{Review} Cheating On Myself by Erin Downing

{Review} Cheating On Myself by Erin Downing

Goodreads Description:

What happens when good enough just isn't enough anymore?
Stella Dahl assumed her life was as good as it was ever going to get. But after twelve years with a man who’s more a habit than husband material, she walks out on her bland existence, determined to start over. Goaded by her friends and a group of crass retirees she befriends at water aerobics, Stella plunges back into the dating pool. After a few false starts, she meets Joe, the sexy banjo player in a popular children’s band. He’s cocky, a smirking flirt, and a musician...everything she’s *not* looking for in a guy. Even still, she begins to fall — hard.
Just when Stella is beginning to think she could find true happiness, a family tragedy turns her world upside down. As she tries to hold together everything that’s crumbling around her, Stella starts slipping back into old habits — and away from Joe. Soon, she begins to wonder: Is she really destined for anything more than a life that’s good enough?
For fans of Jennifer Weiner and Kristan Higgins, CHEATING ON MYSELF is a touching, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy about starting over and finding your happily ever after.

My Review: I was a bit torn on this book. I give it 2.5 stars out of 5 because....well....it felt like trudging through mud for me to finish this book. But I liked it enough to push through and finish it. When I read the description and saw the cover, I thought it would be a cute little romantic comedy about a woman who finds herself wanting more out of life. Even though there is a love story in there, it wasn't the main focus and it really wasn't a love story persay. Don't get me wrong....it wasn't completely horrible....but I probably wouldn't give it a high recommendation. Mainly for the fact that the story was blah and seemed so very long. I'll get more into that in a minute. I'll go over the characters in the book first.... Stella....she was a likable character sometimes. Well, for me, not very often. I found her whiny and pretty much a wimp who wouldn't stand up for herself. That could be due to the fact she had a rough go of it most of her young adult life.I can see that to a point I suppose. But throughout the book, she just....can't make a decision and lets people walk all over her.
Eric is douche. Pretty plan and simple. She's with him for 12 years. I guess when you're stuck in a rut....that's what you get. I really didn't understand his appeal in this book. That might be because the author didn't really paint a good picture of him. 
Joe....He seemed really adorable and cute. He was. Just a little too "go with the flow" for me. He put up with a lot of stupid crap from Stella which I gave him mad props for. He stuck by her and wanted to be with her so he was a nice character. He had a really sweet heart and was willing to change his "whorish ways". He was pretty damn honest with Stella from the beginning and so he was probably my favorite character in the book. 
All of Stella's friends were pretty damn judgmental. This whole book was based off a lot of judgemental. Stella getting the brunt of it and dishing it out herself. Her friends were really.....not who I would've picked as friends I guess. I don't really see the appeal to most of them.
I'm starting to get ranty so I think I'm going to end my review here. Overall....this book didn't work for me. It could work for other people but all I got to say is I'm glad I got this for free. I try to research my freebies before downloading them and this has quite a few 5 and 4 star reviews. It just wasn't my kind of book.