After I Do
Table of Contents
After I Do
After I Do is the latest novel to be checked off my to be read list, which seems to be about a mile long these days. I’m making it more of a point in the new year to take the time to read, because it is a form of self care for me.
Taylor Jenkins Reid is becoming a repeat author in my blog, as I have loved everything I’ve read of hers so far. Obviously I was excited to start reading this one too.
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Have you read After I Do? Come on in and let me tell you about it!
About After I Do
When Lauren and Ryan’s marriage reaches the breaking point, they come up with an unconventional plan. They decide to take a year off in the hopes of finding a way to fall in love again. One year apart, and only one rule: they cannot contact each other. Aside from that, anything goes.
Lauren embarks on a journey of self-discovery, quickly finding that her friends and family have their own ideas about the meaning of marriage. These influences, as well as her own healing process and the challenges of living apart from Ryan, begin to change Lauren’s ideas about monogamy and marriage. She starts to question: When you can have romance without loyalty and commitment without marriage, when love and lust are no longer tied together, what do you value? What are you willing to fight for?
This is a love story about what happens when the love fades. It’s about staying in love, seizing love, forsaking love, and committing to love with everything you’ve got. And above all, After I Do is the story of a couple caught up in an old game—and searching for a new road to happily ever after.
Thoughts on After I Do
“Suddenly, I was crestfallen. I didn’t realize how much I’d been waiting for him to propose to me until I heard him say we could turn back. It was like when you aren’t sure what you want for dinner and someone suggests Chinese, and only then do you realize how badly you wanted a burger.”
Taylor Jenkins Reid, After I Do
When I first started reading this book, it felt simplistic to me. Like it was going to be an easy and even basic read. Yet it is profound in so many ways. Lauren is separated from her husband, Ryan. They take a year to stay separated in the hopes of being able to come back together and fix their marriage. Doesn’t entirely sound realistic, because people grow and change as life and time go on, and oftentimes they grow apart instead of being able to come back together.
But this isn’t just a book about a failing marriage. It is about strong family bonds, being a strong woman, learning, growth, supporting the people around you, and so much more.
“As Rachel and I are walking back to the car, we get lost and end up on the floor below at Arrivals. It occurs to me that Arrivals is a much nicer place than Departures. Departures is good-bye. Arrivals is hello.”
Taylor Jenkins Reid, After I Do
I absolutely love the character development that happens in this book, especially with Luaren. She finds herself, finds out what she wants, what she is missing, and what she needs in a relationship.
I was constantly impressed with the flow of this book, and the way Taylor Jenkins Reid so beautifully manages to weave the story together and make it profound, beautiful, thoughtful, and inspiring. It wasn’t something I was expecting, and it made the impact that much bigger because I didn’t see it coming.
Final Thoughts on After I Do
“I don’t actually have any idea. I have no evidence whatsoever. I just choose to believe in him. And for a second, I understand why everyone thinks my marriage will be OK. They don’t have any evidence. They just choose to believe in me.”
Taylor Jenkins Reid, After I Do
One of my favorite themes of this book is the emphasis that there are no rules in life, no standard to follow, no magical formula to find happiness.
I’ve said it before, but it is worth repeating. I haven’t read a Taylor Jenkins Reid book that I didn’t like. She has incredible talent as an author.
Half of me wants to go binge-read all the rest of her books on my to be read list, and half of me wants to wait so I can space out the joy I get when I read her books.
You can’t go wrong with After I Do, in my opinion. This is a book that will stay with me long after I’ve moved on and read others.
Discussion
Have you read After I Do or any other writing from bestselling author Taylor Jenkins Reid? Are you a fan? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
About the Author
Taylor Jenkins Reid is the New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, as well as One True Loves, Maybe in Another Life, After I Do, and Forever, Interrupted. Her newest novel, Malibu Rising, is out now. She lives in Los Angeles.
Purchasing After I Do
If you are interested in buying the paperback version of After I Do, click here.
Click here for the Kindle version.
Click here for my favorite Kindle I currently own.
More from Taylor Jenkins Reid
Did you enjoy my review of After I Do? Need another great Taylor Jenkins Reid novel to read? Here are my favorites!
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