The story starts off with an introduction to the couple Niels & Stella who have been married for 9 years and have two twin boys William & Daniel. They go through a series of changes as most couples do and often times it's just a lack of communication but at the end of the day everyone has a breaking point. Something has changed in Niels and Stella's relationship the spark is gone and Niels feels like his wife "endures" him. He travels a lot for his job and is gone for long periods of times. Stella who is used to being self-sufficient and self-reliant does what she always does and has basically learned to do which is do everything for herself. Feeling emasculated and no longer willing to participate in this one-sided marriage Niels files for divorce might I add after a very sexual tryst. Stella is breaking fast in her mind she is the perfect wife, she cooks, cleans, makes sure the kids are taken care of and has her own business. The problem is where does that leave Niels?
At this point although they very much so love each other the pain is very deep and what do people do when they are hurt they hurt others. Stella has basically went to war she is not willing to give anything up not even the kids. Niels don't get me wrong has some issues of his own. He is very much so the dominant especially in the bedroom. The thing is Stella is very stubborn and won't listen to anyone not even her solicitor who happens to be a good friend. I love the foreshadowing used in this book. For instance Niels mother gave Stella some marital advice about nothing being wrong in letting a man feel like a man. Basically dependence sometimes doesn't take away from your independence. It takes Stella awhile to grasp that concept and in the end I'm not so sure she fully understands. Like most people we learn from our parents relationships good or bad. I understand Stella running everything by herself and her husband feeling not needed but in the 9 years when was he going to get a backbone and step up? Like I said everyone has a breaking point and Niels chose to use actions instead of words. As to not give anything away the story chronologies over the span of two years after the divorce and what the couple goes through on a day to day bases. You get to see how divorcees date, manage their kids and just live. It's not all heavy and emotional there are some very erotic and laugh out loud moments in this book. Billy doesn't sugar coat anything in this book.
I however had very few issues with this book. As a reader I like to have some physical descriptions of the characters I am reading about. A good visual can do wonders. There were very few descriptions of the characters. I only knew this book was IR because of the cover and the Judge in the book mentioning something about people of colour and different cultures. At times I got a little frustrated with Stella's bitter attitude. I would have liked to see Niel's point of view more. This book is majority of Stella's experience with divorce her dating and moving on with her life. I love books with the guys point of view I understood they were divorced and had very limited interactions but I would have liked to have a glimpse into how he went on with his life. For the ending I thought it tied up a little too nicely after all the drama the couple had been through. I just felt like more interaction between the two was needed because let's face it Stella had some serious issues and Niels needed to assert some authority. Besides that I thoroughly enjoyed this story and would recommend it. Like I always mention don't judge this book based on this one review judge for yourselves.
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