Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Book Review: It's Not You, It's Them

By Sara Steven

Roxie Pratt is the type of woman who knows what she wants, and isn’t afraid to say so. Sporting anything with a heel, feminine to a T, she’s rocking a lifestyle where it pays to be independent, and she knows how to take care of herself, thank you very much. No need for any man to come and sweep her off her feet.

Not until Mark Wright enters the picture.

He’s everything she ever imagined her perfect soul mate to be. Sweet, respectful. Intelligent. Thoughtful. And all wrapped up within a rockin’ bod that any woman would drool over. When he proposes, she feels as though she’s won the lottery of life, enough to give in a little with her independent ways, allowing herself to feel a oneness with Mark, completeness. Everything is perfect. But there’s just one stumbling block on the road to wedded bliss. His family.

Portia MacIntosh knows just how to create the sort of tension and friction in a room that makes you cringe inwardly, while outwardly you want to witness more of the drama! Roxie enters the Wright home on the wrong foot, and feels as though she can’t do anything right. It doesn’t help that Mark’s mother has no qualms in being honest on her true feelings on the upcoming nuptials, and how wrong she feels Roxie is for her darling boy. Even going so far as to invite Mark’s first love to dinner! How incredibly uncomfortable and awkward is that!

I’m reminded of something I was told once, by a pastor who had seen his fair share of weddings and family drama. He said, “Once you marry, this person becomes your family, the person you lean on and depend on, the one you cleave to. The family you grew up with, will become your extended family.” I could see a lot of those boundaries being drawn in the sinking quicksand while reading It’s Not You, It’s Them. Having been in a situation of my own where I’ve had to deal with a woman who obviously hadn't cut the cord with her adult son, I could totally relate to how Roxie felt. I got to reminisce on my own fumbles, too, while Roxie tries desperately to hold onto Mark and not lose the love that they have for one another, and maintain who she is as a person. For so many of us who have been in those shoes, it’s a fun heartfelt story we can all identify with.

Thanks to Portia MacIntosh for the book in exchange for an honest review.

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