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Marriage Under Suspicion
"Your husband loves another woman."
The note was signed "A Friend," but no friend would ever do that to another woman. Could it be true? Was Kate Lassiter's marriage falling apart? She still loved her husband, Ryan, still thrilled at his touch, but how long was it since they'd last made love?
On the surface they had it all: successful careers, a lovely home and the perfect marriage. But if Ryan had committed the ultimate betrayal, then revenge was no answer. Kate wanted her husband back and she was prepared to fight to keep him. Because while her marriage was under suspicion there was no way she could tell Ryan she was expecting his baby!
The note was signed "A Friend," but no friend would ever do that to another woman. Could it be true? Was Kate Lassiter's marriage falling apart? She still loved her husband, Ryan, still thrilled at his touch, but how long was it since they'd last made love?
On the surface they had it all: successful careers, a lovely home and the perfect marriage. But if Ryan had committed the ultimate betrayal, then revenge was no answer. Kate wanted her husband back and she was prepared to fight to keep him. Because while her marriage was under suspicion there was no way she could tell Ryan she was expecting his baby!
187 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
19 people are currently reading
147 people want to read
About the author
Sara Craven
493 books266 followersAnne Bushell was born on October 1938 in South Devon, England, just before World War II and grew up in a house crammed with books. She was always a voracious reader, some of her all-time favorites books are: "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen, "Middlemarch" by George Eliot, "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë, "Gone With the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell and "The Code of the Woosters" by P. G. Wodehouse.
She worked as journalist at the Paignton Observer, but after her marriage, she moved to the north of England, where she worked as teacher. After she returned to journalism, she joined the Middlesbrough Writers' Group, where she met other romance writer Mildred Grieveson (Anne Mather). She started to wrote romance, and she had her first novel "Garden of Dreams" accepted by Mills & Boon in 1975, she published her work under the pseudonym of Sara Craven. In 2010 she became chairman of the Southern Writers' Conference, and the next year was elected the twenty-six Chairman (2011–2013) of the Romantic Novelists' Association.
Divorced twice, Annie lives in Somerset, South West England, and shares her home with a West Highland white terrier called Bertie Wooster. In her house, she had several thousand books, and an amazing video collection. When she's not writing, she enjoys watching very old films, listening to music, going to the theatre, and eating in good restaurants. She also likes to travel in Europe, to inspire her romances, especially in France, Greece and Italy where many of her novels are set. Since the birth of her twin grandchildren, she is also a regular visitor to New York City, where the little tots live. In 1997, she was the overall winner of the BBC's Mastermind, winning the last final presented by Magnus Magnusson.
She worked as journalist at the Paignton Observer, but after her marriage, she moved to the north of England, where she worked as teacher. After she returned to journalism, she joined the Middlesbrough Writers' Group, where she met other romance writer Mildred Grieveson (Anne Mather). She started to wrote romance, and she had her first novel "Garden of Dreams" accepted by Mills & Boon in 1975, she published her work under the pseudonym of Sara Craven. In 2010 she became chairman of the Southern Writers' Conference, and the next year was elected the twenty-six Chairman (2011–2013) of the Romantic Novelists' Association.
Divorced twice, Annie lives in Somerset, South West England, and shares her home with a West Highland white terrier called Bertie Wooster. In her house, she had several thousand books, and an amazing video collection. When she's not writing, she enjoys watching very old films, listening to music, going to the theatre, and eating in good restaurants. She also likes to travel in Europe, to inspire her romances, especially in France, Greece and Italy where many of her novels are set. Since the birth of her twin grandchildren, she is also a regular visitor to New York City, where the little tots live. In 1997, she was the overall winner of the BBC's Mastermind, winning the last final presented by Magnus Magnusson.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
May 29, 2019
Re Marriage Under Suspicion - Sara Craven brings us this dated little anachronism that is not only tedious when there isn't over the top LaToya Jackson Online Detective investigative heroine drama, it also always gives me a headache because of the copious amounts of Captain Morgan I have to drink to actually read it.
So being that my hangover is massive and the milk thistle isn't cleansing my liver fast enough, this is a very quick summation of the Typhoon of Tackiness that is this book.
The book starts with the h getting an offer of a fling with a very handsome man, the h does think about it- her marriage hasn't been going so well recently, but she turns it down cause she really does love her husband.
She has been married for five years and her husband tossed in his job, without her agreement, to go be a writer. Since this is HPlandia and our authors really believe in the power of positive thinking, of course the husband hits the big time and then guilts the h into being ashamed of herself for not supporting him.
The h has her own successful business herself and financial security is a huge deal for her, so when her husband went out on a financial limb, she felt that she had to work doubly hard to keep them financially secure.
But that security came at the cost of her intimacy in her marriage. When she gets a letter in the mail saying that her husband is in love with another woman, plus her formerly open and honest husband turns cagey and there is evidence of another woman in their home, the h prints off her LaToya Jackson Online Detective School diploma and gets to work.
What follows is a series of embarrassing and painful situations for the h as she tries to figure out just who her husband is shagging on the side. In the process of 'fighting for her man', the h manages to get her own husbandly shag in, but he berates her massively afterwards and I had to wonder why she bothered.
The h also gets to learn first hand from her husband's seriously skeevy snot pustule family just how inadequate as a wife and daughter in law she is because she has been busy making a living and having some self worth and self respect.
But because LaToya's investigative techniques are the finest on the internets ever - the h realizes that her husband is more than likely shagging both her female business partner and his new and beautiful editor.
(The increasingly despondent h even tries for her own shag on the side, but it totally tanks as the potential OM tells her she still loves her husband and she might break his OM heart if she goes through with it. I was kinda hoping the OM was actually the H in disguise - alas this disappointment led to more Captain Consultations and thus increased my hangover.)
The husband has lied about his whereabouts more than once, has booked himself into writing conferences with a Mrs., who is not the h, in tow and the big confrontation comes when the h is now preggers.
She decides to burst in on one of his writing workshops - the contrivance of which was really stupidly pretentious for a guy who has only been writing for a year or so- and announce she is pregnant to all and sundry.
The husband takes the opportunity to once again humiliate her in front of everyone with a sarcastically nasty comment and the big explanations begin after the h assures her husband she will finish using that Lime Away to let the rest of her backbone completely dissolve.
The h promises to abandon her business, (her partner who was having an affair with a married guy, but is now sorry for it, can take over,) and do nothing but pop out babies, grovel at the husband's and his family's feet and spend the rest of her life in the HP heroine doghouse for being a capable career woman who thought she was an equal partner in marriage.
(Sadly, LaToya can lead a heroine to the water of truth, but even the mighty Ms. Jackson can't make her drink. *sigh*)
All this h groveling motivates the husband to lie and say that he was never shagging anyone on the side, he just thought the h needed a wake up call, so he made the whole affair thing up to make the h fight for him and then he felt bad when the h went full on LaToya Investigation Mode.
Since this is HPlandia and even the great writing of SC can't maintain such a shallow farce for more than 185 pages, the husband and h are now presumably reunited. They are having a stork visit at the new house in the country the husband bought for the HEA, while the h's skanky tart business partner gets to marry the h's much nicer and more preferable OM.
Don't get me started on this, it was probably the dumbest book SC ever wrote even when it was current and twenty years of circulation have not improved it.
The drama and the h's increasing desperation was well done, but drinking hemlock is probably more palatable than trying to believe the HEA of this HP outing.
