What happens when your Prince Charming turns out not to be so charming after all? In To Have and To Hold, bestselling author Jane Green offers a sizzling, highly entertaining look at romantic relationships after we say “I do.”
Alice knows she should be happy. A charming twenty-eight-year-old with a successful catering business, she’s always dreamed of a rose-covered cottage in the English countryside, filled with children and animals and home-cooked meals. Her favorite attire is comfy jeans, her best manicure features garden dirt under the nails. But when her teenage crush—the wealthy, dashing man-about-town Joe Chambers—wants to make her his bride, Alice is more than willing to play Cinderella to Joe’s prince. Never mind that he wants her to change—a diet, ice-blond highlights, stilettos, snooty gallery openings—and that he’s allergic to nature and kids. She tells herself she’s happy to sacrifice for love, and besides, with Joe’s stunning good looks and high-profile career at a top financial firm, every woman in London wants to be in her shoes.
But that’s just the problem. Despite Alice’s efforts to be the perfect wife, Joe soon reveals a penchant for being hopelessly unfaithful. When a notorious indiscretion with a female colleague forces Joe to transfer to New York, Alice’s life turns upside down. As Joe continues to sneak around, and her best friend’s beau offers a tempting glimpse of what real love could be like, Alice must decide how much Cinderella she can take before her deepest desires win out—and if she can summon up the courage to find real happiness on her own.
Delicious, witty, and packed with sparkling sex appeal, To Have and To Hold is an unputdownable read that will have you rooting out loud for its endearing heroine. A #1 bestseller in Britain, this latest tale from the beloved, utterly winning Jane Green proves that the search for true love doesn’t always end when someone dons a veil, and offers a lively, refreshing take on modern marriage.
Short book but I liked it. I really wanted to slap Alice and be like OPEN YOUR EYES!!! HE'S A SCUMBAG!! It was hard to read because of my feelings on cheating and whatnot. But still a good book and I really liked the ending.
To what extent will a woman go to preserve the illusion around her? How far will she drift from her true self before she begins to paddle back to shore? This is the story of a wife living a carefully balanced life--of contrived appearances and comfort on one side...fear and complacency on the other. By tipping that scale, she finds satisfaction and fulfillment.
This book was in my to-read stack for about a year before I ever picked it up. This wasn't because I didn't want to read it-it's just that of all the books by this author I have read I only really liked one of them (that was "Jemima J" which is very good actually) and found the others to be, frankly, quite badly written (especially "Mr. Maybe".) But finally I picked this one up, expecting it to be a quick, uncomplicated read. I was wrong.
This book is actually a very in-depth exploration of marriage and infidelity. I was honestly surprised at poignant and sweet it was. This isn't the story of a wife who finds who finds out her husband is cheating on her and falls apart, it's the story of a wife who catered to her husbands every whim because she was terrified of losing him and then found herself again. And it's not corny or lifetime movie-ish at all. Quite a feat really.
It took me several days to read this, and I enjoyed it. I recommend it.
