You and I

A newlywed’s blissful marriage becomes clouded by secrets from her husband’s past.

In Eglington’s (Beckham 101, 2016, etc.) sequel, Kate Quinn can hardly believe her good fortune. A dedicated nurse, she spent seven years in a comfortable, if unfulfilling, relationship with her first boyfriend, Scott Lawton. When she discovers his infidelity, she ends the liaison only to discover his friend Robert Beckham has wanted to date her for the past six years. They fall in love and marry in Las Vegas just days later. After a whirlwind honeymoon, they return home and start planning their family. Robert wants nothing more than to keep Kate secure, insisting that she quit her job and check in with him while he’s at work. He even accompanies her to the gynecologist to find out when it is safe for her to conceive. When they travel to Ireland and England to meet Robert’s family, including his mother, Emma, and father and stepmother, Richard and Sylvia, she discovers he may be harboring a few secrets. A violent fight at an Irish pub, intimations of illicit undercover work, and a frosty relationship with Sylvia all hint at a dark side to Robert. What will Kate risk in order to uncover the truth? Eglington’s sequel enlarges her storytelling canvas by introducing Kate’s and Robert’s extended families and wide circle of friends; however, the character development remains uneven. Although the sex scenes between Kate and Robert continue to provide erotic sizzle, the novel truly succeeds when the focus shifts to their interactions with their respective families, particularly Robert’s relationship with his divorced parents. Emma and Richard are strong supporting characters, and their continued attraction to each other is touching and bittersweet. Despite the book’s strong elements, Eglington misses an opportunity to fully explore some of Kate’s choices. Kate willingly gives up her career and freedom only to realize that she doesn’t even know how much Robert makes a year. She’s so naïve at times that some readers may agree with her friend Pepper’s astute observation that the marriage was “not thought through fully.”

An erotic, if occasionally frustrating, guilty pleasure about a suspicious wife.