Contentment by Margaret Ethridge

Contentment

By Margaret Ethridge
Review by Guest Reviewer - Julie  Doner

Book Blurb:
Tracy Sullivan seems to have it all, a handsome, devoted husband, three beautiful children, a steady career, and the perfect suburban home; but she isn't happy.

The petty resentments that have built over fifteen years of marriage surface when Tracy tells her husband, Sean, that she is no longer interested in sex, and their marriage threatens to implode.

For the sake of their children, Tracy and Sean agree to lead separate lives under the same roof. With the help of a healthy dose of adult-rated fiction and some gentle prodding from a good friend, Tracy begins to rediscover who she is, what she wants, and the reasons she fell for Sean once upon a time.

After two years of soul-searching, Tracy is finally ready to embrace her happily ever after having learned that while happiness may be fleeting, contentment can last a lifetime.

It all begins and ends with the sexy red shoes.

Tracy Sullivan, the woman with the plan, finds herself married with children years before she intended. She had dreams of climbing the corporate ladder. She yearned to return to school and take the courses necessary in order to make it happen. But when she meets Sean, the man with the yellow hard hat, everything changes.

Their whirlwind romance results in a proposal she can’t possibly refuse. He is a force she can’t stop, and she won’t stop. Though the life she longed for is altered, it isn’t until the strip turns blue that she begins to question her choices.

She finds herself wondering if she ever truly loved him at all.

One thing I loved most about Contentment was the flashbacks. We get to meet the young and hopeful Sean and Tracy and watch in complete rapture as their courtship blossoms into love. Then we flash forward to their life as a married couple, while their family grows but so too does the gnawing uncertainty, aching unhappiness, and nagging doubt.

All the issues and missed opportunities plague Tracy, smothering her like the endless piles of laundry she sorts through each night.

She tells Sean she’s not interested in sex anymore, and though it kills him, he stands by her and gives her the time and space she needs. To family and friends, they try desperately to portray the portrait of a perfect family, but inside the walls of their flawless suburban home, everything’s falling apart.

The supporting cast in Contentment is wonderful. Sean’s Uncle, George, and his brother, Tom, provide comedic relief when it’s needed most, and they’re Sean’s greatest confidants. The kids, Patrick, Erin, and Kevin, are all charming and superbly described, and you’ll fall in love with each and every one of them. And Tracy’s closest friend, Maggie, is totally my new fictional best friend.

Two years of soul-searching later, Tracy finally starts to see what was there all along. She’d always fantasized about the perfect Hollywood life, but she realizes that nobody truly has that, and what she does have is perfect for her. She begins to cherish precious family moments she once took for granted.

The ups and downs of married life are like a roller coaster. This story is touching and poignant in every way because it’s real.

Fueled by her sexy red shoes, a swift kick from Maggie, and a much-needed dose of adult-rated fiction, Tracy plots her biggest plan of all: the seduction of her husband.

I could not put this book down. I laughed, I cried, and I pulled for Sean and Tracy right from the start. I’m so glad I found Contentment. It is truly the best book I have ever read!

Wicked Burn by Beth Kery

 Vic and Niall's book

Wicked Burn

By Beth Kery
Guest Reviewer: Julie Doner

 

Book blurb: He wanted all of her…

Vic Savian knows what he wants when he sees it. And what he wants is his sexy neighbor, Niall Chandler. When he finds her in the hallways of their building being harassed by an aggressive suitor, Vic steps in—and finds himself greatly rewarded…

And did she ever let him have it…

Sleeping with her gorgeous neighbor—when she didn’t even know his last name—is the craziest thing Niall’s ever done. Now, she can’t seem to get enough of Vic—or the uninhibited passion he stirs in her. Suddenly, with his help, she’s experiencing sensual pleasures she’s never known before. But when Niall’s past comes back to haunt her, will she and Vic let themselves venture beyond the bedroom and explore the possibility of love that’s in their hearts?

Wicked Burn is one of the best books I’ve ever read and here’s why . . . It’s about real characters who face real issues in their lives. They have baggage. Things aren’t perfect. There’s grief and guilt and pain swirling around them. But there’s also hope.

Niall Chandler lives in an apartment across the hall from the gorgeous, mysterious Vic Savian. After several silent, sexually-charged encounters between the two, they’re finally forced to start talking when Vic saves her from a date-gone-wrong in the hallway. And everything changes in an instant.

The spark between them ignites into a burning flame of passion. In the warmth of his bed and his embrace, Niall is reborn. He burns her to life.

Their romance quickly blossoms into something neither expected. Vic is a slave to her captivating eyes, her slender figure, and her sophisticated pearls, and Niall is seduced by Vic’s intelligence, sexiness, and uninhibited ardor in the bedroom. Weeks of wild lovemaking turn into months. But there are secrets.

