Yep, that’s my review.
Read an excerpt: here
Jenny Tate is the consummate New Yorker. A celebrated dress designer with access to the posh lifestyle- Jenny has it all. She even has a sickeningly cordial relationship with her ex-husband and his perfect wife. How modern. Nothing says closure like forced cheerfulness so you don’t seem bitter at an ex’s current wife’s baby shower!
Jenny decides to open a new page in her life and moves back upstate to be closer to her family and open a dress shop. While her sister’s life starts to unravel, Jenny may find a few other hearts in need of mending.
Rachel Carver, nee-Tate, is living the ultimate Stepford existence in Cambry-on-Hudson, NY; A loving husband, three adorable daughters (triplets no less), Mommy and Me Swim sessions...But the dream life gets flipped upside down by the ultimate betrayal. As Rach tithers back and forth on the right next step, she discovers more about herself than she ever realized existed.
4 ½ Red Roses
My Favorite Part of this Book: Call me a glutton for punishment but I enjoyed the emotionally wrecking scenes where Rachel had to confront her husband on his wrong doings. They were so filled with emotion I felt myself getting worked up, too!
Let me preface my final thoughts on this book with the following: I don’t cry. I am pretty desensitized and disenchanted when it comes to emotional/sappy scenes in books (ignore the oxymoron of me running this book blog and focusing on HEAs). I am just not that girl who wears her emotions on her sleeve (even in private).
That being said- IF YOU ONLY KNEW was so god damn affecting, I felt physically drained 3/4s through. I wanted to scream, and cry, and vented to my best friend how upset I was with Adam (Rachel’s husband). I stayed up all night and straight through to work the next morning reading because this book truly swept me away. I just couldn’t escape the feelings this book evoked and as I am not use to many books inspiring this, I couldn’t get enough! I recall an actual physical ache in my chest- my heart was in my stomach. This book is on par with Lisa Kleypas’ Sugar Daddy (my favorite contemporary of all time).
I think at the heart of it, we have an incredibly realistic book. Jenny’s love interest isn’t this dashing prince charming who rides in on a white horse and finds the way she eats, blinks, breathes intoxicating. He actually thinks she’s a little crazy when they first met. He was a bit of a dickhead, actually. There were no rose-colored angles- raw characters with plenty of flaws I found myself in.
The only thing keeping this from being a full 5 star read is that the writing style was difficult to follow at times. It was told from two perspectives (either sister) in alternating chapters (which I fucking hate 99% of the time)- oddly enough, once I became engrossed in both characters’ individual story, I didn’t find it as distracting/annoying. What did get me was with the writing style was that I found myself confused between reality and sarcastic day dream a lot- it was a little more work keeping everything straight. Also, the middle of this book was so spectacular that the final 20% paled in comparison and brought the story down as a whole for me.
There’s so much I could say about this book. From the excellent writing, to realistic characters, to the devastation left in the absence of its’ palpable suspense- IF YOU ONLY KNEW is going down as a favorite and go-to recommendation.
IF you want heart, triumph, laughs and love then you want IF YOU ONLY KNEW.
Jenny decides to open a new page in her life and moves back upstate to be closer to her family and open a dress shop. While her sister’s life starts to unravel, Jenny may find a few other hearts in need of mending.
Rachel Carver, nee-Tate, is living the ultimate Stepford existence in Cambry-on-Hudson, NY; A loving husband, three adorable daughters (triplets no less), Mommy and Me Swim sessions...But the dream life gets flipped upside down by the ultimate betrayal. As Rach tithers back and forth on the right next step, she discovers more about herself than she ever realized existed.
4 ½ Red Roses
My Favorite Part of this Book: Call me a glutton for punishment but I enjoyed the emotionally wrecking scenes where Rachel had to confront her husband on his wrong doings. They were so filled with emotion I felt myself getting worked up, too!
Let me preface my final thoughts on this book with the following: I don’t cry. I am pretty desensitized and disenchanted when it comes to emotional/sappy scenes in books (ignore the oxymoron of me running this book blog and focusing on HEAs). I am just not that girl who wears her emotions on her sleeve (even in private).
That being said- IF YOU ONLY KNEW was so god damn affecting, I felt physically drained 3/4s through. I wanted to scream, and cry, and vented to my best friend how upset I was with Adam (Rachel’s husband). I stayed up all night and straight through to work the next morning reading because this book truly swept me away. I just couldn’t escape the feelings this book evoked and as I am not use to many books inspiring this, I couldn’t get enough! I recall an actual physical ache in my chest- my heart was in my stomach. This book is on par with Lisa Kleypas’ Sugar Daddy (my favorite contemporary of all time).
I think at the heart of it, we have an incredibly realistic book. Jenny’s love interest isn’t this dashing prince charming who rides in on a white horse and finds the way she eats, blinks, breathes intoxicating. He actually thinks she’s a little crazy when they first met. He was a bit of a dickhead, actually. There were no rose-colored angles- raw characters with plenty of flaws I found myself in.
The only thing keeping this from being a full 5 star read is that the writing style was difficult to follow at times. It was told from two perspectives (either sister) in alternating chapters (which I fucking hate 99% of the time)- oddly enough, once I became engrossed in both characters’ individual story, I didn’t find it as distracting/annoying. What did get me was with the writing style was that I found myself confused between reality and sarcastic day dream a lot- it was a little more work keeping everything straight. Also, the middle of this book was so spectacular that the final 20% paled in comparison and brought the story down as a whole for me.
There’s so much I could say about this book. From the excellent writing, to realistic characters, to the devastation left in the absence of its’ palpable suspense- IF YOU ONLY KNEW is going down as a favorite and go-to recommendation.
IF you want heart, triumph, laughs and love then you want IF YOU ONLY KNEW.
Excellent review! I got this book right before my vacation & haven't had time since I got back, but I am looking forward to reading it. I have read & loved all of Kristan's books so far! Also, I just got done with a reread of Sugar Daddy & that whole series, and that was even better the second time around!
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