Reviews with content warning for Miscarriage - In Five Years

-Dannie and Aaron kissing/hooking up felt very forced and only staged to fit the "dream". I really wish the dream was more of an emotional intimacy, that would still confuse her but make more sense. Their friend literally just died and they're boinking? There wasn't much of a romantic build up to make me feel there was sexual tension.
- The end sequence was a struggle to read. Her saying those same words she did before, but the author trying to justify it. "Am I lawyer?" It felt hamfisted. It could have been much better.

What I liked. . .
-I liked that it didn't really end with her being with Aaron. As I read it made it very clear if they did, the entire theme of the book would be gone. I interpreted as love and happiness are still great even if they don't last forever. And True Love isn't exclusive to romance. I definitely felt that Dannie and Bella truly loved each other. And Dannie loved David, although not the love made for long lasting marriage. Those loves, times, and relationships aren't a failure or a waste because you loved them. Kinda makes me think of what Robin said to Barney in How I Met Your Mother. Barney felt defeated and said their marriage was a failure but Robin disagreed. Their marriage was a success (they had lots of fun and loved each other strongly right up until the end) but it ended.

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sammiesshelf's review

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challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I would like to start by saying that I most definitely thought this book was supposed to be a romance when I went into it mostly blind, and that was the worst expectation I could have had. This is not a romance. Like, at all. It is arguably an anti-romance. However, I did still enjoy this book.

The concept of this book really drew me in, and I was especially thrown for a loop when I read that Dannie's life hadn't diverged from her path less than six months before her premonition date. It had me on the edge of my seat in the sense that I was thinking "Now what the hell happens for her to get to that point if this is where we are now?" This aspect was gripping, but do be warned that a lot of the first half of this book is dull and kind of just Dannie going about her everyday life as a corporate lawyer in a comfortable yet lackluster relationship in NYC. Even her arguments with Bella are dull. But I am glad that I pulled through that draggy bit because I did not expect the book to unfold the way it did.

The moment when the book shifts moods hit me like a truck. I did not see that coming. As I said, I wrongly assumed that this was a rom-com, when in reality it was a sad-sad. The second half of the story was still beautiful, but it was absolutely heartwrenching. I sobbed through most of it. It was incredibly raw and dark seeing into that aspect of her life.

Overall, I did cry my eyes out, so that is always a plus. The ending did feel kind of jarring and out of place, but I still enjoyed the journey from point A to point B. A thoroughly enjoyable and easy quick read.

Some of my spoilery opinions below:

I hated Bella until she was on her deathbed and acted like a normal human. Before that she seemed like an absolutely terrible friend who basically walked all over Dannie and threw tantrums. And it was nuts of her to go do all that baby shopping without even taking a second pregnancy test, even if she had been truly pregnant. Like, furniture when you're less than two months?? Insanity.

Also, it was very weird and jarring to me that Aaron and Dannie slept together the night of her celebration of life, and the way they went about it was also very strange. Like, Dannie clearly felt uncomfortable and wanted to leave initially, even if she got into it later. It felt weirdly coercive and then for them to act like nothing happened after?? wtf.

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