Save Me Too Skimpy to Satisfy

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

With a thriving medical practice, a handsome husband, and an old farmhouse she's slowly turning into the perfect family home, Daphne Mitchell has it all.  Just about.  At 37, she knows she's running out of time to convince Owen to try for the baby she's always desired.  She can't understand his hesitation—he'd be a wonderful father.  The pediatric oncologist spends his every waking hour caring for children, for heaven's sake!  He says someday they'll have their own; Daphne can't—won't—wait that long. 

Then, Owen drops the bomb that shatters all Daphne's careful illusions:  He's met someone else.  A beautiful, poised, younger someone else.  Shocked and heartbroken, Daphne tries to cope.  When a tragic accident adds insult to injury, she must decide what is most important: pursuing the "perfect" life she's always dreamed of, or salvaging what she can out of the one she's already living.

As you have probably gathered, Save Me by Kristyn Kusek Lewis (available December 30, 2014) is about a woman trying to come to terms with the fact that her husband cheated on her.  And ... that's pretty much all it's about.  While I sympathized with Daphne, especially at the beginning of the novel, my patience with her and her plight wore out fast.  Her fickle indecision drove me crazy, as did her immaturity.  Her decisions didn't always make sense to me, which made the ending of her story unsatisfying for me.  Although well-written, in the end, Save Me just didn't do it for me.  I wanted a fuller, more complex story; a cast of characters with more depth, less selfishness; and an ending that felt more optimistic than depressing.  Oh well.

(Readalikes:  Hm, nothing is coming to mind.)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for strong language and mild sexual content

To the FTC, with love:  I received an ARC of Save Me from the generous folks at Hachette via those at BookSparks PR.  Thank you!