5 Books About Broken Marriages From The 2020s, Ranked By Reviews

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No matter what social media tells you and wants you to believe, no marriage is perfect. It's two people who have lived vastly different lives, coming together to try to build a life together. Just like life, marriage isn't just sunshines and rainbows, and it's important to keep that in mind when you find yourself comparing your relationship to that perfect-looking couple on social media. 

We've been conditioned to seek out happily ever afters, but that's not realistic. In fact, the Pew Research Center reported that in 2023 alone, almost two million Americans went through a divorce. There are even a handful of powerful divorce anthems that many turn to for comfort. If you've been having your own share of marriage troubles, you're not alone. So it's time we introduce our readers to some standout books from the 2020's about broken marriages. 

While conducting our research, we came across a review that truly hit the nail on the head: "...it is super important for there to be more representation of marriage difficulties in contemporary romance." While a story about a woman being whisked away to Italy by the ideal man is a perfect escape, there is also a special kind of comfort in being able to relate to a character as they live everyday life, messy parts included. From a story about teenage parents who divorced after raising a child together to one that shows the messy reality of married life, these ranked picks will have you embracing your own vulnerability. 

"Ever After Always" by Chloe Liese comes fifth on this list, but it's certainly not lacking in the heartache department. As the third book of The Bergman Brothers series, this book covers a troubled marriage with a level of sensitivity you don't always see. Instead of the dramatic blowouts, Liese tells the story of a couple struggling with a sense of loneliness, the kind that happens when two people are still together but quietly drifting apart. 

This book is often suggested when someone asks for a story about troubled couples, but as highly recommended as it is, readers find the struggles of the couple difficult to read about. In a Reddit thread discussing the book, one user said that while it was beautiful writing, the couple's troubles were 'stressful and upsetting' to read about. 

There's no sugarcoating in Liese's story, and it's understandable why there are nearly just as many 3-star reviews as there are 4-star reviews on Goodreads. Readers who gave the book three stars hardly ever mentioned an issue with the prose or a hard-to-follow plot, but many felt the story just wasn't to their liking. A 3-star Goodreads reviewer wrote, "... it just wasn't my vibe. There was nothing wrong and it was enjoyable, it's just for me personally, I prefer pre-marriage relationships." 

Tarah DeWitt's "Left of Forever," ranked fourth on this list, was described by author Elena Armas as a second-chance romance story that's full of 'angst, spine-tingling steam, and the kind of love that's etched onto your heart.' The second book of the Spunes series, "Left of Forever," is about teenage lovers who ended up raising a child together, and stuck it out until they felt like they couldn't. Now divorced, a major milestone may just be the spark that ignites their deeply rooted connection. 

Let us tell you, this story had people obsessed. A 5-star Goodreads reviewer was elated after reading the book, noting, "My heart feels like it's about to burst open. Second chance romance is my favorite trope on the planet and this is the type of book that reminded me exactly why." Another 5-star reviewer kept it simple and said, "I need this book engraved on my forehead," and the review garnered more than 375 likes. This is a book that'll deliver total cozy feels as you read about a heartwarming second-chance love story between two people who really thought they weren't meant for each other, but maybe it turns out it could have just been bad timing. 

We recommended Ana Huang's "The Striker" as one of the best sports romance books to read, and now "King of Greed" of the Kings of Sin series is another of the author's books to make one of our lists. Huang introduces readers to the Davenports, who seem to have the perfect life and marriage, but life inside the house is a completely different story. "King of Greed" has been reviewed over 300,000 times on Goodreads, and more than 65% of those readers rated the book 4-stars or higher. 

However, the book also had a decent amount of 3-star ratings, which is why it ranks third on our list. While a 5-star reviewer noted, "I love me a marriage in crisis though it hurts and it's painful ... Alessandra and Dominic made me feel sooo much ... I also really loved the pace of the novel ... I was A FAN!!!," a 3-star reviewer thought that the book had potential, but ultimately failed to live up to their expectations. 

Meghan Quinn impressed us before with a spicy romance that once dominated Kindle charts, so if you loved her storytelling in "Bridesmaid for Hire," you'll want to read "Untying the Knot," which earns the #2 spot on this list, according to reviews. If Chloe Liese dedicates a story to the harsh realities of a marriage that's lost its spark, Quinn takes that same premise and injects it with the humor and drama she's most known for. 

After more than a decade of ups and downs together, Ryot and Myla are staring down at the result of a marriage that had been left strained for far too long: divorce papers. Quinn tells the story of two people who must either accept that they've come to the end of their road together, or throw away their pride and try to rediscover each other.

With more than 25,000 Amazon reviewers, the book maintains a 4.3-star average. One 5-star reviewer wrote a deeply personal review, sharing, "At first, I didn't want to read this because I'd gone through a divorce, but I couldn't put this down ... From personal experience, it was one of the hardest books I've read in a long time as I went through it personally ... Even though I cried through the last couple of chapters, it has to be the best story I've read in a long time."

Taking the #1 spot on our list is "Before I Let Go" by Kennedy Ryan, which was also one of our favorite second-chance romance books. This book was mentioned countless times in Reddit threads and literary Facebook discussion groups, and its reviews speak for themselves. Of the 120,000+ Goodreads reviews, 50% of reviewers awarded the book five stars and only 12% gave it a 3-star rating — this is beyond impressive for a book with that much traction. 

Readers loved the realistic portrayal of two broken people, trying to heal while still remaining in each other's orbits. It goes beyond the broken marriage trope; there's grief, therapy, and the messy reality of co-parenting. Taylor Jenkins Reid personally wrote a Goodreads review for Ryan's book, saying, "Yasmen and Josiah hoped they had a love that would sustain them through every trial, but they found that love alone wasn't enough ... This one packs an emotional punch." 

The first book of a 3-part series, "Before I Let Go" is an aching masterpiece about a broken marriage that'll break your heart over and over again. What happens to a couple when the divorce papers are signed, but there is still so much love they have to give one another? Ryan writes of Yasmen and Josiah, who are navigating the aftermath of a tragedy that was too much for their marriage to weather.

For this list, we began our research in places like Reddit and Facebook discussion groups. Considering that around 40% of marriages in the United States end in divorce, it should be no surprise that so many readers were seeking out recommendations for books about troubled marriages. We went through these discussions to compile a list, and also checked to see if these books were on the Goodreads list for books about broken marriages. 

When we had a solid number of contenders, which was around 15 titles, we began our routine vetting process. As usual, we relied on Goodreads and Amazon reviews to inform our rankings. To earn a spot on this list, the ratio of polarizing reviews had to be minimal, and the book had to have mostly positive reviews. As this list was about broken marriages, we also wanted to make sure that the portrayal of the relationship conflict was realistic to readers. Furthermore, "realistic" and "relatable" were keywords in our search for reviews.