So being that my hangover is massive and the milk thistle isn't cleansing my liver fast enough, this is a very quick summation of the Typhoon of Tackiness that is this book.
The book starts with the h getting an offer of a fling with a very handsome man, the h does think about it- her marriage hasn't been going so well recently, but she turns it down cause she really does love her husband.
She has been married for five years and her husband tossed in his job, without her agreement, to go be a writer. Since this is HPlandia and our authors really believe in the power of positive thinking, of course the husband hits the big time and then guilts the h into being ashamed of herself for not supporting him.
The h has her own successful business herself and financial security is a huge deal for her, so when her husband went out on a financial limb, she felt that she had to work doubly hard to keep them financially secure.
But that security came at the cost of her intimacy in her marriage. When she gets a letter in the mail saying that her husband is in love with another woman, plus her formerly open and honest husband turns cagey and there is evidence of another woman in their home, the h prints off her LaToya Jackson Online Detective School diploma and gets to work.
What follows is a series of embarrassing and painful situations for the h as she tries to figure out just who her husband is shagging on the side. In the process of 'fighting for her man', the h manages to get her own husbandly shag in, but he berates her massively afterwards and I had to wonder why she bothered.
The h also gets to learn first hand from her husband's seriously skeevy snot pustule family just how inadequate as a wife and daughter in law she is because she has been busy making a living and having some self worth and self respect.
But because LaToya's investigative techniques are the finest on the internets ever - the h realizes that her husband is more than likely shagging both her female business partner and his new and beautiful editor.
(The increasingly despondent h even tries for her own shag on the side, but it totally tanks as the potential OM tells her she still loves her husband and she might break his OM heart if she goes through with it. I was kinda hoping the OM was actually the H in disguise - alas this disappointment led to more Captain Consultations and thus increased my hangover.)
The husband has lied about his whereabouts more than once, has booked himself into writing conferences with a Mrs., who is not the h, in tow and the big confrontation comes when the h is now preggers.
She decides to burst in on one of his writing workshops - the contrivance of which was really stupidly pretentious for a guy who has only been writing for a year or so- and announce she is pregnant to all and sundry.
The husband takes the opportunity to once again humiliate her in front of everyone with a sarcastically nasty comment and the big explanations begin after the h assures her husband she will finish using that Lime Away to let the rest of her backbone completely dissolve.
The h promises to abandon her business, (her partner who was having an affair with a married guy, but is now sorry for it, can take over,) and do nothing but pop out babies, grovel at the husband's and his family's feet and spend the rest of her life in the HP heroine doghouse for being a capable career woman who thought she was an equal partner in marriage.
(Sadly, LaToya can lead a heroine to the water of truth, but even the mighty Ms. Jackson can't make her drink. *sigh*)
All this h groveling motivates the husband to lie and say that he was never shagging anyone on the side, he just thought the h needed a wake up call, so he made the whole affair thing up to make the h fight for him and then he felt bad when the h went full on LaToya Investigation Mode.
Since this is HPlandia and even the great writing of SC can't maintain such a shallow farce for more than 185 pages, the husband and h are now presumably reunited. They are having a stork visit at the new house in the country the husband bought for the HEA, while the h's skanky tart business partner gets to marry the h's much nicer and more preferable OM.
Don't get me started on this, it was probably the dumbest book SC ever wrote even when it was current and twenty years of circulation have not improved it.
The drama and the h's increasing desperation was well done, but drinking hemlock is probably more palatable than trying to believe the HEA of this HP outing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 17, 2024
"Your husband loves another woman", that was what the anonymous letter Kate had received that day read.
She'd arrived home from a business trip a day earlier than expected. Her husband was not home and there were two glasses and one empty champagne bottle on the coffee table.
Those five words left Kate shaken but decided to ignore the letter, but be on her guard.
Kate married her broker husband Ryan five years earlier. They struggled financially at the beginning but both wanted to have a child.
All changed when Ryan gave up his city job to become a writer. She had to work extra hours while he established himself.
Ryan's new career had proved to be spectacular, but Kate was so preoccupied with her occupation and frequent business trips, that a baby did not fit in with their careers at that particular point of time.
Ryan wanted her to accompany him to his various book signing tours but Kate was too busy to do that.
She would also avoid Sunday lunches at his close knit family's home, so Ryan would often end up going alone.
Kate destroyed the letter and sat in wait for Ryan's return. He finally came in and he was all dressed up. He said he was out doing research. But what kind of research would he dressed up for?
He said he'd already eaten and she wondered if he had dinner alone.
When Kate had gone to Ryan and put her arms around him, he'd held her in return but there'd been no passion in his response. She told him she'd missed him and suggested they go to bed. He said later, he first had some editing to do.
She woke up late at night and found Ryan sound asleep on the couch. He never came to bed.
In the morning he rejected her advances and left.
Kate was now seriously thinking that Ryan might be having an affair or at the very least that her marriage was not on a good footing.
Kate was very much in love with her husband and she was frightened that she might lose him.
She needed to find out what was going on in her husband's life.
The next afternoon she returned home early and overheard him talking on the phone:
"She has no idea, l swear. It's only a matter of time before she realises, but we'll deal with that when we need to. You mustn't worry about it. This is my problem. Bye sweetheart".
Kate needed to find out her rival's identity, see what she was up against and work from there.
She was sure the other woman sent the anonymous letter. Kate thought sending that letter could have been a really stupid move on the other woman's part, because it put Kate on the trail and Kate was not prepared to hand Ryan over to some known or unknown woman.
Not without a fight.
So Kate embarked on a discovery venture and the more she would discover, the more guilty Ryan seemed to be.
She'd arrived home from a business trip a day earlier than expected. Her husband was not home and there were two glasses and one empty champagne bottle on the coffee table.
Those five words left Kate shaken but decided to ignore the letter, but be on her guard.
Kate married her broker husband Ryan five years earlier. They struggled financially at the beginning but both wanted to have a child.
All changed when Ryan gave up his city job to become a writer. She had to work extra hours while he established himself.
Ryan's new career had proved to be spectacular, but Kate was so preoccupied with her occupation and frequent business trips, that a baby did not fit in with their careers at that particular point of time.
Ryan wanted her to accompany him to his various book signing tours but Kate was too busy to do that.
She would also avoid Sunday lunches at his close knit family's home, so Ryan would often end up going alone.
Kate destroyed the letter and sat in wait for Ryan's return. He finally came in and he was all dressed up. He said he was out doing research. But what kind of research would he dressed up for?
He said he'd already eaten and she wondered if he had dinner alone.
When Kate had gone to Ryan and put her arms around him, he'd held her in return but there'd been no passion in his response. She told him she'd missed him and suggested they go to bed. He said later, he first had some editing to do.
She woke up late at night and found Ryan sound asleep on the couch. He never came to bed.
In the morning he rejected her advances and left.
Kate was now seriously thinking that Ryan might be having an affair or at the very least that her marriage was not on a good footing.
Kate was very much in love with her husband and she was frightened that she might lose him.
She needed to find out what was going on in her husband's life.
The next afternoon she returned home early and overheard him talking on the phone:
"She has no idea, l swear. It's only a matter of time before she realises, but we'll deal with that when we need to. You mustn't worry about it. This is my problem. Bye sweetheart".
Kate needed to find out her rival's identity, see what she was up against and work from there.
