Once I started reading Still Crazy by Judy Prescott Marshall, I had a hard time putting it down. Julie suspects that her husband of 30 years is having an affair. She has suspected the same in the past and has never been able to really prove it. When confronted, Dan denies, denies, denies. Instead of confronting Dan this time, she sets out to find the truth herself and lots of time passes with no real resolution. She is not ok. The few people who know her suspicions tell her he would never do such a thing. She loves her husband and he seems to love her but she can't let it go. By the end of section one of the book Julie has made all the preparations to leave and she does, leaving no trace or clue as to where she has gone. In section two of the book she proceeds to build a life for herself and makes many new friends who become her family. Even with a new life and a possible new love, Julie can't forget Dan and her love for him. I won't go into any more detail, but lets just say that this book is not low on angst.
As I said, I was drawn into this book by the story and couldn't put it down. Now, that is not to say that I didn't have a few frustrations with it as I read. First of all, I was confused by the timeline of the story. Julie is supposed to be 49 at the beginning of the story, but that doesn't really match up to the dates given in regards to her and Dan's relationship. This might not bother most, but it did me. Secondly, there are quite a few times where Julie references her faith in God in getting her through and prays to God for strength and guidance. I have no trouble with that or faith based romance stories, but this book is mixed. While she shows this faith at times, there is also language unbecoming to someone of strong Christian faith. She also seems to seriously consider sleeping with a man who is not her husband. Christians do make poor choices sometimes just like anyone else, but Julie's conflict in this situation had nothing to do with displeasing God. Things like this left me a little confused as to the author's use of Christianity in this book. The love interest in the second part of the book actually had me scratching my head. He is in love with her, but I really couldn't understand why. We really don't see him falling for her, she doesn't even really spend much time with him, but rather actively avoids him. Lastly, I found it interesting that from the beginning I wasn't really sure what was true about Dan and his affairs. I didn't know if Julie really was right or wrong. I think the author does this on purpose and it is one of the things that kept me reading the book. I needed to know what the truth was.
I truly loved the second part of the book. I loved how Julie built her inn and how she filled it with people she loved and trusted. How they all had each other's backs and worked so well together was fun to read and it would be a dream to work in such a place. I was mostly satisfied with the ending and hope to read the author's next book which seems to be a connected to this one. I hope Julie and Dan are doing well and that we will get to see that.
My sincere thanks to Judy Prescott Marshall and BookishFirst for giving me the opportunity to read this book and give my unbiased opinion of it.
As I said, I was drawn into this book by the story and couldn't put it down. Now, that is not to say that I didn't have a few frustrations with it as I read. First of all, I was confused by the timeline of the story. Julie is supposed to be 49 at the beginning of the story, but that doesn't really match up to the dates given in regards to her and Dan's relationship. This might not bother most, but it did me. Secondly, there are quite a few times where Julie references her faith in God in getting her through and prays to God for strength and guidance. I have no trouble with that or faith based romance stories, but this book is mixed. While she shows this faith at times, there is also language unbecoming to someone of strong Christian faith. She also seems to seriously consider sleeping with a man who is not her husband. Christians do make poor choices sometimes just like anyone else, but Julie's conflict in this situation had nothing to do with displeasing God. Things like this left me a little confused as to the author's use of Christianity in this book. The love interest in the second part of the book actually had me scratching my head. He is in love with her, but I really couldn't understand why. We really don't see him falling for her, she doesn't even really spend much time with him, but rather actively avoids him. Lastly, I found it interesting that from the beginning I wasn't really sure what was true about Dan and his affairs. I didn't know if Julie really was right or wrong. I think the author does this on purpose and it is one of the things that kept me reading the book. I needed to know what the truth was.
I truly loved the second part of the book. I loved how Julie built her inn and how she filled it with people she loved and trusted. How they all had each other's backs and worked so well together was fun to read and it would be a dream to work in such a place. I was mostly satisfied with the ending and hope to read the author's next book which seems to be a connected to this one. I hope Julie and Dan are doing well and that we will get to see that.
My sincere thanks to Judy Prescott Marshall and BookishFirst for giving me the opportunity to read this book and give my unbiased opinion of it.