—— Edit: In addition to all I say below, & despite it… After writing my review I had the sudden realization that The Perfect Marriage would make …..
** A FABULOUS BOOK CLUB TITLE! **
There’s A LOT which can be discussed, picked apart, have differing opinions regarding, etc., etc.
My sort of slight “negatives,” gone over in detail below, would be perfect talking/debate points.
—— Ok! Now on to my review! :) …..
I think The Perfect Marriage was a fairly enjoyable read, start to finish - the beginning & very end being the best parts.
The middle, well- there were many times I asked myself if I really wanted to keep reading? If this story was truly entertaining me enough?
I realized after completing the book that you can have too many ongoing (& continually cropping up, new) questions & mysteries in a story - without ANY resolution going on whatsoever.
It gets a bit mentally/emotionally tiring … chapter after a chapter. And tiring leads to a feeling that’s akin to boredom. No matter how invested you are in the storyline or characters. Or how exciting the mystery started out being, or where it looks like it all may go in the end.
Like, perhaps, throw in a couple resolutions here & there. A few solutions to mini-mysteries would be a relief & refresher (even if they wind up being red herrings in the end lol!).
Having to hang in there throughout an entire twisty-turny type murder mystery - from beginning all the way until the end, with zero relief in between, begins to feel like a too long clothesline. How it begins to droop from the weight of all the clothes (or “story details/loose ends”) toward the center. In a heavy, distinct shape & color blurring, pace slowing, manner.
And just like looking at that over-burdened clothesline, when a story is feeling like that, your motivation to read dips & comes into question.
No matter how great the overall plot is.
I’m not often, & I mean hardly EVER, taken out of the story to then have to consciously, forcibly suspend disbelief.
This happened more than a few times when reading this book.
(And my primary genre(s) include a lot of SciFi, apocalyptic topics, etc. And I hang in there just fine. Happily 100% immersed, disbelief easily & naturally suspended for the duration….)
But here, within The Perfect Marriage, I encountered THE MOST unrealistic situations & occurrences. Which yanked me firmly from the immersion I had been enjoying, to question the author’s decision to include such a turn of events.
There are also a couple of “implied situations” in the story, which are fairly significant events. I guess we are supposed to be able to read between the lines, or ~in some other manner~ know what the heck she meant in those occurrences. (Jeneva Rose truly offers no hints for us, her readers.)
In truth, nothing would have been lost- & the story would have been improved actually, from a bit more detail in these situations.
I’ve since completed the book & I now *think* I understand what happened. ….Maybe? But I’ll never truly know if what I’m supposing matches up with what the author meant for those scenes.
So, overall, it’s an ok book.
This is my 1st experience with Jeneva Rose’s work. I MIGHT read something by her again, but with so many greats out there, unfortunately Rose’s stories won’t be the ones I immediately gravitate toward in the future when I swing over to this genre for a read. (Give Freida McFadden or Susi Holliday a try! Amazing!!)
Anyway…. The Perfect Marriage might be a perfect book for diehard fans of this author, Jeneva Rose.
For the rest of us … It may be worth a read.
But if you find that part way through you’re really not feeling it — & are asking yourself if the end is worth hanging in there?
Well. This is my experience….
I’m glad I did finish the book, despite my middle of the story self-reflection, as I know I would wonder what happened, how it all turned out eventually. And it would drive me a little crazy! Lol
But with that said, the conclusion feels sort of rushed. Isn’t really satisfying (to me). And is a bit of a stretch; or contrived.
Perhaps lengthening the ending just a bit would have helped? I don’t know.
It just doesn’t ~connect~ well to the whole of the rest of the story in general. Like, there were many private moments between the characters throughout the entirety of the story.
Yet between then … & the end … the relationships are 1000% different, & the author is asking us to believe it. Sure. Maybe. If we the readers hadn’t been fly’s on the walls / privy to so many PRIVATE moments throughout.
Anyway - more I could say on that, but I don’t believe in spoilers! No one likes a spoiler! Lol
So, it’s up to you, my fellow reading lover!
To give this one a whirl … or a pass!? …..
Chasity Mills
Rachael Ashak-Benson
MsBTorres
K. McNett