Making it Last by Ruthie Knox (Camelot #4)
July 15, 2013
Contemporary Novella
Loveswept

Reviewed by Mandi

I love it when authors give us a hero and a heroine who are already established. Even better, Ruthie Knox earlier this year gave us a novella showing us how Amber and Tony meet and fall in love in How to Misbehave (I gave it a B+ just like this book). Now we get this couple again,  ten years later. Three kids later. And the magic of brand new love has worn off.

Amber is lost. She loves Tony and her kids but she is empty inside. Tony works really hard and very, very long hours in his construction business to keep the family afloat. Amber finds herself now with three kids in school full-time, a big custom home that feels more like a prison, and no ambition for anything.

She’d lost whatever sun she’d once orbited around, and without it – without that feeling of knowing herself, of being known – there was a part of her that never warmed. A part of her that was always shivering and cold, right on the verge of tears, and loud in its misery.

She remarks that if she were to make a list of ten things she really wants, she could only think of three. She is stuck, a little panicked and on the verge of tears all the time. Her brother is getting married in Jamaica and Amber envisions grand plans of relaxation, fruity drinks and rejuvenating her spirit. Instead, it’s burgers, kids fighting and barely seeing her husband. As they get on the shuttle to head home, she can’t stop a few tears from falling and Tony sees this and realizes Amber needs a break. So he throws himself and the kids in the shuttle and lets Amber stay by herself at the resort for a few days. Quote 158, 408

But once home, Tony is truly fearful Amber might not come back. He knows they need to work on some issues. He loves her so much, and knows real life has intruded into their marriage too much. Back at the resort, Amber is still feeling lost. But then she turns around and there is a very sexy man staring at her. Tony has come back for her, and he is not leaving until some things have changed.

Oh this is such a good story. Ruthie Knox gives them such realistic marital problems. Nothing as serious like they are contemplating divorce or anything. But just ten years of kids and laundry, and life – sometimes you need to spice things up. I love that she still makes Tony sexy – no beer gut for this guy *wink* But even with a sexy body, it doesn’t guarantee marital bliss (shocking, right?!). I love that Amber yearns for something but she can’t quite communicate it. I love that Tony shows up on the island and they play a little game of pretending to be strangers to each other. It’s hot and really sexy.

Most of all, I love that at the end of the story, things are better yet they still have work to do. Amber still needs to work on communicating. Tony still needs to work on being home more for his family. The kids are still…kids. Just because they have three hot days together on an island, is not a magic cure of for the build-up of the crud in their marriage. It’s better, but they still need work. It felt very realistic to me.

I highly recommend you read How to Misbehave first, so you can see how they fall in love and then jump to this one. They are both quick reads and currently $.99.

Rating: B+

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