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There are currently 60 member reviews
for Mating for Life
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Christina C. (Powells Point, NC)
Love the characters and the format
I really enjoyed the format of this book. Each chapter is told from the viewpoint of that particular character. I feel like as a reader this helps you to learn each character in the story in a more intimate way, versus just from the voice of a narrator. It was also exciting to have heard about a character from others and then get to the chapter where you got to hear from "them" and their side of the story. It felt almost like you were finally getting to "meet" somebody you'd only heard about.
I think the story did a beautiful job of exploring the different relationships of mother and daughter, sisters, husband and wife, and parent and child. There were a lot of characters to build different dynamics, but not so many that you lost track of who was who or felt like they took away from the story.
It's been a few days since I finished reading this book and I find myself missing the characters, wishing I had more pages to read to revisit them again.
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Debra P. (Belmont, NC)
Relationships
This book is a tangle of relationships and how they are connected and impact one another. The author does a great job developing the characters to the degree one feels part of their family. I especially appreciate her deep understanding of the impact a parents decisions regarding their marriage or love life may have on children. Also how children are deeply affected in their developmental years to assume certain adult roles based on their early relationships with parents and siblings. This book can generate some really deep conversations in a book club because I believe all of us share a certain level of family dysfunction and have stories to tell. I really enjoyed the book and am giving it 5 stars.
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Beth C. (Sioux Falls, SD)
Mating for Life
To paraphrase Tolstoy's opening in Anna Karenina, happy families are all alike, but every unhappy family suffers in its own way. In Mating for Life, Marisa Stapley introduce an extended family with multiple dysfunctional characteristics. Helen, the matriarch, has always been a free spirit - a woman who loved men, but didn't care to marry them. Thus, each of her three daughters had a different father - none of whom are currently in the picture at all. Now, as adults, each of the girls is struggling with their own marriages and/or relationships as well as their connections to each other and Helen. Each chapter of the book deals the issues from a different person's perspective. The chapters are also prefaced with a telling, biological description of the mating habits of birds and other wildlife.
The characters are interesting and well drawn, although their issues tend to be problems of their own making rather than tragedy brought on by outside interests.
I would recommend it to women's book groups and an enjoyable read and discussion subject.
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Beth B. (New Wilmington, PA)
MATING FOR LIFE -- Immerse yourself in this one!!
WOW!!! This book is a winner, one I will definitely recommend to anyone who wants to listen to my effusive praise. Marissa Stapley is certainly an author who can build characters, fleshing them out so that you know them and would even want to meet them -- perhaps have cocktails on a patio or deck. Conversation would not falter!! Families, love, relationships, the force of the past and how early years affect individuals, how we are and how others see us are themes that permeate this masterfully created novel.
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Sandra L. (Delray Beach, FL)
Mating for Life
Love, love, love this book! As a former 'flower child' I can relate to Helen's mind-frame (as the author so skillfully presents her). Every last character is extremely well developed. I think there is enough meaty insight in this book to last a life time and will recommend it to my book club and to women of all ages. Great read!
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Nancy L. (Zephyrhills, FL)
Mating for Life
Mating for Life by Marissa Stanley has a lot going for it. We follow three sisters and their mother as they navigate their way through broken marriages, short-lived flings, and new loves. Early on, I became attached to these women and, at times, they felt like my friends. I loved their feistiness and their courage as they struggled with their relationships. At times I wanted to slap some common sense into them, while at other times I cheered for them as they came to an important decision.
There is something here for everyone, including family secrets, passionate affairs, sweet romance a rustic cottage on the lake, and a family matriarch who is always addressed as "Helen", never "Mom" or "Mother". I didn't want the book to end. I wanted to know what the future holds for these strong women.
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Eileen P. (Pittsford, NY)
We can't choose who we love
A delightfully charming novel about love in all its form. It is ultimately a hopeful novel with complex characters that the reader comes to care about. The novel is told through a variety of narrators, and I enjoyed watching how the various strands of the stories were woven together to create a complex, beautiful tapestry. It would make a fine book group book as it raises all sorts of questions about love and families and what makes a marriage work.
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