She was sure the other woman sent the anonymous letter. Kate thought sending that letter could have been a really stupid move on the other woman's part, because it put Kate on the trail and Kate was not prepared to hand Ryan over to some known or unknown woman.
Not without a fight.
So Kate embarked on a discovery venture and the more she would discover, the more guilty Ryan seemed to be.
May 9, 2014
After five years of marriage, Kate Lassiter returns home from a business trip to find an anonymous letter waiting for her. It simply reads, "Your husband is in love with another woman." Shocked, Kate finds an empty bottle of champagne with two glasses; apparently her husband, Ryan, has been celebrating with someone in her absence. Later, she overhears him talking on a phone assuring someone he addresses as "sweetheart" that his wife doesn't know anything yet, and that everything will be all right. He tells Kate that he is meeting his editor for lunch, but lies about the restaurant they are going to, and doesn't bother to correct her misconception that his editor is a man (when in fact he has a new editor who happens to be a sexy young woman). And so it continues...
This was really, really stupid. I mean, really, really, REALLY stupid. It started off all right, with Kate trying to find out the truth. She keeps reaching out to her husband, who in turn keeps rejecting her and lying to her. Everything points towards him having an affair with her best friend, but of course the reader knows it will all turn out to be a BIG MISUNDERSTANDING and Kate and Ryan will live happily ever after. Well, it turns out that the mysterious letter was actually written by Ryan. Apparently he was worried about the state of their marriage, so naturally instead of trying to talk to his wife, he decided that making her think he was cheating on her was the smart thing to do. He keeps rejecting her because, well, he's obviously an idiot. Apparently he decided a time of celibacy would be good for them to work out their differences. Sure, if both parties know what's going on and actually communicate. How refusing to spend any time with his wife was going to save their marriage, I have no idea. Finally he succumbs to his lust and they spend a passionate night together. Ryan is worried that he and Kate only seem to connect on a physical level, so instead of trying to talk to her (gee, you think the reason you don't connect outside of bed is because you refuse to talk to her?) he mocks her for making herself so sexually available to him, and tells her that the sex didn't mean anything. Finally, he goes off on a business trip, turning down Kate when she offers to go with him. She calls his hotel after he leaves, only to discover that he is not due there for another day, and that he has booked into a suite for himself and his "wife". It all finally comes to a head when Kate goes there in a rage, ready to confront her lying, cheating husband and his woman. No other woman can be found, and the truth comes out. For some reason Kate is perfectly happy with all of Ryan's excuses. The champagne in their apartment is never explained, by the way. Personally, I don't see much hope for their future. For all Kate knows, Ryan could very well have been cheating on her all along. She is just so relieved when he claims to love her, that she swallows all his excuses. I find it hard to stomach that after five years of marriage, Ryan's method of conflict resolution is lying to, rejecting, and hurting his wife, rather than open and honest communication. I wouldn't want to stay with a man like this. At the very least, Kate and Ryan should probably get some marriage counselling.
This was really, really stupid. I mean, really, really, REALLY stupid. It started off all right, with Kate trying to find out the truth. She keeps reaching out to her husband, who in turn keeps rejecting her and lying to her. Everything points towards him having an affair with her best friend, but of course the reader knows it will all turn out to be a BIG MISUNDERSTANDING and Kate and Ryan will live happily ever after. Well, it turns out that the mysterious letter was actually written by Ryan. Apparently he was worried about the state of their marriage, so naturally instead of trying to talk to his wife, he decided that making her think he was cheating on her was the smart thing to do. He keeps rejecting her because, well, he's obviously an idiot. Apparently he decided a time of celibacy would be good for them to work out their differences. Sure, if both parties know what's going on and actually communicate. How refusing to spend any time with his wife was going to save their marriage, I have no idea. Finally he succumbs to his lust and they spend a passionate night together. Ryan is worried that he and Kate only seem to connect on a physical level, so instead of trying to talk to her (gee, you think the reason you don't connect outside of bed is because you refuse to talk to her?) he mocks her for making herself so sexually available to him, and tells her that the sex didn't mean anything. Finally, he goes off on a business trip, turning down Kate when she offers to go with him. She calls his hotel after he leaves, only to discover that he is not due there for another day, and that he has booked into a suite for himself and his "wife". It all finally comes to a head when Kate goes there in a rage, ready to confront her lying, cheating husband and his woman. No other woman can be found, and the truth comes out. For some reason Kate is perfectly happy with all of Ryan's excuses. The champagne in their apartment is never explained, by the way. Personally, I don't see much hope for their future. For all Kate knows, Ryan could very well have been cheating on her all along. She is just so relieved when he claims to love her, that she swallows all his excuses. I find it hard to stomach that after five years of marriage, Ryan's method of conflict resolution is lying to, rejecting, and hurting his wife, rather than open and honest communication. I wouldn't want to stay with a man like this. At the very least, Kate and Ryan should probably get some marriage counselling.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 23, 2020
This is a one-star romance, but I had to give this story two stars since SC captures the angst and worry of thinking your husband is cheating and your marriage is over so very well.
The premise is simple: career-oriented heroine receives an anonymous letter that tells her that her husband loves another woman. Instead of confronting her best-selling writer husband, she observes him. Her doubts torture her as her husband puts up an indifferent front and even rejects her several times.
I’ve read this one before so I knew the truth. But even though I knew the truth of the situation and the story wasn’t as heart-rendering the second time around, I still felt awful for the heroine.
I have also come to the conclusion that this hero is one the most chillingly cruel, sociopath heroes I’ve come across in an HP. Why?
This is the haunted house of cheating books. What’s real and what isn’t? And in the end, does it really matter since the feelings are just the same? We can close the book, but poor heroine has to live with the funhouse mirrors for the rest of her days.
The premise is simple: career-oriented heroine receives an anonymous letter that tells her that her husband loves another woman. Instead of confronting her best-selling writer husband, she observes him. Her doubts torture her as her husband puts up an indifferent front and even rejects her several times.
I’ve read this one before so I knew the truth. But even though I knew the truth of the situation and the story wasn’t as heart-rendering the second time around, I still felt awful for the heroine.
I have also come to the conclusion that this hero is one the most chillingly cruel, sociopath heroes I’ve come across in an HP. Why?
This is the haunted house of cheating books. What’s real and what isn’t? And in the end, does it really matter since the feelings are just the same? We can close the book, but poor heroine has to live with the funhouse mirrors for the rest of her days.
November 21, 2020
He was awful and should have been dumped by h but angst was so sweet.
December 17, 2016
I was slightly annoyed. There was angst and everything seemed to be going okay and then we come to the ending where the husband/hero confesses that he wrote the note to the wife/heroine which said he was having an affair. Well my mouth pretty much dropped open and I began to grumble. He could of lost everything, good thing we get a happy ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 5, 2017
Married heroine kissing other man is a big no for me!
June 28, 2017
Hero: I'm afraid that our marriage is in trouble.
Heroine: I think you're right.
Hero: I think we want different things and that we're growing apart.
Heroine: Okay. Let's talk...
Hero: So I'm going to pretend to be having an affair to get your attention.
Heroine: Wait, what?
Hero: Yeah, this will totally work. I'm going to stop having sex with you, treat you like shit, and make you believe I don't want you anymore.
Heroine: No, why don't we just talk about our problems? Or go to marriage counseling?
Hero: Nah, that's not dramatic enough! We gotta get at least 190 pages out of this. My idea is so much better. This way, you'll be so happy when I tell you I'm not really cheating on you that you'll stop working so much! Then we can move to the country and make some babies!
