Overall Grade: A
Tropes: marriage in trouble; small-town vibes; second chance; blue-collar
Dear Adriana,
I decided to write this review as an open letter to you because it’s been a week and a half since I finished reading Nothing But It All, and this book continues to cling to my soul. Reading this book was like looking into a mirror and seeing my reflection. You deftly and beautifully captured the challenges of two middle-aged parents and the strife of marriage. Yes, Lauren and Jack find their happy ending again, but the book’s ending promises that life will continue challenging them, and they will need to continue working hard at their marriage. The truth and reality of this book are couched in the tenderness and spice of Jack and Lo’s reconciliation, so anyone who doesn’t want to read the reality of romance can still melt with the love portrayed between these two characters. Yes, Jack’s father and their kids are critical to your story in getting Jack and Lauren to the place where reconciliation can happen, but they aren’t necessary to Jack and Lauren’s journey.
I have to be honest, though. I had to step away from the book several times because it was so real, and I saw myself in your story. My husband and I are essentially married roommates after 26 years of marriage. Unfortunately, my husband isn’t Jack, whose self-awareness is refreshing in your story. So the hope projected through Jack and Lauren’s story is a bitter pill for me. My choices for my marriage, though, are represented in the truth of your book: marriage takes dedication and work through the good and bad times. Lauren says something like she would rather have Jack in her life than a life without him, and I think that’s true for me too.
Thank you for writing this book even though it was sometimes difficult to read because it’s so true to my life now. I am exceedingly grateful for the quality of your writing voice, and for how you create characters that look and sound like real people in real situations with the promise of finding their happy endings. Nothing But It All is a primer on how romances can be written about the challenges of middle-aged love and the hope for different outcomes.
Forever a fan,
Professor A
Professor Romance 