After All Is Said And Done: A Novel of Infidelity, Healing & Forgiveness

This is third book Ive read by Ms. Buchanan. Truly woven into the fabric of the lives many doctors and medical staff. I felt for each characters situations as Ive lived that hospital life. Although I was happily married, the main characters many things happening such as cheating doctors, cheating nurses, pregnant and lying by omission regarding childs biological father, the father who raised his son since birth only to find out that his wife had cheated on him again and he wasnt the biological dad but he was his sons dad blood or not blood related. The writer definitely pulled the issue of alcoholism into this book. I have seen what alcoholism does to ones body alone, and to ones psyche. I get the leather restraining that was, I get the various health since Im a registered nurse. No one need be a nurse to benefit from this entire book. Five shiny gold stars.

After All is Said and Done is a powerful story, gripping and unputdownable right from the start. From the opening scene, you are caught up in the drama and the lives of these four characters, watching their joy, pain, anger and depression as though you are viewing it firsthand. Its a fast paced novel, with short bursts of scenes, some only a couple of pages long. It helps to keep the novel moving forward, so you do not even realize how long it is. Even with these brief scenes, you become enthralled with Ethan, angry at Jessica, disgusted with Gavin, and sympathetic to Sarah. There were times when I just wanted to reach out and hug Ethan during his trials... I just couldnt help it. Each character has their flaws and strengths, and you can relate to every one of them as they struggle in life to pick up the pieces and move on. This was such a great tale that I would highly recommend it. I am really looking forward to watching this author grow.

Sarah is married to Gavin, who has had an affair with Jessica, but she is married to Ethan, and pregnant with his child. They are all doctors sharing partnerships, friendships, and perhaps too much personal space all intertwined together. But right now everything is about to explode as Jessica goes into labor and has a son that everyone but Ethan knows is not Ethans. The affair with Jessica and Gavin was over, spouses had taken them back, forgiveness was extended, and then all the lies come out and the one night turns into a baby. Gavin comes clean with Sarah about the baby and their fragile relationship becomes cracked beyond repair and Sarah decides to move on without him. But Jessica and Ethan live under the guise of the babys parentage and Jessica is getting really good at keeping secrets she should be confessing. Jessica wants them to remain a couple and if lies are needed to make that happen, so be it. When Ethans father passes away the pressure of his life explodes like fireworks around him. Ethan crumbles under the stress from complicated family relationships, his supposed failures and misdeeds until the only comfort he finds is in the bottle of scotch sitting by his elbow. When the bottle creates new issues and no longer provides comfort Ethan starts to see only a dark tunnel with no light. When the worst that can happen to you already has what would your next step be? The long trip from infidelity to reconciliation is one paved with truces, promises and hope. When all those things turn into a huge deception no one is going to forgive or forget and the chance of moving on is almost impossible. Ethan, Sarah, Jessica and Gavin cause pain to one another but when you walk forward what is behind you may stay there and you can rise again from the ashes to build a new life if you are honest with everyone including yourself. This book had me daunted before I even started reading it because it has quite a few pages to it. But once you start the number of pages turns out to not be required to give you all the information you start to crave. The plot follows a clear path, with answers to questions, which all readers enjoy. What I did not like is chapters that are usually separated were run together and at times I had difficulty figuring out what was going on. Other than that - great read.

This is one of the best books I’ve read this year. It was my first time reading this author. She went into detail, gave a backstory and drew you in. This author is a great story teller. 10 stars!!

I was pleasantly surprised how this new author was able to take such a complex plot and still retain control of all of the characters. This is the story of two families who have been shattered by infidelity ... Ethan and Jessica remained together because she was pregnant - while Sarah and Gavin end up splitting up - the infidelity was between Jessica and Gavin. The plot grows even more complex when Ethans father dies, and he struggles with his own demons concerning his childhood. Of course, with Gavin working with Jessica, and Sarah working with Ethan, there are some serious interpersonal issues that are detailed. If you are looking for a book with intimate scenes, you know youve found it - since the first chapter opens with Gavin and Sarah having sex in his office. In fact, every time the males in the story want to confront an issue or show their love - well, they act like males and go for it. Obviously, it doesnt always work - but hey, a guy can try, cant he? I found the story fast-paced, perhaps a little bit too much at times. But it held together well, and the conclusion made for a good ending. The one thing that was problematic for me was the fact that while spell-check was used, it does not catch misused words - homonyms. Peaked vs. piqued, poured vs. pored, youre vs. your, self-conscience vs. self-conscious. I tend to be a bit anal, and I tripped over these every time they happened. So, I deducted a star for that. Otherwise, I did enjoy the book.

Two couples as much thrown together as they are torn apart by infidelity, this book drew me in from the start as I eagerly continued to discover what would happen next? Descriptive & well planned, the realism had me believing that the main characters within After All Is Said & Done were my colleagues. Men act like men as the women do what women do best in this moral wrenching take on professional life & what goes on behind closed office doors. I am happy to recommend After All Is Said & Done to all who enjoy this genre & hope that others in search of something new will give this new author a chance as I look forward to much more & a second glance.

