Review: Love Square by Jessica Ingro
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| AMAZON | KINDLE |
Love Square (Love Square #1) by Jessica Ingro
Contemporary
Jessica Ingro (July 17, 2013)
Heroine: Samantha Monroe – Wife, Cheater
Hero: Aidan Monroe – Husband, Underestimated
Hero: Jacob Matthews – HS Boyfriend, Homewrecker
Review:
I feel like it’s my job as a reviewer to let you know this book is about cheating. If it bothers you to read about infidelity, this book is not for you.
“Life is messy and complicated. What we grow up thinking of as black and white is anything but. Gray areas are everywhere. No one knows this better than me.”
Samantha and Aidan Monroe have been married for ten years. For the last three years they had been trying to get pregnant, with no luck. Things between them change. Aidan is distant, they aren’t having sex, and they stop communicating. They are slowly drifting apart. They’ve been more like roommates than a married couple. Sam is feeling lonely and insecure in her marriage. She wants attention and affection from Aidan. She is just as much at fault for the changes as he is. She doesn’t talk to him and tell him her feelings. She doesn’t try to fix things between them. Instead, she does the unthinkable.
Enter the drop-dead gorgeous Jacob Matthews, Sam’s high school sweetheart. When he shows up at one of her book signings, the attraction between them sparks up again. They make plans to go out that evening to have drinks and catch up. As they are talking, Jake calls Sam out on not being happy in her marriage. She admits that things are rocky. Jake admits to really caring about her and tells her she’s the girl that got away. The chemistry between them continues to ratchet up as the night goes on, but Sam knows she needs to get going. Before they go their separate ways, Jake leans in and kisses Sam. Sam hasn’t felt this kind of butterfly sensation with Aidan in a long time. She’s desperate to feel again and Jake walked into her life at the perfect time.
Even though Sam fights the instant spark she felt with Jake, she can’t stop thinking about him. Sam and Jake start emailing email-porn fantasy stories back and forth. Jake is persistent to get Sam alone so he can do all of those dirty deeds to her. Sam fights this attraction for a little bit, but not very hard. She wants Jake’s attention. She wants Jake to do all those dirty things to her too. She misses being touched and feeling wanted. Especially since she feels like Aidan is not interested in her sexually anymore. Because of how she’s feeling, she finally gives in to her attraction to Jake. And the drama and cheating begins.
So yeah, Sam. She is just not a loveable heroine. She’s weak and selfish. She wants her husband to show her affection and attention, yet she never tells him how she’s feeling. It’s a frustrating situation. Does she feel guilty about the affair? Maybe in the beginning she did. But as Sam and Jake continue to be hot and heavy in the bedroom, she starts to rationalize the relationship. There is some guilt with Sam, but she still puts a lot of effort into the affair. More effort than she’s putting into her marriage. And she has yet to leave Aidan and continues to string Jake along. Why not? She has her cake and she can eat it too.
But then Jake decides he wants more with Sam. He wants the ‘more’ that she’s not willing to give. Sam knows she is hurting both Aidan and Jake, but she doesn’t know how to choose and refuses to let one of them go. She’s torn over her feelings for both of them. Sam just about drove me crazy with her back and forth indecisiveness. I had a hard time empathizing with her. I was mad at her most of the time, especially when things between her and Aidan became good again. Aidan is just as sexy and hot as Jake. There really isn’t much competition there. But the difference is, he loves Sam more deeply. They have history together. Why Sam couldn’t decide that Aidan is the right choice baffled and annoyed me.
“I know I'm insane...I just can't help it. I am well aware that my behavior can be classified as disturbing.”
Eventually Jake gets tired of Sam not fully committing to him. He decides they need a break and moves on to someone else that isn’t already taken. You know that friends episode between Rachel and Ross where they are supposedly on a break? That’s exactly what this whole part of the book felt like. “We were on a break!” And then Sam’s crazy antics go up a few more notches. By this point, I couldn’t put my kindle down to save my life! There is so much crazy drama that my head was spinning. The drama just keeps going and going. And if you’re wondering where Aidan is in all this crazy mess? Well, that’s the killer part of the story that I’m going to leave out of my review. Let’s put it this way, I adore Aidan and he saves this book at the end.
Infidelity is an ugly topic. I do not condone it. Period. However, I don’t mind reading about it sometimes. The drama and angst that comes with cheating makes my stomach clinch but it’s an adrenaline rush that I sometimes crave in my stories. Now, there are times when I absolutely cannot read about the cheating. And honestly, for some reason, this book shouldn’t have appealed to me. I shouldn’t have wanted to read about a woman who is too weak and selfish to just TALK to her husband about how she’s feeling and, instead, decides to look for companionship elsewhere. What it all boils down to is that I honestly couldn’t put this book down. It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. I was captivated by all the drama and emotion. It drew me and caught me in a sticky web of cheating, sex, betrayal, lies, and manipulation. I absolutely had to know how the story ended with these characters.
And you know what this story did to me? It made me laugh like an exasperated lunatic by the end because of all of the craziness that happens. And, even though I was furious and exasperated by everything going on, I was still completely turned on by all the hot sexy times. There are so many sizzling sex scenes between Sam and Jake that I would forget to be angry with them for a minute. This book totally screwed with my head. *shakes out the crazy*
I can’t say that I have much love for this book or the characters (besides Aidan), but I can say it’s an entertaining story that will take you on a crazy, hot as sin, emotional ride. I do predict a lot of mixed opinions over this book. There will be some very upset readers. It’s one of those books that will be talked about. I personally think Jessica Ingro is a gutsy woman to write such a controversial story that is hard to love and hard to put down at the same time. My final opinion is for any reader who is slightly curious about this book is to give it a shot. It’s one of those stories that’s definitely memorable and will make you want to read the next book in the series.
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