Book Title: Swelter
Author: Nina G. JonesSeries: Standalone
Release Date: October 1st, 2015
Genres: Erotic Romance
I married the right brother.
At least that's what I tell myself at night, when I stare at the ceiling and listen to the rhythm of the grandfather clock down the hall. It never feels like the mere passage of time, but a countdown towards something inevitable.
Bobby Lightly is selfish, irresponsible, and careless. I haven't seen him since the day I married his brother. He slipped out during the wedding reception without a word.
A year later, I heard Bobby was drafted to Korea. He never said goodbye. Never sent a letter. We had all come to terms with the fact that he was probably dead somewhere, either a victim of the war or its aftermath.
That is, until in the midst of an unrelenting heatwave, he showed up at the doorstep of the house I lived in with his brother.
Everyone thinks I'm cruel. Everyone thinks I should be easy on him. They think I don't understand him. They all think I hate him.
But what no one understands is that it was Bobby who broke my heart.
And I think he’s back to do it again
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{READ MORE FOR ALLISON'S REVIEW!}
Swelter is just one of those books where less is more. I'm not going to go much beyond the book blurb as you just need to experience it. It was just wow... I'm not sure if I want to hug this author or smack her.
Swelter takes place in 1957 during a steamy summertime in the Midwest. Lily is married to Rory Lightly...married to the wrong Lightly. She grew up every summer visiting the Lightly's family-owned resort on the lake. It made for fun times in the water, the woods, and just plain fun. Her relationship with Rory's younger brother Bobby was always more passionate in their banter and arguments but everyone just knew her and Rory were meant to be together. Rory was the future success story. Bobby was the wildcard, unsure what he wanted to do with his life. So she did the "right" thing and
Swelter takes us back and forth between their current day and flashbacks to seven years ago, the Eve of her wedding day. Back then they were young and carefree and I loved the way the author captured the setting. Living in the Midwest myself, we did the annual summer trip to a resort much like the one depicted here. One main house. Several cabins surrounded it and we all converged on it every year, reacquainting ourselves with everyone from all over we hadn't seen the past year. In fact, it was at a resort much like this that I had my first kiss at age 13. But I digress. I SAW this resort in my head and a FELT their youth and young love. It's truly one of my favorite aspects of the book but also why I deducted a half star- I wish I had more time developing their connection as teenagers so I could wholeheartedly capture their connection later in life.
These lyrics from Kid Rock (who just so happens to be singing about my home state of Michigan in the summertime) depicts a scene from this book perfectly!
The book is in Lily's POV for the most part so we get a firm understanding of her monotonous days living as the wife of a very controlling man. She's dying inside with no career, nothing to look forward to but keeping up the house for an
When you read some 150+ books a year, plots tend to get predictable. I thought I had this one nailed. We've seen it- she marries the wrong brother for the right reasons and her life is awful- then right brother comes along and saves the day. Second chance love story. Well, this book surprised me because I thought that's what I was going to get but I got so much more. And let me say my heart broke in two!
But I digress...
For fans of conventional love stories that take things beyond what we expect, who love the pages turning as fast as can be for some sort of resolution or happily ever after, this book is for you. It's clearly not for everyone as yes, there's obviously cheating. The bulk of the book has cheating, actually, but it's one angsty love story and I ate it up. I just didn't expect the events towards the ending. Nina G Jones succeeded in surprising this reader who thought she had it all figured out. She provided me a book that was sweltering hot, angsty, and heart-wrenching. I essentially read it in a day which shows the book was virtually unputdownable.
Advanced copy received by author in exchange for my honest review.
Quotes in graphics were taken from pre-published copy and could very well change in the finished product.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nina G. Jones is the author of the
bestselling novel DEBT, the Strapped Series and the erotic romance, Gorgeous
Rotten Scoundrel.
Her next novel, Swelter, releases
on October 1st, 2015.
Nina LOVES connecting with readers.
You can connect with her via Facebook, Twitter, or through this site.
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