Initially, I was drawn to this book because it dealt with alcoholism and unforgiveness. Both are issues that have dramatically affected our family, and the latter is affecting it now. I joined a blog tour to give away a copy of it, and the author did a guest post along with it. After reading her guest post, I knew I had to read this book. I contacted her, and she graciously sent me a copy to review. She warned me about any issues I may find with the book (I cant tell you how much I appreciate it when authors do that), but I was convinced this was a book I was supposed to read. And I am so glad I did! The writing style, plot, and characterization in this book are absolutely exquisite. In the beginning, I struggled to keep the characters straight. (My fault, not the authors). I finally got Gavin, Jessica, Sarah, and Ethan straightened out. Ill let you read the book and figure all that out yourself. I truly feel that this book was very realistic. Sometimes an author will write a book and water down the topics so that there is a happy ending. Belinda Buchanan does not do do this. She handles the issues of infidelity and alcoholism in a way that is real, human, and tragic. And she shows you exactly what bitterness and unforgiveness can do to a person. I am glad that author warned me about the adult portions. Yes, there was some profanity and intimate scenes. Most intimate scenes occurred between married people and did not go into great detail. Practically all profanity was used sparsely and at what most would feel were appropriate moments. I was not nearly as offended as I might have been if the profanity was rampant and incessant. The amazing thing about the characters is that I grew to love Ethan in spite of everything. In fact, I was amazed to discover that through everything (dont want to spoil it for anyone), I still loved him and never stopped. I wanted him to make it, and there were some emotional points. In fact, as I read a good portion of these portions, I was in a classroom with a group of students, and I really forgot where I was! I was not overly aware of what was going on in the class. There were also points that just hit too close to home. I came from an emotionally abusive marriage, and some of the situations very difficult to read. In conclusion, I so wish that those close to me who are struggling with bitterness could learn the lessons that the characters did in the book. They so need to understand that hatred and anger accomplishes nothing if you keep holding onto it. You must let it go. I am very grateful that the author gave me this book for free in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are 100 percent mine.

This book had me from the very beginning. I wasnt sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. The characters were relatable and the situations seemed very realistic. The POV changed from person to person, which I liked. I will definitely be looking for more by this author.

*SOME SPOILERS* In a nutshell, this story is about one mans triggers and downward spiral to alcoholism as well as his steep climb back to reclaim his life. The last happens only with the friendship and love in one womans heart, which is what really matter After All Is Said And Done. Ms. Buchanan either works in healthcare or has done impressive research. If someone is reading this, do not take that to mean that this story is in any way ugh! gray-and-dreary and therefore to be avoided. I usually sidestep health issue-related novels myself, not wanting to be inundated after a days work of it. But I made the exception here because the author is an excellent writer as well as a storyteller. Once I started reading, I could not stop until I;ve reached the end. The characters, the storylines, the writing is t-h-a-t good & compelling. The hero s basic goodness really shines through so that I was kept rooting for him to come out on top and kept page-flipping for that HEA he richly deserves. There is nothing soap operatic about this story. Such a description implies that life imitates art / fiction whereas this story quite accurately portrays the low-point, rather ugly dramas that do occur in an alcoholics life. It really opens with the repeated cheating of two people who were each married to others. What made it more painful was the cheaters were already forgiven by their spouses the first time around yet they did it again and this time resulted in a pregnancy. If thats not bad enough, the female cheater lets her husband believe the baby is his! He is so happy. Imagine how feels when the truth comes out! At this point Im already looking for a romantic angle and hoping this cheaters husband will end up with someone more deserving of him. Before I can feel too sorry for him, (and yes hes the hero) the story moves on to his fathers death which at first seems like its just another event. In reality this is the last straw that breaks the hero because he, in fact, had an abusive childhood. From herein on, the hero descends into a full-blown alcoholism and all aspects of his life, slowly but surely, falls apart. Again, this might sound either depressing or simply blech. But what makes this story readable is that while Ms Buchanan acquaints us with the main points of certain tragic turns, she does not linger over it ghoulishly through TMI but instead moves along briskly. The reader is spared that dreaded blow-by-blow ugliness of detail and equally dreadful soppy sentimentality. My heart just ached for the hero every time hes in denial about having just a little too much to drink and each time he does so, he loses something / someone. Except one wonderful, wonderful human being who stands by him to the very end. YES! He does get a happy ending. The other characters are just as fascinating though not always in a good way. Theres the other man, the unfaithful but very sorry cheater wife, the other mans wife who is also the heros clinic partner and friend, the innocent baby, the heros troubled, mercenary sister, the abusive dad, the stand-back / hands-off / judgmental friends or colleagues and a couple of supportive ones. The POV is mostly the heros, his cheating wife, the other man and his wife and to a lesser extent, the other characters when they come on. This works for me, I had no problem distinguishing whos thinking what. By the time the story got to the romance part & happy ending, I was just too glad. The hero really deserves it, so does the heroine. Theirs is not merely a first-sight-sexy-pull kind of love but one that survived tests of fire. Because of the storys 2-year span, it might seem too long especially when one looks at the number of pages, not that I noticed. I was just too busy reading and was a little sorry when the story ended. If asked to qualify this book, it isnt Harlequin goody, nor does it have the blitheness of chick-lit, its certainly not erotica. More like A Novel as it ought to mean, with a strong substance and a nice vein of friendship & romance. I liked, too, that towards the end, the setting switches to the UK from Maine. So, I rate this story a solid 5+. Its a keeper. Id suggest looking round for a slightly better price than is offered in this site. I bought my ebook elsewhere.

This book kept me guessing. I couldnt put it down. I was rooting for Ethan the whole time and my heart sank when he reached his darkest hour.