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First this is the best cover! I am in love with it! For the book it was just fantastic! Seriously the entire scenario between our three main characters couldn’t have been written better. Ani being semi happy married to Jordan seemed so cliche for about a minute. As the story unfolds and we learn Sebastian is back all I can say is bring on the angst. His story of prison was a sad one. What was worse than the reason he was in prison? The fact that he DOES explain his reasons for passing up parole. What a man! I can’t describe how I was cheering for this author just for writing him in the light she did. It is NOT typical at all.

Now Ani has to choose between the love that she has for her husband Jordan,

a handsome and successful pediatric neurosurgeon,

and the love for Sebastian that she has never been able to let go of.

So Ani is married to Jordan and they have a give who is 9 named Raphael. The story for them and their daughter is  love story. Jordan, although older by 15 years, was perfect for Ani. When Jordan reaches a low, the character remembers little pieces of their time together, and realizes something was always missing.  I was so torn between the two men.

Who was the other star of the book? Sawyer! Ani has the best sister in the universe. I love her! Everyone needs a lesbian sister like Sawyer. She had the best lines in the book. It was a wonderful way to give a little lighthearted humor in a very serious circumstance. They shared a bond even though there was an age difference. What was funny to me was how the author describes childhood memories of Sawyer and Ani. As adults whether right or wrong Sawyer backed Ani 100%.

Another character that spoke to me was Liam, Sebastian’s dad. it is a little spoiler but, I must call attention to the way he cared for his son. This man has suffered great loss. He is overall a fairly wise and happy man. What I liked was the fact that the author writes him in a completely forgiving light. His son was in prison, when he returns, Liam welcomes him. He knew that he raised a unique boy who was delivered a punishment, suffered the consequences, and learned from it. Also while Sebastian was away he made use of his time becoming a very educated man.

Believe me when I say it is not your typical contemporary romance. It is a story to be savored, read, enjoyed and most of all shared! If you love it tell someone. New authors like Ariel Ellman need the fans to speak for them. If you read it, write an Amazon review, let the author know she has someone rooting for her success.

I took a deep breath as I came out of the memory. I was getting better at keeping my flashback reaction less
noticeable, but I still steadied myself against the gate. Alex noticed. “Are you okay?” he asked.
I nodded, my breath less ragged. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?” He came over and stood behind me, a commanding presence. His hands were a gentle weight on my arms as he turned me toward him. At first, he seemed to be looking for signs of distress, but as our eyes caught and held, I knew his thoughts were in other places, and mine were headed there, too. His hand slipped feather-light over my arms and down until they rested above my hips.
Like I was having some sort of out-of-body experience, I watched as my hand went up to his face, tracing the line of his jaw. “We shouldn’t be doing this,” I said in a very unconvincing way.
It wasn’t that I didn’t mean what I said. I did. And I still had enough blood flowing to my brain to vocalize it. But I was having a hard time convincing my rational side I shouldn’t be making out with Alex. Especially when my rational side was practically screaming that I’d kissed Emil last night and to be fair, I should also make out with Alex. My rational side told me I wouldn’t want a double-standard. My rational side had lost its mind.
“Why?” Alex asked, inching slowly closer, his eyes dark in a way that made my legs feel like pudding.
There were so many possible answers to that question, with reasonable arguments why we shouldn’t proceed, that I wasn’t sure which to choose. I started with, “What if the bracelet doesn’t work?”
Alex glanced down at my bracelet, giving a very slow smile I could only describe as predatory before eying me like he was preparing for an attack. Apparently a couple of centuries of sexual frustration will do that to you.

“It will,” he answered, still moving toward me. “How can you be sure?” Alex’s mouth curved slightly in a smile part rapacious, part entertained. “I’ve been waiting a long time for a relationship with you, Evie. And for everything that comes with it. I wouldn’t have given you the bracelet if I wasn’t sure it would work. I gave it to you because I intend to put it to use.” Sheesh!
Judging by his dark, focused gaze, I knew he wasn’t kidding.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.” I shook my head, like that would emphasize my argument and stop his sultry advances. It didn’t. His arms went around me tight, pulling me to him. My chest crushed into his, the hard planes of his stomach obvious even through our clothes. He stared down at me, not loosening his embrace. My breath was shallow as I stared back, wondering how long it would be until we both lost all common sense. He moved his lips over my cheeks, the soft skin brushing wispy strokes over my face. When he got to my ear, he took the soft pad in his lips and nipped lightly, then whispered one word. “Why?” Why? Why what? Had there been a question? I fumbled around in my head for what we’d been talking about. Oh. That’s right. Bad idea. This is a bad idea. Why is it still a bad idea? What was my list again? I did more fumbling and found one. “What about Emil?” I felt Alex tense, his shoulders becoming taut under his shirt. “He’s not invited to this conversation.”

Geez! Alex had always been overbearing, but apparently when it came to sex, he was not only overbearing,
but alarmingly primitive. Again, I attributed the aggression to decades of pent up frustration.
“Don’t you think he’ll be pissed?”
Alex kept kissing down my neck, and I moaned. His hands moved around to my stomach, unzipping my coat. He quickly discarded it on the ground. “We all agreed to the rules,” Alex said, his hands moving lightly under my sweater, inching it up ever so slightly. I’d never been addicted to anything, but imagined this was how
addiction started. A little at a time. Alex pulled my sweater over my head, then kept kissing back up my neck and along my jawline. “We’re not doing anything wrong.” I looked at where our hands were, and the clothes slowly making their way to the ground. We were about to be doing things that were wrong in a very good way. “I guess it depends on your definition. Emil would think this is seriously wrong.”
The muscles at Alex’s jaw ticked, his eyes glittering with a combination of passion and anger. “I told you,” he said, moving swiftly, one arm sliding under my thighs, the other around my back. He lifted me, cradling me in his arms, and walked down the row of stalls to an empty stall at the end of the barn. Fresh hay was scattered in large mounds, creating a soft bed on the ground—albeit a scratchy one, but better than the dirt floor. He laid me down gently in the hay then straddled me, the years of want and need, written across his face. “We’re not talking about him.” With that, he was on top of me, the kiss aggressive. I could feel my soulmark burning, and my bracelet seemed to be giving off heat as well. If this kept up, I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole barn burst into flames.