Alayna Withers and Hudson Pierce are finally making their relationship work, after game-playing, obsessive behavior, and jealous mistrust wreaked havoc with their past.
Alayna is enjoying her new job as manager of The Sky Launch, a club Hudson owns, and is even making friends with the co-manager she asked him to find for her, Gwen Anders. Still, her jealousy of Gwen’s sister Norma, who works closely with Hudson, and the fact that Hudson’s pretend “ex” Celia, who tried to sabotage their relationship once, is showing up everywhere she turns, doesn’t help matters. Then, while working her way towards trust and openness, she’s hit with the knowledge of a bigger betrayal than she’d ever believed possible. Can she manage to trust him and live with him, after what she knows? Can she live without him?
This is an intensely emotional and physical book. The savvy reader will keep a fire extinguisher handy during the sex scenes, as the potential for spontaneous combustion is there. The romantic aspect of the story is likewise vividly dramatic, and those who enjoy intense emotional heat will find this book right up their alley. Alayna’s efforts to open herself up, to communicate honestly, and to control her own responses despite her past mental issues and heartbreaks, are heartwarming and make her a much more appealing character. Hudson is visibly doing his best to make up for the past, and his final courtship near the end, when everything looks hopeless, is immensely sweet. Minor characters, particularly Gwen and Hudson’s sister Mira, brighten up the story with snarky wit and charm.
The mental game-playing in the book can get exhausting at times – it is a bit ironic that the lead characters manage to alienate each other most when they’re being most honest, and in the end, win each other back through a combination of stalking and obsessive persistance. Also, the emotions can tip over into melodrama sometimes, even farce.
If you like a book with its emotional and erotic volume turned up to 11, this one’s for you.
Reviewed by Catherine Langrehr for IndieReader
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