From USA Today bestselling author Rochelle B. Weinstein comes a moving novel of hearts lost and found, and of one woman torn between two love stories.
When Charlotte and Philip meet, the pair form a deep and instant connection. Soon they’re settled in the Florida Keys with plans to marry. But just as they should be getting closer, Charlotte feels Philip slipping away.
Second-guessing their love … away.
Second-guessing their love is something Charlotte never imagined, but with Philip’s excessive absences, she finds herself yearning for more. When she meets Ben, she ignores the pull, but the supportive single dad is there for her in ways she never knew she desired. Soon Charlotte finds herself torn between the love she thought she wanted and the one she knows she needs.
As a hurricane passes through Islamorada, stunning revelations challenge Charlotte’s loyalties and upend her life. Forced to reexamine the choices she’s made, and has yet to make, Charlotte embarks on an emotional journey of friendship, love, and sacrifice—knowing that forgiveness is a gift, and the best-laid plans can change in a heartbeat.
This Is Not How It Ends is a tender, moving story of heartbreak and healing that asks the question: Which takes more courage—holding on or letting go?
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A Golden named Sunny (a dog after my own heart) the Florida keys, and a love triangle. What’s not to love about THIS IS NOT HOW IT ENDS? I loved everything, they way Weinstein grabbed me from page one, the emotions that touched every chord, and characters that have lingered long with me after I finished the story. I’m so glad I picked up this book.
Exceptional book – I finished it in less than 24 hours! Weinstein created distinct and compelling characters that I am still thinking about. Tackling love, marriage, tragedy, parenthood, and the boundaries of friendship, she weaves all the feels into a story that readers are sure to love as much as I did.
I love a book that keeps me on my toes, and Rochelle Weinstein’s latest had me guessing right up until the very end. Yes, this novel is a page-turner—but it’s also a beautifully written and wholly unexpected love story.
4.5 Stars
How far would you go to take care of the ones you love? What would you do, or give up? This is a beautifully written, heartfelt, emotional story of love, loss, family and friendship. The characters come to life and their story becomes yours. Keep tissues handy.
We are all a product of our upbringing, and Charlotte/Charley is no different. She meets Phillip meet by chance encounter on a plane. Their attraction is immediate and intense. Thus starts their love affair. Charley moves to Key West and everything seems perfect, until something feels wrong. Then, their world is turned upside down. Going more into the story will spoil it. If you are looking for an emotional love story, this is it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.
Charlotte Myers’ life was about to change in ways she would never have imagined. Relocating from Kansas City, the only home she had known, to the stunning Florida Keys was simply one small detail. Being swept into two intense love stories was something else. Weinstein delivers a captivating narrative of love, family, loss and forgiveness, in the brilliant manner readers have come to expect from her writing. A “must read”!
This was a lovely, emotional novel! The story is Charlotte’s story. Beginning with the first time she meets Phillip and throughout their whirlwind years together. Phillip, who is older, is full of life and excitement. He pulls Charlotte along into his world. Throughout the story, Charlotte experiences a deep love, but she also begins to question exactly what she really wants.
Loved this story!
This beautiful story lingered for me. It’s been a long time since a story moved me to tears at the end, but Charlotte is such a lovable character, and no matter what her choices were throughout the story, I couldn’t help but root for her. All of the characters in this story were perfectly flawed and heartbreaking. This is a great summer read.
This is a love story – not a romance with hearts and flowers and a happily ever after storybook ending – but a true to life love story with all of its joys and problems. It’s an emotional story and we see all of Charlotte’s love, hope, guilt, sorrow and get totally immersed in her life. I laughed with her and cried with her and she is not a character that I’ll soon forget.
Charlotte met Philip on an airplane. There is an immediate connection between them and love soon follows. They move to Key West together and due to Philip’s wealth, they have all that money can buy but there is a problem – Philip is gone most of the time working all over the world. As they get engaged, Charley wonders if this is the life that she really wants or does she want someone who is there when she needs him. Then she meets Ben who is Philip’s best friend and there is an immediate spark between them. He is a solid strong working man who isn’t traveling all over the world and he seems to really understand her and her needs. She knows that she needs to make a choice between the two men and the life they can each offer her but a hurricane and the aftermath force her to make a decision. But is it the right decision?
This is a love story looked at from every angle – the excitement of first love, the forgiveness, the needs of the characters. The three main characters are so well written that they feel like friends. This is a definite must read book – but WARNING – keep Kleenex close at hand.
Can a chance encounter change your life? For Charlotte Myers, the unexpected will challenge her assumptions about the meaning of love and family, and question her ability to forgive the sins of the past. Elegant and timely, This Is Not How It Ends weaves a poignant tapestry of three lives threaded together by devotion and secret passion—and will leave readers guessing until the satisfying conclusion.
This was a very emotionally charged book. One that will pull at your heart in every way. It’s a very raw story of love and loss. A bit of laughter and friendships you will absolutely love. A very tight friendship despite everything that happens. It’s a beautiful story of so many feelings. One that touched my heart many times over. One that I had a hard time putting down.
Charlotte/Charley meets this man on an airplane, Phillip. They fall madly in love and become engaged. Charley’s mom gets a terrible diagnosis and leaves Charley devastated. Phillip watches her go through the worst pain a daughter has to go through. Charley has issues. Trust and giving her heart over completely are top of the list. Her dad had left when she was small never to return. That is enough to make it hard to trust. Then she loses her mother and she’s alone. Phillip and Charley though have a love that will transcend everything. He loves Charley with all his heart. But he also is gone so much of the time. He leaves Charley alone to wonder if things are what they seem. To wonder if they do truly belong together.
