4.5 stars rounded up.

There are two types of books I love. Some, I want to devour at the fastest pace possible—staying up way too late because I need to know what happens next. Others, like The Ten Year Affair, I want to savor slowly, letting them wrap around me like a favorite sweater. This is definitely the latter, and I'm not mad about it.

Erin Somers has written something that made me want to text all my friends immediately. Her prose is sharp and funny and devastating, often in the same sentence. She gets the particular exhaustion of modern marriage, the way you can live entire fantasy lives while loading the dishwasher. Cora, our protagonist, exists in multiple timelines simultaneously, and Somers captures this perfectly: "During the hour-long drama that she watched with Eliot, she was blowing Sam in the backseat of his car. While she was running out to pick up milk, she was running out to pick up milk so she could meet him in the dairy aisle of ShopRite and have him furtively put his hand up her skirt for thirty seconds before heading home." It's this doubling that makes the book feel so achingly real. Anyone who's ever felt trapped in the mundane while yearning for something else will recognize themselves here.

Here's the thing: I could not have cared less about the actual affair, but I was completely obsessed with Cora and her world. If messy women are having a literary moment (and they are), this is how you do it right. Cora is infuriating and relatable in equal measure, and Somers never asks us to like her or excuse her behavior. She just lets her exist in all her contradictory glory.

There's this moment where Cora reflects on always being praised for her "great personality": "You have a great personality. You know that?" Her whole life, people had railed on about her personality. Such a smart girl—woman! Such a smart woman. And funny. It got worse (better) as she got older. Kind, empathetic, a good parent. That was nice, right? That was what you wanted. But couldn't this one man objectify her?" This hit me like a truck. The burden of being the "good" woman, the one everyone thinks is so smart and funny, when sometimes you just want someone to want you for something more basic and immediate.

Somers absolutely nails the small indignities of domestic life in ways that made me laugh and then feel personally attacked. Like when she describes how long it would take Cora to work up the energy to call a clown: "It would take Cora hours to work up the energy to call a clown. She'd have to block out a whole day for it. It would involve confronting the choices she'd made in life up until that point, the entire chain of events that had led to calling a clown." Like, girl, same. These moments are where the novel becomes something bigger than its premise—a meditation on how we end up where we are and how even the smallest tasks can feel like confrontations with our entire existence.

The marriage between Cora and Eliot is handled with such careful attention to both of their struggles. As someone who's dealt with mental health challenges, I appreciated how thoughtfully Somers approaches Eliot's depression and its impact on their relationship. Where this could have been a fantasy about grand passion and transformation (I'm looking at you Anaïs Nin and Annie Ernaux), Somers gives us something more honest: the mundane reality of how affairs actually function. Not as earth-shattering romance but as another kind of routine, another way of getting through the day.

The Hudson Valley setting was chef's kiss perfect. As someone who's spent plenty of time in these towns, Somers captures the social dynamics with laser precision: "You had friends and saw them for dinner. One party hosted and the other brought wine. You discussed current events while the kids watched a movie in a distant room. At the end of the night, you lay in bed talking about the other couple." It's so specific and so universal at the same time. You know exactly these people and exactly these dinner parties.

Near the end, Cora has what Somers calls a "radical thought: to reside in a single timeline. To do only what she was doing and not a second activity as well. To respect the laws of time and space." Presence itself is revolutionary. It's not about the affair ending or beginning, but about the possibility of just... being where you are.

Consider me officially an Erin Somers stan. This is the kind of debut that makes you want to corner strangers at bookstores and insist they read it immediately. Smart, funny, devastating, and completely addictive. I'm already counting down the days until her next book.

I really enjoyed this book. The dynamic between Cora and Sam pulled me in from the beginning, and I liked the way that the book moved through time. Even though it covered many years, I was never jarred by the passing of time. This was different than a lot of books that I've read lately, and will stay in my mind. Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC!

Cora and Sam meet at a baby class; there is an instant connection as they both hate the same mom. They begin having an affair that lasts ten years. At the same time, they don’t, and Cora stays faithful to her husband Eliot. And so this narrative intertwines two scenarios.

I was expecting this to be like The Names, where each chapter described each scenario and they were all cohesive stories. But this is different, the narrative switches within the paragraph at times, showing the reader what was happening. This definitely is confusing, but also creative. They aren’t that different, no butterfly effect here. I was so invested in Cora and Sam’s romance, although it was destined to end badly.

