This book was a really interesting read about a woman trying to figure out how to live her life and floundering. You’ll definitely keep your eyes on the scene.

About the Book

A highly readable, intimate story about loss, aging, female friendship, family, and renewal…told with grit and humor.

Lexi is a sixty-year-old widow whose solitary life is thrown into turmoil when a desperate young woman moves in with her, soon followed by the unexpected arrival of her best friend, who has separated from her husband of forty years. The mix of these three very different personalities – a powerful omnivore seeking to live life to the fullest; a sweet, self-denying vegan; and Lexi, a thoughtful, still grieving widow – leads to some surprising (sometimes humorous) situations that force Lexi to re-examine her life. In the physics of relationships, Lexi observes that nature abhors a vacuum. She begins to wonder if she herself has somehow manipulated her circumstances to fill that vacuum…simply to imitate the life she had before the death of her husband.

My Thoughts

This is a really interesting read. Because of the blurb, I thought it was a comedy. It was subtly funny in places, but this is not going to be a laugh-out-loud, slap-your-leg experience – so don’t go into expecting that. Instead, focus on the other parts of the blurb, describing relationships, loss, friendship, and aging. This turned out to be an oddly cerebral read, considering the focus. It came across more as sad than funny most of the time. As a mother, as a daughter, and as the child of an aging adult parent, so many of the experiences hit too close to home, I guess.

As a woman in the current society, watching these women navigate various injustices at the hands of men was disheartening. The resolution was hopeful but still very sad. I do wonder why the male author chose to write a story focused so intimately on women. I’m not saying he shouldn’t have, just that it was an interesting choice. It was done quite well, and I forgot that the women were written by a man the majority of the time. The writing was smooth and kept the story moving at a good pace.

I really liked the MC, as well as Danielle, the jewelry-making vegan house guest. Many of the other characters – Tasha, Amy, Phil – rubbed me the wrong way. This is also the second time one of my favorite characters has already died. But, I wonder if Lawrence was experiencing that magical, uplifting dead spouses sometimes do.

I am grateful to the author and Love Books Tours for including me on this tour.

Who’s It For?

If you like stories with complicated, twisty relationships that drive the storyline, this is a fantastic read for you. This explores aging, friendship, love, loss, and so much more in the path of one woman’s third act.

Content Warnings: Death (off-page), Infidelity (off-page), Adult Situations, Adult Language, Betrayal, Divorce, Drug Use, Alcoholism, NonCon Touching

Question of the Day

Would you let someone you barely knew stay in your house until they got back on their feet?

Answer of the Day

I have? My spouse’s younger sibling, whom I obviously knew but only in that tangential way, moved in when they couldn’t pay for college anymore. They stayed – without a job – for like a year. Then, they finally got a job and moved out about a year later. It was intense and complicated.

About the Author

Chas has made a living writing and directing marketing videos for global tech companies (including Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, and Intel). He’s known as a storyteller, with a specialty in humor. His previous novel, Humans Anonymous, is soon to be published (Touchpoint Press, 2023).Chas is also a screenwriter. Awards include top honors at the international Script-to-Screen Festival. He wrote a PBS documentary, which was shown throughout the U.S. and internationally. And he has written for a Disney Channel series. His screenplay, “Positive” (a dramatic comedy) has been optioned and is still in development.

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CD9TXZ3Q?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_4H426EEFBW00Q8ZE8YW4&skipTwisterOG=1
Amazon UK: https://amzn.eu/d/bP5joqv
Bookshop US: https://bookshop.org/a/25511/9781771838498
Bookshop UK: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-physics-of-relationships-chas-halpern/7515619?ean=9781771838498
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/123176508-the-physics-of-relationships
Author Website: https://www.chashalpernauthor.com/

As a Bookshop.org (US) Affiliate, I may earn on qualifying purchases. Bookshop.org purchases support local, independent bookshops. My chosen affiliate bookshop is Tubby & Coo’s Traveling Bookshop, a local, queer-owned bookshop in New Orleans.