Heroine: I think you're right.
Hero: I think we want different things and that we're growing apart.
Heroine: Okay. Let's talk...
Hero: So I'm going to pretend to be having an affair to get your attention.
Heroine: Wait, what?
Hero: Yeah, this will totally work. I'm going to stop having sex with you, treat you like shit, and make you believe I don't want you anymore.
Heroine: No, why don't we just talk about our problems? Or go to marriage counseling?
Hero: Nah, that's not dramatic enough! We gotta get at least 190 pages out of this. My idea is so much better. This way, you'll be so happy when I tell you I'm not really cheating on you that you'll stop working so much! Then we can move to the country and make some babies!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 28, 2011
He couldn't think of a better way to get his wife's attention? Seriously? They're both TSTL!
October 10, 2011
Well, the emotion & angst was good, and I did want the hero & heroine to get together, but I ended up being royally pissed off at the hero at the end. And I know the book is a little outdated and that in most HPs the heroines choose to forego whatever careers they have, but I also didn't really appreciate how the heroine was portrayed as a bad wife because she had a career.
Anyway, it was a reasonably compelling read, but not altogether satisfying for me because I was pissed at the hero at the end.
Anyway, it was a reasonably compelling read, but not altogether satisfying for me because I was pissed at the hero at the end.
September 2, 2023
Okay, I grant that both the H and h needed more emotional maturity and definitely needed to learn to communicate better. The H was attempting to get the h's attention but she did not react in the way he predicted. Big surprise. It was satisfying that the h finally over came her obsession with 'things' and 'stuff' and 'appearances.' No one should have to live with perfection unless it is their choice. Fortunately, they both learned and maybe even learned to trust each other with real emotions.
Had a relative was like this who refused to allow children in her house (house, not home). Everything HAD to be picture perfect and it was the coldest, most unloving house my parents visited. As a child, I understood my father's need to visit older brother but wished he had left us home to avoid this cold, sterile, unloving excuse for a home.
Had a relative was like this who refused to allow children in her house (house, not home). Everything HAD to be picture perfect and it was the coldest, most unloving house my parents visited. As a child, I understood my father's need to visit older brother but wished he had left us home to avoid this cold, sterile, unloving excuse for a home.
September 8, 2013
the book had nthng really going on apart kate's suspicions about ryan's fidelity. it was ridiculous how she found herself time n again in embarrassing situations. y not ask him on the spot if he was having an affair !? ok i understand, then we wud not have ths book lol:p
October 29, 2015
Kate should of taken the opportunity presented by the letter (who does that?!) and left this idiot and his judgemental family.
November 7, 2011
The heroine Kate is devastated when she receives an anonymous letter saying her husband loves another woman. She begins to realise that their marriage has not been good for sometime, however she never suspected that Ryan, the hero, may be having an affair and doesn't want to lose him. Deciding not to tell Ryan about the letter, hoping that it is just from a spiteful and jealous woman, Kate tries to get closer to him but when he seems pre occupied all the time and not interested in her she begins to worry. Over the following weeks Kate starts to think Ryan is having an affiar and falls into despair. She attempts to follow him, show interest in his work, join him on business lunches, be more involved with his family and other things, but she gets nowhere. She only feels that things are not right and decides to confront him not knowing what she might discover.
This is a difficult book to describe as, well, not a lot really happens, yet a lot happens at the same time. I really enjoyed the marriage-in-trouble theme and the way that the heroine tried to deal with it. Kate is a good character, even if she is a little annoying at times, and her hurt and desperation is written really well. Some of the "suspicions" that the author included so far away from being subtle that I felt like they were slapping me on the face, yes they were pretty obvious! But it doesn't harm the overall enjoyment of the book, I kept reading and was entertained throughout. I have read a lot of Sara Craven's books and this one is a little different from her normal style, and that is always nice to read.
Originally posted at http://everyday-is-the-same.blogspot....
This is a difficult book to describe as, well, not a lot really happens, yet a lot happens at the same time. I really enjoyed the marriage-in-trouble theme and the way that the heroine tried to deal with it. Kate is a good character, even if she is a little annoying at times, and her hurt and desperation is written really well. Some of the "suspicions" that the author included so far away from being subtle that I felt like they were slapping me on the face, yes they were pretty obvious! But it doesn't harm the overall enjoyment of the book, I kept reading and was entertained throughout. I have read a lot of Sara Craven's books and this one is a little different from her normal style, and that is always nice to read.
Originally posted at http://everyday-is-the-same.blogspot....
November 23, 2022
This was a hard read, not exactly enjoyable but then I knew it wouldn't be. I'm a fan of Sara Craven so I trusted her to be able to handle this well and she did. It's a salutary tale of how easy it can be to grow distance in a marriage through differing goals, aspirations, timescales, routines etc. Once communication goes, then things can get pretty rocky, pretty quickly. The device Ryan uses to bring about his reconciliation goal with Kate is pretty harsh. I wouldn't recommend trying this at home, folks 😂 or certainly not playing it out over so many weeks. That said, it's very of its time, in that it's still the h facing the bulk of the changes ahead. Let's hope he's a hands on dad who can live off his royalties for a while if and when she wants to change her focus.
February 19, 2020
This is one big Spoiler
This is a story about a 5 year marriage on the brink of failure and is told from the wife Kate’s perspective. The book uses the current events to stimulate reminiscences gradually revealing how the marriage has naturally deteriorated.
The husband Ryan is the confidant of his editor Joe who has been having an affair for the past year, Ryan having seen the problems in Joe’s marriage realises his own marriage is about to fail.
Ryan is in love with his wife Kate but believes that she no longer loves him so he comes up with a plan that will either make or break the marriage, he sends her a letter ‘Your husband loves another woman signed a friend’. Ryan expected Kate to fly into a rage proving that she still loved him and bring everything to a head, of course that doesn’t happen.
The past 5 years
When Ryan and Kate first got married they had a small basement flat that they had filled with second hand furniture that they had chosen together and made a real home, they shared an idyllic dream of a house children and dog and they had a great sex life.
The marriage started to have problems when Ryan decided to ditch his lucrative career and follow his dream to become and author a decision Kate never supported, she is industrious and she builds an events company with her friend.
Both careers take off Ryan’s book is a hit and he is asked to go on a book tour, Kate refuses using work as an excuse as they both know she could have gone with him if she wanted to confirming that she did not support his career, so she doesn’t get invited on any further tours.
Kate wants the prestige of being successful and they move to a luxury flat with all new furniture that has to be kept spotless and everything in place, she became upset when Ryan refused to do a photo article about him working at home that would have shown the immaculate flat to everyone, later Kate finds out he never viewed the flat as a home.
As Kate’s company becomes more successful she moves the idea of having children into that can happen later bracket. Ryan’s family does not help as his mother keeps asking Kate when is she going to have children causing Kate to compare herself to her sister-in-law who gave up her career to start a family. Ryan and Kate had an argument on the way home for the in-laws over this matter the last time she visited and so Ryan decided not to invite her again as she does not really want to visit.
The current situation as the book opens is that they don’t talk much at home whole weekends go by when Kate’s not home and their sex life has dwindled and become sporadic and just routine sex not making love. Kate is so busy that she didn't notice when Ryan changed his aftershave and thinks he has a new coat when in fact it’s one he’s been wearing for months, she didn’t listen when he told her Joe was moving back to America and so Ryan doesn’t bother to tell her anything about his career.
