Despite some genuinely erotic moments and clever narrative devices, this novel misses opportunities for significant...
A passionate marriage is tested when a wife suspects her husband of infidelity in Anne’s debut erotic thriller.
Katie Barnett’s life changes forever the moment she meets Jason Weber. She’s a quiet, reserved high school student starting her junior year at a new school with few friends, except for fellow new-girl Colleen. Jason’s a gregarious, handsome football standout. Despite their differences, they fall in love and become inseparable sweethearts. After college, they marry and move into their dream house in the upscale town of Glencoe. He becomes a successful physical therapist, specializing in treating professional athletes, and she trains as a nurse. After 10 years of marriage and two children, their emotional and physical connection remains strong and passionate; however, Katie suspects that Jason may have a secret life. She has a series of erotic dreams involving Jason and another woman that soon escalate into real-life suspicion—especially after she spots her husband with a woman who resembles the one in her dreams. Her discovery of mysterious receipts and photos lead her to conclude that he’s having an affair—but things may not be what they seem. Anne’s chronicle of a couple facing the ultimate test of their relationship offers a plethora of erotic thrills and promising characters. Each chapter is told from the first-person perspective of Katie, Jason, or Cynthia, a mystery woman from Jason’s past. This strong structure allows Anne to reveal the same events from different points of view, heightening the novel’s intrigue. The frequent sex scenes are also effective, showcasing Katie and Jason’s enduring attraction. The pacing, however, is problematic, as the action unfolds so quickly that it often reads like a summary of events instead of a fully developed story. As a result, it frequently glosses over chances to give readers more insight into the leads’ motivations.
Despite some genuinely erotic moments and clever narrative devices, this novel misses opportunities for significant character development.Pub Date: April 23, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-5005-2730-3
Page Count: 344
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.
Eleven years ago, he broke her heart. But he doesn’t know why she never forgave him.
Toggling between past and present, two love stories unfold simultaneously. In the first, Macy Sorensen meets and falls in love with the boy next door, Elliot Petropoulos, in the closet of her dad’s vacation home, where they hide out to discuss their favorite books. In the second, Macy is working as a doctor and engaged to a single father, and she hasn’t spoken to Elliot since their breakup. But a chance encounter forces her to confront the truth: what happened to make Macy stop speaking to Elliot? Ultimately, they’re separated not by time or physical remoteness but by emotional distance—Elliot and Macy always kept their relationship casual because they went to different schools. And as a teen, Macy has more to worry about than which girl Elliot is taking to the prom. After losing her mother at a young age, Macy is navigating her teenage years without a female role model, relying on the time-stamped notes her mother left in her father’s care for guidance. In the present day, Macy’s father is dead as well. She throws herself into her work and rarely comes up for air, not even to plan her upcoming wedding. Since Macy is still living with her fiance while grappling with her feelings for Elliot, the flashbacks offer steamy moments, tender revelations, and sweetly awkward confessions while Macy makes peace with her past and decides her future.
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2801-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable...
An unlucky woman finally gets lucky in love on an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii.
From getting her hand stuck in a claw machine at age 6 to losing her job, Olive Torres has never felt that luck was on her side. But her fortune changes when she scores a free vacation after her identical twin sister and new brother-in-law get food poisoning at their wedding buffet and are too sick to go on their honeymoon. The only catch is that she’ll have to share the honeymoon suite with her least favorite person—Ethan Thomas, the brother of the groom. To make matters worse, Olive’s new boss and Ethan’s ex-girlfriend show up in Hawaii, forcing them both to pretend to be newlyweds so they don’t blow their cover, as their all-inclusive vacation package is nontransferable and in her sister’s name. Plus, Ethan really wants to save face in front of his ex. The story is told almost exclusively from Olive’s point of view, filtering all communication through her cynical lens until Ethan can win her over (and finally have his say in the epilogue). To get to the happily-ever-after, Ethan doesn’t have to prove to Olive that he can be a better man, only that he was never the jerk she thought he was—for instance, when she thought he was judging her for eating cheese curds, maybe he was actually thinking of asking her out. Blending witty banter with healthy adult communication, the fake newlyweds have real chemistry as they talk it out over snorkeling trips, couples massages, and a few too many tropical drinks to get to the truth—that they’re crazy about each other.
Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable as well as free.Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2803-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
