel, very little happens, and then the ending is rushed. Rob wants to stay in the marriage, but Emma, who admits to the affair, no longer does. Rob gets about two pages to process his grief, and that’s it.

In the end, despite the potential of the premise, "The Marriage Gap Year" fails to deliver, with flat characters, slow pacing, and a dissatisfying resolution.

I thought this book was well constructed, and overall very well written. Lots of humor and feel good moments. This is a very non-traditional rom com, but it sort of...worked?! I haven't ever read this author before and I can tell he's a person who enjoys not just the good OR the bad, but the in-between. I enjoyed this read, and will be interested to see what this author does next.

3.75/5.0

The Marriage Gap Year was an easy enough read but ultimately lacked the depth required to be satisfying. I don't feel the reader has enough backstory to understand Emma's point of view and motivation to take a gap year from her marriage. A "fine" read, all the same. 3 stars.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this book.

I never want to leave a bad review, and I never want to DNF a book… so I stuck it out with this book. This story should have taken me a day to read… it took 5.

I loved the idea of the book, until I really started to hate the MFC. She is selfish. She gets jealous over a picture when she’s actively hooking up with someone else. She doesn’t want to define that relationship and gets upset when he hooks up with someone else, which he was also wrong for since he literally brought her to an event.

The only parts of the story I enjoyed were Robs. Watching Rob grow and mature with the help of the crew on the job site, but even his parts felt dragged on about the house.

In the end I was sad for Rob, he tried and he waited and did nothing except grow and learn to appreciate his wife more, all for her to basically say I want to stay married but not be together.

I gave this story 2 stars for Robs growth and the side characters.

I give this book a 3.5 stars out of 5. I like some parts of the book but over all it was a slow read for me. Some things I loved about it was the chapter lengths, and the funny parts. I didn't get some of the references or just thought they didn't fit well in the book. If it had a better ending I think it could have brought up the rating but it was very predictable. Thank you so much though for this opportunity!

The premise of this novel is quite the hook - Emma, frustrated with her marriage, proposes a gap year to husband Rob, allowing them each to experience a different life, away from each other.

Told from alternating perspectives, the story follows the progress of their year apart, as they both undergo quite different changes. Though on occasion I found both protagonists a touch frustrating, ultimately I was rooting for them both, whether together or individually. The frustration actually only serves to highlight just how accurate a reflection of a relationship it is - neither of them is perfect, neither is willing to admit their flaws, and yet, you want the best for them.

This was my first Thoraval, I’m ashamed to say! With such a wonderful style of writing, I look forward to the next.

Thank you to Further Publishing and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I think this cover is absolutely gorgeous. That is what drew me to the book initially. Then I started reading it and at first I didn't like it. Reading about failing relationships and people who aren't happy can be tough but in the end I enjoyed the story.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a really interesting concept for a book, seeing their separate journeys they went on during their gap year apart. It was a little depressing, but that's life so it was relatable that her friend had an addiction issue or that they had issues at work. It wasn't all a nice tidy bow but I can appreciate that. I liked the character growth throughout the book. I would definitely read another book by this author.

The Marriage Gap Year follows the story of a husband and wife taking a year off of their relationship to spend time on self-discovery and to reassess their love for each other. I enjoyed the author’s approach to the complexities of long-term relationships, as well as the Australian setting (it was fun to see places familiar to me in a novel!).

The novel was well written and well paced. I struggled to like the characters at the beginning of the book, but as we learned more about them they grew on me more. The tone of the book is upbeat, despite tackling challenging topics. Overall, a cute story that I enjoyed reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you Netgalley and Yannick Thoraval for an advance ebook in exchange for my honest feedback.

I was very excited to read this book. Another reviewer suggested sitting down with a glass of wine to read this, which is exactly what I did!

I looooovvvveeee the opening scene!! There's a couple, having an argument at IKEA? So. Incredibly. Relatable. I felt like I was there, inside the argument and feeling both sides. Usually, I despise novels that have these sorts of conversations but there's just something about the way it's written that makes it charming and relatable, not cringeworthy.

I love the sassy and sarcastic dialogue. It's believable, and the characters show depth. They actually have a backstory and logical thought processes and a complex social web between each character.

There's funny bits, too. I don't want to give away the whole novel in my review, but there was a few times where I laughed out loud (literally) at things in the novel.

I like the way this is written. The descriptions of different places that really make you feel like you're there. It's also fantastic that it's set in Australia. There's not many great Aussie authors and there's so many beautiful parts of our country to describe.

I also love the juxtaposition between the two characters. Emma and Rob really are so different.

The blurb mostly matches the novel, except that it is absolutely nothing like 'Elinor Oliphant is completely fine'. It's not a depressing novel about a self-hating alcoholic. I didn't enjoy that one, not sure why the author compared himself to it. It is much more similar to Funny Story by Emily Henry or the Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella. It's upbeat despite negative life events.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel and would be keen to read other work by the same author.

I really enjoyed this book- made me think about my own marriage and things we sometimes wish we could change (however for me it reinforced that I don’t want things to change). I also appreciated that it wasn’t incredibly predictable. The one part that lost me though was the music festival. The whole thing just seemed to happen really fast and I couldn’t follow when she was there then popping in the woods then back at the hotel. Otherwise I was able to easily follow everything and really enjoyed it!

I actually really loved this book. Can you imagine after years of marriage taking a year off to find your happiness and potentially come back to your person. What a wild ride this couple took in their gap year. There were a lot of funny moments+ awkward moments in this book and also some emotional ones. You honestly have no idea what the end has in store and I feel like there could be a sequel potentially on what’s next. I love how their opinions of their sons non traditional path changed over time too. Really good, and loved the writing style :)

The Marriage Gap Year is about a middle-aged couple, Rob and Emma, who, somewhere along the way, stopped communicating and stopped investing in their marriage. In a last-ditch effort, Emma decides they need to spend a year apart with no contact. The story is told in Emma's and Rob's POV. We follow Emma as she sets out in search of something more as Rob does what he can to just hang on. This story was relatable and had me cheering for a comeback. If you like second chance romance, this book is for you.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.