The Husband's Secret

I was not enjoying this - in fact, it made me angry for several reasons. (The fat-shaming, the woman-hating, the really unlikable characters, etc.) So, I skipped ahead to see how some things worked out because I'm curious (and apparently a glutton for punishment) and - thanks, I hated it! I haven't had this visceral a reaction to a book in a long time. I read to be entertained - if a book makes me laugh or inspires warm fuzzies, all the better. What I do not look for in a book is a misery-fest of unlikable characters, no-win situations, and situations that are only included to manipulate me into feeling something (presumably crying, in this case). It's especially off-putting when it all gets tied together semi-nicely at the end. Don't get me wrong, I prefer books with happy endings; this story just didn't deserve one.  

I do have to give the author some credit, however; this book had an enticing premise, the characters all felt realistic (I just didn't want to spend any time with them), and there were several questions I wanted to get the answers to, so I stuck with the book longer than I wanted to, but then the answers and/or the way they were resolved, made me regret I picked this book up to begin with. And now I'm stuck with this in my head, and I know I'll think about it from time to time, which will irritate me again, or worse, I'll wonder what I would have done if I were in these characters' situations. And this story just doesn't deserve the head space it's going to take up.    

That's not to say this is inherently a bad book. Some people might enjoy it. If this is your favorite book, that's great. It just wasn't for me.