Bailey Jordan has loved her husband, Brad, since they were ten years old. She's followed him on every adventure--opening a sweater store in Seattle, a café in Colorado, a surf shop in Santa Monica. Each time, she's picked up the pieces when things fell apart. But now, it's her turn. Bailey has a successful real estate career in Manhattan, and she's eager to start a family--until a car crash leaves Brad in a coma and changes their lives forever.
Awakening after his near-death experience, Brad has a new mission. He buys a lighthouse on the Hudson River, planning to turn it into a B&B. Grateful to have Brad alive, Bailey tries to make his dream her own. The lighthouse is beautiful, but the challenges--renovating, bringing in supplies by boat, navigating the locals and guests--are enormous. And then Bailey discovers a secret in Brad's past that compels her to question her husband, her marriage, and how far she'll go to keep them both. . .
Thoughtful and moving, The Things I Do for You exhibits a rare understanding of the joys, compromises, and small rebellions that lie at the heart of every marriage, and of the resilience and surprising power of love.
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Reviewer: IvyD
Bailey fell in love with Brad when he was ten. She’s followed Brad all over Europe and as he chased one failed business “dream” after another. Just as Bailey is on the cusp of realizing her dreams in New York, stability in a comfy condo and a dream job selling high end real-estate, Brad is in a serious accident. After his recovery Bailey discovers that once again it’s all about Brad and his latest quixotic endeavor, a B&B in a Hudson River lighthouse.
THE THINGS I DO FOR YOU is as distinctive as the marriage it portrays.
This excerpt is one of the many that had me laughing aloud and nodding because I can honestly relate to Bailey’s frustration.
“Bailey wanted cherrywood, and stainless steel, and slate countertops. Brad wanted to go bargain basement. Where was that mentality when he spent half a million dollars in a matter of seconds? If he was allowed to cause that much damage waving a paddle in the air, she should at least be allowed to spank him with it. Or get her pick of the appliances and furnishings. Brad didn’t seem to see it that way.”
The paddle line is hilarious. There were times I was conflicted about Bailey and Brad. THE THINGS I DO FOR YOU isn’t a “he said/she said” book; it’s all perception and perspective. While there’s more from Bailey’s side we do have glimpses from Brad’s to balance when it begins to feel too heavily weighted toward Bailey.
Despite the focus on Brad’s death, experience within the light, and subsequent return, THE THINGS I DO FOR YOU doesn’t read heavy or morbid nor is the treatment flippant or preachy.
The secondary cast consists of charmingly quirky characters that parade through Bailey and Brad’s life and B&B. Captain Jack, whose name isn’t Jack, Jake the hunky younger contractor, Angel, The Fairytaler’s-- celebrity couple, and Jesse, Bailey’s best friend to name a few. Some are nothing more than a nuisance while others are a temptation. They all add interest and the ones who comment in the B&B’s guest book give us a look at Bailey and Brad as they appear to others. Add a dash of mystery, a possible haunting and you’ve got a unique page turner.
Mary Carter has written an absorbing anatomy of a marriage. The truth and dynamics of a marriage are as individual as snowflakes. THE THINGS I DO FOR YOU was, for me, a testament to the personal haven of love and security marriage can be when it’s valued and given the opportunity.
* Disclosure: Reviewers are compensated for book reviews.