Kate believes that they are both still happy.
Chapter 1 begins with Kate being chatted up by a handsome man called Peter and for a second considers accepting an invitation to dinner knowing where that will lead.
After Kate receives the letter she goes through a series of events that are comedic, emotional, awkward and painful. During the story she suffers a range of emotions and begins to understand things from Ryan’s point of view and how he feels.
Everything gradually spirals downward for the heroine and reached a low point where she believes her husband is currently giving a series of seminars up in the north of England and has registered her best friend and business partner as his wife at the hotel.
Kate believes it’s all over and bumps into Peter from chapter one and out of spite decides to bed him to get back at Ryan, they go to dinner and then back to his flat, when he kisses her she cannot respond and he understands that she is emotionally shot to pieces and doesn’t pursue her any further. At this point Kate realises how much she loves Ryan and is distraught the marriage has ended.
Kate finds out that Louie was the woman Joe was having an affair with and not Ryan, she also finds out that Ryan’s family felt they had to tiptoe around her in relation to children and through conversation realises she may be pregnant, Kate realises that deep down she still shared the same dream with Ryan. Our heroine confirms she is now pregnant and planning to raise the child on her own but first wants to confront Ryan and his mistress.
Kate travels to the centre and burst in on Ryan and blurts out that she is pregnant and searches his room looking for signs of the other woman. This is when it is revealed he wrote the letter, there never was another woman and that he still loves her desperately and even viewed a house a few days before where they could live if she still shared any part of the dream they once had. Ryan didn’t want Kate to stop her career but be part of her life and close the distance between them and was trying to find a solution.
During all the events Kate realises that she had known all along that the marriage was in trouble to the point she was tempted in chapter one.
The story ends with Ryan and Kate at their new home, the house he had viewed and Kate had loved immediately, with them both now working from home supporting each other. Peter and Louie get married.
I enjoyed this book as it really gave a good account of how a marriage can deteriorate though no one’s fault.
There were some genuinely sensitive moments and great moments of self discovery an example is when Kate unexpectedly finds herself enjoying playing with her young nephew and the twinge of loss as the sister-in-law took him away in case he got her clothes dirty something she would have previously complained about, the event reawakening her desire for children. The author really puts Kate through a roller coaster of emotions from feeling triumphant and safe after a night of passion to utter devastation when Ryan tells her it was just sex because that is what she wanted. The painful part is during the course of the book is that Kate goes from a successful control freak to having all her self confidence knocked out of her. The author used a great character device to help Kate develop when she found out what people really though of her, however she does emerge changed but stronger in that she can now be a success in marriage as well as career.
The book never gets too heavy or bogged down resulting in a enjoyable read and of course both Kate and Ryan realise their love is more important than anything else.
This is a story about a 5 year marriage on the brink of failure and is told from the wife Kate’s perspective. The book uses the current events to stimulate reminiscences gradually revealing how the marriage has naturally deteriorated.
The husband Ryan is the confidant of his editor Joe who has been having an affair for the past year, Ryan having seen the problems in Joe’s marriage realises his own marriage is about to fail.
Ryan is in love with his wife Kate but believes that she no longer loves him so he comes up with a plan that will either make or break the marriage, he sends her a letter ‘Your husband loves another woman signed a friend’. Ryan expected Kate to fly into a rage proving that she still loved him and bring everything to a head, of course that doesn’t happen.
The past 5 years
When Ryan and Kate first got married they had a small basement flat that they had filled with second hand furniture that they had chosen together and made a real home, they shared an idyllic dream of a house children and dog and they had a great sex life.
The marriage started to have problems when Ryan decided to ditch his lucrative career and follow his dream to become and author a decision Kate never supported, she is industrious and she builds an events company with her friend.
Both careers take off Ryan’s book is a hit and he is asked to go on a book tour, Kate refuses using work as an excuse as they both know she could have gone with him if she wanted to confirming that she did not support his career, so she doesn’t get invited on any further tours.
Kate wants the prestige of being successful and they move to a luxury flat with all new furniture that has to be kept spotless and everything in place, she became upset when Ryan refused to do a photo article about him working at home that would have shown the immaculate flat to everyone, later Kate finds out he never viewed the flat as a home.
As Kate’s company becomes more successful she moves the idea of having children into that can happen later bracket. Ryan’s family does not help as his mother keeps asking Kate when is she going to have children causing Kate to compare herself to her sister-in-law who gave up her career to start a family. Ryan and Kate had an argument on the way home for the in-laws over this matter the last time she visited and so Ryan decided not to invite her again as she does not really want to visit.
The current situation as the book opens is that they don’t talk much at home whole weekends go by when Kate’s not home and their sex life has dwindled and become sporadic and just routine sex not making love. Kate is so busy that she didn't notice when Ryan changed his aftershave and thinks he has a new coat when in fact it’s one he’s been wearing for months, she didn’t listen when he told her Joe was moving back to America and so Ryan doesn’t bother to tell her anything about his career.
Kate believes that they are both still happy.
Chapter 1 begins with Kate being chatted up by a handsome man called Peter and for a second considers accepting an invitation to dinner knowing where that will lead.
After Kate receives the letter she goes through a series of events that are comedic, emotional, awkward and painful. During the story she suffers a range of emotions and begins to understand things from Ryan’s point of view and how he feels.
Everything gradually spirals downward for the heroine and reached a low point where she believes her husband is currently giving a series of seminars up in the north of England and has registered her best friend and business partner as his wife at the hotel.
Kate believes it’s all over and bumps into Peter from chapter one and out of spite decides to bed him to get back at Ryan, they go to dinner and then back to his flat, when he kisses her she cannot respond and he understands that she is emotionally shot to pieces and doesn’t pursue her any further. At this point Kate realises how much she loves Ryan and is distraught the marriage has ended.
Kate finds out that Louie was the woman Joe was having an affair with and not Ryan, she also finds out that Ryan’s family felt they had to tiptoe around her in relation to children and through conversation realises she may be pregnant, Kate realises that deep down she still shared the same dream with Ryan. Our heroine confirms she is now pregnant and planning to raise the child on her own but first wants to confront Ryan and his mistress.
Kate travels to the centre and burst in on Ryan and blurts out that she is pregnant and searches his room looking for signs of the other woman. This is when it is revealed he wrote the letter, there never was another woman and that he still loves her desperately and even viewed a house a few days before where they could live if she still shared any part of the dream they once had. Ryan didn’t want Kate to stop her career but be part of her life and close the distance between them and was trying to find a solution.
During all the events Kate realises that she had known all along that the marriage was in trouble to the point she was tempted in chapter one.
The story ends with Ryan and Kate at their new home, the house he had viewed and Kate had loved immediately, with them both now working from home supporting each other. Peter and Louie get married.
I enjoyed this book as it really gave a good account of how a marriage can deteriorate though no one’s fault.
There were some genuinely sensitive moments and great moments of self discovery an example is when Kate unexpectedly finds herself enjoying playing with her young nephew and the twinge of loss as the sister-in-law took him away in case he got her clothes dirty something she would have previously complained about, the event reawakening her desire for children. The author really puts Kate through a roller coaster of emotions from feeling triumphant and safe after a night of passion to utter devastation when Ryan tells her it was just sex because that is what she wanted. The painful part is during the course of the book is that Kate goes from a successful control freak to having all her self confidence knocked out of her. The author used a great character device to help Kate develop when she found out what people really though of her, however she does emerge changed but stronger in that she can now be a success in marriage as well as career.
