An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 Stars

I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect going into An American Marriage. I’ve had this book sitting on my shelf for over a year and finally decided to pick it up—and I’m so glad I did. I didn’t read any reviews beforehand, and all I knew was that people kept saying it was “a good read,” so I went in pretty blind.

From the very beginning, I was hooked. Nothing about this story felt boring or slow to me. I stayed eager the entire time because I needed to know what the outcome would be for Roy and Celestial’s relationship. The letter format was also a really nice touch—honestly it made the book even more interesting and easy to read.

I found myself sympathizing with Roy the most. What he went through is unfortunately common in the Black community, but it’s still one of those situations you would never wish on anyone. His circumstances were heartbreaking, and the emotional weight of everything he lost really stayed with me.

Now let’s talk about who irritated me the most… Andre. Whew. The “friend” who plays the supportive role while secretly standing in the shadows waiting for his moment? The betrayal was REAL. And as the story went on, my feelings about Celestial changed too. At first, I was sympathetic toward her, but then I started to dislike her again as things unfolded.

What I loved most about this book is how it made me think differently about marriage and relationships. You get to see how Roy’s parents’ relationship was completely different from Celestial’s parents. Roy and Celestial didn’t love like Celestial and Andre… and that relationship wasn’t the same as Roy and Davina either. Every single relationship looked different, and it really reminded me that love alone isn’t always the full story.

The ending? I was satisfied… very satisfied. And I’m honestly grateful for that epilogue because if it had ended the way it looked like it was going to end right before that, I would’ve definitely knocked off a few stars.

Overall, this was an amazing read and I absolutely recommend it.

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