My rating: 4 of 5 stars
"8 Weeks" is a sweet & romantic story! As described in the synopsis, this is the story of 2 high school sweethearts who are torn apart by a one-night Vegas indiscretion after 6 years of marriage. Shelly is devastated and is ready to give up on her marriage whereas Cal is desperate to make amends and win back Shelly's love and trust. Shelly agrees to give Cal 8 weeks before she makes her ultimate decision as to their future. This contemporary new adult romance is a stand alone book but it is part of the "Time for Love" series (other books in the series will feature the secondary characters of this book).
At first I thought this story would be about forgiveness, trust & courtship but it ended up being a tale about really knowing your other half and not taking them for granted. Moral of the story: Do you really truly know the person who you've been married to for years or do you take them for granted and just coast along on autopilot?
The story is told from both Shelly and Cal's point of view, alternately. There is descriptive sexual content but it is not the main premise of the book. In fact, the sexual content is fairly subdued, which suits me just fine. The book is more about the romance & emotional turmoil the characters are going through. At first I thought the 8 dates would end up being a bit repetitive but, with every date, a lesson is learned by both Cal and Shelly. The book had a nice flow to it.
Characters: Cal impressed me a lot. His character evolves tremendously from start to finish. Shelly's character takes more time to evolve because she is hit with such a tremendous shock at first and she has to shake off the anger and confusion first. Having been together for so long, they have the same friends and they play a big part in the story. Each character is very distinct. The characters are in their mid-twenties.
Synopsis:
Is eight weeks enough time to earn back the love of someone you've betrayed...the only one you've ever loved?
Shelly has been in love with Cal since they started dating in eleventh grade. Despite everyone saying that the odds were against them, they got married after graduation and built a life together. Now, six years later, she is faced with the ultimate betrayal. Devastated, her first instinct is to call it quits…
After a drunken binge at his best friends’ bachelor party, Cal betrays the one person who has always been there for him, his wife, Shelly. Terrified and realizing she might divorce him, Cal must come up with a way to prove to her that his love is true…
Cal asks Shelly for eight weeks. Eight weeks to convince her that their marriage is worth the fight. Will Shelly be able to trust him again, or will their marriage end the way many others do when faced with opposition… In divorce?
8 Weeks is book 1 in the Time for Love series, but can be read as a stand alone.
Links:
Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J68HSV6
Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/409863
About Bethany:
Award-Winning Author Bethany Lopez began self-publishing in June 2011. Since then she has published various YA and NA books. She is a lover of romance, family, and friends, and enjoys incorporating those things in what she writes. When she isn't reading or writing, she loves spending time with her husband and children, traveling whenever possible.
Thanks for the review and post!
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