Skipping a Beat by Sarah Pekkanen

I almost didn't read this book because for whatever reason, the premise didn't especially sing to me. But I'm so glad I did!! It's  a chick-lit style book, but it has a lot more depth than I expected. I think this is a story that people can actually relate to...I know that I found myself thinking about the story a lot long after I put the book down.

Quick summary: Julia is a 30-something successful event planner in D.C. and is married to her high-school sweetheart, Michael. Michael enjoyed rapid success with his start-up company and now the two are living the life of the rich and famous. One night Michael has a heart attack and is dead for 4 minutes. When he wakes up, he realizes he was living his life all the wrong way and wants to give away everything that he has built and re-build his relationship with his wife (which deteriorated as he devoted so much time to work). But Julia isn't sure she's up to re-building that relationship and is pissed that her husband wants to give away everything that he has worked for (and she has sacrificed for). And so our story begins...



Like I  mentioned earlier, this book kind of struck a chord with me because I think a lot of couples get caught up in work and how much money they're making and forget to pay attention to what's important...their relationship. Of course we all have the best intentions to not have this happen, but as it happens we make excuses for ourselves and that it's for the greater good and it won't last forever. And then one day you wake up and realize that your relationship is in the shitter.

This is the author's second novel (I've already added her first book, The Opposite of Me, to my wish list) and it's a good one. She's a very clean writer and doesn't include a lot of flowery language that takes you away from the story. We don't get stalled with wordy transitions from the present to the past. And there's even a side story (with Julia's best friend, Isabelle) that's a nice complement to what we're reading.

But the best part about this book is the debate of what would you do...I had mixed feelings all the way through the book about what I would do.

Side note: I don't understand the book cover. It doesn't really relate to the story at all. It's pretty and all, but really?

I highly recommend this book.

Rank: A