Only Human

This was a beautiful family drama that kept me fascinated throughout the entire journey. The characters were engaging and believable. Can’t recommend it enough!

This is a wonderful page-turner full of suspense, tension and intrigue. It also has a great sense of place.

A stunning  family drama that many people will relate to and others will hope to never encounter the dramas this family had but as life goes on everyone will have their own story to tell after the years roll by.

Anna and Ollie have been contentedly married for almost twenty years and their only child Sophie is fifteen and just starting to show a little independence from her family as she and Anna were joined at the hip and Anna is extremely overprotective of Sophie and she is not ready to let go.   One day Anna discovers Ollie had been having an affair and her whole world starts to unravel while Sophie now meets sixteen year old handsome and charming Jack who becomes the love of her lifetime and he also becomes an integral member of their family and a big distraction for Anna while she begins to rediscover herself as a woman and a person.   Then along comes Fred, an eighty-six year old man whom Diane spends a few hours a week offering support and companionship while working through a volunteer program for the elderly.   The time Anna spends with Fred will take her on a journey of learning and caring that will affect every aspect of her life.

This book was a wonderful and sometimes very raw story of infidelity, lies, lust, pain, love ,deceit, callousness, gentleness, caring and self-discovery while a wife is trying to make the decision of "should I stay or should I go" while trying to handle the pressure of a daughter rebelling while spreading her wings.   Terrific moments of humor are brought into this mesmerizing story and bits of hope while this family experiences so many ups and downs that are truly life shattering.   I am very grateful that I was able to read this book as it is different than my usual genre.   The characters became realistic and I was drawn into their journey and cheering for a happy ending but this book took many unexpected turns that I wasn't prepared for and I loved it!   I also fell in love with Fred and his delightful character who just stood my heart and this book would not have been the stunner without him.

I want to thank the publisher "Victory Editing Netgalley Co-op and Blue Digital Books" for this wonderful ARC and any thoughts and opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I highly recommend this book to all readers who enjoy family or life dramas and have given a rating of 4 Stunning 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Stars!!

Only Human is the beautifully told story of the slow end of a marriage. Over the course of one summer, Ollie and Anna navigate through a morass of problems as they try to find a way to hold on to their relationship.

After nineteen years of marriage, Anna accidentally discovers that her husband has been having an affair. Following a confrontation, they are able to settle into a cool truce concentrating on their almost sixteen year old daughter Sophie. Anna gave up her career in banking to raise Sophie and her daughter affectionately calls her a “tiger, helicopter, submarine” mother. However, now Sophie has become more independent and has distanced herself from Anna. When Sophie falls in love for the first time, her boyfriend Jack becomes almost a part of their family. 

Anna is trying to find out who she is without Sophie and possibly without Ollie. When, through the Old Friends agency, she volunteers to regularly visit a senior citizen, she is paired with the delightful Fred, an eighty-five year old widower. Fred’s gradual decline inspires her and gives her a new focus.

Only Human pulls the reader in from the first page when Anna, riding on a bus, sees her husband kissing another woman. Each page is filled with words perfectly chosen to make you feel what each character feels, to see what they see. Only Human describes them all perfectly for they are vulnerable to the love, jealousy, betrayal, lying and grief that colors their summer. 5 stars. It deserves more.

Thank you to NetGalley, Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, Blackbird Digital Books and Diane Chandler for this ARC.

This is a book about marriage, love, motherhood, friendship, first love and sex. It is told in the best possible way, it is real and raw and poetic. This is Contemporary Literary Fiction at its finest.  Diane Chandler writes about the human condition in a very compelling way. I read this book in a single day and found it to be a great character study.

This is definitely not a fluffy beach read. Besides the coming of age and the love story of each of the characters this book handles some important issues...low self esteem, loneliness and infidelity are just some of the emotional baggage these characters are carrying around. Watching each of these characters push through life the best way they can makes for a compelling read that in the end will make you glad to have read their story. 

The plot is powerful and riveting, but the book's true strength is in the fully-developed characters, who will haunt you long after you stop reading. This is a must read for fans of contemporary, women's fiction.

This taunt family drama blew me away. You get caught up in all of the drama. It keeps you engaged from the very first page and there's a shocking betrayal that I can't say much about without giving it away. Trust me you want to read this book. Happy reading!

I was dubious when starting this novel, thinking it would be just another mid-life crisis affair story. To an extent it is, though there are surprising twists that add new levels to this novel.  
A sassy and satisfying mixture of lust and betrayal, with added themes such as a mother trying to navigate her changing relationship with her daughter, make for a gripping read. I had to know whether the protagonist, the mother, would have the last laugh.

I loved This book. It was a beautiful family drama that kept me interested the entire read. The author developed characters were engaging and believable and an excellent plot. I really can’t recommend it enough!