Love and Other Natural Disasters

by: Holly Shumas

Published by: 5 Spot — a division of Hachette Book Group

Reviewed by Beth Cummings

Is it better to unknowingly live a happy lie than to have your world shattered by a painful truth? Is an affair that is strictly emotional just a harmless pastime? Holly Shumas, a licensed marriage and family therapist, explores these questions in this, her second novel.

Her main character, Eve, a young mother who is pregnant with their second child, is devastated when she discovers that her husband has been having an e-mail and phone “affair.” She feels totally betrayed. Jon, on the other hand, doesn’t see his actions as wrong because “nothing happened.” As they try to work through their discomfort and pain, they each discover new facets of their own personalities as well as the lovable and not-so-lovable traits of the other.

The book also follows the romances of Eve’s friends and relations–Tamara, Lil, brother Charlie and lastly Eve’s own mother. These side stories add some depth to a plot that is fairly predictable.

I found the book to be a good example of chick-lit, but not terribly compelling. It seems fairly obvious where the plot is going right from the start. While there are a couple of detours along the way, including a fairly graphic sex scene, there is rarely a point in the story where the action of anyone is surprising.

This book could stimulate a good conversation at a book group that particularly enjoys women’s fiction. The questions that are included at the end of the book are thought provoking. One question that fails to be answered is what the “other natural disasters” of the title are. I liked the book, but didn’t love it.

Armchair Interviews agrees.