“Just because you can live without someone doesn’t mean you want to.”

Another great read by Taylor Jenkins Reid, who also wrote the Sliding Doors-esque novel I recently finished (Maybe in Another Life). Too bad my library doesn’t have any of her other novels!

“Make no mistake: I do love you. Just because I don’t feel the love in my heart doesn’t mean I don’t know it’s there. I know it’s there. I’m leaving because I’m going to find it. I promise you that.”

Lauren and Ryan have been together for 11 years, married for 6, and have recently realized that something’s really gone wrong with their relationship. They fight all the time, they resent each other for various reasons, etc. After one big fight, they decide to take a year apart to find out whether who they are away from each other, and decide if they have a future together or not. We stay mainly with Lauren during this time, but get occasional insights into Ryan since she logs into his email account and reads unsent drafts that he’s written to her (I know, I know — but we’ll forgive her for this, okay?).

There’s a lot more here than just a troubled marriage — Lauren learns how to be herself away from her partner. We also see her navigate problems and situations within her family without that shoulder to cry on. And I liked seeing Ryan’s perspective of what had gone wrong, too — Reid doesn’t just make him some asshole who left his wife. Everything comes across as very balanced, where both partners had equal wrongdoing and equal resentments. It’s a really well-written book, and I ended up loving the characters. I also really, really liked the ending, which bumped it to 4 stars for me.