Is This What I Want?

Is This What I Want? Was written by Patricia Mann and is the sequel to Is This All There Is? 


Is This What I Want takes place 4 months after the end of Is This All There Is and Beth is still in a self-discovery process.  While the first book was more of a PG-13 rated, I would definitely classify the sequel as saucier.  In self-discovery Beth certainly is exploring many different parts of herself. 


Beth’s married and personal lives are explored after she has experienced the range of emotions that come after an affair.  I love that as a reader we got a more intimate look into the mind of Rick (Beth’s husband).  It gave more depth to the story to know his reactions and thoughts to similar events.


Reading the book I mostly just was feeling bad for the low self-confidence that Beth was battling and how she was feeling the need to redefine herself in potentially destructive ways.  I commend Rick for his ability to put love before hurt and for Beth to be honest and open and willing to work on something as they learned to grow together as a couple.


Sometimes it was painful to read through some of Beth’s experiences and wanting to have her learn things that weren’t always by experiencing “the hard way.”  I enjoyed also seeing the introspection of the lives of some of the married friends within Beth’s lives and how she was justifying behavior according to the friend whose advice matched more with her inner desires.


I give this book 4/5 stars.  Overall it was still very eye opening to go through the hard parts of a marriage with Beth and Rick.  I didn’t feel quite as connected to Beth as I did in the first book, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the honesty and realism of the story.  If you enjoy reading chick lit, fiction, relationship, woman empowering, romance, etc., then this book is for you.


*I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for a fair and honest review.