I had trouble putting this one down. James and Ethan could have walked off the page, they fet so real. I do have a few niggles about the way some of the issues were handled. While the actions of James felt real, there were times when it seemed nearly too easy. But then it swung back to more realistic again, so that was a bit unsettling. There also seemed to be large time jumps which were a little strange. I would have preferred to know there was a time lapse before I started reading the chapter, but I know that that is simply my persoanl preference.

Overall this book again shows me how much I love this author's writing! ( )

This was not an easy story to read. It was very emotional and full of angst. Sue Brown did a wonderful job. I enjoyed the two MC's. and found myself invested in their story right from the beginning. I thought that the author handled this very touchy subject with the utmost sensitivity.

I think my only complaint was that I found quite a few editing errors, such as missing words or misplaced words. that is why I'm only giving this one 4 stars. ( )

Ok, so here is another re-read that I completely changed my mind about. I remember really loving this one and how powerful the domestic violence storyline was to me during the first read almost two years ago. During this re-read I didn't even make it to 30% before giving up because I was so disgusted with how crass the two MCs were. MC James is a married man and his husband had suffered a head injury in an auto accident that caused a complete change in his personality and caused him to be violent. Instead of hospitalizing him, James takes the beatings over and over and now decides to have an affair with MC Ethan. I'm kind of surprised I was OK with this the first time around.

I'm a bit wishy-washy when it comes to the books I like and I'm convinced that a 5 star book one day could easily be a 3 star book the next, depending on my mood and what is going on around me. I really should stop with the re-reads, but it is fun to see these changes in my tastes. I originally give this book 5 stars but will be dropping it down to 4, only because I stopped the re-read at 30%. If I had finished, the rating probably would have been lower. ( )

This was not an easy story to read. It was very emotional and full of angst. Sue Brown did a wonderful job. I enjoyed the two MC's. and found myself invested in their story right from the beginning. I thought that the author handled this very touchy subject with the utmost sensitivity.

I think my only complaint was that I found quite a few editing errors, such as missing words or misplaced words. that is why I'm only giving this one 4 stars. ( )

I love Sue Brown's work - she's a auto-buy author for me - but I had some issues with this book.

1. Victim blaming - there was so much "why are you letting him do this to you?" in this book and I got more and more aggravated with every uttering. James answered the question over and over yet Ethan continued to lay blame on him.

2. The feelings didn't feel consistent. The MCs ran very hot and cold with each other and, while it was understandable in the first 3/4 of the story, it left me wondering if the MCs were actually in love by the end.

3. The book seemed to lose its way after James' final beating and then it kept going long after it came to what felt like a natural end.

As usual, SB's writing is wonderful and her secondary characters were nicely written, but the MCs didn't do much for me and their chemistry seemed to flicker out just as it should have been heating up. ( )