Should Have Told You Sooner - by Jane Ward (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

When Noel Enfield is offered a secondment at a museum in London, it's a chance for her career aspirations to finally come to fruition--but also leads to the opening of some old wounds--in this story of art, love lost, and second chances, perfect for fans of David Nicholls and Claire Lombardo.

While studying art history at a London university, Noel Enfield falls passionately in love with aspiring artist and art school student Bryn Jones. Shortly after Bryn leaves for a five-month painting trip through Italy, Noel discovers she is pregnant. She is ecstatic and believes Bryn will be too--they have plans to marry, after all. But mishaps part the two lovers, and a desperate Noel makes a split-second choice to move forward in a way that will change not only her life but also the lives of everyone she loves.

Three decades later, when she is offered a six-month secondment to a London museum, Noel decides it's time to prove she really has moved on from that difficult period by returning to the city where she met and lost Bryn. But rather than proving she has persevered, the move lands Noel in the thick of London's insular art world, with only one or two degrees of separation from her past and the people she once loved. After she reconnects with an old, dear friend and learns finally what kept Bryn from returning to her all those years ago, the very underpinnings of her life are rocked to their core. Some decisions made in the past can never be put behind her, she realizes, and armed with this new understanding, she sets out on a journey to reclaim what--and who--she left behind.

Review Quotes

"The story deftly leaps back and forth between the early 1990s and the present, crafting a romance . . . that always manages to hold the contented reader in the palm of its hand. An artful and affecting novel of loss and reconnection."--Kirkus Reviews

"Ward's fourth novel sensitively navigates lost love, adoption, and regret and is full of vivid imagery that brings its art-world setting to life."--Library Journal

"Ward (In the Aftermath, 2021) has written another beautiful book about the fickleness of humanity, the perseverance of love and family, and the ability to overcome our choices and rewrite the future."--Booklist

"Jane dives deep into what drives an artist and the complex and sometimes unknowable aspects that come with bringing art to life on canvas. There are lessons for life, for making brave choices, for the value of art, and for trusting your heart in her beautiful words. I highly recommend her exquisite novel."--Sarah C. B. Guthrie, MFA, artist, blogger, and host of the Joy Workshop

"Jane Ward once again proves her story-telling prowess with a compelling narrative about missed opportunities, the cruelty and kindness of chance, and the difficult but rewarding work of making complex life repairs."--Charlie Watts, author of Arrangements and winner of Carve Magazine's Raymond Carver Contest

" . . . an emotionally layered story of lost chances, found courage, and the complicated path between the two. Jane Ward gives us . . . a portrait of a woman learning that the stories we tell (and the ones we don't) can shape not just who we were, but who we still might become. Quietly powerful and beautifully told."--Kelly Scarborough, author of Butterfly Games

"I read Should Have Told You Sooner in two days. You know that thing where you choose reading over everything else you could or should be doing because you just want to get back to the story? Yup."--Nancy Bernhard, author of The Double Standard Sporting House

About the Author

Jane Ward is the author of Hunger (Forge 2001), The Mosaic Artist (2011), and In the Aftermath (She Writes Press 2021). After graduating from Simmons College, she worked in the food and hospitality industry; later, she became a contributing writer to an online food magazine and a blogger and occasional host of cooking videos for an internet recipe resource affiliated with several regional newspapers. Most recently she has contributed book reviews to Story Circle and Mom Egg Review. She loves to travel, and to document her trips through travel photography. Jane lives in Ipswich, Massachusetts.