Lover by Marni Mann and Gia Riley

Overall Rating: 4 Stars
Title: Lover
Author: Marni Mann and Gia Riley
Format: Hard copy purchased from the Author

Synopsis:
The attraction was undeniable.
I couldn’t escape him.
I didn’t want to.
I was his.
He was mine.
But he wasn’t my husband.

My once treasured marriage was now flawed and imperfect.
By the time the guilt set in, it was too late.
Reality was trying to keep me away from my obsession.
My husband was that reality.
My obsession was West.

But West was forbidden. Taken. Married.
We were swingers.
It was the perfect arrangement.

Until I fell in love…
With West.

GOODREADS

Review

Lover certainly took me on a whirlwind of a journey.

I was hesitant going into this book because of the subject matter. I’ve never read a contemporary romance that involves cheating… or swinging for that matter.

I was intrigued by the synopsis for those two reasons as well.

Unsurprisingly, I know very little about the ins and outs of swinging. I don’t know what the typical real-life “rules” are, so I can’t speak to that. What I can speak to is the fact that this book, though extremely steamy, didn’t feel as gratuitous as I thought it would. The attraction between West and Piper felt real. The discord between Piper and Cannon felt real, and (eventually) understandable.

SPOILER

The only thing that felt like a stretch was Telly’s seemingly out-of-nowhere vendetta. I felt like the story could have been complete without that “twist.”

This entire story took me on a ride that wouldn’t let me put the book down all day. I read the whole thing in one glorious sitting. I was swept up in these two couples’ rollercoaster ride. The subject matter aside, this was a good, interesting story that was told well.

SPOILER

That being said, I know that there are quite a few people out there that will probably be really uncomfortable with the cheating aspect of this book.

Having not read a lot of books that involve cheating, I can’t say whether I’m just not sensitive to it or if it was the book itself that made it “easier” to swallow. Either way, if the topic of cheating in romance novels is a hard limit for you, I’d say avoid this one.