Ordinary Love takes readers through the life of Emily as she recalls memories of her life after she decides to separate from her husband with her two young children. 

Emily has only ever had one other relationship in her life and that relationship meant everything. She blames her age, naivety and faults none of her own for the end of that relationship. Captivated by the charm, ease and how desirable Jack finds her, Emily finds herself wound up in another relationship with an older man who knows what he wants and what he likes. The signs are all there as their relationship progresses. But Emily begins to believe she's  misinterpreting Jack's feelings and intentions. This is her first relationship with a man;her first real relationship ever to some. 
I questioned Emily a lot while reading this book. I wondered about her motivations and actions when it was clear that she noticed the small manipulative things Jack would say and do. But as we see more of Emily's life and the relationships she loses and carries into adulthood and motherhood, I begin to see the significance of Emily's relationship with Gen.

Emily is a flawed character that has to do a lot of growing in this story. And while I could see just how real and important her relationship and friendship with Gen was, those character flaws were very much a big part of their breakup and distance.
It was such a juxtaposition to feel empathetic and annoyed with Emily as I was reading this book; I don't often feel like that when I am getting to know a main character. It's either one or the other at different points of the book. But the way the author petals small details in each scene that are descriptive and sentimental, it was hard not to be invested. 

Ordinary Love covers different parts of what it means to love and cherish another person's heart, friendship, and body. I am talking about Emily and Gen's relationship over the years but also the close and strong friendships that Emily has with her friends who are very supportive. And the complexity of parental relationships with their children. Emily's father seemed to make Emily feel like she always had to report back to him with positive information and responses since her parents split and he remarried and had more children. And her mother was always working or too exhausted from work to pay her much attention. 
Emily threw herself into literature and Greek mythology and school as like a protective bubble. She was fairly meek and submissive so popular and/or rich clicks liked her. She wasn't unaware of this; she knew where and why she fit into those spaces but it felt like she was always masking. I wasn't that surprised by Emily's father's reaction to Gen but her mother gained some points from me.
Last note on her parents, Emily wanted so much to not be the kind of parents her mother or father were to her, so she embraced motherhood. But the conversation she had with her mother when she found out she was pregnant with her oldest, tells readers way more about the kind of mother Emily had. And it made me question Emily's judgment a little. 
Emily was always this perfect mimic around others. Except with Gen. How fortunate she was to find another person to be herself around. A place where she just fit and could be herself. A pairing. 

I really liked this book overall.This was my first read by this author and I am tempted to read more of her work.  The writing was lyrical, emotional and unfiltered. I felt Emily's feelings in this book and the tension she felt in each of the friendships and relationships she had throughout her life.
I recommend this book to readers who enjoy character led stories that are emotional, reflective and a bit sad with romance crackling, character growth and healing.

Marie Rutkoski, it seems your writing still has incredible power over me. More than a decade of loving this author’s stories and Ordinary Love is one I will add to the collection. Thank you for writing Emily, whose thoughts seem to be pulled straight from the deepest, darkest corners of my brain.

Emotional, melancholy, devastating, hopeful, and so heartbreakingly honest.

𝓞𝓻𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓪𝓻𝔂 𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮 juxtaposes a story of Emily's abusive marriage and tumultuous separation with her decades-spanning love story/reunion with her high school girlfriend. Gen.

The description of this form of abuse in Emily's marriage was so powerful. Over time, Jack, while giving Emily everything she could ever want financially, subtly changes his behavior - making a casually callous comment, subtly manipulating, and isolating Emily. Over many years, she ends up wondering if she is being too picky, unappreciative, too sensitive. With motherhood being an additional complex layer - Emily struggles over and over with what it means to be a good mother, a good wife, and how she can be these things while still honoring her own needs. Such powerful stuff.

