Elizabeth Joy Arnold

Chloe and Nate have been married for over 20 years and have been friends for another decade prior to that. Chloe essentially grew up with Nate and his 2 sisters Grace and Cecelia. That's what makes the secrets they have kept from Chloe a little hard to swallow. Chloe has secrets of her own -- an affair and a tragedy early in her marriage to Nate that unfolds through flashbacks in the novel. The book is organized in chapters of famous book titles - Chloe and Nate own a bookstore and first bonded over stories in Nate's "fairy-tale life." However every fairy tale has a villain and that's Joel Sinclair, Nate's father. His fundamental religious fervour destroys his own family and has seriously damaged Nate and Chloe's. The author's portrayal of this religion doesn't entirely ring true, though, so that is a flaw in the story. Merging the past and the present in a meaningful and mysterious way make for a worthwhile read. All the book references and connections are interesting and intriguing and make for their own mystery -- definitely a plus. Hard to get behind any of the characters whole-heartedly, but still wanted to see what happened to them by the end.… (mere)

I enjoyed the book and would welcome the opportunity to read others by the same author. At the same time, I'll admit that none of the characters engaged me fully. The narrator, Lainey, had many traits that were admirable but still, she never quite got me around to really liking her. I came closer to honestly disliking Lainey's long-time friend Sydney. Sydney was a liar and a manipulator, and both characteristics were obvious from the first chapter. Actually, most of the plot was apparent very early on. Nonetheless, I liked it.… (mere)