On the surface, Susan Sinclair seems to have everything. She’s got a high-powered job as Senior Vice President for a tech company in Silicon Valley, two young sons, and a more than comfortable life. It’s the kind of life that most women would kill for, but for Susan, it just feels empty. Enter Reese Kirkpatrick. Her new boss is handsome and charming, and from the moment they start working together, they share an undeniable chemistry. The more time they spend together, the deeper the connection grows, and their relationship extends beyond work.
Susan’s predicament is one that many women can relate to. She married young, and gave up her acting career, her life in New York, and her friends. She loves her job and her kids, yet something is still missing- love. Somewhere along the line, she and her husband fell out of love with each other, thus leaving her vulnerable to Reese’s attentions. For Susan, Reese is like the piece that completes the puzzle. He is attentive and passionate, and would give her the moon if she asked him. He’s a sharp contrast to her husband who is dismissive of her career, and treats her with an almost cruel indifference. Whether it be by measuring her against his friend’s wife, or deliberately cutting her out of family activities, tensions between them build until she can’t take it anymore.
The story is well-paced and engaging, and the author does a good job of exploring the complexities of Susan’s choices. There were however some flaws in the story that keep this from being a great novel. Susan is portrayed as a devoted mother who doesn’t want to be apart from her children, yet they don’t really factor into their plans. Reece’s character feels superficial and two dimensional, and at times, dangerous. He is more of a mechanism than a character, and there’s no convincing reason to want them to work as a couple.
What does stand out about this story is the author’s portrayal of “the other man” instead of the typical ‘other woman’ scenario. Susan’s destiny is in her control. She’s the one who is married, and makes promises to leave her husband for Reese. It’s Reese who is left waiting on the sidelines for her to make up her mind, and Reese who stands get hurt if she chooses her marriage over him.
Overall this is an interesting and unique portrayal of love, and offers readers plenty of moral questions to consider and apply to their own lives.
~Rachel Seigel for IndieReader