While returning from vacation, two couples bounce along in an automobile. Two get hungry so they stop - as 'luck' would have it, they end up at an '80s themed place that constantly plays 1980s music videos. They eat, they watch the videos, eat, talk, mention that one particular one had been a favorite, gaze closely at it, grow confused, gaze at one of their members, gaze at the video . . .. Come to the realization that one amongst their party had been a musician back in the 1980s without telling any of them. This, naturally, causes some conflict.

They drive home. They try to adjust to this new information about this friend that one has felt to be her partner/wife, while the other two had thought of as a friend. Information that hadn't been conveyed in 5 years of knowing each other.

Ashleigh and Erica live together as partners/wives. Erica works as a VP, and fairly rapidly as the President of the family business (which has something to do with maintaining trucks or something, I never got a clear idea of what they actually were doing there). Ashleigh works in a doctor's office as something like an administrative clerk type.

Katie and Drew are the other couple who had been on that trip. They've been together 10 years (or is it 7? I get confused). Katie works with Erica at that Barret family business place, while Drew is a stay-at-home domestic type.

While Ashleigh is the lover of Erica, and Katie is the lover of Drew, they can also be broken down into friend groupings - Erica and Katie are close friends; Ashleigh and Drew are close friends. Important for reasons. Like occasionally information gets conveyed between Ash and Erica through the other two.

Right, so - Erica's feeling massive waves of betrayal because Ash didn't tell her about her past. Ash is freaking out because her past has been found out. And Drew, being a nosy busy-body, has tracked down the other band members and kinda accidentally contacted them. Then started emailing. Then . . . well, eventually Drew and Katie find themselves meeting the band. Revealing certain information they maybe shouldn't.

Drew, being the type of woman she is, can't keep information about meeting the band from Ash. One thing leads to another and Ash actually calls one of the band members - a woman who had been a close personal friend before Ash ran away from the band. Ash and the other three friends meet the band (well, two of them). Time passes. More meeting and stuff. Purposefully leaving some things out.

Eventually the conflict between Ash and Erica reaches the point wherein Ash packs a bag and leaves. Months pass with them separated. Are they done? Will they get back together? Complication - the other love of Ash's life is a band member - Alex, though Ash's heart was broken by Alex's actions, reactions.

This book has an obvious feel of being a book by Robin Alexander, but many of the things I grew to see, to expect to be a part of an Alexander book are not here. Like humor - there's at least one point where I laughed, but this is not a humor book. Family plays their part in this book, but not in the 'normal way' that they do in an Alexander book (not exactly sure how to convey what I mean). No old women making weird and possibly racist comments. Book does take place in Louisiana though, so there is that. Also, I do not think I've cried as much as I have with an Alexander book before (may or may not mean anything that I actually used that word instead of my normal hiding behind saying things like 'tear-y eyed' or 'an issue with my eyes' like I normally do).

This is one of those books that built on itself. I was never in danger of tossing it or stop reading it, but I hadn't really noticed how interesting and good it could turn out to be until later in the reading. Part of that is because it's an atypical Alexander book; part of that is because there are four point of views in this book (Ash, Erica, Drew, Katie); and part of that is because scene/point of view changes were not clearly marked - as in, the only 'breaks' in the scenes/action that occurs is when a chapter break would occur. Otherwise things just ran together.

Well. Long and short, I enjoyed the book. Somewhat against my will, I did.

Rating: 4.75

July 21 2017 ( )