** spoiler alert ** 3.5 stars. Abused woman slowly learns to heal and love with help from others. I liked it.

This is not a light romantic read. There is sadness due to heavy subject matter. Elle is a successful Junior VP in Corporate Accounting for an accounting firm. She meets Dan, a lawyer, in a candy store and then again three weeks later in a bar. They begin a relationship.

CAUTION SPOILERS:
Elle was repeatedly raped as a teen. At that time, her mother blamed her rather than helped her. As a result, she cannot form meaningful relationships with anyone, especially men. This story is about her coming out of her shell and slowly learning how to heal and feel for another. I was drawn into the story. I was interested in the various characters and relationships. It was a little sad, but reflective of the real world in a way that was comfortable to read about. The ending does not produce a wonderful, uplifting and fulfilling feeling, but it was an appropriate and happy ending. The writing is excellent. There were some wonderfully sensual love scenes. I felt good reading about the underlying goodness of certain people in her life: Dan, Chad and Marcy. There were also some evil people in her life: her parents and Andrew.

Sexual language: strong/erotic. Number of sex scenes: fourteen. Setting: current day Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Copyright: 2007. Genre: erotic contemporary romance.