Results May Vary
Fiction
Ballantine Books
August 9, 2016
E-book
352
Publisher via Penguin First to Read
Can you ever really know the person you love? She never saw it coming. Without even a shiver of suspicion to warn her, art curator Caroline Hammond discovers that her husband is having an affair with a man—a revelation that forces her to question their entire history together, from their early days as high school sweethearts through their ten years as a happily married couple. In her now upside-down world, Caroline begins envisioning her life without the relationship that has defined it: the loneliness of being an “I” instead of a “we”; the rekindled yet tenuous closeness with her younger sister; and the unexpected—and potentially disastrous—attraction she can’t get off her mind. Caroline always thought she knew her own love story, but as her husband’s other secrets emerge, she must decide whether that story’s ending will mean forgiving the man she’s loved for half her life, or facing her future without him. Compassionate and uplifting, Results May Vary is a bittersweet celebration of the heart’s ability to turn unexpected troubles into extraordinary strength.
My review:
Trying to describe this book brings one word to mind.......readable. And while that may sound rather boring, it's meant to be anything but. I'm giving credit to such excellent writing that this book just flows effortlessly along, making it, well, readable! This was not your typical story of infidelity, but I'm not sure that really matters because that type of plot is not usually something I'm fond of, but not in this case. The settings were captured to make me feel like I was in them (being from Vermont I can vividly still remember the various seasons in the northeast). There was a plethora of emotion throughout, with many ups and downs, back and forth. Sorrow, anger, forgiveness, friendship, sisterly bonding, humor, guilt, and more all wrapped up in 336 pages. The whole plot is made more interesting when we realize that Caroline has never been with another man, and spent half her life with this one. Explains a lot about her way of handling things. How she comes out the other side makes for compelling reading. There were a couple of sticking points that kept me from giving this 5 stars. While I thought Caroline and all of the secondary characters were well fleshed out, I had a hard time with Adam. Other than his one scene toward the end of the book, he came across rather flat, making it difficult for me to feel much emotion toward him. It also annoyed me that Caroline, without ever being a parent, is not understanding of Neil's feelings regarding his children. I can't really go into the exact spot without revealing too much, but I was so angry with her that she didn't get it! Small points in an otherwise lovely book. I would also be remiss if I didn't comment on all the great Patriots references......GO PATS 🙂
Pick this one up if you want a book to sink into and let the prose carry you away. Highly readable, with great characters and settings that make you think you are there. I hope to go back and read Ms. Chase's previous book The One That Got Away because I am a fan!
This book was provided for me to read as part of Penguin's First To Read program. As always, my opinions are my own.
I wasn't super interested in this one because I'm not a fan of infidelity stories either. However, this one sounds like a fantastic read! I like all the ups and downs of this one. Adding it to my TBR.
Let's just say that this was an infidelity story with a twist 🙂 And it really was about so much more than that. Hope you like it if you give it a try.
I totally think a book being "readable" is a compliment, the kind that flows so easily you can't put it down. I felt that way about And the Mountains Echoed and Shadow of the Wind, the writing was just so gorgeous. Will keep my eye out for this one!