Making It Last
4 HEARTS
From Goodreads
A hotel bar. A sexy stranger. A night of passion. There’s a part of Amber Mazzara that wants those things, wants to have a moment — just one — where life isn’t a complicated tangle of house and husband and kids and careers. Then, after a long, exhausting “vacation” with her family, her husband surprises her with a gift: a few days on the beach . . . alone.
Only she won’t be alone long, because a handsome man just bought her a drink. He’s cool, he’s confident, and he wants to take Amber to bed and keep her there for days. Lucky for them both, he’s her husband. He’s only got a few days in Jamaica to make her wildest desires come true, but if he can pull it off, there’s reason to believe that this fantasy can last a lifetime.
Wow, talk about real life! Making it Last, the 4th book in the Camelot series, by Ruthie Knox is not your average contemporary romance.
We met Amber and Tony in the first book of this series, How to Misbehave. And for those of you that wondered how they've faired after their whirlwind romance and subsequent marriage this is what you've been waiting for.
Amber had looked forward to the wedding/family vacation in Jamaica for so long. Every time she imagined it all she could picture was her and Tony in love and lounging on the beach, enjoying each other like they did in the early days of their relationship and marriage. The reality paled so much in comparison. Between the kids and the activity of the wedding her Tony had very little time for each other. Let's face it, it's just like home. Amber doesn't want to leave her marriage; she just isn't enjoying it quite so much. She's pulled in all directions and never feels appreciated and to top it off Tony is never home. She knows it's not his fault. He is working to take care of them, but she doesn't feel like a desirable woman anymore. She just feels like a cook, housekeeper, chauffer...well, invisible. That's why it takes her by surprise when on the day they are set to leave Jamaica Tony tells her he is taking the kids and she is staying on a few more days to relax and unwind.
They all wanted the same thing from her. Be here for me to talk to. Be here for me to grab and fill my hands with when I need you. Be here to feed me and listen to me and help me solve my problems. Make it possible for me to feel content.
Tony loves his wife and family with all his heart. It kills him to see Amber so unhappy and he does see it. He just doesn't know what to do about it. He can't lower his hours at work, they would lose everything. But, he can feel her slipping away. After getting a push from his mother in law he leaves the kids with her and goes back to Jamaica to surprise his wife. Entering the resort and seeing her sitting at the bar with a drink in hand he gets an idea. He approaches her, pretending to be someone else and she catches on right away. Can this little game be what they need to rekindle the spark that is slowly dying?
It's taken me awhile to get to this review. It was so hard for me to decide what I wanted to say about this book or how I really felt about it. I am a huge fan of the Camelot series, but this book was so different from the others in that it was reality at it's starkest. Marriage is hard and being a mom is harder. I don't know any woman out there that hasn't had Amber's feelings of being lost and taken for granted. I'm sure many men feel the same as Tony. He wants his family happy and cared for and to do that he has to work and keep them afloat. The helplessness this couple felt broke my heart! Thank goodness, in true Ruthie Knox fashion they found their happy medium and worked back to taking control of their lives. I loved how Amber never wanted to give up on the marriage even though Tony thought that's what she was leaning towards. She wanted her family together and she loved being a mom and wife. She just wanted to be Amber, as well.
Love wasn't mean. It was life that was mean. Love was where you found the strength to deal with it.
I would like to thank NetGalley.com for the loan of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Hotness Rating
3 out of 5
