And Then That Happened by Liam Livings

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

And Then That Happened follows the hero Dominic as he realises that he’s fallen out of love with his husband and how he cautiously, oh so cautiously, falls in love with someone else. The end of one relationship overlaps with the blossoming of the other, but Dominic isn’t the sort of guy who’d cheat on his current partner, not physically anyway, so his infidelity remains emotional.

I loved Dominic. The description of his depression, his careful curation of his feelings to keep himself sane and the way he tries so hard to do what’s right by Luke and his mother, and his father, and his friend Matt, and the crazy Di-Anne woman at work all make him a very sympathetic character. He’s 28 and having a mini mid-life crisis. Those of us who’ve been there will recognise it!

I also liked Luke, Dominic’s husband. He and Dominic have fallen into a rut which both of them try, in their own ways, to fix, but it’s not easy to do. I didn’t like Gabe as much, but I can’t figure out why not. He’s exactly what Dominic needs and the way their friendship develops is charming (if a tiny bit too slow at points).

And Then That Happened is a lovely, well written slow burn romance. It would be called grown up ‘women’s fiction’ if it had been written by a woman. I really liked the polished writing, so I’ll be keeping an eye out for more by Liam Livings. Oh, and I love the cover too. It captures the feel of the book really well.

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