The Half Moon: A Novel | 
pickThis story was so relatable to me. Like Jess, I'm a lawyer in my early 40s. We even have the same maiden name! And though my issue wasn't necessarily infertility, my husband and I wanted kids but it didn't happen for us for other reasons, and we both had to process that and grieve the what could have beens in our own way and time, and that puts a strain on a marriage. Keane writes beautiful novels with such realistically flawed characters.
pickOof, this is a tough review to write as it‘s very close to home. Keane writes about the world I grew up in and it‘s almost eerie how familiar it is. My dad has been a Queens bar owner my whole life and she really nabs the challenges of the restaurant industry, down to its shady dealings and side hustles. Even more personally, she captures the desolation of IVF and its impact on relationships in a way I haven‘t read before. Highly recommend. #botm
pickSo torn! I found the writing here compelling but for the first half of the book was just epically frustrated by Jess and Malcolm - a married couple who didn‘t seem to communicate at all - then I realised despite myself I had been drawn in and raced to the end ! Book 4 for #outstandingoctober @Andrew65
Open to those who signed up for #book2book with @AllDebooks
Comment below if you‘d like to take this one home. If multiple folks are interested I‘ll draw a random number. I‘m in the US.
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pickI enjoyed this, but her book Ask Again, Yes was much better.
pickI really like that this author writes 100% plausible stories with flawed characters who make real life mistakes. Things are messy and uncomfortable and no one is entirely in the right.
This one is just as good as Ask Again, Yes. It might be better.
It‘s about infidelity and infertility and how being emotionally exhausted can affect a couple. And about owning choices and facing up to how lives might change.
Thanks Holly I really liked it!
pickMy summers are filled with easy breezy beach reads so it was nice to slide in this complicated romance. It seemed like the entire book would be the drudgery of Malcolm and Jess finding their way back, but intrigue was introduced beyond the midpoint. Oddly though, I was most interested in the drudgery of finding the way and the why/how of staying together.
pickThis story of a marriage in trouble is really good. Malcolm and Jess are struggling alongside one another rather than making their way forward together. They are separated when the book starts, but we go back to see their beginning and how they‘ve arrived here. I really need to read MBK‘s backlist. She really works for me.
pickGood. Follows a couple and how they negotiate their feelings about each other following a break up. Full of rich detail which kept me turning the page. Thank you #MichaelJoseph and #PenguinRandomHouse for inviting me to read this via #Netgalley.
@penguinrandomhouse
#TheHalfMoon
pick5-17-23: My 53rd finished book of 2023! Malcolm finally owns the Half Moon bar he‘s worked at for many years but is struggling to stay afloat. Jess, his wife and a lawyer, has been desperately trying to have a child and has realized this might not be in her future. Told during the course of one week during a snowstorm that shuts the town of Gillam down, Malcolm and Jess must figure out their futures both separately and together.
Molly has been so well behaved since she turned 2, I got her a 30ft leash so she can explore the yard while I lounge on the deck. I wish we had an easily fencable yard, but I think this is the next best thing. 💜🐶
The book is mediocre and boring, so I‘m mainly skimming, but it‘s my #bookspin, so I‘m trying not to bail! Really disappointed because I loved Ask Again Yes.
pickI loved this book! Which kind of surprised me, since I felt like I was less of a fan of Ask Again, Yes than the average reader. I just thought the writing in this was amazing, the characters were compelling and believable in their complexity, the setting felt lived in and real, and the audio performances from Rebecca Lowman (always excellent) and Norbert Leo Butz (loved him as Kevin in Bloodline!) were stellar.
pickThe first half of this story felt so much like ordinary life that I found myself wanting to escape the monotony of the book but then a sudden surprise changes the tone and narrative. MBK is a gifted writer and this book proves her skills. There is an abundance of text dealing with the financial and emotional strain of treating infertility and for some it might feel relentless. A good story but not a WOW. #Arc #NetGalley
Morning Bar Mitzvah at a winery ☺️Services are taking VERY long but that ok, I‘ve got wine & my Kindle😜I‘m enjoying this new book from Mary Beth Keene - it does however deal with infertility, so if that‘s a subject you find difficult your may want to pass😞
pickI enjoyed this book more than Keane‘s previous Ask Again, Yes. Malcolm is living his dream owning his own bar…or is he? His wife Jess is a lawyer and has tried for years to carry a pregnancy to term. This story takes place over the course of a week during a snowstorm and features some hefty topics like infertility, marital and family secrets, self-examination of motives and how relationships can drift over time. Both heartwarming AND 🔻
pickThis is both heart wrenching and heart warming. Jess and Malcom marry quickly and she endures IVF in a futile attempt to conceive. He opens a bar and becomes entrenched in its action and finances, forcing Jess to look for love and companionship elsewhere. Fast-paced and gritty, the novel explores the complex relationships found in everyday life and love!
#NetGalley
pickI liked this even more than Ask Again, Yes.
It‘s about relationships and choices. Put it on your tbr for May!
