Review: Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Publisher:  Washington Square Press
Publishing Date: July 9th, 2013
Genre: Adult Contemporary
Pages: 352 pgs
ISBN: 9781476712826
Source: Bought at Chapters



Summary from Goodreads:

Elsie Porter is an average twentysomething and yet what happens to her is anything but ordinary. On a rainy New Year's Day, she heads out to pick up a pizza for one. She isn't expected to see anyone else in the shop, much less the adorable and charming Ben Ross. Their chemistry is instant and electric. Ben cannot even wait twenty-four hours before asking to see her again. Within weeks, the two are head over heels in love. By May, they've eloped.
Only nine days later, Ben is out riding his bike when he is hit by a truck and killed on impact. Elsie hears the sirens outside her apartment, but by the time she gets downstairs, he has already been whisked off to the emergency room. At the hospital, she must face Susan, the mother-in-law she has never met- and who doesn't even know Elsie exists.
Interweaving Elsie and Ben's charmed romance with Elsie and Susan's healing process, Forever, Interrupted will remind you that there's more than one way to find a happy ending. 

My Review:

I read After I Do by the same author, I knew that I had to read her backlist. Reid writes books that I feel that I can relate to as a 30 something and a married woman. Many of my book people are single twenty-somethings and don't read many books like this so I have to admit that after reading Forever, Interrupted I wanted to talk about it with someone. Unfortunately no one I know personally has read this wonderful story. The story is a bit of an emotional one (yes, there were tears), about a woman named Elsie who falls in love and gets married very quickly to Ben. They eloped and so his family knows nothing about her when he dies suddenly about a week into their marriage. The book is set in two different times- the time of romance and the grieving time. It goes back and forth between the two and it was kind of nice to see the progression of their relationship even though the book opens up with Ben's death. I almost feel like Elsie's character was like 2 different characters in one because inevitably with a huge loss there is change. I couldn't even fathom losing my husband and being widowed. I think this would be especially difficult without children in the picture. I would almost question if any of it had happened; like there was nothing there to prove it. Elsie doesn't even have a marriage certificate in this book. 

This book is so raw and no holds barred. Reid is not afraid to show loss in all its glory. It is not pretty and it is selfish and exclusive of the world around you. When you are dealing with loss you are introspective at the expense of everything else. Sometimes this makes you want to shake Elsie but when you put yourself in her mind space you can completely understand it and in that way it realistic. It's also slightly terrifying if you ask me. 

I also liked seeing Elsie's relationship with her mother-in-law. As you can imagine there is some tension there considering the MIL had no knowledge of Elsie. Their interactions are great to read and you can't help but cheer them on. You want them to become family. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. And by enjoy I mean that it made me hysterically cry and have a headache for much of the day. I say a day because that's how long it took me to read. One day going into the wee hours of the morning. I would say that I liked After I Do more than this one but this one is almost as great. Please go pick it up!