This week we’re looking at an epic love triangle set in the beautiful Florida Keys. This week we’re looking at This Is Not How It Ends by Rochelle Weinstein.
Structurally this book is a bit interesting. Part 1 is told via two timelines, one a couple of years ago and one present day. In each, our lead character finds herself falling in love with two men… who happen to be best friends. In Part 2 the book is told via a now unified present day timeline, and right around the 2/3 point we get one character telling another character the title of this book. It is at this point that the book goes from “solid” to “waterfall” level, and the waterworks continue pretty well through the end of the book.
Reading this book just a day after finishing Iona Grey’s The Glittering Hour, another waterfall level book, was a bit intense, and I very much recommend surrounding this book with light and fun romantic comedies in your own reading. (Or maybe mindless “kill everything that moves, get the girl, save the world” level action, if you prefer.) Reading both of these books right at a holiday known for being one of the biggest parties of the year was even more intense, and I very much recommend waiting until the middle of winter when you need a good cry anyway. Guess what? Since you’re reading this after Jan 2, 2020 (I’m writing it at roughly 4a EST on that date), you’re already in a much better position to read this book.
Which is what you should do. Right now. Go buy this book if you haven’t yet and get set for a good weekend cry. Go!
Solid. Then Waterfall. I’ve heard a lot of friends talking about this book for a few months, and even though I had it already there were always more pressing deadlines, so I didn’t actually manage to read it until release day. And damn. For the first 2/3 ish of this book, it is solid but on par with the level expected from Lake Union Publishing – a high ish standard already, as they’ve never once let me down and given me a subpar book. But then you get to the last 1/3 ish of this text and suddenly your eyes are effectively waterfalls for the next 100 pages or so. And I began to see why so many friends were praising this book so highly. Truly excellent work, and very much recommended.