An Amazon Charts and Washington Post bestseller.
From USA Today bestselling author Julianne MacLean comes a suspenseful, emotionally charged novel that explores the secrets and hidden truths within a seemingly perfect marriage.
Abbie MacIntyre is living the dream in the picturesque Nova Scotia town she calls home. She is a successful surgeon, is married to a handsome cardiologist, and has a … married to a handsome cardiologist, and has a model teenage son who is only months away from going off to college.
But then one fateful night, everything changes. When a drunk driver hits her car, Abbie is rushed to the hospital. She survives, but the accident forces unimaginable secrets out into the open and plagues Abbie with nightmares so vivid that she starts to question her grip on reality. Her perfect life begins to crack, and those cracks threaten to shatter her world completely.
The search for answers will test her strength in every way—as a wife, a career woman, and a mother—but it may also open the door for Abbie to move forward, beyond anger and heartbreak, to find out what she is truly made of. In learning to heal and trust again, she may just find new hope in the spaces left behind.
Book club discussion questions are included in the book.
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WOW,OMG!!! If you are a fan of her Color Of series you will love this stand alone book.
Abby is a surgeon, mother, and wife. She has only one child due to complication. That however has not stopped her. She lives her life and family. Now she has to come to grips with the tragedy that has befallen her.
Driving home from her Sunday dinner at her mother’s she is not by a drink driver. Her dog is missing and she can’t reach her husband. She is angry and upset but knows she has to work thru all this for her family’s sake. She meets several people that give support along the way and those that search and find her dog who was in the car with her during the accident.
In the ER she is given what they have found so of the items that was tossed from her car, but also some from the car that hit her. She tries her his hands phone again only to hear it ring in her cubicle. Then it registers that the other driver, that she was informed was drunk, is her husband.
Having to deal with the death of a loved on, especially a spouse, is not the easiest. Add to that the strange behavior of someone and you come to the conclusion that your spouse was unfaithful. What do you do with all those thought, feelings, and the anger? How do you tell your child, or do you keep it to yourself.
There is residual damage from the accident and life changes that need to be dealt with. No longer being able to perform surgeries due to the after effects from the accident. Zack, her son, feels he needs to stay close to his only remaining parent, but also wants to spread his wing at college. Which do you choose?
All these are dealt with in this wonderfully written poignant story of love, loss, and living with it. Great characters, well thought out plot and the progression of grief stages are done in her epic style. You know you are reading a book that Julianne has pored her heart into.
I read this entire book in one sitting. It ripped me to shreds and then put me back together again. Make sure you have tissues handy. The author wrote a story that starts with heartbreak and each time you think Abbie is ready to turn a corner, another challenge pushes her back. But in true Julianne MacLean fashion, the heartbreak is turned to resolution and eventually happiness. Abbie has a strength that I know many of us hope we have when faced with the challenges she is. Like every book from Julianne MacLean, I never knew what to expect and the expectation kept me turning the pages.
This story grabbed me at the beginning and held on to the end. Abbie has the ideal life until she is struck by a drunk driver. Then the nightmare begins and her whole life is changed in a blink of an eye. Her husband is dead, her dog may not have survived the crash, she finds that her husband was keeping so many secrets and she has a health problem that will make her change her career. Then when she begins to think that things are starting to calm down, she is dealt another blow. But, through it all Abbie keeps working through her emotions and learning to handle life on her own.
What an emotional book. I really feel bad for Abbie. She goes through so much in this book. Abbie’s perfect life is shattered one Sunday in November. Abbie goes through grief, anger, lots of anger and finally forgiveness and acceptance. Abbie is a very strong woman and that helps her through the worse thing in her life. As you read this book all you want to do is be Abbie’s champion and fight along side her. This book is one I didn’t want to put down until the end.
