Good morning and welcome to this week’s In the Books, featuring Divorce Decree: A Novel by Nesly Clerge.
About the Book: TILL DEATH DO US PART. When Jake Adams uttered those words to his wife, Stephanie, he had an entirely different intention in mind. Industrious, determined, dedicated, devoted to his wife and children, he plans to give her, and them, the world. What Jake lacked in education, he made up for with willingness to learn and work hard so as to reap the rewards. In the end, it paid off—or so he believed. Stephanie should have been happy. And after all they went through together—the scares, dares, jobs, babies, successes, failures, lovers, separations, and second chances, why isn’t she content? What will it take? What is it that she wants him to do? As he struggles to discern truth from lies, it becomes a matter of being dead wrong or dead right. Find out who gets what’s deserved in this latest novel of emotional twists and turns by Nesly Clerge.
My Review: Few novels have the emotional twists and turns like Nesly Clerge’s.
The story itself if fast paced and well written, pulling us in from the first word. The author uses his phenomenal understanding of people and our emotions and thought processes to entangle us in a happy marriage that eventually turns sour as the communication between the couple breaks down, allowing their jealousy, anger, and frustration to get the better part of them.
The characters are all well written, and neither one of the main characters are right and both are wrong. As happens so often in real life, a simple explanation could’ve prevented so much, but us digging in our heals when we’re sure we’re right often leads to tragedy. There are so many times the story could have turned had it not been of one (Not saying who. No spoilers here.) could’ve moved beyond their pride and hurt feelings to listen or think beyond their own boundaries.
In many ways, the Jake and Stephanie are so real, it’s easy to see pieces of ourselves in this and treat it like a “What Not to Do” manual. On that note, I’d recommend relying on a professional opinion instead, but if it helps us to look inside ourselves, that could be the first important step, right?
I do have to admit, my favorite interactions were between Jake’s best friends, Pete and Melissa, who play great parts as Jake’s conscious and serve as great comic relief when they’re antagonizing each other. Of course, seeing Starks is a nice caveat. Crossovers rock when done right, and this is done right.
As usual, this is an awesome glimpse into the human condition by the author, and it’s a must read for anyone that loves well-written, reality based drama.
