Forever, Interrupted: A Novel

"My heart didn’t skip a beat. I had no idea he was “it”; it was “he.” He was the man I’d dreamed about as a child, wondering what my husband would look like. I was seeing this face I had wondered about my whole life and it was right here in front of me and I didn’t recognize it. All I thought was, He’ll probably get his pizza before I get mine."Elsie Porter and Ben Ross meet one night when they are both waiting to pick up a pizza. They both fall hard and fast. Within five months they’ve moved in together and eloped. However, their love story is brought to an abrupt end when Ben dies in a bicycle accident. At the hospital, Elsie meets the mother in law (Susan) who she’s never met, and who doesn’t even know she exists. The story of Elsie and Susan’s grieving process is interwoven with Elsie and Ben’s love story.Taylor Jenkins Reid is without a doubt one of my favorite authors. I only discovered her work late last year when I came across her novel “Maybe in Another Life.” I was hooked after that. “Forever, Interrupted” was the last of her novels for me to read, but ironically it was her first novel she published. Boy did it not disappoint. All of her novels have been phenomenal. As a first novel, the level of writing is just as exceptional as her most recent work.This book is a heartbreaker. I can’t exactly say I felt uplifted or even happy when the story ended. But I was satisfied. I was crying within the first couple of pages, and continued to do so throughout various parts of the book. I’m glad Elsie’s grieving process was interwoven with the love story. While it was bittersweet, it broke up the melancholy feeling of grief. Ben is charming, sweet, and so funny. There were times I laughed out loud, and I was grateful for that reprieve from the tears."“Let’s do a little experiment,” Ben said. “What’s Anna Karenina about?”“It’s about a married aristocratic woman who falls in love with a count but she can’t —““I am falling asleep just listening to you. Do you know what this book is about?” he asked me, grabbing the falcon-cover book from my hand. “This book is about a group of kids who are part human, part bird.” He said it plainly, as if the facts spoke for themselves. “This is a better book.”"I was angry at Ben for not telling his mother about Elsie. They discuss his reasons for not doing so, but I don’t know if they were good enough reasons in my opinion. Especially when things got more serious with Elsie. As someone who can relate with Ben and his hesitation to share his good news with his mother, I think he made a mistake. Elsie let her fear get in the way of what I think she knew was right.Of course I was devastated that Ben died, and there wasn’t some magical resurrection, or that it wasn’t just a bad dream. I like happily ever afters. But this book was unique. I love how Jenkins Reid is able to weave two stories so seamlessly together. Whether they are concurrent timelines in different universes, or weaving the past and present, she’s a master of it. All her books are on my to-read again list. And this one is right there alongside the others.“No matter how strong you are, no matter how smart you are or tough you can be, the world will find a way to break you. And when it does, the only thing you can do is hold on.”

This was a good read by author TJR - she writes a tale that the reader can relate to, even in the most abstract ways. She is a realist and makes the reader feel like they are a part of the story - they may not have a happily ever after, but not all stories do...especially in real life.The characters are relatable, they are flawed, they seem real and they are ones that the reader wants to be friends with in real life. They want to be there with them through the good and the bad and help them to get through life. This book gives the reader all the feels - they will laugh, cry, yell, and most of all need some tissues.This was a good read that everyone needs to add to your TBR list! Don't hesitate and add this one today!

No plot, more of a story. Very sad, but positive. Nicely written, just not my kind of book. Made me cry

I bought this book almost ten years ago, and don't know why it took me so long to get around to reading and listening to it (Julia Whelan's narration was, of course, phenomenal). There's no surprise happy ending; tragedy reveals itself right from the get-go, but the heart of the story entails carrying on when carrying on is unthinkable. A young woman's husband dies days after they marry, and she must deal with a mother-in-law who didn't know of her existence. There are a few lovely subplots, most notably librarian Elsie's relationship to an elderly library patron, but the story is about love: how it begins, how it changes, and how it endures. Glad I already own a copy because otherwise I'd have to rush out and buy a copy for my keeper shelf.

I felt like I had just entered the wrapping up of the story line and a few pages later…done. 😳 I was absolutely not prepared in any way. The entire story leading up to that point was a five/five, fully engaging, such an emotional read (get tissues), the characters pull you in, it’s just incredible!! I just wish it had more of a proper ending.

The first 2/3 of this book were okay but the last third nearly ripped my heart out. I was not prepared for how gut wrenching and visceral my reaction would be to the end. I read a lot of TJR so I’m not surprised I loved this book. But I definitely love it in a diff way than her other books. Those books were fun and something I could watch and detach from. This books seems to cover so much loss and I wasn’t prepared for how close to home it would hit. Beautifully structured and written.

I'm not much of a romantic novel fan but for its genre, this book is good. It can be depressing at times and drags in some places but is well-written and has a lot of heart.It's likeable characters and story lines about family, friendship and personal growth make it more interesting than your average romance novel. It also avoids overblown, cheesy bedroom scenes (I don't want to hear about his throbbing manhood and her quivering ...), the author lets you know that there is an active 'physical relationship' without going all TMI.As mentioned above, this book had likeable characters. I especially loved Elsie's bff Ana, everyone should have an Ana in their life. I thought Ben was a believable love-of-your-life character; kind of perfect but not unbelievably perfect, a little goofy yet pretty darn loveable. I even grew to love Susan; as a mom of two boys I can understand why she was so offended by Elsie at first. Who wouldn't be? Mr. Callahan ( an elderly library regular) was great comic relief at times but also had some real words of wisdom for Elsie.My favorite scene in the book was when Elsie over- reacted when the guy at the library asked her out. Super inappropriate response but very entertaining.If you're looking for something to read on airplane or at the pool, this is a good pick. It can hold your attention without requiring serious concentration.

Not as good as the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo but a goid read

parfait

This is a devastatingly beautiful book about love and loss. It is the second book by the author I have now read and she is quickly becoming one of my favourites. No it’s not thrilling or particularly exciting, in fact it’s quite heartbreaking, but it’s page turning nonetheless because you truly come to root for Elsie and her future. Very interesting concept about duration of a relationship and it’s correlation (or lack of correlation) to the duration of grieving.“Sweetheart, I’m telling you, you love someone like that, you love them the right way, and no time would be enough. It doesn’t matter if you’d had 30 years, it wouldn’t be enough”Truly brilliant.

This book come with great quality and its a original book

Absolutely love this book and everything else what TJR wrote!