It deals with some really tough subjects and a few times I wasn't sure if I was going to end up liking the book because I was questioning the MC's decisions. (show spoiler)[Not related to the abuse, I do still think she jumped into the marriage waaay too quickly. Also Ryle was a total prat for not telling Lily about his issues before they got married.] But by the time you get to the end, you realize that's the whole point.
The stuff in this book is hard to deal with. It's hard to make "the right choice" or even know what the right choice is. It's easy to make excuses.
Don't forget to read the author's note at the end, because that just reinforces EVERYTHING in the book. It cannot be skipped!
(show spoiler)[The abuse was handled very well. It had me so conflicted throughout the whole story, but by the end I realized that was the whole point. It was subtle enough each time that I could completely understand Lily's hesitation. She kept explaining it away, and I totally get why she did. The situation never really felt clear cut, and I thought it was a brilliant example of how real women in these situations must feel.]
I knocked off a star because of Ryle. Aside from (show spoiler)[his rage issues] I felt like his development was a bit too perfect.
"I don't want kids. I hate the idea of marriage. I'm only into one night stands."
"Please please PLEASE let me have sex with you! Just once! That's all I need! To get it out of my system."
*sex happens*
"Woah. You were right. Once isn't enough. I'm going to need more."
*few weeks later*
"Marriage sounds good after all. So do kids."
I feel like he changed his entire outlook waaaay too easily. This was never even really a struggle for him. His complete 180 was just a little too perfect.
My only other issue was with Lily's business. This is sooo silly of me, but I kind of hated how easy she had it. Maybe because I'm a small business owner and it just irked me to see her start a business and have everything go PERFECTLY.
- Rich girl walks in on day #1 wanting to work for free and is super passionate about helping her get the business off the ground.
- She immediately has really busy days (and slow ones, to be fair, but we always get the impression that she's doing really well).
- She can suddenly afford to hire other employees pretty quickly.
- She gets noticed by the community quickly and nominated for awards.
I feel so stupid complaining about this but I really feel like the stars just magically aligned to give her a great, booming business, and I hate her a little for it.