The book never gets too heavy or bogged down resulting in a enjoyable read and of course both Kate and Ryan realise their love is more important than anything else.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 30, 2021
2.7
La verdad solo lo leí para llegar a los 52 libros 🤭
La verdad solo lo leí para llegar a los 52 libros 🤭
March 15, 2024
She was attracted to other men. That is why her husband had to use a ruse to win her back.
I did not like this one.
I did not like this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 29, 2022
Marriage Under Suspicion was about Kate and Ryan Lassiter.
Kate and Ryan had been married for just over five years. Ryan had changed jobs, leaving the corporate world to become a writer. Kate worked as an event planner.
One day when she least expected it, Kate got an anonymous note that said her husband was in love with another woman. This started her taking notice of a series of questionable actions from Ryan...he wasn't home much, there were champagne glasses in the bathroom...and he didn't drink it, did he? Yet there was an empty champagne bottler in the trash bin...she overheard him on a phone call that sounded intimate, and he called the person on the other end, "sweetheart" and said, "she doesn't suspect...yet, but that's my problem when it happens". Suddenly, Kate's word was falling apart. Ryan wouldn't even touch her in bed, rarely sharing it with her anymore. He would go to bed long after she was asleep, and be gone before she woke up. If he did touch her, it was in a mocking manner.
Then he turned down an opportunity to have lunch with her, saying he was meeting his editor...only when Kate decided to join them, he was with another woman...and not the person she had expected him to be with. When Ryan saw her, there was a bit of a spat between them, but he forced her to join them, introducing the new woman as someone whom she "be seeing a fair bit of her over the coming year while Joe's in New York." Apparently, this Penny Barnes was Ryan's new editor, much to Kate's dismay. When Ryan said he had informed her three months earlier that his old editor was going to New York to work for a year, she denied knowing about it. That was when he somewhat sadly stated he was pretty sure she wouldn't remember it because she had been too busy with a new contract to pay any attention to him.
Then things with her business partner started changing. Louie's longtime boyfriend was leaving...and Louie was hinting that she was in love with a married man who wanted kids but that it seemed the wife kept putting it off. Could Louie be interested in Ryan? Kate was clueless about this possibility apparently. She was siding with Louie, saying she should find out what the man she was interested in wanted. But then, after dinner, she saw her friend and her husband in an intimate conversation...
After dinner at Louie's, Ryan and Kate had sex for the first time in several weeks, but the next morning they had a huge fight because Ryan did not want Kate to go with him on his business trip. Yet, when she called the hotel to talk with him, they said Mr. and Mrs. Lassiter had not yet arrived. Stunned, Kate hung up. Then she called back later, only to find no answer in the room. But she had also, earlier, found out that Louie wasn't going to show up for work...but did she make the connection between the two incidents? When she showed up unannounced at Louie's home to check on her and talk, she learned from her neighbor that Louie had gone off in a taxi with a suitcase much earlier. Again, she was stunned. She finally made the connection. But...would she have been right...or wrong? She felt betrayed by both her husband and her friend.
Before she could confront her husband, Kate ran into an acquaintance from a wedding reception her business had set up, but the wedding had fallen through. The man was the brother of the no-longer groom. He invited her for a drink and, suddenly she wanted to make Ryan pay for his betrayal, so she said yes. When the man, Peter, asked about her husband, she told him he was away. Peter then invited her to have dinner with him. and she accepted that invitation as well. When she silently questioned her actions, she justified them by saying to herself that she had been cheated on, and she was just getting her own back. When Peter invited her to his flat for coffee after dinner...she accepted again. But Peter was a gentleman through and through. He questioned Kate about why she was in his apartment because he was certain she wasn't the type to cheat, and that her heart wasn't in it...but his could be for he was just on the edge of falling in love with her, but he didn't want to get hurt...and he wouldn't push her into an affair. After Peter took her home, Kate started doing some introspection and realized that much of the choices that she and Ryan had made over the years they were married were...him conceding to her wants and passing up on his. The apartment was her choice, she was the one who wanted prestige, and there were other things, other signs that showed Ryan had been most unhappy...and he now was tired of waiting for his life to take off so he was making it happen all on his own.
When her mother-in-law called her the next day to say that she and Sally, Ryan's sister, were in town and wanted to have lunch, she accepted...only to have Sally go off on her over how Kate was always making family gatherings unsettling because Ryan said they had to walk on eggshells around her where family life and kids were concerned...and that Sally was pregnant yet again. They finally got that settled between them, each apologizing to the other for past actions and the Sally said something about morning sickness that made Kate stop and realize...she herself just might be pregnant.
When she had her pregnancy confirmed by a doctor, she knew it was time to confront Ryan and get her future settled once and for all...so she decided to go to Yorkshire where he was lecturing and deal with their issues face to face, regardless of the outcome. She couldn't bring a child into the world of uncertainty that she was living in.
Before she left, she stopped at her office to let them know she would be gone...only to find out that Louie was there too. When Louie mentioned Ryan, Kate couldn't take it anymore and went off at her in an angry tirade, only to find out that it wasn't Ryan that Louie was in love with...it was Ryan's former editor, Joe Hartley.
So, after arranging with Louie for some time off, Kate went north to confront Ryan. Only, she didn't find things to be exactly the way she expected. True, Ryan wasn't alone in his suite...he was actually teaching a course in the suite's sitting room when she arrived and announced to the whole room that she was pregnant. After the room cleared, she searched the rest of the suite, but no one was there. It was then time to settle things with Ryan.
But that's when the floor was knocked out from under Kate. Ryan confessed...but not to have an affair. He confessed to being so afraid his marriage was heading for a divorce that he fabricated the whole thing, going so far as to write that initial letter that said was in love with another woman himself...to make her jealous so they could finally talk and work things out. He said there was no other woman in his life...that there never had been. Everything that happened was a setup by Ryan to make Kate think he was leaving her...all so he could shake her out of her complacency and make her take notice of what she could lose if she didn't.
And that was the biggest stunning moment of all for Kate. All the heartache, for all the past few weeks, months, everything she had endured, all the stress she had been under, the fear she had felt...and been Ryan's doing. His last-ditch effort to save what he saw as their failing marriage.
I wasn't sure how to feel about this book. The angst and drama were all a farce, created solely by Ryan for the purpose of salvaging what HE thought was a crumbling marriage. He went to extreme lengths to do so rather than sitting Kate down one on one and talking with her...or even suggesting marriage counseling. He took it upon himself to set her up to believe he was cheating on her just to shake her up. He didn't consider the pain, fear, and emotional stress he would create for her...and for himself when things didn't go quite the way he had expected. He thought she would read the letter and fall into his arms begging him not to leave her. No, he watched her, day in and day out, struggle with her emotions...and did nothing to stop it. Sure, he said he was willing to do that and more if it would keep them together...but would he ever have told her the truth if she hadn't confronted him the way she did? How would he have felt, after learning the truth of his actions, if Kate had decided to not forgive him but instead demanded a divorce?
I can't say I agreed with the way Ryan handled things. He took so many risks and the emotional anguish that Kate endured could have had horrible results if she hadn't been such a strong character. But she was. She was definitely strong...to a certain point. Ryan very nearly broke her, and that was unforgivable...to put someone through so much emotional trauma is never the right way to handle a situation.
