Embrace by Stacey Lynn Series: The Affair #2
Series Rating:
on 5/10/15
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 210
Format: eARC
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I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
This book continues the love triangle of Laurie, James, and Liam from Entice. The outcome of this one, who Laurie ultimately chooses, was fairly clear from the beginning, I thought. But the meat of the story wasn’t who she would choose, but how she would arrive at that decision and how she would make it work.
When the book opens, Laurie is still very much torn between Liam and James. She and Liam have undeniable chemistry, and she recognizes that she’s falling for him even as she’s not sure if she should be. He’s been pretty open from the beginning that he doesn’t do relationships, doesn’t do long-term, and isn’t looking for anything beyond what they already have. But he’s also been clear on his one-night-only stance, repeatedly telling her that she’s the only woman he’s wanted, needed to have sex with more than once. Which makes Laurie think that they could possibly have something beyond sex. However, like her husband, Liam has also betrayed Laurie, not once buy twice. She’s not sure she can get past that.
On the other side of the triangle is James. He’s still technically Laurie’s husband, since the divorce hasn’t been finalized yet. There are a lot of deep, real feelings between the two, but Laurie isn’t sure she can ever forgive him for cheating on her with her best friend. She and James have been together since they were fifteen years old, and Laurie isn’t sure right now how much of what she’s feeling is genuine love, and how much of it is love for what they used to have.
It’s difficult to talk too much about the details of this book without giving away who Laurie ultimately chooses. Laurie has a pretty serious personal crisis, and she learns a lot about herself and these men while she’s dealing with it. I was really happy with the choice Laurie ultimately made.
I liked this book slightly more than Enticed. On a superficial level, I noticed fewer editing gaffes, though those could have been caused by the Kindle formatting of the ARC, and not by the editing team. The book is in first person, so we only have access to Laurie’s thoughts, but I thought the thoughts and feelings of the other characters came across as clearly as they could. This book shouldn’t be read as a standalone, Entice should definitely be read first in order to fully grasp the confusion Laurie feels and the reasons behind the conflict. I think there was a setup for Talia, Laurie’s best friend to get her own book, and I look forward to reading that one, too. Embrace was a satisfying conclusion to this triangle.
