Emerson and Finn are each married to other people, but unexpectedly meet at the house of an eccentric, elderly Sybil Hay. Meeting each other forces them to reflect on their lives and their burdens and if they are happy, or justr trying to be happy enough. The author intersperses bits of Sybil's young adulthood, including a summer she spent with Einstein. It's an interesting novel and an enjoyable read, but it wasn't the romance novel I was expecting.

Well drawn characters and an careful plot make this a good read. There's more to chew on here than the story of an unhappy woman finding romance in the garden. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

Unfortunately, I didn't connect with this book at all. It was sold as sort of a piece of literary fiction which is always my preferred type of reading, but it was really more of a romance novel. I'm also not crazy about topics of adultery, and the characters in this book seemed one-dimensional and lacked any substance or depth. Overall, not a great read but thank you for the advanced copy!

The writing was good and so were the characters I’m just not a huge fan of the genre so it was hard to fully immerse my self in the world

Northside Books and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of The Unified Theory of Love and Everything. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Emerson Wheeler thought she had everything she wanted: two children, a husband who is a good provider, and a fledgling gardening business. After her father commits suicide, Emerson starts to honestly examine her personal life and comes to certain realizations.

Finn Lowell is trapped in an unhappy marriage, but has a pending retirement from the military that will allow him to spend more time with his two boys if he chooses not to reenlist.

When Emerson is given the opportunity to work on the gardens for Sybil Hay, a physicist with ties to Albert Einstein, she is surprised to find Finn volunteering for the ill woman. Having met in the past through her husband, the instant attraction that Emerson felt for the man back then is still floating under the surface. Through Sybil's careful prodding, will Emerson and Finn embark on a journey that may lead to the destruction of both of their families?

It was hard to find a connection with either of the main characters because I did not find them to be very likable. Both Emerson and Finn find themselves trapped in unhappy circumstances, but many people are faced with similar situations and do not make the same choices. I did like the character of Sybil and thought it was interesting how the author weaved in historical references to Albert Einstein and his personal life. Overall, I was not blown away by either the story or the characters, so I would be hesitant to recommend it to other readers.

I had trouble liking this book because I couldn't empathize with the protagonist. I thought she was self-contained and made bad decisions.

I was disappointed by this book. Bag upon the summary, I expected something more than a love story. The plot was very predictable and I found Emerson unlikable most of the time. Sybil was the best part of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I believe in all fairness, my disappointment with the novel was one of expectations. The publisher's blurb had me anticipating a novel of literary fiction but Unified Theory of Love and Everything was much more of a romance novel, which is really not my reading preference. The story revolves around a frustrated housewife who contemplates an affair with a man she volunteers with. I found the sexual tension to be lukewarm, the plot slow moving and certain story elements implausible. The Einstein angle was intriguing but mostly bogged down the story due to all the scientific theories. I'm sure this book will appeal to those who enjoy romance or women's fiction unfortunately for me it was just mediocre.

A good story about love and life. Both good people, they make dangerous choices that affect everyone they love.

Not my preference--lacks depth of character and relies too much on romantic cliches.

Emerson Wheeler could be happy. At 32, she has a loving husband, tow great girls and a small gardening business which is just starting. But after the suicide of her father, she starts questing the decisions she has made in life and when she takes over a new job at Hay Manor, this aggravates. Sybil, the elderly owner of the mansion, introduces her to Finn, an army member who has some very different notions of life. They get along better and better and at a certain point, Emerson has to question her marriage. When Finn offers that both of them and their kids spend the summer at his lake cottage, she agrees knowing that this will be a serious test for her life so far.

Travis Neighbor Ward’s novel addresses many topics all adults have to face sooner or later in life. Emerson seems to have a perfect life, but you can be unhappy and disappointed even by what seems to be picture-perfect from the outside. If your life does not fulfil you, if you had plans that had to be given up for whichever reason, you will be dissatisfied or even frustrated at some point in life. No matter how ideally you might match with your partner, you go on in life and develop further, and you might be forced to reassess if you still what the same things in life and if you still have the carefully constructed balance in your marriage. For Emerson and her husband, this is not true anymore after some years, but instead of talking about it, they find other problems which cover the real troubles. Apart from these, we have grown-up suffering from experiences of their childhood which make them unable to utter their feelings and even permitting feelings at all.

