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A review by bookishlychar
Let's Call a Truce by Amy Buchanan
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Julianna and Ben don’t hit it off on her first day at work. Julianna is back to work after the loss of her husband. She is now a single parent to two girls and an incident at the school causes her to cancel a meeting she had with Ben. She overhears Ben complaining about her and is angry he would do that. Flash forward two years and the two have been trading barbs since that day (in (mostly) fun). Forced to work together on a project they start to enjoy each other’s company, but Julianna struggles with if there could be two loves in her lifetime.
The tension between these two could be cut with a knife. With that tension comes sparks. Julianna struggles with the death of her husband while managing grief and helping her daughters. She is also dealing with the guilt that comes with being attracted to someone else after losing the love of her life, struggling to understand if she could have another different love with Ben.
Ben initially comes off as the bad guy, but we come to understand his story and the reasons for what he said that first day. He is kind and compassionate, allowing Julianna to move things at her pace while being there for her even as a friend. I loved that Ben was so understanding of the love Julianna had for her husband and openly accepted, and talked about him, while Julianna processed her grief and growing feelings.
I will admit that I didn’t love how some things between Ben and Julianna were handled, but even then, it felt so raw and real that I felt it. There is a third-act break-up that I felt didn’t need to happen and took away from some of the great emotions we saw.
I felt that Julianna’s kids were added so well to the story and were important in the story progression. When her husband died, Julianna had a group of people who surrounded and supported her. The friendships she made, and her parents, helped her manage the job of being a single parent while working through grief. I loved that she had her group of people to help and support her.
Overall, I thought this was an enjoyable read filled with love and emotion. There were many times I found myself crying throughout the book because I could feel those emotions Julianna was going through. I could not believe this was Amy’s first book and I look forward to seeing what she writes in the future. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this novel. Opinions are 100% mine.
The tension between these two could be cut with a knife. With that tension comes sparks. Julianna struggles with the death of her husband while managing grief and helping her daughters. She is also dealing with the guilt that comes with being attracted to someone else after losing the love of her life, struggling to understand if she could have another different love with Ben.
Ben initially comes off as the bad guy, but we come to understand his story and the reasons for what he said that first day. He is kind and compassionate, allowing Julianna to move things at her pace while being there for her even as a friend. I loved that Ben was so understanding of the love Julianna had for her husband and openly accepted, and talked about him, while Julianna processed her grief and growing feelings.
I will admit that I didn’t love how some things between Ben and Julianna were handled, but even then, it felt so raw and real that I felt it. There is a third-act break-up that I felt didn’t need to happen and took away from some of the great emotions we saw.
I felt that Julianna’s kids were added so well to the story and were important in the story progression. When her husband died, Julianna had a group of people who surrounded and supported her. The friendships she made, and her parents, helped her manage the job of being a single parent while working through grief. I loved that she had her group of people to help and support her.
Overall, I thought this was an enjoyable read filled with love and emotion. There were many times I found myself crying throughout the book because I could feel those emotions Julianna was going through. I could not believe this was Amy’s first book and I look forward to seeing what she writes in the future. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this novel. Opinions are 100% mine.