*I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.*
A Curve in the Road was a dramatic and emotional book! I enjoyed the way that the story evolved. Abbie is a successful surgeon and married to a cardiologist. They have a son who is a senior in high school. Then one night, Abbie is in a car accident. It is at this moment that her life is shattered. Her life will change in serious ways as the days go by after the accident. Her life will quickly spiral out of control and nothing will ever be the same. Secrets will be revealed. She must deal with her loss and grief to rebuild her life, as well as deal with all of the changes. Author Julianne MacLean presents Abbie’s character to us on the day of her accident and the days after, as well as some flashbacks of her past memories. She presents the events and interactions of Abbie’s days with great detail where you feel as if you are right there with Abbie.
A Curve in the Road
by Julianne MacLean
WOW!!! This book is just PHENOMENAL!
Before you sit down to read this make sure there’s no interruptions and you have a box of Kleenex available, and brace yourself for an emotional rollercoaster ride!
Abbie MacIntyre and life as she knew it came to a crashing halt after a horrific accident. Secrets that were hidden are now exposed, driving her to question her sanity, her marriage and herself. How do you pick up the pieces of your life, and face another day? This is one woman’s journey down a path strewn with deceit, unfaithfulness, secrets and lies. Life sometimes throws us curveballs they may break us and shatter our lives but then we become stronger. The scars remain, our badge and testament that we were strong and survived.
Juliane MacLean is spectacular! There’s so much emotion in her writing that just grabs the reader from the first sentence. Fast paced and well written this doesn’t disappoint.
I received a complimentary copy from the author. This is my honest unbiased opinion.
A Curve in the Road was an interesting story about a woman’s struggle to cope after finding out her husband had been keeping a lot of secrets.
I could see myself in her shoes definitely and so related to the character, but I expected more suspense and so was somewhat let down. Also I don’t typically care for first person stories so I struggled a bit with that.
All that said, I’d happily try a Julianne MacLean book again because the writing was solid and the story did pull me in.
If you enjoy this genre, please give the book a chance. Not every book is for every reader and this might be a great read for you.
Life can change on a dime. It’s the tests that teach us how strong we can be. A Curve in the Road is a tale of heartache that breeds courage. Abbie is a woman that has it all, until one tragic moment changes everything. Will she weather the storm and reach that hard earned rainbow? MacLean takes a moment in time and turns it into an uplifting journey of hope. The pain has a realism that is heartbreaking as well as relatable, but it’s the message beyond the pain that serves to inspire.
A Curve in the Road by author Julianne MacLean is a wonderful story of Love, family, loss, betrayal and new beginnings. Once I started reading there was no stopping! The story grabbed me from the very beginning and kept me hooked until the ending.
Abbie MacIntyre is on her way home from a visit with her mother and is hit by an oncoming vehicle. Her dog Winston was with her but has been thrown from the car. Abbie is rushed to the hospital as volunteers search for Winston in the icy dark. The calls to her husband go to voicemail. Once at the hospital and after her injuries are cared for Abbie is given a box of items which were picked up from her wrecked car and the accident scene. Abbie calls her husband again and hears the ringing of a phone in the box. She reaches for the phone and discovers it is her husband’s phone…can this mean the other driver in the trauma room is her husband?
I won’t post spoilers, but the story is full of family emotions and the discovering of shocking secrets which could be devastating for Abbie, but through it all, she finds strength and a new hope for going forward! Excellent story!
Publication date August 14, 2018
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
What a great book. 5 Stars!! I didn’t want to put it down from the moment I started it. The story pulls at your heart from the beginning and the main character Abbie is thrown into discovering life wasn’t as perfect as she thought. The author does a great job at character development and building relationships through out the book. I’m especially happy Winston has become an important part in her recovery.
Usually, I think of a “beach read” and a quick and easy book usually involving romance. This book was quick and easy but it involves the opposite of romance……it is about a woman who finds out her husband cheating on her after he gets killed in a drunk driving accident. And it gets worse.
The theme of this story has been done many times. It’s hard to give it a fresh take.
The book takes place in Nova Scotia. Usually, I love any book that is set in Canada but I’m used to there being a Canadian “feel”. This time the only time I remembered the setting, was when Halifax or Lunenberg were mentioned. And one mention of Tim Hortons.
The character I really liked was Winston, the golden retriever. He was badly injured in the accident and made a full recovery. Winston was full of compassion and had a wonderful soul.