Countless nights Niall wakes up from a nightmare so raw it shakes her to the bone. Vic eventually discovers the source and he shuts her out of his life without a second thought, without knowing the full story. He hides away in his farmhouse, desperate to work her out of his system.

One of the huge selling features of  Wicked Burn are the minor characters. They all have such depth and purpose in the story. Some also play a significant role in reuniting our favourite couple, and that’s always a good thing. I just want to touch on the character, Stephen, briefly as well. I won’t go into detail about the role he plays because it’s quite pivotal, but I will say that he is a character with severe mental illness, and he’s written brilliantly. He’ll terrify you, and you’ll pity him.

It takes time, but Niall slowly begins to recover from her past life and is determined to make Vic a part of her present one. With the help of his sister, Meg, Niall winds up in Vic’s backyard. It takes a horse, a heaping helping of honesty, and a prayer to bring them back together, but somehow it happens. And thank God, ‘cause I love my happy endings.

A few last things to note: you will never look at pearls the same way again, and you will immediately enroll in horseback riding school after reading Wicked Burn. The sex is sinfully good, but what makes this book outstanding are the characters and their realness. I can’t say it enough. If you do one good thing this year, buy this book!

Addicted to You by Bethany Kane

Katie Hughes and Rill Pierce's book

Addicted to You

by Bethany Kane

Guest Reviewer:  Julie Doner

Book blurb:

Irish film director Rill Pierce fled to the tiny backwoods town of Vulture’s Canyon, seeking sanctuary and solitude after a devastating tragedy. Once, his raw sex appeal and sultry Irish accent made women across the globe swoon. Now, he’s barely recognizable.

But Katie Hughes, his best friend’s sister, is not the type of woman to give up on a man like Rill. She blazes into Vulture’s Canyon, determined to save him from himself. Instead, she finds herself unleashing years of pent-up passion. In a storm of hunger and need, Katie and Rill forget themselves and the world. But will Rill’s insatiable attraction to Katie heal his pain—or will it just feed the darkness within him?

Let me first start off by saying I LOVED Addicted to You! From the opening pages, I was hooked. The descriptions are wonderfully vivid, the characters are brilliant and brought to life through flawless dialogue, there’s an abundance of humour, a heaping helping of erotica, and a heart-warming, impossibly addictive love story at its root.

Rill Pierce. You’ll fall in love with the man before you even get a chance to know him. He’s an Irishman (points for that), with sexy, rugged looks (more points), he wears jeans like they were made for him (major points for that), and has a head of hair that you’ll ache to sink your fingers into (infinity points). And Katie Hughes—the headstrong, independent, determined, affectionate, nurturing, glorious Katie Hughes. Her hair is like her personality—wild and reckless and free, but dependable and permanent too.

Following the tragic death of his wife, Rill holes up in a dilapidated house in the hills, drowning his sorrows in whiskey. Katie appears on his doorstep, the vision of an angel in his drunken stupor, and he ravages her like a starving man. It soon becomes apparent that the only person with a memory of their frantic night of passion is Katie. Rill gives her the cold shoulder, demanding for her to leave time and time again, but Katie won’t budge. She stands by him, nurtures him, consoles him, and teaches him how to laugh again (and to love again). She brings him back to life, and gives him a new purpose for living. She makes him crazy—with longing, with fury, with insatiable lust—and he makes her sane.

Katie and Rill grow closer when Rill finally surrenders to her, giving in to the passion that consumes him. No woman has ever had the power to unleash the beast inside him, until Katie. Now that it’s loose, there’s no going back. Let’s pause here and talk about some of those delicious erotic scenes. They are off-the-charts hot! The pantry scene left me panting, the belly-dancing scene made me want to dedicate my life to the art form, and the swing scene . . . Well, let’s just say that everything is better in a swing!

While Katie charms her way into Rill’s home and his heart, she does the same with the local townspeople. The cast of quirky characters that inhabit the tiny town are all unique and lovable in their own way. From the child-like Errol who happens to find himself under the front wheel of her car, to the stone-cold Monty who can’t help but warm up to her effervescent personality. And then there’s Miles Fordham, whose planned business venture turns the town upside down, pushing one outraged citizen over the edge.

Her urge to settle and make a life for herself in Vulture’s Canyon leads to Katie finding a job—finally a fulfilling one. Rill tells her that he doesn’t have any claim on her life or any say in how she plans her future, but he soon realizes the only definite thing he can see in his future is Katie.

There were so many surprises along the way, particularly the ending. There were so many glorious lines. If I could quote them all, we’d be here for days. Suffice it to say the writing is impeccable. You will NOT be able to put this book down! Addicted to You is addictive in every possible way!