The Sweetest Days, John Hough
The Sweetest Days, John Hough
List: $25.99 | Sale: $18.20
Club: $12.99

The Sweetest Days

Author: John Hough

Narrator: Amanda Carlin, Fred Sanders

Unabridged: 9 hr 29 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/22/2021


Synopsis

A riveting and poignant portrait of marriage—lauded by New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand as “gorgeous and heartbreaking”—that explores the long union of a middle-aged couple grappling with secrets, illness, and loyalty.

Pete and Jackie Hatch have been together for decades; they were high school sweethearts, although they didn’t marry until years after an explosive incident at the end of senior year broke them apart. Now in their sixties, with their only daughter grown and facing scary news about Jackie’s health, they travel to their Cape Cod hometown for Pete’s first book signing. But a disastrous encounter with an old schoolmate brings their long marriage to the breaking point and forces them to revisit the long-ago event that changed the trajectory of their lives.

Exceptionally moving and heralded by New York Times bestselling author Mary Beth Keane as “brutally honest and true,” The Sweetest Days is an insightful portrait of a couple in it for the long haul, and of the deepest feelings, both tender and fierce, that are held in the wake of an enduring marriage.

About John Hough

John Hough Jr. is the author of five previous novels, including Seen the Glory: A Novel of the Battle of Gettysburg, winner of the American Library Association’s 2010 W.Y. Boyd Award, The Last Summer, and three works of nonfiction. He is a graduate of Haverford College, a former VISTA volunteer, speech writer for Senator Charles Mathias of Maryland, and assistant to James Reston at the Washington Bureau of The New York Times. He grew up in Falmouth, Massachusetts, and now lives on Martha’s Vineyard.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Robert

Loved everything about this book......more

John Hough Jr. comes from generations of journalists, his spare style echoing that fine métier. He draws us quietly, assuredly, into the troubled intimacy of a long wed couple, Pete and Jackie. Thrown by her cancer diagnosis, they’re also shaken when a past high school mate shows up at Pete’s debut......more

Goodreads review by Sherri

This story fell flat for me and I could not connect with any of the characters. I wanted to like it but at 35% I got bored. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my review.......more

Goodreads review by Ilyssa

The Richard Russo comparison was spot-on. I liked the story and I thought I would love it, because it is definitely my kind of book, but I could not connect with one single character. The women especially seemed one-note and quite frankly, Pete was kind of a dick. I was glad that Jackie & Peter recon......more

Goodreads review by Lisa

This tear-jerker novel tells the story of two high school sweethearts during a volatile time in our history. Peter and Jackie meet and fall in love in a small town. But a tragic accident occurs and their lives are torn apart. Peter must grapple with guilt and Jackie struggles to understand what happ......more