Reviews with content warning for Miscarriage - Everything After

I'm typically a fan of Jill Santopolo's work, but this one wasn't as resonant for me. I don't mind the pregnancy aspect of it - as a woman who deals with similar issues, I felt Emily's pain. And honestly, the internal monologues were very emotionally impactful and deep. As a former musician myself, I enjoyed the use of music and songwriting as an emotional outlet and reflection of the characters' states of mind. Emily linking music with her trauma, and then finding it again as a trauma outlet, was very smart.

But on the other hand, every decision each character made just felt a bit unnatural or contrived for the point of the story. Everyone in the story was so ok with the idea of the protagonist cheating or leaving her husband, even the friend on the outside! And meanwhile, her husband is acting SO cartoonishly antagonistic, it was hard to believe that a man introduced to be so lovely would have acted the way he did. There can be shades of grey in how people act, not everything needs to be a big dramatic outburst.

I try very hard to remain positive and not nitpick in book review but... this one just didn't sit so well with me.

Content Warnings

haleyreads1789's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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jennastopreading's review

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sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

This was miserable and the MC was awful. Ugh.

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fckastel's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Not my usual kind of story but was super engrossing and finished it really quickly! Parts of it made me tear up.

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insanelyfruity's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

up until a little over halfway through the book, I couldn't get over how similar it was to the author's last book- The Light We Lost. if I wanted to read that book, I would've just reread it. that certainly disappointed me in the beginning because I'd come to expect a lot from the writer. but the second half of the book diverged from the path of that other book and felt different. had I not read The Light We Lost, I would have appreciated this book more, as the story was definitely very interesting and a very important one too. but it bored me in the beginning because of its similarities. however, the second half definitely redeemed the book for me. I loved the growth the characters showed and the risks they took and the choices they made. but I would have to say even though the pacing of the book was pretty slow, the story still felt a little rushed towards the end. I felt like that's when it started to get interesting. it could use a lot of the first half of the book being cut from the story. I didn't find myself very attached to any of the characters. but I wish the author the best with her new family. as a future doctor, certain parts were very inspiring and that is highly appreciated.
maybe I'm not mature enough to appreciate this book to its full extent and a reread in a couple years may change my perspective.

"Everything is always okay in the end, and if it's not okay, it just means it isn't the end."

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lucyisabella's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted slow-paced

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

4.5

I really enjoyed this book, especially the narrative point of view and the timeline going back and forth. That’s not something I normally enjoy but it flowed really well and made the story more captivating.

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voela321's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Sometimes you just need a sweet predictable story with a happy ending. This is that kind of read.

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jchtilianova's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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