The Love of My Life: A GMA Book Club Pick: A Novel
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK • She’s done everything he could ask—except tell the truth. . . . From the New York Times bestselling author of The One Day You Were My Husband comes a love story wrapped in a dark mystery.
“Gripping, heartbreaking and impossible to put down.”—Laura Dave, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me
“A dazzling supernova of a book, it picks you up on line one and doesn't let you go until the very end.”—Lisa Jewell, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Then She Was Gone
Emma loves her husband Leo and their young daughter Ruby: she’d do anything for them. But almost everything she’s told them about herself is a lie.
And she might just have got away with it, if it weren’t for her husband’s job. Leo is an obituary writer; Emma a well-known marine biologist. When she suffers a serious illness, Leo copes by doing what he knows best—researching and writing about his wife’s life. But as he starts to unravel the truth, he discovers the woman he loves doesn’t really exist. Even her name isn’t real.
When the very darkest moments of Emma’s past finally emerge, she must somehow prove to Leo that she really is the woman he always thought she was . . .
But first, she must tell him about the other love of her life.
“Gripping, heartbreaking and impossible to put down.”—Laura Dave, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me
“A dazzling supernova of a book, it picks you up on line one and doesn't let you go until the very end.”—Lisa Jewell, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Then She Was Gone
Emma loves her husband Leo and their young daughter Ruby: she’d do anything for them. But almost everything she’s told them about herself is a lie.
And she might just have got away with it, if it weren’t for her husband’s job. Leo is an obituary writer; Emma a well-known marine biologist. When she suffers a serious illness, Leo copes by doing what he knows best—researching and writing about his wife’s life. But as he starts to unravel the truth, he discovers the woman he loves doesn’t really exist. Even her name isn’t real.
When the very darkest moments of Emma’s past finally emerge, she must somehow prove to Leo that she really is the woman he always thought she was . . .
But first, she must tell him about the other love of her life.
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✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI
Readers say *The Love of My Life* is a slow-burning, emotional story blending family drama and women's fiction rather than a typical thriller. Many ap...
I really enjoyed this book. A bit slow to get into but over time the themes of love, lose and how we heal were very powerful.
I liked this story but wouldn't call it a thriller. It is more of a slow burn family drama and turns into a women's fiction story by the end. Chapters alternate between the 1st person POV of husband and wife. Good storytelling with some foreshadowing of what's to come or is it just a red herring? By 1/2 way, I pretty much had the secret figured out but there is one big twist at the end I never saw coming.
Leo and Emma have been married 10 years. They have a young daughter, Ruby. Leo is an obit writer, and Emma is a marine biologist. When Emma goes through a serious illness, Leo starts writing her obit as a precaution. (Apparently this is a real job for well-known people.
Leo and Emma have been married 10 years. They have a young daughter, Ruby. Leo is an obit writer, and Emma is a marine biologist. When Emma goes through a serious illness, Leo starts writing her obit as a precaution. (Apparently this is a real job for well-known people.
It started slowwwww but the payoff was worth it. I really enjoyed this excited to discuss with my book club. I do feel a lot of the first half dragged.
Everything about Emma is a lie, but she keeps her secrets. When she suffers a serious illness and there is a possibility that she might die, Leo, an obituary writer by trade, begins to formulate the rough draft of his wife's obituary. While doing so, he finds many discrepancies between what she had told him to be true and the real facts. For example, she did not graduate from college when she said she did, and she was fired from a previous job. As Leo uncovers the truth, information about Emma's past is revealed.
Spoiler alert:
Emma had once had a child out of wedlock and had given it up for adoption. She develops a relationship to the adoptive mother and begins stalking her so she can see glimpses of her child. Eventually, the adoptive parents had her arrested. As a result, Emma is fired from her job. She eventually confesses all to Leo and tells him she didn't tell him because he had been so traumatized when he learned he had been adopted and his parents never told him.
This was an OK book but seemed so derivative of other books I have read. Woman hiding a secret- seems to be the plot of too many books.
Spoiler alert:
Emma had once had a child out of wedlock and had given it up for adoption. She develops a relationship to the adoptive mother and begins stalking her so she can see glimpses of her child. Eventually, the adoptive parents had her arrested. As a result, Emma is fired from her job. She eventually confesses all to Leo and tells him she didn't tell him because he had been so traumatized when he learned he had been adopted and his parents never told him.
This was an OK book but seemed so derivative of other books I have read. Woman hiding a secret- seems to be the plot of too many books.
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