Who among us hasn’t looked back and wondered what could have been?

For fans of;
Sally Rooney, Claire Lombardo
Sliding Doors- metaverse type stories
Unlikable characters
Messy everyday life

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC. Book to be published 10/20/25.

*Just finished *The Ten Year Affair* by Erin Somers and wow—what a ride.** This book quietly sneaks up on you with its sharp observations about friendship, longing, and the paths we *almost* take. It’s witty, bittersweet, and so well-written. Perfect if you’re in the mood for something smart but emotionally real.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Shuster for the ARC!

Wow, this is everything I love in a book! I loved each character in their own right, the timeline/plot moved at the perfect pace, it was JUICY, and spicy. I ate this up and left zero crumbs.

I did not want it to end, but I was satisfied with the ending.

I would love to see this as a tv show or movie!

I am in awe of this book. It somehow manages to be funny, insightful, and deeply moving all within this messy story of a “ten year affair.” I LOVED the sliding glass door aspect and the way that things sometimes felt a little muddled and confusing as the timelines converged and separated. For all intents and purposes, Cora should be an unlikeable character, but I felt so deeply for her and the way that it’s so easy for people to lose themselves in the aftermath of what you imagine to be the perfect life.

The tension and build up in the book was great, and my heart broke for the way in which you know deep in your heart that Cora and Sam are not meant to be together; but it doesn’t matter. Some part of you understands their connection and devotion to one another and the way that the other person offers something that is missing.

This book won’t be for everybody but I think it does a brilliant job demonstrating the complexities of human relationships and how people are not inherently good or bad but make decisions that can sometimes be good or bad. I thought it was brilliantly written and hysterical and I’ll definitely be recommending this one.

Move over, Annie Ernaux. We have a new affair author in town.

The Ten Year Affair is, of course, about an affair. But few pages are dedicated to the affair itself. Most of the book is the yearning and fantasizing before the affair, presenting a dueling timeline in which our protagonist distracts herself from the banality of everyday life by fantasizing about her neighbor. These aren't the typical one-and-one fantasies where an illicit attraction is used purely as onanstic fodder. Instead, Cora builds a progressive, years-long fantasy where each time she indulges in her daydreams about Sam, their relationship in the fantasy world has grown and progressed.

In addition to telling an evocative story about the power of our imagination as it relates to our identity and relationships, Somers also captures bourgeois millennial masculinity astoundingly well. Cora appreciates that her partner is an equal, but finds a primal lacking in his respect for her inner life. The depictions of a small Hudson Valley town are apt and the writing is full of wit and insight.

I loved every second of this novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the e-arc.

The writing, exquisite. The characters, well formed (yet often times frustrating). The dynamic, extremely confusing at times. Do not read this if you don’t like an unlikeable cast. If you DO like that type of thing, read it now. This would have rated higher for me if the ending didn’t feel so rushed for me. The random cuts to different timelines did serve a purpose but threw me off, personally.

The Ten Year Affair is a wry, acerbic novel with observations on the anodyne aspects of aging, relationships, and fulfillment. I’m particularly partial to this style of writing, and I had a few chuckle out loud moments. The portrayals in the novel are a bit limited—the central characters are ostensibly white, middle class, and straight. Not a criticism, just an observation. I’d be curious to see what the author could do with broader characterizations.

I received a copy for review. All opinions are my own. An absolutely beautiful book….I could not pull myself away. So comical at times and very relatable, I really enjoyed the “dueling timelines”. This is one of those books that at the very basic level, is about people being…. Well…. People… and their choices and their repercussions or lack thereof. I fell totally in love with pretty much every character. I couldn’t pick a favorite even if I tried. For anyone that loves books about the complexities of an affair… this book is absolutely for you!

Cora and Sam meet at a baby group and find they have a lot in common. Both parents of two young children, both working for mildly unfulfilling jobs, and both happily married to other people. But from the moment of their meeting, they feel a powerful connection with each other. The story splits into timelines: one in which they have an affair and another in which they resist acting on their attraction for each other. We see the timelines develop over ten years, with each of the alternative paths shedding light on how their life unfolds in other — on their respective marriages, children, jobs, and happiness.

This was a creative and insightful exploration of marriage and the transition from early adulthood, free from much responsibility and with the hope and excitement of the future all promising, to middle age, when the realities of day-to-day life and seeming constraints imposed by choices one has already made. The author deftly portrays Cora’s inner life, showing how she is both deeply perceptive but also frequently oblivious to her own feelings and those of the other people closest to her.

