Some scenes were far fetched, but that was okay. I was too into the tale to not enjoy it. The main characters, oh Lucy, what could I have told her? I tried to poke her and get her to see the truth. But she was in love. Now the man she said 'I do' to has become a stranger, and she has no idea why. Yet Ellie is determined to reconnect and find her Max again - he has to be in there somewhere, right? Max Voss has just asked me if he can buy me food? Didn’t I always fantasise about this moment? Play it cool, Ellie. ‘Why not,’ I say with a simple shrug."

When Lucy and Paul met they fell deeply in love. They got married and Lucy thought she had everything she wanted. But then she finds a photo from Paul's past life and reads the text messages Paul's desperately trying to hide. Now Lucy realises she doesn't really know her husband.Overall, a cute romantic comedy that will make you laugh out loud, loved the yummy-mummies WhatsApp group and the breakfast swinging scene! Fortunately that stage doesn't last long, he's still in a bit of denial there and confused, which is understandable, but as he comes to accept what everyone is telling him he changes his behaviour, tries really hard to be the man he should be, husband and father, even though its difficult when he has no memory of that man. He slowly gets closer to Ellie, comes to see her in a different light to his sisters friend, appreciates her for the woman she is now, and the attraction between them pulls at him and makes him work harder at being her husband. He realises what he's in danger of losing if he doesn't and though at first husband and father isn't what he wanted to be, it scared him, slowly he realises that its exactly what he wants, where he should be at this part of his life. Ellie discovers to her surprise that he's now not her Max, but actually a more considerate Max, active in helping her as a father, in appreciating her as his wife, showing his feelings.

Also, the angst was only at 30% here. And the chemistry sparks between the couple were only noticeable after like 55% of the book. I just don't think Max fully fell in love with Ellie again. Not like the first time. More like she felt familiar and comfortable esp with their kid, Sasha, and a baby on the way. And then, when what I was suspicious of at the beginning turned actually true (I couldn't bear the wait and skipped to the near-end to see if I could get an idea of whether I am right - I KNOW BUT I COULDN'T HELP IT. THAT WAS A DEALBREAKER FOR ME SO I HAD TO KNOW - and I was sooo heartbroken that I was right.), that nearly caused me to DNF the book then and there.Plus, it also had the best-friend's-brother-to-lover / teenage-crush-noticing-you-in-your-20s tropes, which is such a brilliant mix. Although this is a fun, sweet story, with many laugh-out-loud moments, I liked the more serious note to Ellie and Max’s reunion. Despite Ellie trying to recover the Max she once knew, I think she comes to realise that learning to love each other again does have its advantages. There is a wobble in this path as Ellie starts to doubt the moments leading up to his amnesia, but I think the couple come out stronger than ever. Max has a lot to learn again but I also believe that Ellie recognises a different aspect to their relationship that needs to be treasured going forwards.

The subject matter is potentially a difficult one, especially if readers have experienced loved ones with memory loss and the pain that comes with it. However, I think the writer has approached this in a light-hearted, warm way that does not try to explore the suffering that is associated with such a disease. For Max, he seems to have suffered an emotional trauma causing him to lose his memories of the past five years. It’s called dissociative amnesia and the doctors are confident that Max’s memories would return ‘any day now’. Of course, this is not the case and Max’s family try and evaluate what news he really needs to know and what they can spare him from. This entails many funny scenes as his wife and parents determine whether Max needs to learn about Brexit, the state of American politics and presidency and, more closer to home, the breakdown of his parents’ marriage! Poor Ellie is frantic because she is heavily pregnant with daughter number two and Max has no memory of their first born. Not only does Ellie have the task of encouraging Max they do have a successful marriage, she needs him to re-bond with their daughter. The Man I Didn’t Marry is a one of a kind story like I’ve not read before. I felt so much for Ellie, I remembered those final few weeks of pregnancy and they’re hard, so I couldn’t even begin to imagine how you’d factor in a husband who doesn’t remember the last five years. And Max! Imagine not knowing the fact that you got married and had a child! Or that Brexit happened! A heart-warming and feel-good romcom about a second chance at falling in love, perfect for fans of Mhairi McFarlane and Beth O'Leary Authenticity feels like a breath of fresh air and people who truly love you, will love you, regardless of you are and who you’re attracted to." If you need help and support, you can call Samaritans on 116 123 or the LGBT Foundation on 0345 3 30 30 30.There are also a couple of very interesting subplots, but one of them gets dropped entirely by the end of the book, which I did not understand. The other one, about Lucy’s husband’s previous girlfriend, is very interesting. I would have liked to have seen it developed more and earlier. I think having both subplots going on detracted from the main parts of the story I found most interesting.

I couldn't get over how, in a previous relationship with his ex gf, he was the other man. He knowingly dated the ex gf, a coworker, who was married. It was said that he was really into her, but eventually couldn't handle being the other man. I also can't get over when he sees the ex gf years later at a work party and decide to be sloppy drunk to the point where they kiss. If you know there may be a situation, remove yourself from the situation or don't over imbibe. Don't blame the alcohol.

More in Books

The Man I Married falls into the recent spate of books with the theme: “Is she crazy or does she have a horrible husband who is gaslighting her?” This book is hard to review for me. On the one hand, it’s very well-written, super creepy, and the suspense was very good. On the other hand, some of the things that happen here are so obviously manipulative and horrible that it’s very difficult to see Lucy continue justifying them through most of the book. You have to really suspend your disbelief to think that Lucy wouldn’t see some of these things sooner. I know that this sometimes happens in real life, but the way it was written here got very hard to read for me. Really when I’m reading books like this, it’s for a vicarious thrill, so I’m looking for the hero or heroine to rise up or to figure things out and outsmart the baddies. Or to go another way and maybe she really IS crazy. This book spent a lot of time in between, with Lucy cowering and flipping out when the answer was somewhat obvious. While this reaction is totally understandable in real life, it was just kind of hard to read here as written by the author. We fall on to the bed and there are drunken hands everywhere running all over each other’s body. It’s not the most co-ordinated of efforts but there’s a kind of hot and heavy panting that comes from a lot of lust." I also enjoyed reading the letter from the author, where she quite rightly points out that sometimes the people who commit the most deadliest crimes are the -" People who walk amongst us. They appear ordinary, not very different from us at all, but when you scratch a little deeper, you discover they hold some very dark and dangerous secrets."