Diane Parrish’s debut novel, Something Better explores the story of Ruth and David. A suburban couple whose life begins to shift after the sudden loss of their close friends. As they navigate how to deal with their grief, they find themselves drifting separately into the unknown.

As Ruth takes on a job across the country, we see the unraveling of their relationship. Ruth’s move to the West for work becomes physically and emotionally challenging. Grappling the sacrifice of her desire to be a mother and her marriage. David with his own challenges, his isolation fuels a desire for Annabeth, the daughter of the friends who died. Complicated between dealing with his new grief and yearning for something unknown he makes an impulsive decision that affects the foundation of his commitment.

Through their struggles, Parrish opens the introspection of forgiveness, faith and the choice you make when faced with the challenge of marriage remaining true to your vows and exploring the subconscious something better.

As characters, I enjoyed Ruth and David. They represent suburban life and what many folks go through in the trials and tribulations of living married life. They dealt with grief, infertility, and the challenges of long distance for an extended period of time. My issue is for a couple like this, in terms of the challenges to their vows and the enticement for something better, David made a choice that I wish would’ve been explored and dealt with. It was glossed over as if nothing had happened. That was a big deal and it should’ve been dealt with. And then what about Annabeth? How did it get to that point? Ruth later thinks the possibility and brushes it out of her mind isn’t reality. Her husband sort of checks out and that’s ok? That period of time in the book where there was a sequence of events that needed to be confronted and dealt with going into the conclusion, I wish would’ve been addressed to see how couples deal with these types of obstacles. We can infer things based on the circumstances but for me, it would’ve been a more stronger read for me to experience them dealing and overcoming.

Overall, despite wishing things were explored differently for a more impactful read, this was her debut and I look forward to seeing what she has in the future.

Buy on Amazon Kindle | Audible | Hardcover | Paperback | Bookshop.org