Prosper in Love by Deborah Michel

Prosper in Love is the debut novel by Deborah Michel, and I thought it was a sweet romantic gem. The story focuses on Lynn and Jamie Prosper, the perfect couple. They fell in love at first sight and are happily married, creating their new lives together. But cracks start to show when an old college friend of Lynn’s, FX, shows up and begins to stir up trouble. Before Lynn can get a handle on her fight with Jamie, she finds herself calling a divorce lawyer – only to learn Jamie has called first. The story follows the couple through their separation and impending divorce, and asks the question: is love really enough to make a marriage work?
While I thought Prosper in Love was an interesting book that explored a deep topic of marriage, love, family, there were a few flaws for me. The hardest part for me was never really understanding Jamie’s character, and how Lynn loved him so much. He seemed very controlling and it was like Lynn tried to do everything to make him happy, and seemed to forget about herself. That made it hard for me to connect with the book, but I was able to look past it because I found the story itself really fascinating. It made me talk to people about the characters and their situation, and I found myself having impromptu discussions about the book at work, home – even in the gym! That is what I love about a book. It was a little hard to understand why Lynn and Jamie were headed for a divorce without even saying really a word to each other about it, but that is something that I thought was really interesting. They were letting others – family, friends, mere acquaintances, take control of their lives. Overall, I was really intrigued by this novel, and definitely recommend this intelligent debut.
[Rating: 4]