What do you do when you are forgotten by the man you’ve loved for twenty years? What do you do if you are the one who is remembered? Frankie Sicari is roused from sleep late one night by a key rattling in the front door lock. It’s her ex-husband, Charley Blackwell: a man she hasn’t seen for nearly a quarter of a century. What’s baffling is that Charley seems to think they are still married, and … they are still married, and has no recollection of his current wife, Hannah.
When medical tests reveal shocking findings, Frankie finds herself reluctantly caring for the man who left her twenty years earlier, while Hannah is relegated to the sidelines. How can Frankie forgive the man who abandoned her when she needed him most? And how can Hannah cope with the impending death of the man she’s loved for the past twenty years – especially now she is faced with the shattering truth that he has never stopped loving his first wife, Frankie?
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This book is incredible. Very difficult to put down. Would highly recommend for your next book club!
A very brilliant and thought-provoking story about a woman who divorced her husband when he cheated on her only to have him return to her twenty years later as if the divorce never happened. Francesca (Frankie) Sicari divorced Charley Blackwell when she found out that he was having an affair. Charley married Hannah and has been with her for the past twenty years. One evening, Frankie gets a phone call from Hannah looking for Charley. She has no idea why Hannah would think that Charley would be with her. Before she can process this strange phone call, Charley shows up trying to use his key to open her door as if it were normal that he would do so. He believes that Frankie is his wife and when Hannah tells him that she is his wife, he thinks that she is a nut case. Hospital tests will reveal that Charley has a mass in his brain and this could be why he has forgotten the past twenty years…his divorce from Frankie…his current wife Hannah…and the fact that the daughter he and Frankie had, Lisa, is dead. A very intriguing plot line. What would you do? Charley is no longer her problem, but can Frankie just walk away? How will Hannah cope with Charley’s medical issues as well as his insistence that he is still married to Frankie? I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to give an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)
Frankie’s husband cheated on her 24 years ago. When Frankie needed Charlie the most he was having an affair with Hannah. They divorced and Charlie married Hannah. Fast forward 24 years and Charlie is at Frankie’s door thinking they are still married and has no memory of the divorce or even Hannah herself. This story is told by Frankie, Charlie and Hannah. It is told in the past and present so you get the entire story. Frankie takes Charlie to her doctor and he is given a terrible diagnosis. As he only remembers being married to Frankie can she forgive Charlie and be the person he needs now? Can Hannah deal with Charlie forgetting her and only wanting his true love? This is an amazing story of love, redemption, and forgiveness. I received an advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Severn House Publishers. All opinions are my own.
This was a unique book with a plot unlike any I have read. Twenty-four years after her divorce, Frankie Sicari answers the door to find her ex-husband on her doorstep acting as if he had just returned from a photographic assignment to return home to his wife and daughter, who had died months before their divorce. Told in flashbacks and the present day and from the points of view of Frankie, her ex-husband Charley Blackwell and his current wife Hannah, this is a story filled with tragedy, resilience and love. It is a love story unlike any other I have read.
You have to check out Lori Handeland’s first Women’s Fiction novel! It will break your heart, but man, what a great book.
*I received a copy through bookfunnel and all opinions are my own.
When I found this book I was unsure just how much I would enjoy it. The characters are well developed and explained throughout the journey the plot provides. The plot is immediately catching, set with a husband who returns to his former life in the face of his own medical demise. He returns home, to the wife he knows, except she doesn’t belong with him anymore. He chose to leave two decades ago and remarry, but doesn’t seem to recall any of this twenty year span of time. All he knows is the love he has for his wife from that time. Not knowing his new wife. This journey through lost love, love being refound, and ultimately loss is captivating. A truly engrossing read for anyone who has experienced loss of love of the passing of a loved one. From start to finish this story took me on an emotional journey one would hope they’d never have to face in reality, but if confronted with such a moment, I hope I could handle it as the two heroines managed. With a daunting grace in the face of hurt and loss, and with a love so deep you only want to see the other happy, no matter the pain you must endear.