The Comfort of Lies by Randy Susan Meyers Series: Stand Alone
Published by Atria Books on February 12th, 2013
Genres: Adult, Contemporary
Goodreads
“Happiness at someone else’s expense came at a price. Tia had imagined judgment from the first kiss that she and Nathan shared. All year, she’d waited to be punished for being in love, and in truth, she believed that whatever consequences came her way would be deserved.”
Five years ago, Tia fell into obsessive love with a man she could never have. Married, and the father of two boys, Nathan was unavailable in every way. When she became pregnant, he disappeared, and she gave up her baby for adoption.
Five years ago, Caroline, a dedicated pathologist, reluctantly adopted a baby to please her husband. She prayed her misgivings would disappear; instead, she’s questioning whether she’s cut out for the role of wife and mother.
Five years ago, Juliette considered her life ideal: she had a solid marriage, two beautiful young sons, and a thriving business. Then she discovered Nathan’s affair. He promised he’d never stray again, and she trusted him.
But when Juliette intercepts a letter to her husband from Tia that contains pictures of a child with a deep resemblance to her husband, her world crumbles once more. How could Nathan deny his daughter? And if he’s kept this a secret from her, what else is he hiding? Desperate for the truth, Juliette goes in search of the little girl. And before long, the three women and Nathan are on a collision course with consequences that none of them could have predicted.
Riveting and arresting, The Comfort of Lies explores the collateral damage of infidelity and the dark, private struggles many of us experience but rarely reveal.
I read this book in four hours, and I can think of a dozen things I could have done with my time, such as:
*Get my wisdom teeth pulled
*Cleaned out that closet
*Done this pile of laundry that is threatening to eat me while I sleep
In case you couldn’t tell by my list, I am not a fan of The Comfort of Lies.
When I received this book for review I was excited to “clean my palate” and read something different. With that being said I am VERY picky when it comes to my contemporary reads. Too much drama and I’m left bored and rolling my eyes at the pure stupidity of it all. Too little drama and I find my mind wandering and the story never truly sinking in. So of course I looked The Comfort of Lies up to get a feel for it. I read the amazing blurb on Goodreads, I didn’t immediately reply to the request, I even read a few reviews on Goodreads just for good measure. I was a little hesitant, since I believe married men are a absolute no-no, but I wanted to read and like this book. Instead I sit here at my computer at 2a.m. with a migraine the size of the Mississippi, and my seriously-pissed-off face on.
I won’t bothering going into what the book is about (the blurb is spot on) and the blurb told me I was going into a book with three seriously fucked up women, so that didn’t bother me, but for there to be so little growth and development from page 1 to page 323 I was seriously disappointed.
Tia was probably the most messed up of the three. You would think that a woman with a degree in Psychology and who works with elderly people every day to work out their emotions would be able to see her owns problems. She was a very dependent, self demeaning woman with a ridiculous low value of self worth. I’m a “no judgement” kind of person, but she had put every single ounce of her happiness into a man, and not just any man, we are talking a married man with kids. There is actually a point in the book where she tells Nathan that everything she did is for him. Down to cleaning her house! And just when I think a little space from Nathan will help here, 5 years go by and she tries to jump this man’s bones while in her kitchen! Then to top it off she has the nerve to have a drinking problem.
Let’s move on to Juliette before my migraine gets any worse.
Juliette was just straight up crazy. I get that her husband cheated on her and then withheld a huge piece of information from her, and I pray to never know how she felt, but I understand. HOWEVER! I am a firm believer that if you forgive someone you forgive them completely, you DON’T forgive them just to throw it up in their face later because you’re being a insecure dumbass. She hid Tia’s letter to Nathan for TWO freaking month’s before confronting him about it, and during those two months she drove herself, her friend/business partner, her children and her husband nuts. I just wanted to jump in the book and hit her repeatedly. That is your HUSBAND! If you have a problem that affects your marriage, whether it be switching the soap you use to having a love child you need to sit with your husband and sort that shit out. Communication is key in any and every relationship and I just felt that she was letting her overly active imagination cloud her judgment on something that not only affected her and Nathan but those kids too. She was dramatic as hell too. Not “As the world turns” dramatic but Joan Rivers dramatic, everything had to be this big show, just look at how she played that final scene.
This brings us to our final character. Caroline. She was a workaholic woman, who never wanted to be a mom, but adopted to make her husband happy. Hold up. She does realize this is a human being right? It’s not like some cat you found, you can’t get bored or tired after 6 months and then give it back. Not only that but Caroline actually made me fear for Savannah/Honor. She actually started having dreams about Savannah/Honor and her husband Peter dying so she could have some quiet. But don’t worry, there wasn’t a explosion or pain, so that makes that train of thought completely acceptable.
Then you take this long drawn out, running in circles plot, with these insane (literally) characters and I am left with a book that had me, upset and questioning what was accomplished. Does Tia have the strength to realize that men and alcohol isn’t the key to her happiness, or the way to make decisions? Will Juliette step off the crazy bus and realize that her marriage is going to require hard-work and communication for it to work? Is Caroline going to get a one way ticket to a padded room with a jacket that lets her hug herself? I’m not sure how Juliette and Tia will turn out but there was a small crack of light at the end of the tunnel for Caroline, and I hope she can get it together and do what is best for that little girl.
*I received a copy from the publisher for a honest review*