There are a lot of aspects in this novel which are worth thinking about since they are taken from life and it surely offers a lot of ideas to talk about in book clubs. Yet, I missed some surprise in the book. Most of the developments are very stereotypical and foreseeable. The protagonist also seems to be a very clever woman, but her decisions are purely emotion based, I did not have the impression that she was pondering over her situation, but acted impulsively which I found not always very convincing. Nevertheless, I liked the style of writing and especially the hints to Albert Einstein which were cleverly integrated.

The review is also posted on:
https://www.amazon.de/review/RXLBAR7QSVZMO/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1878552225

https://www.bookstr.com/book-review/reviewed-by-miss.mesmerized/112078/

http://wasliestdu.de/rezension/the-unified-theory-of-love

http://www.buecher.de/shop/englisch/the-unified-theory-of-love-and-everything/ward-travis-neighbor/products_products/detail/prod_id/46886326/

https://missmesmerized.wordpress.com/2017/01/14/travis-neighbor-ward-the-unified-theory-of-love-and-everything/

https://www.lovelybooks.de/autor/Travis-Neighbor-Ward/The-Unified-Theory-of-Love-and-Everything-The-Delphi-Series-Volume-1-1413523532-w/rezension/1413633234/

https://www.facebook.com/missy.wunderlich.758/posts/1848232625390441:0

THE UNIFIED THEORY OF LOVE AND EVERYTHING BY TRAVIS NEIGHBOR WARD

"Some time will have to elapse before I am again calmly in possession of myself. Such an affair is a bit similar to murder!" ----Albert Einstein

It is March and Emerson has a business called Emergence which her husband Holt thinks as a hobby. Holt is a leading astronomer. They have two beautiful little girls. The family moved to Delphi, Georgia for Holt's job. Emerson has to argue with her husband to be home by six pm. because she has an appointment with Sybil Hay. Emerson wants to restore Sybil Hay's garden. Their daughters are Prue who is nine and Chloe who is six. Emerson is thirty-two years old and living with a man who is always working or working out. He is always too tired to have sex and Emerson wants to have sex and feels unsatisfied with her marriage.

I thought the author did an extremely good job in her character development. I could relate to Emerson for feeling that her marriage had big problems. Holt expects Emerson to handle everthing as far as doing all of the housework and cooking and bringing the children up. Emerson loves her husband but at the same time she feels Holt is emotionally unreachable. Sybil gives Emerson the job of restoring Hay Mannor's garden. The two women make an agreement that Emerson does the job without payment for her labor if Sybil pays for the materials. The deal is Emerson will be building her portfolio and Sybil will allow her to submit the restored gardens to magazines for publication. Also Emerson wants Sybil to give her a reference.

Sybil tells Emerson that Finn Lowell does things around her house in exchange for playing her piano and that Finn can help Emerson with restoring the property. Finn is the only man that she has ever been attracted to since she married Holt. As Finn and Emerson work together Emerson flirts with him and she wonders if they might become friends. Emerson also knows that married men and women can't be friends. Finn tells Emerson about his life as a cop and that he is thirty-five and he hasn't decided if he is going to retire in the summer. Finn tells Emerson that Sybil spent the summer of 1951 with Albert Einstein he was seventy-two and Sybil was twenty-two. Finn tells Emerson that he thinks Sybil is still living there in her mind. The more Finn and Emerson work together the more attracted they both become. Finn's wife Jennifer is described by Holt as having issues.

I really enjoyed this novel. The author disperses much about Einstein that is factual except for a letter to Einstein from Sybil. It is about marriage, love, being honest with yourself, adultery.
I think this was well written but life experience and being married for twenty six years I knew what was going to transpire between Finn and Emerson. It was a matter of when as I read. I wasn't the least bit surprised by how this story was going to play out. I did not think the ending was rushed. I know that Emerson was not happily married and I understand why she made the choices she did. I do not feel judgmental of any of the characters choices.

Thank you to Net Galley, Travis Taylor Ward and Northside Books for my digital copy for a fair and honest review.

I was really split about 3 stars or 4. I couldn't decide if I liked Emerson and Finn's involvement or not. I loved Sybil Hay and her old house. She was a free thinker and claimed to be Albert Einstein's mistress. Emerson seems a bit one sided in the story, there is not a lot interaction between her and her daughters , her friend Sarah or her family. Finn seems more developed as well as Sybil. This is book one of a new series (Delphi) referring to the town in Georgia where this book takes place. I hope in future books we will see that Emerson grows and finds peace in her life. A good story line that is probably more realistic than I realize.