#MMBBR #Review The Year We Turned Forty by Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke @lizandlisa

If you could repeat one year of your life, what would you do differently? This heartwarming and hilarious novel from the authors of The Status of All Things and Your Perfect Life features three best friends who get the chance to return to the year they turned forty—the year that altered all of their lives, in ways big and small—and also get the opportunity to change their future.

Jessie loves her son Lucas more than anything, but it tears her up inside that he was conceived in an affair that ended her marriage to a man she still loves, a man who just told her he's getting remarried. This time around, she’s determined to bury the secret of Lucas’ paternity, and to repair the fissures that sent her wandering the first time.

Gabriela regrets that she wasted her most fertile years in hot pursuit of a publishing career. Yes, she’s one of the biggest authors in the world, but maybe what she really wanted to create was a family. With a chance to do it again, she’s focused on convincing her husband, Colin, to give her the baby she desires.

Claire is the only one who has made peace with her past: her twenty-two year old daughter, Emily, is finally on track after the turmoil of adolescence, and she's recently gotten engaged, with the two carat diamond on her finger to prove it. But if she’s being honest, Claire still fantasizes about her own missed opportunities: a chance to bond with her mother before it was too late, and the possibility of preventing her daughter from years of anguish. Plus, there’s the man who got away—the man who may have been her one true love.

But it doesn’t take long for all three women to learn that re-living a life and making different decisions only leads to new problems and consequences—and that the mistakes they made may, in fact, have been the best choices of all…

Liz

Lisa

Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke have been best friends for over 25 years and survived high school and college together. Their forthcoming novel, THE YEAR WE TURNED FORTY, will be published on April 26, 2016 by Atria Books/Simon & Schuster. Their second novel, THE STATUS OF ALL THINGS, was published on June 2nd, 2015 by Atria Books/Simon & Schuster. Their debut novel, Your Perfect Life, was published by Atria Books/Simon & Schuster in June of 2014. Liz lives in San Diego, CA with her husband and two children. Lisa, a former talk show producer, now lives in Chicago, IL with her husband, daughter and two bonus children. You can read more about them at www.lizandlisa.com or follow them on Twitter @lizandlisa.

I am not sure how this dynamic duo does it, but dang...they are brilliant!  This book was pretty emotional for me.  I lost my father unexpectedly, so thinking about being able to go back and be with him again tugged at my heart the entire time I was reading and honestly long after I completed this book.  The way these two wove the stories of these three ladies was nothing short of amazing.  I was attached to all of them and was wondering what they were going to decide when the time came.   I think we all wonder what we would do differently if we could back in time and live it all over again.  It is such a wonderful and complicated thing to think about, which makes this novel such a compelling read.  The premise is one that is both fascinating and intriguing.  This is one of my favorite books this year and it would make a great book club pick because there is so much to discuss.  5 stars