ARC REVIEW: Affairytale (A Memoir) by C.J. English
I was always going to read this book, I'd been following the teasers on Instagram and was intrigued, so when I was offered the ARC, I was very excited! This probably contains spoilers but I think the plot is kind of obvious so hopefully this doesn't upset anyone!
Although this is a memoir, the storyline isn't actually much different than you would expect from a romance novel (not in a bad way). C.J. and Levi's marriage is self destructive. It's clear it needed to end, but (as I'm sure is typical for a lot of people) C.J. keeps telling herself that it's a typical marriage and that she should try and make it work. Levi also stays in denial about how bad it is.
They do bring out the worst in each other, C.J. says so herself, and it's almost like they are torturing themselves by prolonging their marriage. You do empathise with Levi, C.J. doesn't paint herself in the best light at times, which is good because it would be very easy to make it look like it was entirely Levi's fault. She could have really made herself look like a damsel in distress who needed saving but I didn't really get that feeling from it. She shows that she's a different person, an angry person, with Levi, she's not like that at all with Grant.
There were a lot of feelings in this book, I don't think everyone will get it. I think there will be some closed minded people who simply say 'nope, it's wrong, end of'. I also think you need a certain amount of life experience to be able to understand what C.J., Levi and Grant went through. It's not just some teenage drama, it's big life changing decisions and you really have to think about the situation. It's very easy to say 'she should have done this' but it's never that simple and it shows in this book.
I did feel for Levi, I hope he does find someone perfect for him. I think it's good that you aren't made to feel like Levi is a bad husband. It's just clear that he and C.J. are very different people, with different interests but trying hard to convince themselves that 'this is just what marriage is like so crack on'. They both seemed to believe that it was standard but Grant showed C.J. what it could be like when you found the right person and I hope Levi finds that too.
Grant is practically a typical romance hero, obviously as C.J. loves him she paints him that way but I felt she made sure to show some of his flaws (the messy office!), mostly though he just seems like a dream! I can see why she thought he was too good to be true, I'm pretty sure that's why she goes a bit nutty at one point. She turned her whole life upside down and I think she was just waiting for something else to go wrong, there was a lot of doubt.
It is a very romantic story, it's a shame somebody got hurt along the way but it was going to happen regardless of the affair and it needed to be done so that C.J. and Levi could both be happy. Grant and C.J.'s relationship wasn't so much a 'love at first sight, in each others pants the next minute' sort of story, it happens over many years so you know they are mean't to be together. Their emotional affair starts well before a physical one, although they seemed to spend years trying to ignore it.
I loved the quotes at the start of every chapter, they were insightful. I also liked the text messages, they didn't seem to relate to the chapter but they did seem to follow a time line or their own. The prologue sets you up for what's to follow without giving too much away. You ultimately know what's going to happen, she doesn't try to hide it, but there is so much more to this story than just the affair.
The story gripped me and I actually thought C.J. was very brave to write it. I think I'd feel better at the end of it if I knew that Levi was happy now too, but this is real life and I just have to keep reminding myself of that. In an ideal world, Levi would have his own book and Dylan (C.J.'s brother) would have his own one too, he was a great addition, providing lots of humour. I'm a sucker for a happy ending, in any kind of book!
I keep thinking of it as a romance novel, although it's actually real life, it is a real life romance novel. I found that part of me wanted to get swirled up in the romance and really root for C.J. and Grant, the other part held me back and reminded me that she was married to Levi, which I expect is exactly how C.J. was feeling for most of it too. This is the first memoir I've read so I actually found it really difficult to write this review. I keep wanting to say 'characters' but they aren't, they are real people, but I think the style of writing and the context makes you forget that.
Ultimately, I enjoyed the read, I would recommend it to others but with caution, I don't think this book will be for everyone. But it is hot and steamy in all the right places, very romantic and full of twists and turns that will keep you gripped!
