After losing her husband to an accident that also claimed her mother-in-law, Sam has not communicated with her father-in-law for over two years. She chooses to keep to the vows exchanged during her wedding ceremony; that she will stick by her husband’s side until death. After her husband’s death, Sam does not consider Harold as family anymore. Instead, she regards herself as his ex-daughter-in-law. Therefore, she is shocked when she comes home from work one evening and finds Harold meddling with her undergarments. As if that were not enough, Harold further reveals that he has found a woman he has dated for four months and wants to marry. Sam is reluctant to attend the ceremony when the wedding announcement is made until she meets Jeremy, Harold’s fiancee’s firstborn son. She cannot quite place why Marcie’s children want to stop their mother from marrying Harold, which puts Sam at the center of this family drama in Daniel Maunz's Hyphenated Relations.

Daniel Maunz develops the steady plot of Hyphenated Relations with suspense, revealing significant shifts in the storyline and just enough information to keep us engaged. He moves the storyline forward with compelling characters and a solid sense of time and place without sacrificing the overall mystery or leaving too many unanswered questions. The characters engage in realistic dialogues that advance the plot and build the action around each subsequent conflict, for instance, how Miguel always wants to take the middle ground in the plot against their mother’s marriage announcement. The dialogues are not only about what the characters say to each other but also how they say it. Maunz creates a world that makes sense and has its own rules, logic, and consistency. I recommend it to readers who enjoy family drama.

Hyphenated Relations by Daniel Maunz is the story of Sam Daly as she relearns what it is like to have a family. Sam’s whole life changes when her husband dies. Heartbroken and floundering, Sam does the only thing she can think of; lock her heart up and throw the key away. However, she has no idea her carefully curated plans are about to be thrown out the window. It all starts with Harold, her father-in-law, and his decision to get married to Marcie Porter. It was going to be simple, but then she finds out Marcie’s children are planning on sabotaging the wedding, and that changes everything. Sam just can’t sit on the sidelines and let that happen. She is finally drowning in a family drama she never anticipated. But that makes Sam question everything from her past to her present and also her scary future.

Hyphenated Relations was everything I wished it to be and a lot more. Sam’s journey is painfully beautiful. She has a lot of growing up to do. Sam thinks she can bottle up her emotions and carry on with her life. However, fate has other plans for her, and Sam realizes she doesn’t want to be alone all her life. Her relationship with Harold is hilarious. They push each other, and Harold especially ensures his daughter-in-law starts living once again. Grief has the power to change lives, and Sam is drowning in it but Harold and Marcie push her out of it. Sadie, Miguel, Colin, and Jeremy are also some of the characters who play a role in bringing Sam back to life. In a way, they became step-siblings. The story is entertaining, filled with cathartic elements, and perfected to bring your emotions to the surface. Daniel Maunz does justice to Sam, her journey to acceptance, and her moving on in life. I loved it and highly recommend it.

Hyphenated Relations by Daniel Maunz is a humorous story of love and life. After Sam Daly’s husband died, she withdrew to live quietly. She goes to work, goes home, and stays in – every day. When her father-in-law Harold reappears in her life, it’s to tell her that he’s getting married again to Marcie Porter. There’s more to Marcie than meets the eye, though. Sam doesn’t want to get involved but when she finds out that Marcie’s kids are intending to put a large spanner in the wedding works, Sam has no choice but to step in. This forces Sam to face her demons, and confront the past that’s been stopping her from living a full life. She has to answer a question she’s long tried to ignore – is she done with being part of a family?

Hyphenated Relations by Daniel Maunz is a wonderful tale with lots of humor and tears. It won’t take you long to read it, partly because it isn’t very long and partly because you won’t be able to put it down. It isn’t ideal for younger readers because of the use of explicit language and talk of death. You’ll be hooked on this right from the start and it will make you laugh and cry in equal measure. The characters are so real and well-developed that you almost feel as if you know them. Readers will certainly be able to identify with them, as each has a different personality that emerges as the story moves on. The author has dealt with the themes of grief, betrayal, beginnings, endings, and family very well, turning this into a story most of us can relate to in one way or another. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and am looking forward to more from this author.