Phillip is a wonderful man. He fell for Charley from the start. He has his own demons but he buries them in his work. He has businesses all over the world and he takes them very serious. He takes failing businesses and makes them whole again. Makes up for the things they lack and gives people what they need. Jobs, a worry free life knowing they won’t lose said job. He loves completely and from his soul. But he has a secret also. One that will devastate Charley and one he truly wants to protect her from.
Ben… Aww Ben. I loved Ben. He is a broken man with a little boy named Jimmy. Jimmy is all he has left after losing his wife. Ben and Phillip are also best friends. Ben knows that Phillip has helped him and taken him under his wing. He truly loves Phillip and considers him family. They are such good friends. The very best of friends. Phillip is also keeping a secret from Ben though.
This is a story that will pull you in. Tear your heart out and stomp on it a few times. It will break your heart and put it back together again only to break it again. There are two letters in this story that made me weep. I do mean literally weep. I don’t see how anyone can read them and not feel like their heart is going to break into several thousand pieces. If they can they obviously don’t feel deep emotion. One is a letter to Ben. The other a letter to Charley. This is a beautifully written story of love, loss, maybe a bit of betrayal and coming together. Of a friendship that can’t be broken no matter what. Of a love that was meant to be. Of so much. It’s just one of those stories that will keep you thinking about life and what you would do. Or what could you do. Could you move on or continue. It’s the best book I’ve read by this author hands down.
Be warned, this book requires lots and lots of tissues and I don’t say that lightly. It’s going to make you cry. There are some laughs but for the most part you will have the big ugly, huge tear cries.
Thank you to #NetGalley, #LakeUnion, #RochelleWeinstein for this eARC. This is my own true review.
I had to give it only 5 stars and the highest recommendation ever. It’s worth so many more stars and an even better review.
Emotionally driven, love story/love triangle with a compelling and realistic storyline and well-drawn characters, together with a steamy Florida setting. Gorgeous Brit Philip falls for Charlotte. It’s a fairy tale relationship except the prince is always traveling. They get engaged and despite their love for each other, she begins to think about a future with someone who is always gone. Then Charlotte meets Ben and saves his son’s life after an allergic reaction. They have a strong connection which leaves Charlotte feeling guilty. And so begins an epic roller coaster of a story. This book just tossed me all around and left me in a puddle. I was completely drained after finishing it. Which is probably why the publisher sent a branded pack of tissues!
Favorite parts: The day the three of them went on the boat. The letter at the end. Her dog Sunny.
I was pleased with the ending and shed so many tears, but it felt a little hurried, after the first three-quarters of slow buildup. Certain details felt contrived and a bit predictable but overall it was an entertaining and tremendously moving story, with a writing style similar to Colleen Hoover. Themes of grief, abandonment, romance, love, infidelity, shame, remorse – all make this a solid read. I will definitely read more by this author.
Somebody, hand me a Kleenex. I just finished USA TODAY bestselling author Rochelle Weinstein’s latest gem, THIS IS NOT HOW IT ENDS, and it had all the “feels”. Moving, descriptive, emotional, compelling—Weinstein’s novel will captivate those who believe that finding true love is both painful and precious. Holding on or letting go … is the ultimate question that faces all of us in various aspects of our lives. Set in the stunning Florida Keys, Weinstein delivers a heartbreakingly beautiful tale of a young woman, Charlotte, a teacher, who has experienced love and loss repeatedly in her young life, and when “true” love finally finds her unexpectedly, the guarded young woman has to decide … Do I let it in, or let it go? Philip, a dashing wealthy British businessman, is the other half of a “meet-cute” scenario that turns into a powerful love affair pulling both of them in – until Charlotte realizes that Philip is hiding secrets from her. Enter Ben, his best friend, a Single Dad, who lives with his own pain, offering Charlotte everything she really needs – first friendship, “being there”, and then … well, so much more. Torn between two men and doing the right thing, Weinstein takes us on an impassioned journey that pulls in the reader with the same fierceness as the hurricane passing through the stunning Islamorada village. The prolific author, who never shies away from the bigger issues in all of her books – here, too, tackles the crippling effect of life-threatening allergies, the devastation of cancer, and parental abandonment. This gorgeous story has all the page-turning ingredients – it’s romantic, realistic, painful, sad, joyful, forgiving, and most importantly, it underscores that happy endings are out there – just not what you’d expect.
What a beautiful and tragic love story.
Wonderful story that will make you laugh, love, cry, be angry and frustrated.
I loved the backdrop of the Florida Keys for this powerful love story because it enhanced the romance, and the tumult of the stormy Keys was symbolic of the winds of change that swept through the lives of the characters. This was a character-driven story that was written with Rochelle Weinstein’s usual strong, compelling and beautiful prose, pulling me into the characters’ lives and emotions, helping me see their imperfections as well as their attributes, and the reasons for their choices. If Phillip had chosen to tell Charlotte why he was so often absent, would it have made a difference in the choice she made to seek a friendship that turned into love?
There were sacrifices made in the name of love that were so authentically written that I was moved to tears. Ms. Weinstein not only understands the capriciousness of the heart, she imparts–through her exceptional writing–the ramifications of the choices that we make simply because we are human, capable of love in great and variant capacities, bringing us again to the essence of why we make the choices we make in matters of the heart.
A well written love story with all the feels, This Is Not How It Ends will bring you laughter and tears. I thought it was something else, but it was still an enjoyable read.
A truly moving read about whirlwind love, unmet expectations, hope, and tragedy. I will say that I did not see the plot twist coming. At. All. I loved this book!
A surprising and discussable book club novel about love and loss.
It’s a romance novel. Buyer beware.