But honestly, there really wasn't much chemistry or passion between these two main characters. Because of Ryan's motives and actions, they were rarely ever together, so just how does the author justify the HEA, for it really didn't fit the scenario...and Ryan didn't suffer enough at the end for he truly was not sorry for his actions. Plus, Kate forgave him way too quickly.
While I was glad for the outcome...in a way I wasn't. However, it did end and, therefore, must be given a rating...just not a five-star rating nor the privilege of joining the Keeper for the Shelves collection. No, I think this book does not merit either...and definitely nothing more than a three-star rating.
Kate and Ryan had been married for just over five years. Ryan had changed jobs, leaving the corporate world to become a writer. Kate worked as an event planner.
One day when she least expected it, Kate got an anonymous note that said her husband was in love with another woman. This started her taking notice of a series of questionable actions from Ryan...he wasn't home much, there were champagne glasses in the bathroom...and he didn't drink it, did he? Yet there was an empty champagne bottler in the trash bin...she overheard him on a phone call that sounded intimate, and he called the person on the other end, "sweetheart" and said, "she doesn't suspect...yet, but that's my problem when it happens". Suddenly, Kate's word was falling apart. Ryan wouldn't even touch her in bed, rarely sharing it with her anymore. He would go to bed long after she was asleep, and be gone before she woke up. If he did touch her, it was in a mocking manner.
Then he turned down an opportunity to have lunch with her, saying he was meeting his editor...only when Kate decided to join them, he was with another woman...and not the person she had expected him to be with. When Ryan saw her, there was a bit of a spat between them, but he forced her to join them, introducing the new woman as someone whom she "be seeing a fair bit of her over the coming year while Joe's in New York." Apparently, this Penny Barnes was Ryan's new editor, much to Kate's dismay. When Ryan said he had informed her three months earlier that his old editor was going to New York to work for a year, she denied knowing about it. That was when he somewhat sadly stated he was pretty sure she wouldn't remember it because she had been too busy with a new contract to pay any attention to him.
Then things with her business partner started changing. Louie's longtime boyfriend was leaving...and Louie was hinting that she was in love with a married man who wanted kids but that it seemed the wife kept putting it off. Could Louie be interested in Ryan? Kate was clueless about this possibility apparently. She was siding with Louie, saying she should find out what the man she was interested in wanted. But then, after dinner, she saw her friend and her husband in an intimate conversation...
After dinner at Louie's, Ryan and Kate had sex for the first time in several weeks, but the next morning they had a huge fight because Ryan did not want Kate to go with him on his business trip. Yet, when she called the hotel to talk with him, they said Mr. and Mrs. Lassiter had not yet arrived. Stunned, Kate hung up. Then she called back later, only to find no answer in the room. But she had also, earlier, found out that Louie wasn't going to show up for work...but did she make the connection between the two incidents? When she showed up unannounced at Louie's home to check on her and talk, she learned from her neighbor that Louie had gone off in a taxi with a suitcase much earlier. Again, she was stunned. She finally made the connection. But...would she have been right...or wrong? She felt betrayed by both her husband and her friend.
Before she could confront her husband, Kate ran into an acquaintance from a wedding reception her business had set up, but the wedding had fallen through. The man was the brother of the no-longer groom. He invited her for a drink and, suddenly she wanted to make Ryan pay for his betrayal, so she said yes. When the man, Peter, asked about her husband, she told him he was away. Peter then invited her to have dinner with him. and she accepted that invitation as well. When she silently questioned her actions, she justified them by saying to herself that she had been cheated on, and she was just getting her own back. When Peter invited her to his flat for coffee after dinner...she accepted again. But Peter was a gentleman through and through. He questioned Kate about why she was in his apartment because he was certain she wasn't the type to cheat, and that her heart wasn't in it...but his could be for he was just on the edge of falling in love with her, but he didn't want to get hurt...and he wouldn't push her into an affair. After Peter took her home, Kate started doing some introspection and realized that much of the choices that she and Ryan had made over the years they were married were...him conceding to her wants and passing up on his. The apartment was her choice, she was the one who wanted prestige, and there were other things, other signs that showed Ryan had been most unhappy...and he now was tired of waiting for his life to take off so he was making it happen all on his own.
When her mother-in-law called her the next day to say that she and Sally, Ryan's sister, were in town and wanted to have lunch, she accepted...only to have Sally go off on her over how Kate was always making family gatherings unsettling because Ryan said they had to walk on eggshells around her where family life and kids were concerned...and that Sally was pregnant yet again. They finally got that settled between them, each apologizing to the other for past actions and the Sally said something about morning sickness that made Kate stop and realize...she herself just might be pregnant.
When she had her pregnancy confirmed by a doctor, she knew it was time to confront Ryan and get her future settled once and for all...so she decided to go to Yorkshire where he was lecturing and deal with their issues face to face, regardless of the outcome. She couldn't bring a child into the world of uncertainty that she was living in.
Before she left, she stopped at her office to let them know she would be gone...only to find out that Louie was there too. When Louie mentioned Ryan, Kate couldn't take it anymore and went off at her in an angry tirade, only to find out that it wasn't Ryan that Louie was in love with...it was Ryan's former editor, Joe Hartley.
So, after arranging with Louie for some time off, Kate went north to confront Ryan. Only, she didn't find things to be exactly the way she expected. True, Ryan wasn't alone in his suite...he was actually teaching a course in the suite's sitting room when she arrived and announced to the whole room that she was pregnant. After the room cleared, she searched the rest of the suite, but no one was there. It was then time to settle things with Ryan.
But that's when the floor was knocked out from under Kate. Ryan confessed...but not to have an affair. He confessed to being so afraid his marriage was heading for a divorce that he fabricated the whole thing, going so far as to write that initial letter that said was in love with another woman himself...to make her jealous so they could finally talk and work things out. He said there was no other woman in his life...that there never had been. Everything that happened was a setup by Ryan to make Kate think he was leaving her...all so he could shake her out of her complacency and make her take notice of what she could lose if she didn't.
And that was the biggest stunning moment of all for Kate. All the heartache, for all the past few weeks, months, everything she had endured, all the stress she had been under, the fear she had felt...and been Ryan's doing. His last-ditch effort to save what he saw as their failing marriage.
I wasn't sure how to feel about this book. The angst and drama were all a farce, created solely by Ryan for the purpose of salvaging what HE thought was a crumbling marriage. He went to extreme lengths to do so rather than sitting Kate down one on one and talking with her...or even suggesting marriage counseling. He took it upon himself to set her up to believe he was cheating on her just to shake her up. He didn't consider the pain, fear, and emotional stress he would create for her...and for himself when things didn't go quite the way he had expected. He thought she would read the letter and fall into his arms begging him not to leave her. No, he watched her, day in and day out, struggle with her emotions...and did nothing to stop it. Sure, he said he was willing to do that and more if it would keep them together...but would he ever have told her the truth if she hadn't confronted him the way she did? How would he have felt, after learning the truth of his actions, if Kate had decided to not forgive him but instead demanded a divorce?
I can't say I agreed with the way Ryan handled things. He took so many risks and the emotional anguish that Kate endured could have had horrible results if she hadn't been such a strong character. But she was. She was definitely strong...to a certain point. Ryan very nearly broke her, and that was unforgivable...to put someone through so much emotional trauma is never the right way to handle a situation.
