What do you think?
Rate this book
Sometimes, Always, and Maybe: A Novel
Twenty-six years ago, they were inseparable. Now, five old friends gather at a secluded hill station, each weighed down by secrets and trapped in relationships that no longer fit. What starts as a nostalgic reunion quickly takes a dark turn. As they dig through the shadows of their past, long-buried grudges and secrets rise to the surface, testing their friendships and forcing each to confront the choices that have shaped their lives.
In the heart of mist-laden hills, they’re faced with an impossible Can they find freedom from their tangled lives, or will the truth destroy them all?
Sometimes, the key to a new beginning lies in unraveling the past.
In the heart of mist-laden hills, they’re faced with an impossible Can they find freedom from their tangled lives, or will the truth destroy them all?
Sometimes, the key to a new beginning lies in unraveling the past.
244 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 6, 2024
6 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 12, 2024
I have the strangest reason for reading this book -- I bought it on Kindle on a whim because I follow the author on social media and I've liked her writing previously. She posted that she had made it free for a day, and I downloaded it. I started reading it out of curiosity, and before I knew it, I was 25% in and hooked.
Sometimes, Always, and Maybe is about five boarding school friends who come together for a reunion after twenty-six years, at the wedding of one of their daughters. Each of the women is dealing with a different type of relationship / marriage issue. These issues surface at the reunion, and the discovery of a dead body adds to the chaos.
Pros:
- The book was super fast-paced; I finished it in an evening.
- The author hasn't shied away from honestly portraying a lot of the issues women go through in marriages - being taken for granted, having to be at the family's beck-and-call, not being allowed to be financially independent or dress the way they want to (this book definitely needs a trigger warning for DV though and if there was a trigger warning for toxic patriarchy I would totally put that in).
- Well-detailed backstories for all the women (though slightly unbelievable that not one of them is in a happy marriage, come on)
Cons?
- Many many typos -- clearly this book wasn't copy-edited before publication
- I couldn't tell most of the characters apart for the first half of the book, and had to keep referring back to the first few chapters to remember who was who and who was whose spouse
- The last 25% felt a little phoned-in, both the writing and the resolution of the plot (more details below after the spoiler warning)
Overall a good read that could have done with some editing.
!!SPOILER ALERT!!
These are the issues I had with the ending:
1. It was a little unbelievable that everyone was willing to conspire to cover up a murder. These four men have so far been shown as mostly negative characters who care only about themselves, and they are suddenly okay to help hide a body? Please.
2. Four of the five men suddenly deciding to be nicer to their wife / significant other was the other point that was unbelievable. They have been mistreating them for upwards of twenty years, but suddenly they decide to act better?
Sometimes, Always, and Maybe is about five boarding school friends who come together for a reunion after twenty-six years, at the wedding of one of their daughters. Each of the women is dealing with a different type of relationship / marriage issue. These issues surface at the reunion, and the discovery of a dead body adds to the chaos.
Pros:
- The book was super fast-paced; I finished it in an evening.
- The author hasn't shied away from honestly portraying a lot of the issues women go through in marriages - being taken for granted, having to be at the family's beck-and-call, not being allowed to be financially independent or dress the way they want to (this book definitely needs a trigger warning for DV though and if there was a trigger warning for toxic patriarchy I would totally put that in).
- Well-detailed backstories for all the women (though slightly unbelievable that not one of them is in a happy marriage, come on)
Cons?
- Many many typos -- clearly this book wasn't copy-edited before publication
- I couldn't tell most of the characters apart for the first half of the book, and had to keep referring back to the first few chapters to remember who was who and who was whose spouse
- The last 25% felt a little phoned-in, both the writing and the resolution of the plot (more details below after the spoiler warning)
Overall a good read that could have done with some editing.
!!SPOILER ALERT!!
These are the issues I had with the ending:
1. It was a little unbelievable that everyone was willing to conspire to cover up a murder. These four men have so far been shown as mostly negative characters who care only about themselves, and they are suddenly okay to help hide a body? Please.
2. Four of the five men suddenly deciding to be nicer to their wife / significant other was the other point that was unbelievable. They have been mistreating them for upwards of twenty years, but suddenly they decide to act better?
Displaying 1 of 1 review