The rest of the characters filled the need of the plot but I felt that they were flat.
The plot took a couple of odd turns…..but there was not a lot of depth.
This just was not the book for me. It was not terrible, just not overly appealing to me. Perhaps it was just the wrong time as I see there are plenty of good reviews. I have many times said that not every book is for every reader.
I listened to the audio version of this book. This story had me hooked from the very beginning. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I was surprised in the first half of the book. I really don’t know what I would have done or how I would have handled what Abbie was going through. The book was full of tough times, but Abbie muddled her way through all of it.
I absolutely loved her relationship with her dog. He was such a huge part of her recovery! I also really appreciated how slowly the romantic relationship in the book developed. This is one of those books that will stay with you for awhile! I could not stop listening to it!
Quite the Wake Up Call
One incident could change your life forever. Something as simple as a head first fall, a broken appointment, a difficult delivery. Common every day occurrences. Live that life. To the fullest.
This book was good enough to keep reading although I almost gave it up several times. Far to many coincidences throughout the book.
This review is also available on my blog: Wine Cellar Library
How do you cope with the realization that your seemingly perfect marriage is all a lie? How do you determine how much information is appropriate to divulge to your heartbroken teenage son? Does any of the new information you’ve gleaned have any significance in the aftermath, anyway? At what point is it appropriate to move on from the past and step into a new life?
Abbie has struggled with both heartbreak and sleep disturbances since her car accident. This is a story of rebuilding after unimaginable circumstances. It is a story of resilience and growth in the face of seemingly insurmountable events.
It is difficult to review this book without giving away too much information. Suffice it to say that when things seem to only get worse, sometimes accepting additional sacrifices is the key to moving forward.
Just prior to reading this book, I had finished a Civil War era novel that was full of vivid descriptions of medical procedures that tended to turn my stomach. I really wanted something to read that was more light-hearted. A few chapters into reading this novel, I felt like I had jumped from the frying pan into the fire—it took my breath away from the beginning, with only short intervals to catch my breath before another descent began. It’s cliché, but the main character of this book goes on one LONG roller coaster of a ride in life after she takes that “curve in the road”.
The upside:
• The writing is excellent. I look forward to reading another book by this author soon. The story was gripping, intelligent, and plausible. Sometimes when an author has done a lot of research for a story, parts of the book can feel like that research is being regurgitated, but this story flowed well. The pacing was good—given that the main character was on that LONG roller coaster ride—that’s really saying something. Roller coaster rides can be so herky jerky.
• Written in first person POV. (I like that, but I know some readers don’t). In this case, that POV kept me hooked into the story—I’m not sure a different POV, or a multi-POV storyline would have worked at all for me, for this story. I was so drawn into this story that at one point I actually had to remind myself, out loud, that this poor woman did not really exist.
• I listened to the Audible version, and the narration is top notch.
The downside:
• Some elements—well, almost everything after the first few chapters—of the story were predictable.
• With such a LONG roller coaster ride of a story, the happy-ending resolution in the last half-hour (or less) of the book was anti-climactic. I wish the ending could have been explored or drawn out just a little bit more. Even an epilogue would have been nice.
• The main character is a strong, loving, intelligent woman—I love that kind of character. But toward the end of the story I yelled at her when she started making excuses for another character’s poor behavior based on upbringing. Forgiveness is a strong story element throughout this book. Explaining someone’s poor behavior is one thing, excusing it is another. And making excuses for it is false-forgiveness. (In short, she ended up blaming herself for the other character’s bad behavior. Ugh!) Just a pet-peeve of mine.
I enjoyed this book, the story was good but it was just lacking something. At first I was going to highly recommend it but as I got further into the story it just felt over done. I wanted to find out what happened so I did finish it and I enjoyed the characters. It was just a bit slow for me.
Great beginning..the ending kinda just dropped off, like she was tired of writing or didn’t know how to end it.
Very good book. It held my attention and interest. I stayed up later than I should have because I wanted to keep reading. Interesting characters.
too predictable