But honestly, there really wasn't much chemistry or passion between these two main characters. Because of Ryan's motives and actions, they were rarely ever together, so just how does the author justify the HEA, for it really didn't fit the scenario...and Ryan didn't suffer enough at the end for he truly was not sorry for his actions. Plus, Kate forgave him way too quickly.
While I was glad for the outcome...in a way I wasn't. However, it did end and, therefore, must be given a rating...just not a five-star rating nor the privilege of joining the Keeper for the Shelves collection. No, I think this book does not merit either...and definitely nothing more than a three-star rating.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 3, 2020
The whole point with the letter and various red herrings was nicely done and quite amusing, but at the end I was filled with more confusion than satisfaction. It all seemed a little too forced, too neat, and kind of... illogical.
Pertinent questions:
Throughout the novel both characters were actively pushing each other away, then getting upset when they were successful.
The one good thing about this is that it's a great example of why every relationship needs frequent, honest and open communication. I'm certain that this is how many relationships end up on the rocks, and unlike a romance novel, real life offers no guarantee of a happy ending.
Pertinent questions:
Throughout the novel both characters were actively pushing each other away, then getting upset when they were successful.
The one good thing about this is that it's a great example of why every relationship needs frequent, honest and open communication. I'm certain that this is how many relationships end up on the rocks, and unlike a romance novel, real life offers no guarantee of a happy ending.
January 3, 2015
I rarely review these Harlequin HPs, because they are all so open to personal taste. This one really bothered me though. Sometimes I am impressed by how much story authors can pack into these books, sometime I just read them for the trainwrecky qualities, but this one actually made me angry. The whole idea of the husband creating this horrible emotional quagmire for his wife, all because he didn't have the guts to address their marital issues directly, just seemed so infantile.
The whole book seemed to be designed to say that a woman who cares too much about being a success in her career is going to end up sacrificing her home life. What a bunch of BS! I know these books tend to be sexist and I often find it humorous, but this one seems so pointedly nasty toward working women that I just couldn't overlook the tone.
There is no way that I can believe that these two will have a happy marriage. He is far too insecure and juvenile and she is too wishy-washy. I gave the book 2 stars instead of 1, because the author did attempt to salvage the silly plot with a romantic ending, but as I said, at that point all I saw in the future for these two was more misunderstandings and unhappiness. Nothing romantic about that.
The whole book seemed to be designed to say that a woman who cares too much about being a success in her career is going to end up sacrificing her home life. What a bunch of BS! I know these books tend to be sexist and I often find it humorous, but this one seems so pointedly nasty toward working women that I just couldn't overlook the tone.
There is no way that I can believe that these two will have a happy marriage. He is far too insecure and juvenile and she is too wishy-washy. I gave the book 2 stars instead of 1, because the author did attempt to salvage the silly plot with a romantic ending, but as I said, at that point all I saw in the future for these two was more misunderstandings and unhappiness. Nothing romantic about that.
June 8, 2021
Your husband loves another woman."
The note was signed "A Friend," but no friend would ever do that to another woman. Could it be true? Was Kate Lassiter's marriage falling apart? She still loved her husband, Ryan, still thrilled at his touch, but how long was it since they'd last made love?
On the surface they had it all: successful careers, a lovely home and the perfect marriage. But if Ryan had committed the ultimate betrayal, then revenge was no answer. Kate wanted her husband back and she was prepared to fight to keep him. Because while her marriage was under suspicion there was no way she could tell Ryan she was expecting his baby!
He wrote the letter to get her attention.
The note was signed "A Friend," but no friend would ever do that to another woman. Could it be true? Was Kate Lassiter's marriage falling apart? She still loved her husband, Ryan, still thrilled at his touch, but how long was it since they'd last made love?
On the surface they had it all: successful careers, a lovely home and the perfect marriage. But if Ryan had committed the ultimate betrayal, then revenge was no answer. Kate wanted her husband back and she was prepared to fight to keep him. Because while her marriage was under suspicion there was no way she could tell Ryan she was expecting his baby!
He wrote the letter to get her attention.
August 19, 2012
It was fun reading all the things the husband did to make it seems like he was cheating.Nice one!
August 9, 2013
loved it!!!
April 28, 2015
Sarah Craven is a great writer, well plotted story and captivating suspense
October 24, 2020
I would have scored this 1 star but I realized that I finished this and then was terribly entertained.
April 30, 2019
Every woman should have a man who fights for her and fights for their marriage. Ryan tortured Kate emotionally but it was worth it in the end
July 20, 2019
Wow! And not in a good way. The main male character was a huge jerk and did not redeem himself in anyway. Read this only if you want to be angry thru the whole thing.
December 8, 2025
Notes for me
Katie and Ryan married 5 years.
He’s a writer and she owns an event business. Goes by her maiden name “in case it fails.”
She has a bride cancel on the day of the wedding. Best man approaches her and flirts. She pauses but isn’t interested. Calls her husband and leaves a message she will be home a day early.
He’s not at home, message hasn’t been listened to and there a champagne bottle with two glasses.
A letter is waiting on her saying “your husband loves another” signed a friend. Ryan asked her to attend his first nationwide book signing. She couldn’t due to her career. He’s had many since then and she’s never gone. Her business partner warned her he may be tempted.
I was in the mood for gut punch angst and this delivered. I will say it was frustrating that she didn’t just confront him.
St Margaret had an interesting take that Ryan was cruel for this and a sociopath. Interesting thought and not wrong!
Katie and Ryan married 5 years.
He’s a writer and she owns an event business. Goes by her maiden name “in case it fails.”
She has a bride cancel on the day of the wedding. Best man approaches her and flirts. She pauses but isn’t interested. Calls her husband and leaves a message she will be home a day early.
He’s not at home, message hasn’t been listened to and there a champagne bottle with two glasses.
A letter is waiting on her saying “your husband loves another” signed a friend. Ryan asked her to attend his first nationwide book signing. She couldn’t due to her career. He’s had many since then and she’s never gone. Her business partner warned her he may be tempted.
I was in the mood for gut punch angst and this delivered. I will say it was frustrating that she didn’t just confront him.
St Margaret had an interesting take that Ryan was cruel for this and a sociopath. Interesting thought and not wrong!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 1, 2023
Non è il solito romanzo rosa. I due protagonisti sono una coppia sposata da 5 anni. Da parte di lei sembra andare tutto bene ma una sera quando torna a casa in anticipo inizia a scoprire che qualcosa non va soprattutto dopo aver trovato un biglietto su cui c'è scritto che il marito è innamorato di un altra.
Sinceramente la storia è abbastanza ridicola. I due avrebbero dovuto semplicemente parlare invece assistiamo a lui che si tiene a distanza e si comporta in maniera fredda e crudele mentre lei cerca di beccare il marito ma finisce sempre per fare figuracce.
Alcune cose poi non vengono nemmeno spiegate...
Delusa.
Ovviamente la storia è raccontata solo dal punto di vista di lei.
Sinceramente la storia è abbastanza ridicola. I due avrebbero dovuto semplicemente parlare invece assistiamo a lui che si tiene a distanza e si comporta in maniera fredda e crudele mentre lei cerca di beccare il marito ma finisce sempre per fare figuracce.
Alcune cose poi non vengono nemmeno spiegate...
Delusa.
Ovviamente la storia è raccontata solo dal punto di vista di lei.
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