Set against the backdrop of Emily finally deciding to leave Jack, is this melancholy love story between Emily and Gen. They met as kids, became lovers, and were later pulled apart by life and misunderstanding. Their story had a bit of a star-crossed lovers feel to it, although there was chemistry and deep love. Again, the central conflict centers around Emily trying to figure how what she needs, who she is as a person and a mother, and how Gen fits into that.

There were so many poignant and heartbreaking moments. Overall, the reader is left with a hopeful tone, but I will say the novel does have just sort of a heavy feeling to it. I really enjoyed it and felt the writing was beautiful, but this is not a syrupy romance.

3.5 ⭐️ I enjoyed this romance/family drama that looks at love, abuse, LGBTQ relationships, and friendship.

Emily and Gen are small town OH high school friends with a brief relationship. Years later Emily is in an abusive marriage, isolated by her rich manipulative husband Jack. Gen is an Olympic athlete. They reconnect years later. Their story is an intense predictable friends to lovers romance.

The story is well written with a great cast of supporting characters that add interest and drama. I didn’t connect with Emily the MC and her villainous husband Jack. I wanted to like her and hate him, but just didn’t. I’m not the biggest romance fan, but this book was ok with a happy ending for all.

Thanks NetGalley and Knopf publishers for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

Sometimes you read a book and think damn I wish I could write like that. This is that kind of book. Honest, aching, romantic, heartbreaking, and full of hope.

Could not love it more

This was a beautiful, deep, and all-encompassing kind of love story.

I think the writing was one of my favorite parts of this book. The way that Rutkoski describes everyday life, and the harder parts of what that means exactly, was poignant and bittersweet. There’s a lot to cover in this book (family dynamics, a marriage ending, first love), and I think all of it was handled well and intricately.

The romance between Emily and Gen was so vast. They had so much history, and a lot left unsaid because of that. Seeing them navigate their way back to one another amongst Emily’s family drama had me hopeful and moved. Their love felt so tender and pure, and I haven’t seen a depiction like that in a book in a while.

I have a feeling this romance will hit a lot of people hard.

A long and soapy romance. Yes, it’s a queer romance, so that gives it a timely edge, and it’s brightly written too. But at the end of the day it’s still a soapy romance and the abusive marriage takes up as much space as the rhapsodic love story. What is it doing on the Knopf list, I wonder? And why is it so aggravatingly long, with so many tiresome and sometimes inexplicable twists to prolong the ‘suspense’?
Emily flashes hot and cold. Ends are left dangling (e.g. Connor’s bullying). Overall, the book could have used another edit.
Having said all that, though, and like many a soap, this was kind of compulsive to read.

“that was extraordinary!” stella said the words as if it were two words.

“thanks,” said gen, “but you know, nothing is ordinary.”

“well, that.” gen point at the sky. “that’s pretty extraordinary.”

ordinary love is a story about the extraordinary lengths we go to for the people we love. our partners. our friends. our children. and the mistakes we make along the way.

at the core of this novel, is emily and gen. two friends who met as children, but were also always more. and find themselves flowing in and out of each others lives, largely based on miscommunications.

gen is always unapologetically herself and ends up surrounding herself with a community who does the same. whereas emily is always fighting to conform to other peoples ideas of her.

this book is so simple in its structure and its plot, but very strong. i believed everyone’s motivations for their actions, even jack’s. fuck him.

it’s about love. it’s about being queer. the fear of not being queer enough. about how in doing somethings to protect the people you love, you can inevitably hurt them and yourself in the process. about breaking free of manipulation. how easy it is to fall for someone’s manipulation. about not always saying the right thing. about family, both that you’re born into and the one you choose.

oh baby. randomly requested this off of net galley and now i think it’s one of my favorite books ive read so far this year. all the lit fic folks, please read this when it comes out.

A great story, this one took some time for me to get into, but when I finally get to it, I was hooked. This is a second chance, very slow burn story of love between two best friends that grew apart as the grew up. Emily seems to have it all: a husband, children, and a great life, but she feels like she's missing something. It isn't until she runs across an old friend of hers that the pieces start to fall together.

