ARC Review: Binge by Jennifer Foor

I have become a fan of Jennifer Foor, so I couldn't wait to read a new book by her! Binge is unlike anything I have read before, including everything I have read by Foor. If you have read anything by Jennifer Foor, you know what an emotional storyteller she is. Her stories are always emotional roller coasters, and they are often tough at times to get through. That has never been more the case than with Binge. I find stories about struggling marriages hard at times being married myself. I am lucky that my husband and I have such a great relationship, so it always tears me up a bit to see things like what happened in Binge. This book is not an example of your sweet fairy-tale type of relationship, it is rough and messy and yet the fact that Aria and Flynn kept going back to one another showed that clearly they had something worth fighting for.

Flynn and Aria Roberts are struggling with their marriage. They were high school sweethearts that found themselves pregnant at 17. They got married and now 7 years later, they are constantly fighting. Flynn and Aria are at the point that they know if they can't figure things out soon, divorce will be the only answer. They have tried staying together for their daughter Emery, but it isn't healthy to remain together just for her. As Flynn and Aria seek outside help for their marriage, they begin to realize that each of them shares part of the blame for their crumbling marriage. But can the both make the changes the need to and be willing to open themselves up to what their partner needs for them, or will there be too much damage for them to overcome? 

I have to say that this is the first time in a romance that I really didn't care for either of the main characters, and yet I was rooting for them anyways. These two had a ton of issues, and they both needed help individually as well as together. Aria was starting to lose her mind, she acted immaturely and lashed out at Flynn constantly. She had an almost irrational amount of jealousy directed at pretty much every female that crossed Flynn's path. But as the story continued, we find out that it wasn't exactly as irrational as we thought. Yes she did go a bit extreme, but she also had reason for her lack of trust in Flynn. Flynn would do things he knew would hurt Aria, and at times go out of his way to make her mad. He clearly loved both her and Aria, and yet he didn't really go out of his way to show them. These two had so many things that they needed to work on, and one of the biggest was communication. It was clear that they were internalizing so much when they should have been opening up to one another. They had a connection and chemistry that kept them coming back to one another, but they needed to figure out a way to work as a team rather than as individuals. 

While I liked seeing these two begin to piece their marriage back together, I did have a tough time with this story. These two were all over the place, but I really felt like a lot of that was natural. They couldn't decide what they should do and what would be best for everyone involved. As they struggled to decide whether to throw in the towel or continue to fight, these two were truly awful to one another at times. I began to wonder if their relationship was too toxic for them to fight for. But they did love one another and that hadn't changed despite all the bad. I will say that this book is messy and there are things that will make some readers uncomfortable. If you have problems with a lot of angst and are not a fan of cheating, this story might not be for you. I do think that this book shows us a different side to relationships that often isn't seen in romance books. Sometimes relationships are hard and they require a lot of work, and that was definitely the case here. If you are looking for something that shows the struggles that a lot of couples face and something that isn't all hearts and flowers, I think this book is worth a read. Jennifer Foor always takes the reader on an emotional journey and it isn't always pretty. But I love that she always gives us something real and raw, and makes the reader examine things that aren't always the norm when it comes to stories in the romance genre. I will definitely be reading more from Jennifer Foor in the future.

**ARC Provided by Inkslinger PR**

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