Housewife Blues and Chihuahua Stories

Book InfoPaperback, 304 pagesExpected publication: August 27th 2013 by Harlequin MIRAISBN 0778314774 (ISBN13: 9780778314776)Source:Netgalley EARCBook Buy LinksAMAZONB&NBOOK SYNOPSISTheir passion will consume everything and everyone in its path.I'm on a train.I don't know which stop I got on at; I only know the train is going fast and the world outside becomes a blur. I should get off, but I don't. The universe is playing a cosmic joke on me. Here I had my life—a good life with everything a woman could want—and suddenly, there is something more I didn't know I could have. A chance for me to be satisfied and content and maybe even on occasion deliriously, amazingly, exuberantly fulfilled.So this is where I am, on a train that's out of control, and I am not just a passenger. I'm the one shoveling the furnace full of coal to keep it going fast and faster.If I could make myself believe it all happened by chance and I couldn't help it, that I've been swept away, that it's not my fault, that it's fate...would that be easier? The truth is, I didn't know I was looking for this until I found Will, but I must've been, all this time. And now it is not random, it is not fate, it is not being swept away.This is my choice. And I don't know how to stop.Or even if I want to.My ThoughtsThis is a story about a mid-forties woman whose disillusionment with her marriage of 22 years leads her to cheat on her husband, a man with whom she has raised two twin daughters but who has always chosen work and a weekend of golf over family life. Elizabeth Amblins' daughters have been gone to college for 4 years and in that time she has come to realize that she and her husband Ross simply do not have the connection they once shared, her life has become bland; boring and most of all filled with unfulfilling moments that do nothing more than cause her discontent to grow while her husband remains oblivious.This is a very dark look at the inner workings of what is an unfortunate fact many married couples face that too often we come together in the heat of youth to get married raise the family created together and then at the end of the day find that the person whom your entire world once revolved around has become a stranger, a person that sleeps in the same bed, lives in the same house and yet no longer inspires their significant other in any way that matters.Elizabeth has a good life, in her own words she admits that, but she has fallen out of love with both her life and her husband. Instead of going with the flow as she has been doing for years she finds herself becoming involved with a stranger that she met at an art exhibit in the gallery which she works. Will Roberts, the artist, whose photograph they both find themselves in front of where they strike up their first conversation and apparently forge the connection that is missing with her own husband. Theirs is a turbulent relationship, filled with violently intense emotions on both their parts and not more than a little guilt on Will's. The pair also are engaging together, they seem to find a very easy camaraderie that Elizabeth heretofore has only known with her employer and longtime friend Naveen and the intimate scenes between Elizabeth and Will scorch the pages.As others have said do not expect this to be a light romance. It has been pointed out by more than one person that instead it is a controversial tale about a woman who willfully cheats on her husband and in doing so causes such deep emotional pain to herself and her lover that one cannot help but wonder why she did not make a clean break from the marriage instead of taking the route that did not conclude in a happy ending for anyone, most especially herself.If you are a fan of Megan Hart already you will have some idea of just what kind of emotional roller coaster you will be facing, even then do not be surprised if this one leaves you with mixed feelings when done. For those who have never read [a:Megan Hart|306449|Megan Hart|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1264391380p2/306449.jpg] prepare to be exposed to something that will shock you in parts, will force you to second guess some of the decisions that are made by the main characters and in the end leave you feeling completely drained by the intense ups and downs that you will experience right along with Elizabeth.Another fine example from the talented pen of author [a:Megan Hart|306449|Megan Hart|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1264391380p2/306449.jpg] that showcases just how empty "having it all" can be worse than having nothing at all!If you go into this looking for an HEA ending you will not find it, you will find a story that will make you think and appreciate just how skillfully the author tugged on your heartstrings. [EArc from Netgalley in exchange for honest review]