A marriage on the rocks causes Kevin and Kylie to reevaluate what their relationship, vows, and family means. Healey clearly describes the daily drudgery of marries life when one or both partners question it value. The characters are shallow with some twists and turns. The ending is not what you would expect. ( )

A very well written story about old love and new love. I was drawn into Kevin and Kylie's story. ( )

This is a first novel and Bryan did a good job of creating likeable characters, just enough detail, and finally, a book that fulfilled its title. Perhaps I needed more action as I kept waiting for something to happen to the characters. It did, but not really until 2/3 of the way into the book. It's a good read - not great - but good. ( )

I was not extremely pleased with this book. It wasn't a bad book, but it was definitely not my cup of tea. It was a little slow for me and I was let down by the ending. It just stopped. Almost as if the author just forgot to write the las chapter. I'm sorry I couldn't give a better review, but this one just didn't have enough substance for me. ( )

This book was given to me as part of the Member Giveaway program in LibraryThing.

My first novel by Healey which has left me positively surprised.
I read the book in just a couple of days, I was completely hooked from the start.
Healey gives us a glimpse of the lives of a middle aged married couple, Kevin and Kylie, for just 5 days. We see their "attempted conversations" every morning and every night and ( that's what made the difference for me) what was really going on in their minds. What got me about this story is the way it shows how can it be possible to have an apparently happy and comfortable life whereas beneath the surface, the characters feel the most miserable and lonely people in the world, and what's even worse, that they are not even aware of it until something awakens them from their hypnotised states.

I loved the routine described each morning, the symbolism of objects, such as coffee, the only thing these married strangers share a passion for, their daily activities and their need to open up their repressed feelings with somebody, while thinking in plural to themselves as if, even with their palpable differences, they are still a team.
They resent each other for not trying harder though, being equally guilty for neglecting their shared life, and as each day passes by, they grow more and more distant until they cross the point of no return.

This seemingly unremarkable story is, in my humble opinion, one out of the thousands of family tragedies which happen every day in front of our noses. You can't help but feeling useless as you witness mistake after mistake and, at least in my case, you start questioning your own attitude towards life when you can identify with the characters with subjects such as infidelity or the continuous estrangement, or the unconscious blaming of your partner for your own failures and shattered dreams, or the silly self provoked arguments which lead to nothing good at all.
The novel also gives us a useful lesson: that life is unpredictable and that we should value what we have or, at least, try to be sincere with the ones around us because you might not have another chance to do so, leaving you with regrets you won't be able to atone for the rest of your days.
A disturbingly novel, whose simplicity and raw truth won't leave any reader indifferent.
Highly recommended. ( )