Advanced Reading Copy
To Be Published: August 27th, 2013, Harlequin MIRA
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Elisabeth's life has turned to muted colours, having lost most of its vibrancy in the course of her twenty plus years of marriage. She not unhappy exactly, more content, or better yet complacent.
Then she meets Will, an artist whose work is displayed at the gallery where she works. He has a way of helping her see the vividness of the world around her again. Colours, sensations, fragrances all come back to life, interchangeable, as they always were before for Elisabeth.
But with that comes the realization that her life as it had been, was bland and numbing.....soulless. Slowly things that were insignificant annoyances before, become major irritants and it becomes more difficult to continue to pretend to be unaffected when she craves so much more.
Elisabeth is coming into her own.......and of her own. But why does choosing for herself have to mean hurting someone else?
****
Holy!! Intense and heartbreaking!
In all honesty, this story, however recognizable, left me feeling wrenched and rather sad and achy. I had really counted on a more hopeful resolution, understanding Elisabeth's plight so well and of course, drawing parallels to what I know. But perhaps in looking for my own answers, I found I was left disillusioned and empty. Maybe the struggle hit too close to home??
There are some things I just don't understand. Why, after struggling to keep everything together until her family is settled and then finally working up the courage to choose for herself, can't Elisabeth choose all the way and be with the one she wants and who wants her. And what is this ongoing dynamic between Elisabeth and Naveen, the gallery owner and her long-time friend?
The final moments in the book were so long expected that the end was very anti-climactic and rather inconclusive on the whole. Here Elisabeth is, struggling the entire story in coming to a certain decision about her life, that involves other people, and when she finally makes the decision, there is no further input or consequence described or discussed, as if all the other characters in the book have suddenly disappeared. I know the story is about Elisabeth, but decisions she makes have a ripple effect, the ripple effect reflects back on her, but none of that is visible.
I know that the book is considered erotic and I would agree with that description, however, I would have to say that the emotional complexities over whelmed the sexual aspects of the story to such a degree, that the erotic component became secondary to me. (However beautifully descriptive!)
Lastly, I'm a firm believer in going after what you want with all you have, and this story just doesn't resonate that for me. Elisabeth was complacent, stayed complacent and chooses to continue to be complacent, albeit in a different set of circumstances.
It is impossible to ignore the writing by Megan Hart, it is of such high quality. She is able to bring the characters to life and create tension with mere words and suggestions that are tangible. Nothing is 'over'-described, words are used in a very artful manner, not to blatantly outline, but to subtly hint and in that, Ms. Hart is unique.
An artfully written story that demands a strong emotional involvement!!
**ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Harlequin MIRA in return for an honest review.**
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