Review Brief: The Way We Are Now by Julie Houston — a story of past choices, family fallout and possible second chances

Now follows two protagonists whose carefully managed lives collide when their children meet at college. Anna Piasecki, now sixty, has built a life she values: a successful career, a loving partner and a son, Noah, who is about to start college. Theo Mandeville has spent decades stewarding an ancestral Yorkshire estate, living the life expected of him while carrying regret for the romance he gave up in his youth.

Theo's pasts resurface, a forty-year-old secret threatens to upend the families they have worked to protect. The novel centers on the fallout of that revelation and the question of whether the two older protagonists — who have already made difficult choices and rebuilt their lives — can weather the consequences.

The immediate stakes are practical and personal: reputations, family dynamics and the wellbeing of the younger generation now navigating college. The longer-term stakes are emotional. The book asks whether it's possible for people in later life to find renewal and whether relationships fractured by secrets can be rebuilt.

Jottings reviewer recommends making time to read this book immediately, arguing that once you begin it is hard to put down. The review describes the story as intelligently written, sensitively told and emotionally resonant. It highlights Houston's strengths as a storyteller and character-builder and awards the book 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Key themes include past regrets, impossible choices made in youth, the impact of long-hidden secrets on family life, healing and the possibility of second chances. The tone, as described by the review, balances emotional depth with the page-turning momentum of contemporary women's fiction.

Books. The review appears on Bookish Jottings and was part of the book's blog tour.