Sarah Glasser is blindsided when her drunken husband, Adam, comes home late from a business outing and announces that he is no longer in love with her and is leaving. Besides the shock and deep hurt, Sarah, a stay-at-home mom since the birth of their children, worries about her future ability to support herself and her boys. Though she convinces him to stay and reconsider his decision, she begins to think about a backup plan should he follow through. 

Adam seems to settle down and, in the following months, hires a contractor to complete some much-needed work on their home, a Victorian-era Queen Anne they’ve been slowly restoring as money becomes available. But he continues to absent himself from their home and family time and obligations, spending more and more time working, and with his history of infidelity, Sarah is naturally suspicious. She’s also left to oversee the ongoing repairs to their home and work with the contractor, Troy Middleton.  

Troy grew up with an alcoholic and emotionally unavailable mother and a long string of short-tenured stepfathers. However, he made a positive connection with one of the men whom he later went to live with in Maine, where he learned carpentry and other building trades. A recent transplant to Austin, Troy’s growing his construction business from scratch and has experienced some success with the local ladies. But, Troy is emotionally adrift and, while a gentleman about it, may be unable to feel more than a short-lived sexual interest in the women he dates, including Sarah’s best friend, Carolyn. 

Troy is critical of the way Adam treats Sarah, and over their months of contact, he develops deeper feelings than he’s had for any other woman. Sarah can’t help but notice his gentlemanly ways and responds with interest of her own to his kindness and respect. Adam’s increased alcoholic intake, suspect behavior, and emotional unpredictability and the pair’s blossoming desire set them all on a path from which there’s no easy return.

An Unfinished Marriage is a new women’s fiction novel by author Cindy Bonner about the disintegration of a marriage from the multiple viewpoints of the three adults involved. While this may sound like a tale that’s been told before, this story is unique in its authentic portrayal of the impacts on the narrators and the thoughts and emotions they experience may have readers feeling like they’re taking a peek at someone’s private journal.

While Sarah didn’t see Adam’s late-night confession coming, her marriage had long been a one-sided commitment. She’s constantly walking on eggshells around a husband who is increasingly drinking too much. His public face was boastful, insincere, and not completely honest. She finally realizes he’s been showing his true face all along and feels stuck. When Troy Middleton shows Sarah some interest, she responds in kind but not without an internal struggle that hits all the genuine concerns and questions of what her actions mean. She questions Troy’s motives and what he thought he saw in her that made him believe his interest would be acceptable, let alone reciprocated. Sarah has always been honest and can’t pursue a relationship with Troy while still married to Adam.

The story also depicts the impact the breakup of a marriage has on the couple’s family and friends. People suffer and take sides, straddle a rickety fence, or remove themselves from the situation. The author authentically portrays all these choices, with the most heartbreaking being that of the effect on children.

AN UNFINISHED MARRIAGE tells a story in which many readers may find common ground and relatable experiences. Its authenticity makes for a compelling and unputdownable tale recommended for readers of women’s fiction, family dramas, and second-chance romance.