The emotions of all the characters involved were beautifully portrayed enabling you to see the unfolding dramas from all perspectives, which isn’t always easy!—LoveReading
What do you do when your soulmate walks out on you to live a new life without you? That’s what Kimberly must find out for herself in Ten Thousand I Love Yous by Lisa Slabach. This is the story of one woman’s journey of finding her new normal after her divorce from Jay. With a daughter now starting college, this should have been the time that she and Jay would have grown even closer together, but now she finds herself having to navigate new relationships and romances, as well as re-establishing who Kimberly Braxton is without her other half. But what is life without a spanner being thrown into the works? After a year and a half, Jay speaks of reconciliation, but will she be able to forgive him and his words that tore her heart out? Or will he have to live with the biggest mistake of his life forever and watch her new life unfold from the sidelines?
Lisa Slabach delivers a beautiful rendition of how someone can create a new life after heartbreak in Ten Thousand I Love Yous. This story pulled at every single one of my heartstrings and I often found myself being so involved in the story that I would find myself crying and whooping for joy on Kimberly’s behalf: I believe that this is a testament to her ability to produce an outstanding story. The character development of Kimberly was so realistic because it was ever so subtle that it was more believable. I also enjoyed the fiery temper and pride that Kimberley possessed throughout the book. I couldn’t help but feel the love that Kimberly and Jay shared throughout their 18 years of marriage and found their being apart to be exceptionally poignant. This story reminded me that no matter your age, new beginnings are possible for everyone. 5 Stars, Cayla-Paige Nortje for Readers’ Favorite
A sweet and witty romance novel about a thirty-seven-year-old woman starting over, Lisa Slabach’s Ten Thousand I Love Yous is a relatable book about never being too old to redefine yourself.
Writer Kimberly Braxton gets the shock of her life after her daughter Haley’s high school graduation: Jay, her attorney husband of eighteen years, has fallen out of love and wants to get a divorce. Kimberly, who was anticipating having empty nest time to rekindle her romance, is suddenly single and thrown into the complicated world of adult dating.
With Haley attending UC Berkeley, Kimberly is finally alone – for the first time in a very long time. Perhaps against her better judgment, she agrees to pen a sex and relationships column for divorced women, chronicling her entertaining escapades as an adult woman trying to navigate the contemporary world of flings and flirtations.
Kimberly’s lively dating life runs the gambit, from an incredibly messy night at the club, to an indulgence with a firefighter, to a serious attachment to a younger skilled sous-chef. These interactions are simultaneously hilarious and sobering, as they uncover the truth of many modern women’s personal lives. Kimberly goes through a lot of emotional pain over the course of Slabach’s novel, but she ultimately does end up on top.
A charismatic and cordial novel about the convoluted realities of adults’ intimate love lives, this tale will be immediately recognizable for anyone who’s faced getting back in the dating game after a long-term relationship, but Kimberley’s trials and successes are relatable for any reader. Books about steamy affairs among the young and naïve are common, but more serious novels about adult partnerships get less attention. Probably the closest contemporary text to Ten Thousand I Love Yous is Linda Holmes’ fantastic novel Evvie Drake Starts Over. There’s something so gorgeous and wonderful about love between two people with a lot of life experience, who never expected to find giddy teenage happiness again – an uplifting mixture of wisdom and optimism.
Author Slabach also uses Kimberly’s writing as an effective organic outlet for difficult questions about love and sex, such as is it possible for physical attachment to outweigh emotional attachment, or how do romantic partners negotiate significant age gaps? It’s not easy to bring up these queries naturally in a novel, without flattening the characters and making them seem like mouthpieces for the author’s opinions, but Slabach manages this conundrum expertly by making her main character a writer. Kimberly pulls no punches in her column, and these sorts of questions don’t have easy answers, which is what makes Ten Thousand I Love Yous such a realistic and impactful story.
The novel doesn’t make things simple or straightforward for the main character, and the reader benefits from this complex analysis of present-day existence, getting both a thought-provoking work of contemporary fiction and a cheerful romance in the bargain. Overall, Ten Thousand I Love Yous may cover some familiar ground, but it is thoroughly entertaining nonetheless. Kimberly is an adorable, kindhearted, and intelligent lead, and readers will enjoy rooting for her to find happiness. –Self-Publishing Review, ★★★★½
