This book was just so-so. There were parts that I really enjoyed and then there were other parts that really dragged on and I had a hard time getting through them. The first part of the book was especially difficult since it was a lot of background, getting to know the characters and setting up where the story was going to go. I have to say that my favorite parts of the book were about Marilyn even though she doesn't come into the story until about half way through. But ultimately I did enjoy it because I thought that the author did a great job writing about love, marriage, friendship and family, and all their complexities and varying degrees.