The Divorce by Nicole Strycharz
The Divorce is a romance/drama story by Nicole Strycharz. It was nominated in the Indie Book Awards, and it landed second place for Best Cover Design in the Urban Literature Magazine.
Jennifer (Jenzy) and Chris are a young married couple on the brink of divorce. We learn this through Jenzy, who opens the story with her point of view; the story switches between the two throughout. Through Jenzy’s devastation and Chris’s apparent lack of motivation to save his marriage, the two head down the disastrous slop we call divorce.
As stated previously, this story is written in both Chris and Jenzy’s point of view. As a reader, this is significant. We have all heard the saying, “There are two sides to every story.” Both points of view offer readers insight into how Chris and Jenzy view their relationship before and after the divorce. I found myself enjoying Chris’s point of view more than Jenzy’s simply because of the comedy. Strycharz has a knack for it. It was almost like watching a romantic/comedy sitcom in my head.
Mixed with the switching point of views are flashbacks, which are done well. I applaud Strycharz for that because flashbacks are not always easy to perfect. Readers learn about Jenzy and Chris’s past, how they met, and what led them to where they are now. I enjoyed reading these past stories because it gave me a sense of what kind of people they were and how that shaped their future. We see such a development from Chris through these stories and as the story progresses.
If you’re a fan of romance and comedy, this story is for you. There’s plenty of both. There’s also devastating moments, which many of us can relate to whether we’ve been through a break-up or an actual divorce. I like how Strycharz broke down what it actually feels like from both sides, slipping away and slowly disappearing, or being completely ignorant to your own actions. Strycharz captures what it’s like trying to move on when you’re still in love and the absolute emptiness that comes with reinventing your life. We learn just what moving on too soon can do to everyone involved, and how the relationships around both parties (friends and family) are affected by every decision made.
There are some sex scenes in this book. These scenes meshed well with what was going on with the characters in these moments. Strycharz describes Jenzy’s struggles with feeling unwanted by her husband, who she used to have a passionate sex life with. This was important to Jenzy’s overall well-being and feelings towards her husband and the relationship itself. Chris struggles with the repercussions of his actions towards his wife during their marriage. His lack of affection and overall attitude towards his wife lands him where he’s at. Essentially, you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. All of this makes the sex scenes and talk of sex necessary to the story.
I give The Divorce 5 out of 5 stars. I found it interesting, relatable, and extremely hilarious at times.
Nicole's information
IG: @nikkiwrites2 TW: @asag4jupiter Pinterest: @nikkiwrites2 Email: nicolesbooks@yahoo.com
