Review: Two stars but only cause I finished it!  Spoilers Ahead...
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 02 19, 2012
NOTE:  THIS REVIEW IS FILLED WITH SPOILERS ****************There are many things that are objectionable in this story so let me start with the positive side:  I didn't throw it across the room AND I did think a lot about the plot and how characters might react to this type of situation.  It takes a certain level of writing to create a story that stays with you; unlike so many other romances, I will remember this one.  Hence two stars instead of one.Unfortunately, this doesn't begin to outweigh the minuses of this book.  I'll only mention the most egregious.First I wasn't even vaguely convinced of  Ted and Caroline's overwhelming love for each other.  It was definitely tell don't show.  But let's say we accept the overwhelming strength of this love, it made it was still unbelievable that he  knowingly threw away his closest friendships after only knowing her a week and knowing NOTHING about her.  This in turn led to one of the biggest inconsistencies of the book:  if Ted's love was so great, why on earth did he leave his beloved new wife when he realized the consequences of his actions? After all, she was all he had left.  None of that made sense and just made you dislike Ted -- he is a self-indulgent jerk.Also, I usually greatly enjoy books that also include the other friendships of hero and heroine, but in this book the men all behaved like teenage girls  (and I don't only mean that they cried a lot).  Also, the light look into the romances of Ted's friends was all a bit strange:  you get part of their stories but not enough to make you care.As for Caroline:  after reading the entire book, I still know nothing of HER backstory (I knew more about Ted's friend Smitty who is a secondary character!) I didn't know what made her tick at all and felt that she was just a cardboard figure moving through the book.  It would have helped to know a bit more about her to help explain her willingness to take Ted back!There were lots of other questions that arose:  like how could Ted's mother have sided with his friend over her son???  Or how is it conceivable that Smitty, who had been Ted's closest friend for over 20 years, never once confronted Ted about his taking Caroline?  Instead he goes off to live in Australia?? When he didn't even live in the same town as Ted to start with?Finally, the denouement:  the reception where Smitty forgives Ted and tells everyone present about his background (oh, and he hadn't told his best friend in the world this background in over 20 years??)  and suddenly all problems are solved.  This was too neat a way to wrap things up in a hurry.  I didn't believe this scene for one minute.These are just a few of the many inexplicable things that occur in this story.  It had an interesting premise but that is about the only good thing to say about this book.