I am always intrigued by fiction with a biographical twist. This book was from the point of view of Ernest Hemingway’s first wife, Hadley. Through her eyes you saw the couple from the time they fell in love, through their divorce,  until his suicide. You saw firsthand the passionate love they shared in the beginning and the hardship Hadley endured as their marriage crumbled around her. Paula’s vivid descriptions of the various settings made me feel like I was right there seeing everything the Hemingways did. Her secondary characters were just as fun and real as her main characters. We are introduced to Eliza Pound, Scott Fitzgerald, and other famous writers.It was fascinating to read how Hadley and Ernest communicated with each other and interacted with one another. You got to know their pet names and favorite hobbies. As with every relationship there are arguments and struggles. Paula didn’t avoid these for her readers. She never promised us a happy ever after. Slowly Ernest began to lose interest in his marriage, began to overlook Hadley, and became consumed with his writing. Hadley gave everything she could to her marriage and their son. But it wasn’t enough for Ernest. After six years of marriage, he left her for another woman, a close friend of Hadley’s no less. I felt her pain, anger, confusion, betrayal, and loss. Paula’s characters’ emotions were so real. Hemingway married three more times after Hadley. She got to see Hemingway from the beginning, through his determination to be a good writer, through his dreams and impulsive behavior. No one can replace her as being the ‘first wife”, the woman Hemingway had loved in Paris.