Highly recommended.

I enjoyed this book a lot! I thought it had great insight into the life of a young mother without making it only about that. Minus one star for the ending, which I found a bit confusing and ultimately slightly unsatisfying.

When I first started reading this, I didn't know if I would be sold on the writing, but when I couldn't put it down (I finished it in 4 hours), I realized it in fact was Somer's voice that kept me glued. It's blunt, it's witty, and the story she tells is complex and gives such an honest insight into young motherhood, female desire, and identity. I'm not sure this would be first on my recommendation list, but I'm glad to have read it and I'll definitely read more from her in the future.

I really tried to love this novel but it just didn't work out for me. While it was well written, I didn't connect with any of the character's to actually be invested in the conflict of this story.

Cora loves her husband and her two children and she also is attracted to Sam. Sam loves his wife and his two children and he is also attracted to Cora. Over the course of a decade, we see how their bond develops in the real world and an imagined world where they are freer to indulge in their feelings for one another.

I was drawn in by the intriguing premise and appreciated the author’s writing and the wry humor and observations sprinkled throughout. What stood out to me most was how unremarkable and, at times, how unlikeable Sam was. I guess that’s the power of undeniable chemistry! In any case, I think readers interested in a sharp relationship drama will enjoy this. 4.5 stars.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

This was a great novel. Like nothing I’ve read before. It’s basically about a friendship between two couples. Couple ones wife is the narrator and she meets couple two’s husband at a baby group (both have 2 kids, 3 year olds and infants, so roughly the same age) the pair form a fast and close friendship while the other two in the couples are also included most of the time. It’s. Really hard to describe the timeline of this book without giving the story away, but it basically takes place over 10 years (duh) around 2015 to the present. Both couples are NYC transplants to an undisclosed city north about an hour away. All are pretty young parents and millennials, if that tells you anything. There are aspects of the story where there are two story lines, but honestly you really need to read it to understand. And you should read it. It’s a very well thought out book, well developed story, characters and setting. I really enjoyed it.

3.5 stars for me. This was an intense read. We follow the story of a young mother who meets a young father at a baby group, and they instantly form an attachment outside their marriages. The other world of the affair continues over the span of ten years, and there is a stark feeling of bleakness and loss of identity woven throughout the novel. It's beautifully written and emotionally overwrought, but I'm not sure I can fully recommend it outside those who prefer more intense literary novels with a twist of the adulterous.

The thing that makes this book outstanding is the writing. Due to Somers's wit and shrewd characterizations, a fairly typical story becomes intriguing and complex. The story starts with one narrative being the real one and the other the fantasy -- but partway through the novel, the narratives switch as to which is real and which is imagined, which resonated with me, as to how affairs work. The last few sentences of the book give heft to the story with insight that seems well earned. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

#TheTenYearAffair

It begins in a baby play group. Cora, new to the suburbs, brings her son to the meeting held at the back of a store, There she meets Sam who is the only man in the group. Both are on leave after the births of their children and both are bored. This is not a good situation. Although they don’t immediately realize it, they are ready for an affair. Sam’s wife Jules is a driven lawyer, on track to make partner while he has a creative position at a failing start-up. Cora has a bleak, tedious marketing job. Her husband Eliot works in publishing and seems to have more free time than Cora. He spends most of it at the gym or listening to podcasts. She is lonely.

This is the set up for The Ten Year Affair, an imaginative and unique family drama about marriage, parenthood, responsibilities, friendship and, yes, an affair. Cora imagines her affair with Sam in alternate reality. Drudgery in one world is balanced by excitement in the other. In her parallel existence, she acts out fantasies and imagines life with a different family. Occasionally worlds collide. That does not go well.

The Ten Year Affair provides a very real look at the reality of marriage, illustrated by the otherworldly affair, that shows that while passion doesn’t last, love and commitment do. This is a book that will stay with you long after you finish the final pages. 5 stars.

Thank you ton NetGalley, Simon & Schuster and Erin Somers for this ARC.

I haven't found a title that captured my attention quite like this one did in so long. The story flows effortlessly, and the writing is expertly crafted. The characters are authentic, and the storyline is believable. It's a refreshing look at motherhood, marriage, and much more. I hope Somers writes additional titles. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.