"THE (RE)MODEL MARRIAGE," by Maria Hoagland, Red Leaves Press, $14.99, 301 pages (f)
Jamie Royce has lived in a house that she hates for 24 years and, throughout that time, the leak in the bathroom has been caulked over numerous times instead of repaired. The patches are no longer stopping the leak, and the increasing hostility between Jamie and Kirk Royce has reached an apex.
Jamie issues an ultimatum that Kirk must repair the bathroom and get the house ready to sell by the time their daughter Kerrigan graduates high school the next year. At that time, they will get a divorce and move on with their lives.
Jamie and Kirk start to repair the house and, along the way, individually try to decide if they want to stay married or follow through with their plan to divorce. Their relationship is messy and realistic.
"The (Re)Model Marriage" is written in third person, but it gives alternating focus between Jamie and Kirk, so the reader sees both points of view during the renovation process. The alternating focus shows how things are not always the way they are perceived.
Many of the struggles Jamie and Kirk go through are typical of any married couple. Some of these problems include trouble with in-laws, miscommunication, lack of communication, work problems and feeling undervalued by the other spouse. The reader wonders almost to the end of the novel if the couple will work through their marital problems or get a divorce.
There are no scenes of violence, swear words or foul language. While there are no scenes of sex, there is mild sexual innuendo consistent with a married couple.
Maria Hoagland starts each chapter with a renovation tip from her blog, romancerenovations.blogspot.com. In addition to remodeling, Hoagland has written several novels and is a two-time Whitney Award finalist. "The (Re)Model Marriage" is a 2016 Whitney Award finalist in the general fiction category.
Hoagland graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English.
Jennifer Autry has called many states home and is an American military wife with two beautiful girls. She is an aspiring author. Her email is celiacaleb11@hotmail.com, and she blogs at imperfectlymormon.blogspot.com.