Though this story did seem to drag in some areas, it was so well written that I didn't care once I was into the book. So, if this is your type of speed, take the time to read it, and you won't be disappointed.

One of the best sapphic adult romance I read recently, a gorgeous prose and haunting characters... beautiful

I have really enjoyed Marie Rutkoski's previous works, but this one missed the mark a little bit for me.

I found this to be pretty slow in the first half. It is enjoyable to learn about Gen and Emily's childhood, how they became friends, and what their hometown is like. I think all of those things could have all been more clearly connected into the later part of the story, it felt like they were missing a little bit. The second half of the story is where I found myself reading faster and faster, particularly knowing that Emily begins to really set her foot down and stand up for herself. Her character development is enjoyable. The other parts of this book that were enjoyable was Nella, Gen's found family, Emily's children's character development, and all of her college friends and how they come in and out of the story.

I did find the ending to be a little dissatisfying and had hoped that there would be more information about what happened to all of the characters, I think I just wanted more.

I didn’t know what to expect by this book. I just request because it was sapphic, I have to admit it. But I LOVED it so damn much! It’s so manipulative and interesting and rich of suspence! I cannot put it down!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

This book is about a girl who good luck babes herself so hard, it takes her 14 years to un-goodluckbabe herself. She makes a lot of mistakes/wrong decisions and spends most of the book being a typical enneagram type 9 aka a wet blanket for her piece of feces gaslighter manipulator cishet husband. She's bisexual, but not culturally queer. A lot of internalized homophobia so many of us work to unlearn as soon as we come out she only starts to unlearn at 32, more than a decade after she discovers her sexuality. And I know that all of this is a product of a patriarchal and heteronormative world, but also do better!!! Because so many of us ARE able to!!
Anyway, because of these reasons, this was kinda painful to read. I enjoyed the writing and the character work but ultimately this was not a new favorite.

e-arc provided by Netgally

I really loved this for the contemporary aspect/showing how insidious manipulation and emotional abuse can be and the writing was beautiful. I didn't care as much about the romance while it think it was sweet there really was wayyy too much miscommunication for my tastes

Ordinary Love is anything but ordinary. Marie Rutkoski has crafted a beautifully introspective novel that explores the messy, tender parts of love, longing, and identity with subtle grace. The writing is lyrical without being overdone, and the emotional weight of the story sneaks up on you in the best way. It’s the kind of book that lingers. Thoughtful, human, and deeply honest. A quiet, compelling gem that stays with you long after the final page.

this sounded right up my alley and i was pretty sure i’d become one of my favorites of the year. unfortunately, im not sure if it was the timing or what exactly, but it just couldn’t hold my interest. the writing was lovely and i loved how much history gen and emily had, it really made the romance so much more emotional. the pace was quite slow which was fine, but it seemed to drag a little too much on some places. i think this will really resonate with a lot of readers though!

Good book. Starts off slow ish so I give it 3 stars.
Liked the story but hard to keep some of the characters straight

I was moved by this journey of love and resilience. It was an emotional story that was told beautifully. Emily is a well developed and dynamic character. Her relationship with Gen was intense and well done. I loved all of the flashbacks to show how deep their relationship ran. This book perfectly showcases an emotionally abusive relationship between Emily and her husband. It was a very thought provoking novel and I kept reflecting and thinking about it as I read. This book is much more than a romance and a great literary fiction book about relationships.

I think Marie Rutkoski is a wonderful writer and I’m sure this is a wonderful book. Her characters are always so well realized. However, the section of the book where Jack is separating Emily from her friends one by one as part of his emotional abuse is so brutal that I can’t bring myself to continue reading. This isn’t meant to be a knock on the book — I’m sure many readers will appreciate such a clear-eyed depiction of emotional abuse. It’s just personally giving me too much anxiety to continue reading. I skipped ahead to the end though and it seems lovely.

I found that rhe charecters fell a but flat for me, thy didn't have enough depth or perto feel a connection.