Ellen Hopkins
In this gripping follow-up to Love Lies Beneath, #1 New York Times bestselling author Ellen Hopkins’s “fabulous, sex-filled masterpiece of mystery and romance” (Library Journal, starred review), beautiful, wealthy Tara Lattimore's story continues when her sinful past threatens to derail her current marriage—and her sanity.
Tara thought she was finally settling down when she married the handsome Dr. Cavin Lattimore. Just as she was willing to overlook his gambling habits, she discovers his secret meetings with Sophia, his gorgeous ex-girlfriend and his son Eli’s occasional girlfriend. Life gets even more complicated when Tara’s niece, Kayla, starts hooking up with Eli. In a matter of weeks, Tara has reluctantly gone from rich, single San Francisco professional to Lake Tahoe housewife managing her niece’s whiplash moods, while resisting her stepson’s tantalizing sexual advances.
Adding to the family drama is her younger sister, Melody, who’s having a serious marital breakdown, which means she might know something about her husband Graham and Tara’s brief dalliance years ago. As Tara’s fragile trust in her family teeters, timed with the arrival of certain people from her past, she also can’t shake the feeling that someone’s watching her. Baiting her.
Tara has always considered herself a tough, self-made woman after surviving a childhood defined by poverty, abuse, and neglect. For years, she suffered from the sins of others. She committed a few of her own. Now she wonders if the misdeeds of her past are about to catch up with her—and if she can ever outrun them.
EVERY HONEYMOON COMES TO an end, romance segueing into marriage. I should know. This is my fourth. It wraps with the bellow of a horn and a barely discernable reverse braking motion as the Radiance of the Seas docks in Vancouver. I take a deep breath, exhale regret that we must now return to the day-to-day minutiae. Alas, I bore too easily.
It’s been a lovely two weeks, up to Seward and back again, a double cruise. Our stateroom suite was gorgeous. The food was amazing. And every excursion, from Skagway to Ketchikan, was a bold undertaking, though the cumulative effect was an uncomfortable reminder that my right knee hasn’t totally healed from last winter’s surgery.
Admittedly, small irritations marred the trip. Cavin’s onboard gambling became a distraction and, if not for a late almost-break-even win, might have made a substantial dent in his personal bank account. Discovering your new husband has quirks you didn’t know about is one thing. Finding out one of those idiosyncrasies could wipe out your assets is another. I spent the bulk of my lifetime building financial stability. Love will not ruin that. Whether or not games of chance will ruin love remains to be seen.
Having invested around twenty times as much into this trip as the average couple, Cavin and I are afforded Royal Caribbean’s Enhanced Program privileges, including priority departure ahead of the mass exodus. I reach for his hand. “Ready?”
review from Booklist:
"The characters are strong, the writing is vivid, and the plot is engaging." —Booklist
review from THE DENVER POST:
Searing. . . . Hopkins examines the highs and lows of the mercurial nature of a relationship
with someone whose first loyalty is to his (or her) country.— The Denver Post